August 19th 1948: Looking Glass singer Elliot Lurie is born today in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Rutgers College and then wrote the number one hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."
August 18th 2003: Tony Jackson, bassist for The Searchers dies today at age 65.
August 12th 1992: Artist and early electronic music composer John Cage dies today.
August 11th 1975: Davey von Bohlen of Cap'n Jazz, The Promise Ring, Vermont, and Maritime is born today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
August 10th 1963: The Safaris top out at number #2 on the music charts today with their hit "Wipe Out".
August 9th 1996: After twenty-two years as the pioneers of NYC punk rock (and arguably punk rock as we now know it all together), The Ramones call it quits today. All three founding members (Joey, Dee Dee, and Johnny) would pass away within eight years of their final show.
August 6th 1983: German opera singer gone cosmic new waver Klaus Nomi dies today from one of the earlier cases of an AIDS related death.
August 5th 1965: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (a.k.a. "MCA") is born today in Brooklyn, NY. Yauch recently announced the cancellation of a Beastie Boys tour and production and release delays on an upcoming album as a result of a diagnosis of cancer in a lymph node in his neck. Get well quick!
July 31th 1971: A security guard is stabbed at a Who concert in Forest Hills, New York. It would be eight years later that the legendary crowd stampede outside their Cincinnati concert would leave eleven dead and dozen injured, leaving the '71 concert incident to be nearly forgotten.
July 30th 1966: Craig Gannon is born in Manchester, England today. He is often credited as the "fifth Smith" as he spent 1986 as a member of the Manchester indie pop group, The Smiths.
July 29th 1959: British guitarist John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake) is born today.
July 28th 1948: Founding member Gerald Casale of Akron Ohio's new wave art rockers DEVO is born today.
July 26th 1974: Today Boston holds the world's first Beatles Convention.
July 21st 1973: Today is officially declared "Mary Wilson & the Supremes Day" by the city of Detroit.
July 20th 1956: Paul Cook is born today in London. He would end up playing drums for the Sex Pistols.
July 18th 1988: Velvet Underground singer and heroin-addicted solo rocker Nico falls over her bike today and dies.
July 17th 1967: Jazz Legend John Coltrane dies of liver cancer today in New York. He was 40 years old.
July 16th 1974: Sunny Day Real Estate front man Jeremy Enigk is born today.
July 15th 1947: Roger Kynard Erickson is born today in Austin Texas. He would later go by the name "Roky" and start the infamous psych/garage band 13th Floor Elevators.
July 14th 1984: Phillippe Wynne, lead singer of the Spinners dies of heart attack the day after collapsing on stage while performing at an Oakland nightclub.
July 13th 2004: Arthur "Killer" Kane, bassist for legendary rockers New York Dolls, dies of Leukemia today at age 65.
July 12th 1979: "Lovin' You" singer Minnie Ripperton dies at age 31 today of breast cancer.
July 11th 1969: David Bowie's Space Oddity is released today. It comes out on Philips in England and is called simply David Bowie. Mercury releases the album in the US under the title Man of Words/Man of Music. In 1972 RCA would rerelease under the more familiar end title, Space Oddity.
July 10th 1965: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" becomes The Rolling Stones's first US number one charter today.
July 9th 1946: AC/DC's original singer Bon Scott is born today in Kirriemuir, Scottland.
July 7th 1940: Richard Starkey is born today in Dingle, England. He would grow up to play drums, join a band called The Beatles, and change his name to "Ringo Starr".
July 6th 2006: Soul man Billy Preston dies today after an eight-month coma following respiratory failure.
July 5th 1989: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Replacements start their tour together today in Miami Florida.
July 4th 1944: Harvey Brooks is born in NYC today. This Folk bass pioneer would go on to work with The Doors, Miles Davis,Bob Dylan, and with his own band, The Electric Flag. He was also a musician on the soundtrack for the Peter Fonda/Dennis Hopper/Jack Nicholson Movie The Trip.
July 3rd 1969: Founding member of The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones is found dead in his pool today. Despite the rumors of an overdose and foul play, his death would eventually be ruled accidental.
