Musician Birthdays: Elvis Presley (famous as the King of Rock n’ roll, known for hits such as “Jailhouse Rock”, “Hound Dog”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, etc”,  born in 1935) Robby Krieger (guitarist for the Doors, born in 1946) David Bowie (UK singer/songwriter & film actor, famous for hits such as “Space Oddity”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Lets Dance”, “Golden Years”, etc., born in 1947)

– In 1957: Bill Haley & His Comets started the first ever ‘rock & roll tour’ of Australia, playing two sold out nights in Sydney.

– In 1958: The Everly Brothers kicked off a 17 date North American tour at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Also on the bill, Buddy Holly, The Rays, Royal Teens, Shepherd Sisters, Paul Anka, Margie Rayburn and
Danny & The Juniors.

– In 1966: The Beatles started a six week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Rubber Soul’ the group’s seventh US chart topper, which went on to spend 56 weeks on the chart. The group also started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘We Can Work It Out’ the group’s 11th US No.1 single.

– In 1969: Mike Jagger and Keith Richards were both barred from an exclusive hotel for wearing “op art” pants and nothing else. They were both asked to leave the Hotel Crillen in Lima, Peru after refusing to change clothes.

– In 1979: Canadian rock band Rush were named the country’s official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.

– In 1991: Steve Clark guitarist with Def Leppard, was found dead at his Chelsea flat by his girlfriend, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption combined with prescription drugs. The autopsy revealed he had died from an overdose of codeine and had Valium, morphine and a blood alcohol level of .30, three times the British legal driving limit. In 2007 Clark was ranked No.11 on Classic Rock Magazine’s “100 Wildest Guitar Heroes”.

– In 2000: Christina Aguilera started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘What A Girl Wants.’ She ended Santana’s 12- week run at No.1 with ‘Smooth.’

– In 2000: It was reported that police foiled a £1 million ($1.7million) kidnap plot to snatch Victoria Beckham and her baby son. The plot was uncovered after a tip off to the police. The gang had planned to kidnap the pair when husband David was away playing football.

– In 2001: A woman who believed that Axl Rose communicated with her via telepathy was arrested for stalking the Guns N’ Roses singer for a second time. Police detained Karen Jane McNeil after she was spotted loitering outside his house.

– In 2010: Jimmy Page launched a new set of stamps in the UK which featured classic album covers from the last 40 years including Led Zeppelin IV, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, The Division Bell by Pink Floyd, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Coldplay, Power, Corruption And Lies, New Order, Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones, London Calling, The Clash, Screamadelica, Primal Scream, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, David Bowie and Parklife by Blur.

Musician Birthdays: Kenny Loggins (singer/songwriter, born in 1948), John Rich (bassist, singer for Lonestar, country band, born in 1974)

– In 1955: ‘Rock Around The Clock’ by Bill Haley and his Comets, entered the UK chart for the first time.

– In 1964: The Beatles recorded a seven-song appearance for the BBC Radio program Saturday Club. They played ‘All My Loving’, ‘Money’, ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. The show was broadcast on February 15, while the Beatles were in the US.

– In 1970: Led Zeppelin kicked off an 8-date UK tour at Birmingham Town Hall.

– In 1971: Black Sabbath released ‘Paranoid’ their second studio album in the US. The album features the band’s best-known signature songs, including the title track, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pigs’. The album was originally titled War Pigs, but allegedly the record company changed it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War.

– In 1977: Andy Gibb was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Just Want To Be Your Everything’ a song written by his Bee Gee brother Barry.

– In 1993: R.E.M. played a Greenpeace Benefit show at the 40 watt Club, Athens, Georgia, for 500 people. The show was recorded on a solar powered mobile recording studio.

– In 1994: Oasis started recording their debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’, at Monrow studios in South Wales. When released in August 1994, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, (being surpassed in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not). The album went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide.

Note: The “This Day In Music” website was down most of the day yesterday, so I couldn’t get info off of it. Here is yesterday’s “This Day In Music”…

Musician Birthdays: Syd Barrett (famous as the original singer of Pink Floyd, born in 1946), Malcolm Young (rhythm guitarist for AC/DC, born in 1953)

– In 1956: Elvis Presley performed in the gym at Randolph High School, Mississippi; this was the last time he ever appeared in a small auditorium.

– In 1958: Gibson guitars launched it’ ‘Flying V’ electric guitar. Guitarists who played a Flying V include, Albert Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.

– In 1967: The Who played their first gig of this year when they appeared at Morecambe, Central Pier in England.

– In 1968: The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ started an eight week run at No.1 on the US album chart, the group’s 11th US chart topper.

– In 1970: Crosby Stills Nash & Young made their UK live debut at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

– In 1973: Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, (with Mick Jagger on backing vocals), started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart.

– In 1975: Pink Floyd started session’s start at Abbey Road Studios London for their next album ‘Wish You Were Here’.

– In 1975: The mayor of Boston cancelled a Led Zeppelin concert after over 2,000 fans rioted trying to buy tickets. The fans caused an estimated $50,000 to $75,000 damage at Boston Garden. The gig during the bands North American tour was rescheduled for Feb 4th.

– In 1977: EMI Records dropped The Sex Pistols, giving the band £40,000 ($68,000) to release them from their contract.

– In 1979: The Bee Gees started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Too Much Heaven’ the group’s 7th US No.1.

– In 1979: The Village People scored their only UK No.1 single with ‘Y.M.C.A.’ At its peak the single was selling over 150,000 copies a day. In the gay culture from which the group sprang, the song was understood as celebrating the YMCA’s reputation as a popular cruising and hookup spot.

– In 2001: Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour won the right to his dot com name. Dave took legal action in his battle to reclaim davidgilmour.com from Andrew Herman who had registered the URL and was selling Pink Floyd merchandise through the site.