1935 Eddie Floyd born in Montgomery, Alabama. US soul singer/songwriter. (1966 US No.28 & 1967 UK No.19 single ‘Knock On Wood’). Wrote ‘634-5789 a 1966 hit for Wilson Pickett.
1939 Harold Melvin born in Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA. US soul singer and pianist. (1972 US No.3 & 1974 UK No.9 single ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Know’). He died on March 24th 1997.
1945 Carly Simon (Carly Elisabeth Simon ) born in New York City, New York. Daughter of the co-founder of Simon & Schuster publishing house. US singer, songwriter, (1973 UK No.3 and US No.1 single ‘Your So Vain’, 1974 US No.5 single with James Taylor ‘Mockingbird’).
1945 Labi Siffre born in Hammersmith, London, England. UK Singer. Best known in Australia for his 1971 hit ‘It Must Be Love’ (covered in the 80’s by Madness).
1946 Allen Lanier born in Long Island, New York. US Keyboard Player, Guitarist & singer with Blue Oyster Cult. Died August 14, 2013 (aged 67) from complications from C.O.P.D.
1946 Ian McDonald born in London, England. Flute, Keyboards, Reeds. With Foreigner. He left the group in 1980.
1949 Clint Warwick – UK Bass Player with the original line up of the Moody Blues. Died from liver disease on May 18th 2004.
1952 Tim Finn (Brian Timothy Finn) born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand. Singer/Songwriter & ex-Split Enz Member.(1980 UK No.12 single ‘I Got You’), He briefly joined Crowded House in 1992 & co-wrote some of the songs from their album Woodface. (1992 UK No.7 single ‘Weather With You’). Solo and Finn Brothers.
1954 David Paich born in Los Angeles, California. Keyboard player/vocalist with US Band Toto. (1983 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Africa’).
1963 Georgios Panayiotou (George Michael) born in London, England. UK singer, songwriter, Wham! (1984 UK & US No.1 single ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’, 1st solo No.1 single 1984 UK & US ‘Careless Whisper’, plus 7 other UK & US No.1 singles and over 10 other UK Top 40 hits’). Michael died at his home in England on 25th Dec 2016 aged 53.
1964 Roy Orbison was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘It’s Over’, his second UK No.1.
1966 The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Paperback Writer’, the group’s 12th US No.1. The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.
1966 The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Love, Captain Beefheart, The Lovin Spoonful and Percy Sledge all appeared at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California.
1966 Jackie Wilson was arrested for inciting a riot and refusing to obey a police order at a nightclub in Port Arthur, Texas. Wilson had a crowd of 400 whipped into a frenzy and refused to stop singing when requested to do so by police. He was later convicted of drunkenness and fined $30.
1967 200 million people saw The Beatles perform ‘All You Need Is Love’, live via satellite as part of the TV global link- up, ‘Our World’, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon and Gary Leeds provided backing vocals.
1967 During a north American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience gave a free afternoon concert in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. They then played another two shows that evening at the Fillmore West.
1969 The Hollies recorded ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’. The ballad was written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell (who was dying of cancer of the lymph nodes). The pair met in person only three times, but managed to collaborate on the song. The track which features Elton John on piano was re-released in late 1988 in the UK following its use in a television advertisement for Miller Lite beer, where it reached No.1.
1972 Mike Kroeger born in Hanna, Alberta, Canada. Bassist with Nickelback, (2002 US No.1 & UK No. 4 single ‘How To Remind You’, 2001 US No.2 & 2002 UK No.2 album ‘Silver Side Up’).
1974 Mario Calire born in Buffalo, New York,. Dummer with the Wallflowers. He left in 2003.
1977 Marvin Gaye went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Got To Give It Up’, his third US No.1.
1977 The Muppet Show’ album by The Muppets went to No.1 on the UK album chart.
1983 The film soundtrack to ‘Flashdance’ started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart.
1983 The Police scored their fourth UK No.1 album with ‘Synchronicity’, also No.1 in the US and featuring the singles ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’ and ‘King Of Pain’.
