| 75 | years ago | 1951 | Kevin Cronin, vocalist for REO Speedwagon, is born. |
| 72 | years ago | 1954 | David Hidalgo of Los Lobos is born. |
| 71 | years ago | 1955 | Billboard reports major Hollywood studios are getting into the rock & roll film biz: Twentieth Century-Fox with Do Re Mi, starring Fats Domino, Jayne Mansfield, and Little Richard, and another project called Cool it, Baby; Paramount has Lonesome Cowboy, with Elvis Presley as the star. The film is never made. |
| 68 | years ago | 1958 | Billboard story claims that “payola, that under-the-turntable device whereby record companies win plugs and influence disc jockeys, is fast growing into a monster that may yet destroy its creators. According to key record execs, jockey payola is so widespread that it's no longer possible to measure its effectiveness.” There is no mention of Alan Freed, whose career will shortly be killed by payola scandal. |
| 68 | years ago | 1958 | Conway Twitty's It's Only Make Believe enters the pop charts at #47. It will be #1 in both the U.S. and U.K. |
| 58 | years ago | 1968 | A documentary about the Doors, The Doors are Open, is aired on British television. |
| 57 | years ago | 1969 | For the first time in Beatles history, a George Harrison song gets the A side of a 45. Something backed with Lennon and McCartney's Come Together will reach #1 next month. |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | The Doobie Brothers' China Grove peaks at #15 on the singles chart while Paul Simon's Loves Me Like A Rock peaks at #2. |
| 50 | years ago | 1976 | Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots receive a gold record for one of the more bizarre novelty hits of the decade, Disco Duck. In December, it will become only the fourth single ever to be certified platinum. |
| 48 | years ago | 1978 | Mick Jagger apologizes to the Reverend Jesse Jackson after Jackson denounces the Stones' song, Some Girls as racist. Jagger, however, refuses to change the lyrics. |
| 47 | years ago | 1979 | The Eagles' Heartache Tonight is released. |
| 47 | years ago | 1979 | Fleetwood Mac's Tusk is released. |
| 47 | years ago | 1979 | Van Halen's Beautiful Girls peaks at #84 on the singles chart. |
| 46 | years ago | 1980 | The Bee Gees sue their manager, Robert Stigwood, and their record label, Polygram, for $200 million. They charge misrepresentation, fraud, and unfair enrichment at the group's expense. |
| 46 | years ago | 1980 | Ex-Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Lydon (Johnny Rotten) is arrested in Dublin after a barroom brawl. He is sentenced to a three-month jail term but is later acquitted. |
| 42 | years ago | 1984 | David Bowie's Tonight album hits #11 on the chart. |
| 36 | years ago | 1990 | Neil Young and Crazy Horse's reunion album Ragged Glory LP peaks at #31. |
| 36 | years ago | 1990 | Billy Idol's version of L.A. Woman peaks at #52 on the singles chart. |
| 32 | years ago | 1994 | Glenn Frey undegoes colon surgery. |
| 28 | years ago | 1998 | Bruce Springsteen appears in Britain's High Court to prevent Masquerade Music from putting recordings he made in 1972 onto a compact disc called Before The Fame. The Boss is also involved in a similar case in the United States. The recordings were sold to the record labels by Springsteen's former manager, who claimed ownership. Springsteen eventually wins both cases. |
| 22 | years ago | 2004 | Sirius Satellite Radio announces it has signed Howard Stern to a five-year, $500 million contract. With satellite radio not subject to federal indecency rules, Howard, the self-proclaimed “King of All Media,” will have free reign to shock and titillate, starting in January, 2006. |
| 7 | years ago | 2019 | Ginger Baker, one of the most innovative and influential drummers in rock music, dies at the age of 80. A co-founder of Cream, he also played with Blind Faith, Hawkwind, and Fela Kuti in a long and varied career. |