| 68 | years ago | 1957 | Chicago radio station WCFL is picketed by the local chapter of the Elvis Presley fan club when it bans Presley's records. The station doesn't flinch. |
| 65 | years ago | 1960 | Guns 'n ' Roses drummer Matt Sorum is born. |
| 60 | years ago | 1965 | At the Glad Rags Ball in London, The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey, storms off stage in the middle of a set plagued with PA problems. Rumors of a Who breakup spread quickly through London, with most of them naming Boz Burrell (King Crimson and Bad Company) as Daltrey's possible replacement. |
| 59 | years ago | 1966 | The Supremes' You Keep Me Hanging On hits #1 on the pop chart and will hit the same position on the R&B chart a week later. It's the group's eighth pop #1. |
| 57 | years ago | 1968 | Diana Ross, onstage with The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London, interupts the show with a plea for interracial understanding. The audience, which includes members of the royal family, applauds for two minutes. |
| 55 | years ago | 1970 | The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, marries Deidre Yvonne Jenkins on the front porch of her Barnwell, South Carolina house. |
| 54 | years ago | 1971 | Blues guitar giant B.B. King marks his 25th year in show biz by starting a European tour in London. |
| 50 | years ago | 1975 | The J. Geils Band finishes recording its live Blow Your Face Out set at Detroit's Cobo Arena. A show four nights before, at the Boston Garden, was taped for the two-record package which will be released next year. |
| 49 | years ago | 1976 | Van Morrison's album, Moondance, released in 1970, goes gold. The album brings Morrison two minor hits: the title track, and Into the Mystic. |
| 21 | years ago | 2004 | Terry Melcher, son of actress Doris Day, dies after a long battle with cancer. He was a pioneer of the California surf sound, and a founding member of the Rip Chords, who had a 1964 hit, Hey Little Cobra. He worked with the Beach Boys on their landmark Pet Sounds album, co-wrote their hit Kokomo, and was later a record producer who helped bring the Byrds to fame. He produced their hit versions of Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn and later recordings like the Ballad of Easy Rider. Melcher was a tangential figure in the 1969 Charles Manson murders. He once rented the home where Sharon Tate was murdered. There was speculation at the time that Melcher, who knew Charles Manson, was the intended target. He had turned down Manson's request for a recording contract. |
| 20 | years ago | 2005 | 24-year-old Christina Aguilera marries music executive Jordan Bratman, 28, in Napa Valley, California. |
| 20 | years ago | 2005 | Glam rocker Gary Glitter is arrested in Vietnam while trying to board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand and charged with engaging in obscene acts with a child, an offense punishable by up to 12 years in prison. |
| 18 | years ago | 2007 | Neil Diamond reveals that Caroline Kennedy was the inspiration for his 1969 hit song Sweet Caroline. He had intentionally kept it a secret until he could tell Caroline personally. He got that chance when he performed the song via satellite for her 50th birthday last week. |
| 18 | years ago | 2007 | E Street Band member Danny Federici performs at a Boston Bruce Springsteen concert, but will take break from the “Magic” tour to get treated for melanoma. |