1987 Songwriter Boudleaux Bryant died. Wrote with his wife Felice, The Everly Brothers hits, ‘Bye Bye Love’, ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’, ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ and ‘Raining In My Heart’ a hit for Buddy Holly. Other acts to record their song include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Tony Bennett, Simon and Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ruth Brown, Cher, R.E.M. and Ray Charles.
1988 Hillel Slovak original guitarist and founding member of The Red Hot Chili Peppers died from a heroin overdose shortly after the band returned from a European tour. Slovak recorded two albums with the band, Freaky Styley and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
1988 Debbie Gibson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Foolish Beat’, making Debbie (aged 17), the youngest female to write, produce and record a US No.1 single. A No.9 hit in the UK.
1988 Van Halen started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘OU812’.
1988 Jimmy Soul died of a heart-attack aged 45 in New York City. He was (born James McCleese, on 24 August 1942, in Weldon, North Carolina;
1993 The first of the three day Glastonbury Festival in England featured Suede, Belly, Lemonheads, The Orb, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, Verve, Porno For Pyros and Teenage Fan Club. Tickets cost £58 ($98.60) for the three days.
1993 Bruce Springsteen was a surprise guest on David Letterman’s final show as host of NBC’s Late Night.
1994 Stone Temple Pilots started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Purple’.
1994 Five people attending this years UK Glastonbury Festival were shot and injured when a lone madman pulled a gun and started shooting into the crowd.
1995 Pink Floyd were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Pulse’ the bands fifth US No.1.
2000 Enrique Iglesias went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Be With You.’
2004 Wilco, Nelly Furtado, Elbow, Groove Armada, PJ Harvey, Kings of Leon, Oasis, Scissor Sisters, Starsailor, Black Eyed Peas, Paul McCartney, Joss Stone, Morrissey and Muse all appeared at this years UK Glastonbury Festival.
2004 Rapper DMX was arrested on charges that he and another man tried to steal a car from New York’s Kennedy airport. DMX – real name is Earl Simmons – and Jackie Hudgins were held after the city’s Port Authority police interrupted a dispute. The pair were arrested on charges of attempted robbery, criminal impersonation and criminal mischief. A spokesman said a preliminary investigation indicated that Mr Simmons may have identified himself as a federal agent.
2006 Television producer and journalist Elkan Allan died aged 83. Allan produced the ground-breaking British pop show Ready Steady Go! during the 60’s.
2006 Turkish-American music producer and arranger Arif Mardin died aged 74 from pancreatic cancer. He worked at Atlantic Records for over 30 years, before moving to EMI. The winner of 11 Grammy Awards, he worked with Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Wilson Pickett, Average White Band, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand and Norah Jones.
2006 Nicole Kidman married her singer boyfriend Keith Urban at ceremony in Sydney, Australia. X-Men actor Hugh Jackman, media magnate Rupert Murdoch and King Kong actress Naomi Watts were among the guests at the service.
2009 Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, after suffering heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964. Jackson is credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool, four of his solo albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), while his 1982 Thriller is the world’s best-selling record of all time with sales of over 50 million.
2009 A Sgt Pepper souvenir poster bearing the signatures of all four Beatles sold for $52,500 (£31,720) at a pop memorabilia auction in New York City. Other musical items that went under the hammer were a set of Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics, which made $25,000 (£15,090) and a bass guitar owned by Kurt Cobain sold for $43,750 (£26,415).
2009 Amnesty International apologised to Iggy Pop after it had used an image of the singer in its latest anti-torture campaign without the singer’s permission. The Belgian advert featured the Stooges frontman’s face bloodied and beaten, quoting him as saying Justin Bieber was “the future of rock and roll” and the slogan: “Torture a man and he will tell you anything.”
2014 A Sgt Pepper souvenir poster bearing the signatures of all four Beatles sold for $52,500 (£31,720) at a pop memorabilia auction in New York City. Other musical items that went under the hammer were a set of Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics, which made $25,000 (£15,090) and a bass guitar owned by Kurt Cobain sold for $43,750 (£26,415).
2016 The Yellow Cloud guitar owned by Prince and said to be one of his favourites was bought at auction for $137,500 (£110,000), by the owner of the American Football team Indianapolis Colts. A lock of David Bowie’s hair also sold for $18,750 at the same auction.