| 89 | years ago | 1936 | San Bernardino disc jockey Tommy Dee is born in Vicker, Virginia. In 1959, he'll write and record Three Stars, a tribute song to the air tragedy that takes the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson on February 3, 1959. He'll go on to become a country music producer, promoter, and record executive. |
| 81 | years ago | 1944 | Millie Jackson is born. |
| 80 | years ago | 1945 | Peter Lewis of Moby Grape is born. |
| 79 | years ago | 1946 | Linda Ronstadt is born. |
| 78 | years ago | 1947 | Peter Banks of Yes is born. |
| 77 | years ago | 1948 | Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd is born. |
| 73 | years ago | 1952 | Johnny Thunders of The New York Dolls is born. |
| 73 | years ago | 1952 | Jeff Carlisi, guitarist for .38 Special, is born. |
| 73 | years ago | 1952 | Eight-year-old prodigy Gladys Knight appears on the TV show Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, which was a precursor to shows like Star Search and American Idol. She wins the top prize of $2,000 for her performance of Nat King Cole's Too Young. |
| 72 | years ago | 1953 | Alicia Bridges is born, as is David Pack of Ambrosia. |
| 69 | years ago | 1956 | Guitarist Joe Satriani is born. So is Marky Ramone of The Ramones. |
| 69 | years ago | 1956 | Singer/songwriter Ian Curtis of English post-punk rock band Joy Division and New Order is born. |
| 68 | years ago | 1957 | Elvis Presley's (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear b/w Loving You hits #1. |
| 67 | years ago | 1958 | Julia Lennon, John's mother, is fatally struck down by a car driven by an off-duty drunken police officer named Eric Clague. He claims, “Mrs Lennon just ran straight out in front of me. I just couldn't avoid her. I was not speeding, I swear it. It was just one of those terrible things that happen.” When the trial ends, the officer is acquitted. |
| 59 | years ago | 1966 | New Orleans' own Percy Sledge earns his first and only gold record for his first and biggest hit, When A Man Loves A Woman. |
| 57 | years ago | 1968 | The Beatles’ new enterprise, Apple, enters its new corporate headquarters on 3 Savile Row, London, later the site of their famous “rooftop concert.” |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | Elton John's album Honky Chateau hits #1. |
| 52 | years ago | 1973 | Ray Davies announces he's leaving The Kinks. His decision is brought on by exhaustion and his wife recently leaving him. He returns to the group within the week. |
| 47 | years ago | 1978 | Over 200,000 fans gather at Blackbush Airport in Britain to see Bob Dylan and his band off after the completion of his U.K. tour. |
| 47 | years ago | 1978 | The Rolling Stones’ album Some Girls hits #1. |
| 46 | years ago | 1979 | Rick Garberson of The Bizarros dies. |
| 45 | years ago | 1980 | Linda Ronstadt makes her dramatic premiere in The Pirates Of Penzance at a the New York Shakespere Festival in Central Park. In the part of Mabel, she gets good reviews, and when the production moves to Broadway in January of 1981, she moves with it. The musical-comedy will be made into a movie starring Ronstadt and other original cast members. |
| 43 | years ago | 1982 | Bill Justis dies, leaving us with his 1957 hit, Raunchy, and the soundtrack to the film Smokey and the Bandit by which to remember him, his saxophone, and his trumpet. Memphis-born Justis studied music at Tulane University and played with dance bands in New Orleans. |
| 39 | years ago | 1986 | Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash after 28 years. Johnny signs with Polygram the next year. |
| 39 | years ago | 1986 | Run-DMC's Raising Hell becomes the first rap album certified platinum. |
| 36 | years ago | 1989 | More than 200,000 people cram into Venice, Italy for a free Pink Floyd concert. Residents complain about the noise, littering, and drug use. |
| 31 | years ago | 1994 | Singer/songwriter/drummer Phil Collins announces he is seeking a divorce from wife Jill. |
| 26 | years ago | 1999 | The Rolling Stones report income of $337 million in the last two years, a result of 147 concerts in front of nearly six million fans. |
| 25 | years ago | 2000 | Bob Seger's 62-foot boat Lightning wins its division in the 78th annual sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island, Michigan. |
| 19 | years ago | 2006 | Punk-pop princess Avril Lavigne marries a fellow Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and front man for the band Sum 41, Deryck Whibley. The usually shabby Lavigne wears a Vera Wang gown and carries white roses in a very traditional ceremony. She is 21 and the groom is 26. |
| 14 | years ago | 2011 | To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Adult Contemporary chart, which had various names over the years, including Easy Listening, Billboard publishes its list of the top 100 Adult Contemporary songs of all time, with Savage Garden's Truly Madly Deeply at #1, followed by Lead Me On by Maxine Nightingale and Drift Away by Uncle Kracker. |
| 13 | years ago | 2012 | Gangnam Style is unleashed upon the world. Performed by K-Pop singer PSY, the song debuts on YouTube and becomes its most-watched video (ever. in history.), surpassing even Justin Bieber's hit Baby in that capacity. The song, partly in Korean, is about the lifestyle of the Gangnam district in Seoul, Korea. The video features PSY's now-famous signature dance moves and very tight editing along with several humorous scenes; it spawns several parodies, animated versions, and mash-ups. Gangnam Style goes on to become a worldwide phenomenon, with its dance moves attempted by US president Obama and British prime minister Cameron; it is also declared a “force for world peace” on the floor of the United Nations, no less. |
| 12 | years ago | 2013 | Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant joins Guitar Lightnin’ Lee for a few tunes at BJ’s Lounge in New Orlean's Ninth Ward. The place is packed with 75 people. Plant is in town for his own concert scheduled for a couple of nights later. |