| 83 | years ago | 1942 | Beach Boys songwriter, singer, and musician Brian Wilson is born. |
| 77 | years ago | 1948 | The TV variety show, Toast Of The Town premiers. It later changes its name to The Ed Sullivan Show. |
| 70 | years ago | 1955 | Michael Anthony, bassist for Van Halen, is brought into the world. |
| 65 | years ago | 1960 | Duran Duran bassist John Taylor is born. |
| 59 | years ago | 1966 | The New York Times reports George Harrison of The Beatles and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones have taken up the sitar. Jones would use the instrument on Paint It Black. |
| 56 | years ago | 1969 | The 3-day Newport '69 Festival starts in Northridge, California. 150,000 make it to hear Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, CCR, Ike & Tina Turner, Jethro Tull, The Rascals, Steppenwolf, and others. Hendrix receives $125,000 for his appearance. At the time, it is the highest fee ever paid to a single rock act for a single appearance. |
| 56 | years ago | 1969 | David Bowie signs with Philips Records and goes into Trident Studios in London to re-record Space Oddity. |
| 55 | years ago | 1970 | Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl goes gold. |
| 53 | years ago | 1972 | The Tallahatchie Bridge, made famous in Bobbie Gentry's 1967 hit, Ode To Billie Joe, collapses. |
| 52 | years ago | 1973 | American Bandstand celebrates its 20th anniversary with a 90-minute television special. |
| 48 | years ago | 1977 | Island Records releases Steve Winwood's first solo album and first record under any name since Traffic's When the Eagle Flies. |
| 45 | years ago | 1980 | It's Still Rock & Roll becomes Billy Joel's first #1 hit. |
| 29 | years ago | 1996 | The Furthur Festival kicks off in Atlanta. The show marks the first time the members of The Grateful Dead perform together since the death of Jerry Garcia. |