Musician Birthdays: Richie Havens (folk singer/songwriter, famous for the song, “Freedom”, also famous for performing at Woodstock ’69, born in 1941), Billy Ocean (R&B, soul singer, famous for hit, “Caribbean Queen”, born in 1950)

– In 1963: The Beatles made their third appearance on the Radio Luxembourg program The Friday Spectacular. The Beatles were interviewed by the host and played two tracks, ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘Ask Me Why.

– In 1966: George Harrison married Patti Boyd at Leatherhead Register Office in Surrey with Paul McCartney as Best man. George had first met Patti on the set of The Beatles movie ‘A Hard Days Night’.

– In 1968: Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower’ at Olympic Studios in London. Rolling Stone Brian Jones and Dave Mason from Traffic both played on the session. The track was released in the US as a single in 1968, peaking at #20.

–  In 1972: Pink Floyd appeared at The Guildhall, Portsmouth, England. This was the first time that they were able to perform the whole of what became the ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ album in its entirety, the previous night’s performance in Brighton having been halted for technical reasons.

– In 1973: The Rolling Stones kicked off an 11 date Pacific tour at Honolulu International Centre, Hawaii.

– In 1978: The soundtrack album ‘Saturday Night Fever’ started a 24 week run at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over 30 million copies world wide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.

– In 1982: B.B. King donated his entire record collection of over 20,000 discs to Mississippi University’s centre for the Study of Southern Culture,

– In 1984: Soul singer Jackie Wilson died aged 49. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing ‘Lonely Teardrops’, and had remained in a coma until his death 8 years later. His 1957 single Reet Petite became a posthumous No.1 when re-issued in 1987 due in part to a new animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson. Van Morrison wrote ‘Jackie Wilson Said’ which was covered by Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

– In 1984: Yes started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart ‘a No.28 hit in the UK.

– In 1987: Bruce Springsteen inducted Roy Orbison into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.

– In 1987: The Coasters, became the first vocal group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

– In 1992: Billy Idol pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges after an incident outside a West Hollywood restaurant. He was fined $2,700 (£1,588) and ordered to appear in a series of anti-drug commercials.

– In 2001: Limp Bizkit started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)’, taken from their album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.

– In 2002: American singer and actress Peggy Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at the age of 81. 1958 US No. 8 & UK No.5 single ‘Fever.’ Lee worked with Benny Goodman, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones and was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit ‘Is That All There Is?’

– In 2004: As the third season of American Idol was aired on US TV a memo was leaked showing a list of songs banned from being performed at this year’s auditions that included, Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ and ‘Fallin’ by Alicia Keys. Also all songs by Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, R. Kelly, Tom Petty, Korn and Linkin Park were not allowed after concerns over the cost of securing rights for the song’s use, (or the composers not wanting their song’s to be performed on the show).

Musician Birthdays: Paul Stanley (guitarist, vocals of KISS, born in 1950)

– In 1967: The Monkees TV show was shown for the first time in the UK.

– In 1969: Led Zeppelin appeared at the Wheaton Youth Center, Wheaton, during their first North American tour. Some reports suggest that only 55 fans attended this show, (if so, this would make it the smallest audience they ever played to). This show was on a Monday and the night of Richard Nixon’s inauguration. Zeppelin were paid $250 to appear.

– In 1969: Bruce Springsteen had two of his poems published in the Ocean County College Literary Yearbook Seascapes. Springsteen was in his second semester at the Toms River, New Jersey College.

– In 1982: During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw bat onto the stage. Stunned by the light, the bat lay motionless, and thinking it was a rubber fake, the singer picked it up and attempted to bite its head off. As he did this, the bat started to flap its wings and Ozzy soon realized it wasn’t fake but in fact a living thing. After the show Ozzy was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for rabies shots.

– In 1983: Def Leppard released their third studio album ‘Pyromania’ which featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album has now sold over 10 million copies in the US.

– In 1988: The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Yoko, Sean, and Julian Lennon all attend. Paul McCartney does not attend, sending instead a letter stating that continuing business differences with the other ex-Beatles was the reason for his absence.

– In 1997: Ben and Jerry’s introduced ‘Phish food’, a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients were chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge.

– In 2002: George Harrison had the posthumous UK No.1 single with the re-release of the 1971 former No.1 ‘My Sweet Lord’. Harrison’s single replaced Aaliyah’s ‘More Than A Woman’, the only time in chart history that one deceased artist had taken over from another at No.1.

– In 2003: 8 Mile, starring Eminem toppled The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from its four-week hold at the top of the UK box office. The story of a Detroit rapper took £4,440,334 at 423 cinemas in the UK and Ireland.