Birthdays:
Jim Yester - Association (1939)
Donald "Duck" Dunn - Booker T. & the MG's (1941)
Pete Best - ex-Beatles drummer (1941)
Robin Williams - The Incredible String Band (1943)
Bev Bevan - Electric Light Orchestra (1944)
Lee Michaels (1945)
Clem Burke - Blondie (1955)
Chris Hayes - Huey Lewis and the News (1957)
John Squire - Stone Roses (1962)
Gary Stonadge - Big Audio Dynamite (1962)
Tony Rombola - Godsmack (1964)
Chad Taylor - Live (1970)
They Are Missed:
Singer Big Joe Turner died of a heart attack in 1985. His enormous voice made blues hits like "Shake Rattle & Roll" a precursor to rock 'n' roll.
Eric Carr (Paul Charles Caravello) drummer with Kiss died in 1991 (age 41), of complications from cancer in a New York hospital. Carr replaced Peter Criss in 1980 and remained a band member until he became ill in 1991. For his Kiss stage persona, Carr was known as “The Fox.”
Freddie Mercury died of complications from aids at his home in London's Holland park in 1991 (age 45), just one day after he publicly admitted he was HIV positive. Mercury was openly bisexual and enjoyed a colorful rock star lifestyle. During his career with Queen he scored over 40 Top 40 UK singles including the worldwide #1 hit "Bohemian Rhapsody."
American blues guitarist and singer Albert Collins died of lung cancer in 1993 (age 61). Known as “The master of the telecaster”, he shared a Grammy for the 1985 album Showdown! which he recorded with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland.
Junior Walker ("Shotgun") died of cancer in 1995.
English drummer Michael Lee died from a seizure in 2008 (age 39). Worked with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Little Angels, The Cult, Ian Gillan, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Quireboys and Thin Lizzy.
History:
The first commercial radio station in the UK, Radio Manx based on The Isle of Man started broadcasting in 1964.
The "Frank Sinatra: A Man And His Music" TV special aired on NBC in 1965.
Elvis Presley's "Harum Scarum" movie was released in 1965.
In 1966, the Beatles began recording sessions for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, laying tracks for "Strawberry Fields Forever" — the track, however, doesn't make the album.
Diana Ross and The Supremes were at #1 on the US singles chart in 1968 with "Love Child."
The Beatles released the epic “White Album” in the US in 1968.
The Rolling Stones' Let it Bleed, which contained the original versions of "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Honky Tonk Woman" and "Midnight Rambler" but no hit singles, was certified gold in 1969.
In 1972, the Los Angeles Coliseum played host to the Woodstock of the West festival, sponsored by KROQ. Performers included Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, the Bee Gees, and the Eagles. But only 32,000 people made their way into the 100,000-seat venue. Where's Wavy Gravy when you need him?
Also in 1972, ABC-TV debuts its late-night rock show, "In Concert," put together by the same guy who brought us "The Monkees," Don Kirshner. The first show starred Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Poco and the Allmans.
Ringo Starr went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1973 with "Photograph," his first of two US chart toppers as a solo artist.
Makaveli, (aka 2Pac) was at #1 on the US album chart in 1996 with "The Don Killuminati - The 7 Day Theory."
Jay-Z was at #1 on the US album chart in 2002 with "The Blueprint 2," the rapper’s first US #1 album.
Winners at the 2006 American Music Awards included, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, Jamie Foxx, Nickelback, Sean Paul, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Mary J. Blige. Nelly Furtado, John Mayer and Fall Out Boy.
Evanescence's "The Open Door" was certified platinum by music-industry organization the RIAA in 2006. Selling 450,000 copies in its first week of release, the album only needed five weeks to pass the 1 million-sales mark. According to singer Amy Lee, songs on the album cover "a broader range of emotions" than the band's previous efforts -- "not just pain and sadness, but also anger and, yes, even happiness."
Fender started selling replicas of Eric Clapton's famous guitar "Blackie" in 2006.
Wildfires burn through Malibu (CA) in 2007 destroying dozens of homes including one owned by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. The mansion, which had been on the market for $4.8 million, "burnt to a crisp" according to Flea in a text message to the Los Angeles Times. The home was not the bassist's primary residence.
China’s communist government condemns Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy." They claim the 2008 album as an attack on the country and say GN'R is part of a Western conspiracy to "grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn." Really? Who in their right mind would use GN’R as a tool to rule the world?
"Cadillac Records", the loosely-based story of Chicago's Chess Records, has its world premiere in Hollywood in 2008.
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