July 2nd 1976: Brian Wilson plays his first show back with The Beach Boys after an extended stay indoors. The concert is in Anaheim, California, and Mr. Wilson reportedly seems more interested in zoning out than playing keys.
July 1st 1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles hits number one on the US charts today.
June 30th 2006: Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett dies today at age 60.
June 29th 1975: Tim Buckley snorts a line of heroin and it stops his heart.
June 28th 1972: Pink Floyd release Obscured by Clouds today. It is written as a soundtrack for the French film La Vallée.
June 27th 2006: Olympia Washington's all-girl rock ensemble Sleater-Kinney calls it quits today after a twelve year run.
June 26th 1955: Mick Jones of The Clash is born in London today.
June 25th 1966: The Beatles song "Paperback Writer" hits the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts today.
June 24th 1965: John Lennon's book A Spaniard in the Works is published today in England.
June 22th 1948: Genius musician and producer Todd Rundgren is born today in Upper Darby, PA.
June 19th 1977: Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols is treated in London for head injuries he sustained today when mugged.
June 18th 1942: Beatle Paul McCartney is born today in Liverpool, England.
June 17th 1965: The Kinks kick off their first American tour today.
June 16th 2004: Number 1 Dolls fan Morrissey carries out his plan to reunite the surviving members of the New York Dolls for a show in London. It would be their first show since their break up in 1977.
June 15th 1966: Capitol Records releases Yesterday and Today, today. Capitol quickly removes the records from the shelves over controversy surrounding the album's cover artwork. The artwork becomes later known as the "Butcher Cover" (depicting the band in bloody aprons with meat cleavers surrounded by headless bloody toy dolls). It is still one of the most sought after Beatles record ever released.
June 13th 2003: Adam Ant is put in a psychiatric ward after being arrested for freaking out and getting naked in a London Cafe.
June 12th 1954: Bill Haley & the Comets release "Rock Around The Clock" today. It takes about a year to get everyone's attention and top the charts.
June 11th 1948: Pretty Things drummer Skip Alan is born today in London.
June 10th 2003: Radiohead releases Hail to the Thief.
June 9th 1977: Patti Boyd and George Harrison get a divorce today. Boyd would later end up marrying Harrison's pal Eric Clapton.
June 8th 1954: Greg Ginn is born today. He founded SST records, played guitar for Black Flag, and has a brother who goes by the name "Ray Pettibon".
June 7th 1966: Roy Orbison's wife Claudette is killed today in a car accident..
June 4th 1990: After looking the wrong way when crossing the street in Paris, Dead Boys and LOTNC rocker Stiv Bators is struck by a car. Hours after refusing medical attention, Bators falls asleep and dies of internal injuries.
June 3rd 1972: Pink Floyd releases Obscured By Clouds.
June 2nd 1967: The Beatles release their epic concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the states today.
June 1st 1991: David Ruffin, singer of The Temptations overdoses and dies today.
May 31st 1963: Prefab Sprout rocker Wendy Smith is born today in Durham, England.
May 29th 2005: Guitarist Perry Bamonte and keyboardist Roger O'Donnell leave The Cure today.
May 28th 1969: Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull are arrested for possession of marijuana today in London.
May 27th 1966: The infamous Fillmore Auditorium is graced with the presence of The Velvet Underground. Also making an appearance in the west is Exploding Plastic Inevitable (VU and the Mothers supergroup) - another genius Andy Warhol production.
May 26th 1995: Flavor Flav gets three months for firing a gun at his neighbor.
May 24th 1982: Topper Headon quits playing drums for The Clash today.
May 23rd 1979: MCA buys Tom Petty's record label ABC Records. Mr. Petty files for bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
May 22nd 1959: Steven Patrick Morrissey is born today in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England.
May 21st 1980: A fight between The Clash and audience members at a show in Hamburg, Germany lands Joe Strummer in jail for assault. He allegedly struck a rowdy fan with his guitar.
May 20th 1967: Jimi Hendrix is signed to Reprise Records.
