| 85 | years ago | 1940 | British pop superstar Cliff Richard is born. |
| 79 | years ago | 1946 | Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward is born. |
| 70 | years ago | 1955 | Nineteen-year old Buddy Holly and his sidemen, Larry Welborn and Bob Montgomery, open a concert in Lubbock, Texas for Bill Haley & the Comets. Nashville talent agent Eddie Crandell is in the audience and in the next few weeks arranges for Holly to record his first demo. |
| 68 | years ago | 1957 | Elvis' Jailhouse Rock is released. |
| 67 | years ago | 1958 | Singer and entrepeneur Thomas Dolby is born. |
| 61 | years ago | 1964 | In secret, Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts marries Shirley Ann Arnold. |
| 58 | years ago | 1967 | Track Records and its U.S. affiliate Decca, release The Who's I Can See for Miles. In the U.K., it peaks at #12 while in the U.S. the single reaches #9 and is the group's biggest hit thorugh 1982. |
| 56 | years ago | 1969 | The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Smash Hits is certified gold. |
| 54 | years ago | 1971 | In Los Angeles District Court, Arco Industries, music publishing firm owning copyrights on all material released on Specialty Records, files a half-million dollar lawsuit against Creedence Clearwater Revival's singer/songwriter John Fogerty. The suit claims that Fogerty's song Travelin' Band “contains substantial material copied from the music of the song Good Golly, Miss Molly.” The suit is eventually dropped. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | Joe Cocker is arrested along with six band members in Adelaide, Ausatralia. In the after-the-show raid, police claim to have confiscated marijuana, heroin, and hypodermic syringes. Cocker is released on bail and faces penalties ranging from a $2,000 fine and two years in prison to a mere four-hour notice to leave the country. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | Michael Jackson's theme song from the movie of the same name, Ben, makes it to #1 on the pop chart. It's the third solo hit in a year for the 13-year-old singer. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | The Spinners have their first R&B #1, I'll Be Around. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes enter the soul chart with If You Don't Know Me by Now, which, in 16 weeks on the chart, will peak at #1 for two weeks. The song makes it to #3 on the pop chart. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | The Temptations' Papa Was A Rolling Stone is released. |
| 50 | years ago | 1975 | Kiss' Rock & Roll All Nite is released. |
| 48 | years ago | 1977 | At the request of the Dodgers, Linda Ronstadt sings the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium to open the third game of the World Series against the Yankees. |
| 21 | years ago | 2004 | Elton John auctions off several photographs from the extensive collection he started in 1991 and takes in $900,000. A 1988 Robert Maplethorpe photo of a vase of white tulips brings in $83,650, and a 1942 Ansel Adams shot of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming nets $43,020. |