| 86 | years ago | 1940 | The Fifth Dimension’s Billy Davis, Jr. is born. |
| 83 | years ago | 1943 | British rocker Georgie Fame is born. |
| 71 | years ago | 1955 | Decca Records announces Bill Haley & The Comets have sold more than 3 million records in thirteen months. Both Rock Around The Clock and Shake Rattle & Roll have sold a million copies, while Dim, Dim the Lights and Mambo Rock have sold about 500,000. |
| 71 | years ago | 1955 | Guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones of the Clash is born. |
| 70 | years ago | 1956 | Rocker Chris Isaak is born. |
| 70 | years ago | 1956 | In a Look Magazine article entitled, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Controversy, swing band leader Benny Goodman comments about rock 'n' roll, “I guess it's okay, man. At least it has a beat.” |
| 69 | years ago | 1957 | Rocker Patty Smyth is born. |
| 61 | years ago | 1965 | The Strangeloves I Want Candy makes its way into the Hot 100. |
| 57 | years ago | 1969 | Colin Greenwood of Radiohead is born. |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | Mick Jagger is named in a London paternity suit by Marsha Hunt. She claims Jagger is the father of her two-year-old daughter. Jagger takes a blood test and the suit is proved unsuccessful. |
| 51 | years ago | 1975 | Veteran R&B arranger/producer Van McCoy earns his first gold record for the disco smash, The Hustle. It turns out to be the biggest dance craze of the decade. |
| 50 | years ago | 1976 | Peter Frampton's Baby I Love Your Way is released. |
| 49 | years ago | 1977 | Elvis Presley makes what will be his last public appearance with a concert at Indianapolis' Market Square Arena. |
| 47 | years ago | 1979 | Elvis' father, Vernon, dies of a heart attack in Tupelo, Mississippi at age 63. |
| 40 | years ago | 1986 | In Pittsburgh, 25 people are injured at Run D.M.C. concert. The city considers banning rock concerts. |
| 34 | years ago | 1992 | Elton John and Eric Clapton play the first of three sell-out dates at London's Wembley Stadium. It is the first public outing for John since undergoing painful hair transplants. Bonnie Raitt is the opening act. |
| 20 | years ago | 2006 | Bill Withers gets a Rhythm & Soul Heritage award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in a ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. |
| 20 | years ago | 2006 | Culture Club’s Boy George is ordered by a Manhattan Criminal Court judge to complete five days of community service as an employee of the Department of Sanitation, or else go to jail. He had pled guilty in March to false reporting of an incident, calling police with a bogus report of a burglary last October. Police found cocaine in his New York apartment. |
| 16 | years ago | 2010 | Sting performs with London’s 45-piece Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and a few other musicians at the New Orleans Lakefront Arena. He does solo tunes as well some Police classics. |
| 14 | years ago | 2012 | Van Halen rocks a less-than-full New Orleans Arena. David Lee Roth is the vocalist, and Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, is on bass. Eddie's brother Alex handles the drum kit. Eddie himself turns Eruption into an 8-minute solo. |