May 19th 1951: Jeffrey Ross Hyman is born today in Forest Hills, NY. He would later join a rock band and change his name to Joey Ramone.
May 17th 1980: Ian Curtis of Joy Division hangs himself in his home today. His wife Deborah finds him the next morning and notices that he had been viewing Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listening to to Iggy Pop's The Idiot.
May 16th 1986: Caitlin O'Riordan of The Pogues marries rocker Elvis Costello today.
May 15th 1948: Glam rocker and experimental rock producer Brian Eno is born today.
May 14th 1967: Former Yardbird Keith Relf is electrocuted and killed when he tries to tune his guitar in the bathtub today.
May 13th 1983: "Hand in Glove" by The Smiths is released today. It's their first single of many to come.
May 12th 1967: Pink Floyd play a song for the Games of May event at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. The song demonstrates one of their earliest examples of experimentation with quadraphonic sound. The tune is later modified and named "See Emily Play".
May 7th 1990: Tom Waits is awarded $2.5 million dollars in a suit against Frito-Lay who used a song in a commercial that sounds too much like Waits.
May 6th 1958: American Bandstand introduces the world to The Champs. They perform the song "Tequila".
May 6th 2006: Grant McLennan, front man for Australian jangle pop band The Go-Betweens dies today in his sleep. He was 48 years old.
May 4th 1978: A riot ensues between two rival soccer team fans at a
May 3rd 1969: Jimi Hendrix is released on $10,000 bail after an arrest by Canadian police for drug possession at
May 2nd 1980: Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" is banned in South Africa today. They claim that the song is "prejudicial to the safety of the state."
May 1st 1973: Today is officially declared Marvin Gaye day.
April 30th 1993: Rock critic Lester Bangs attempts to treat cold symptoms with painkillers and overdoses and dies today.
April 29th 1993: Mick Ronson, guitarist and composer/arranger for Ziggy Stardust era
April 28th 1953: Kim Gordon, bassist for Sonic Youth is born today in Rochester, NY.
April 27th 1975: Over 200 show-goers at a Pink Floyd concert at the L.A. Arena are busted for smoking marijuana today.
April 26th 1984: Count Basie dies today in Hollywood, Florida at the ago of 79.
April 25th 1918: Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald is born today in Newport News Virginia.
April 24th 1975: Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan decide to quit the New York Dolls today while on tour with the band in Florida.
April 23nd 1977: Stuart Goddard sees Siouxsie and the Banshees perform at The Roxy in London today. The inspirational experience causes him to start his own band, "The Ants" under his new stage name “Adam”.
April 22nd 1977: English rockers The Jam release their first single today. It's called "In The City".
April 21th 1959: Happy Birthday to Robert Smith of The Cure. He turned 50 years old today.
April 20th 1976:
April 17th 1982:
April 16th 1969:
April 15th 1971: Rolling Stone publishes an article about the Illinois Crime Commission compiling lists of rock records with drug references found on them. They mention songs such as The Beatles’s “Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds” and Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”.
April 14th 1983: Pete Farndon, bassist and one of the founding members of The Pretenders dies of a heart attack today. He was 29 years old.
April 13th 1946: Soul singer Al Green is born today in
April 11th 1956: Please,please,please hits the R&B charts. It's a debut for a man named James Brown.
April 10th 1950: Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel is born today in Brooklyn, NY.
April 9th 2003: Paul McCartney buys the entire Carl Perkins song library.
April 8th 1977: CBGBs experiences their first UK punk show. The band performing calls themselves "The Damned".
April 7th 1915: Jazz singer Billie Holiday is born today in Baltimore. Her birth name is "Eleanor Gough".
April 3rd 1965:“Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs is released today..
April 2nd 1967: Producer Prince Paul is born today.
April 1st 1984: One day before his 45th birthday, Marvin Gaye and his father get into an argument that ends up getting Marvin shot and killed.
March 31th 1996: Jeffrey Lee Pierce, founding member of The Gun Club dies.
