Births
1905: Harold Arlen1918: Hank Locklin
1939: Alvin Cash
1941: Brian Holland
1944: Mick Avory (The Kinks)
1945: John Helliwell (Supertramp)
1947: David Brown (Santana)
1951: Melissa Manchester
Deaths
1965: Nat "King" Cole1968: Little Walter
1981: Mike Bloomfield (The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Electric Flag)
1984: Ethel Merman
Events
1957: Promoter Irving Feld, king of Fifties rock package tours, premieres his latest tour, "Greatest Show of 1957," in Pittsburgh, PA. The cross-country show features Chuck Berry, Clyde McPhatter, Fats Domino, LaVern Baker, The Moonglows, Bill Doggett, and The Five Satins; many of the areas it visits have never seen a rock 'n roll show before.1958: Due to the amazing daytime success of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, ABC debuts a new prime-time variety show called The Dick Clark Show. Guests on the first episode include Connie Francis, Pat Boone, Chuck Willis, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Royal Teens, and Johnnie Ray.
1964: Sam Cooke announces a major reduction in his touring schedule, made so that he can concentrate on the day-to-day activities of his two new record labels, Sar and Derby.
1967: Music students at Chicago's DePaul University form a seven-piece rock ensemble called The Big Thing. Later, they would change their name to Chicago Transit Authority, and then, simply, Chicago.
1968: Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison, along with their wives, travel to Rishikesh, India to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The other two band members would soon follow.
1969: Florida hairstylist Vickie Jones is arrested for impersonating Aretha Franklin at a club in Fort Myers, FL. Incredibly, her performance is so believable that no patrons demand a refund.
1970: After a Sly and the Family Stone concert runs hours late and causes over a thousand dollars in damages, the Daughters of the American Revolution impose a ban against any further rock concerts at the venue, Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall.
1972: The US government's new anti-piracy laws are enacted, a response to widespread bootlegging of major artists.
1975: Capitol Records rushes to release John Lennon's Rock and Roll album after a much shabbier version, called Roots, had begun to be marketed on late-night television. Roots was music exec Morris Levy's version of the "oldies" sessions, which Lennon was court-ordered to undertake as payment for a Chuck Berry line John used in the Beatles' "Come Together." (Levy's copyright was judged to have been infringed by the line "Here come old flat-top, he come groovin' up slowly.")
1975: Gino Vannelli becomes the first white artist to perform on the syndicated dance show Soul Train.
1976: Bette Midler bails out no less than seven members of her entourage from jail after their arrest on drug possession charges.
1978: At the 21st annual Grammy Awards, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack takes home Album of the Year honors and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
1979: A&M ends its tenure as the US' largest indie record company as RCA records begins its new distributing deal with the label.
1991: Rod Stewart's ex-girlfriend, supermodel Kelly Emberg, files a $25 million palimony suit against the singer in Los Angeles Superior Court.
1992: Natives of the village of Krinjabo, on Africa's Ivory Coast, name Michael Jackson "King of the Sanwis."
1999: Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura -- a former Rolling Stones concert bodyguard -- declares today "Rolling Stones Day."
Releases
1965: The Beatles, "Eight Days A Week"Recording
1941: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "Take the 'A' Train"1954: Big Joe Turner, "Shake, Rattle & Roll"
1961: The Marcels, "Blue Moon"
1965: The Beatles: "Ticket To Ride," "Another Girl," "I Need You"
Certifications
1977: George Harrison's album The Best Of George Harrison is certified goldCharts
1958: Elvis Presley's "Don't" hits #11969: Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" hits #1
1975: Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" hits #1
1975: Linda Ronstadt's album Heart Like a Wheel hits #1