March 28th 2006: Nikki Sudden of Swell Maps dies of an overdoes following an NYC concert. He was 49 years old.
March 24th 1973: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is released today.
March 20th 1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono wed today in
March 19th 1970: David Bowie and Angie Barnett wed today.
March 16th 1967: Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan is born today in
March 13th 1956: Elvis Presley, the first album to reportedly sell one million copies is released today.
March 12th 1956: Billie Holiday is given a year’s probation after a drug possession charge from 1956.
March 11th 1977: The Slits make their first live appearance as openers for The Clash in
March 10th 2004: Dead Milkmen bassist Dave Schulthise, a.k.a. Dave Blood, commits suicide.
March 6th 1945: Zombies Drummer Hugh Grundy is born today in
March 5th 1995: Vivian Stanshall, songwriter for Bonzo Dog Band dies at age 52 in a house fire in
March 4th 1966: One of John Lennon’s more famous interview quotes occurs today in The
March 3rd 1953:
February 28th 1995:
February 26th 2005:
February 23th 1978: Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen are arrested in NYC today on drug possession charges.
February 20th 2003: 99 people are killed in a fire at
February 18th 2004: In an entry on Billy Corgan’s website, Corgan writes: “James Iha broke up the Smashing Pumpkins's, not me. I would have gone on forever, the Smashing Pumpkins were essentially my entire life." This of course a comment on the 2000 splitting up of the Pumpkins.
February 17th 1949: Experimental guitar wizard Fred Frith is born in
February 16th 1963: The Beatles chart their first
February 13th 1972: Marvin Gaye opens the NBA All-Star Game by singing the national anthem.
February 11th 1972: Ziggy Stardust is born today when David Bowie performs as him for the first time in
February 10th 1967: Proto-metal greats Blue Cheer perform in San Fransisco today. The show was a "Tribute to Edgar J. Hoover".
February 6th 2001: Cincinnati Soul Rockers Afghan Whigs announce that they are breaking up today.
February 5th 1982: Alex Harvey of The Alex Harvey Band is born today. he dies in 1982, one day before his 47th birthday.
February 4th 1982:
January 30th 1990: France makes Bob Dylan "Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters" nineteen years ago today.
January 29th 1991:
January 26th 1978:Workers at
January 25th 1997:
January 22nd 2001: Jello
January 20th 1982: A fan at an Ozzy show in
January 19th 1974: Bob Dylan and The Band play a concert at the Sportsatorium in
January 16th 1988: George Harrison’s “Got My Mind Set On You” hits the number one spot on the American charts today. The original was written by Rudy Clark twenty six years earlier in 1962.
January 15th 1941: The mysterious, avant garde artist and musician known as Captain Beefheart is born today. Don Glen Vliet (birth name) would grow up to make abstract paintings and sculptures, along with experimental, psychedelic bluesy rock music.
January 14th 2004: Russell Simmons and Def Jam Records gets sued by rappers Eric B. and Rakim. The duo claims they were never paid royalties for their 1987 album ironically named Paid in Full.
January 13th 1962: Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hits the number one spot on the charts today. Although the more popular Chubby Checker version of "The Twist" gave birth to the Twist dance phenomenon, the song was actually written by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters three years earlier in 1959.
January 12th 2001: Liam Gallagher, singer of Oasis, is accused of indecent assault after a report stating that he grabbed the butt of a female employee of
January 9th 2004: Jennifer Chiba, former girlfriend of Elliott Smith denies suspicions indicating a possible involvement in Smith’s death (Oct ’03). A coroner’s report is released January 8th, 2004 showing forearm and hand wounds on Smith’s body. Also, the alleged suicide note reveals the possibility of a simple apology letter to
January 8th 1947: Glam rocker David Robert Jones a.k.a. "David Bowie" is born in Brixton,
January 7th 1964: The Beatles step into the studio for a BBC Saturday Club session. They play what is to become their only known recording of Chuck Berry’s “Jonnie B. Goode”.
January 6th 1946: Roger Keith Barrett, a.k.a. "Syd" Barrett, founding member of the band Pink Floyd is born in
