Musician Birthdays: Peter Buck (guitarist for R.E.M., born in 1956), Randy Rhoads (guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, born in 1956)

– In 1949: American blues artist, Leadbelly died. Huddie William Ledbetter wrote many songs including ‘Goodnight Irene’, ‘Cotton Fields’, ‘The Rock Island Line’, and ‘The Midnight Special’. Leadbelly was jailed several times for fights and knife related incidents, he was once jailed for shooting a man dead during an argument over a woman.

– In 1961: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best met with Brian Epstein for further discussions about his proposal to manage them. Epstein wanted 25% of their gross fees each week. He promises that their bookings will be better organised, more prestigious, and will expand beyond the Liverpool area. He also promises that they will never again play for less than £15, except for Cavern lunchtime sessions, for which he will get their fee doubled to ten pounds. Lennon, as leader of The Beatles, accepts on their behalf.

– In 1962: Bob Dylan recorded ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ during a session at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City.

– In 1965: The Rolling Stones record ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ and ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ at RCA’s Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles.

– In 1966: The Beatles recorded Christmas and New Year’s greetings for pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio London. Both stations were broadcasting from ships anchored off the British coastline.

– In 1967: The Beatles started a seven-week run at No.1 in the UK with ‘Hello Goodbye’ their 13th No.1 single.

– In 1969: Led Zeppelin made their debut on the US singles chart with ‘Whole Lotta Love’, it went on to make No.4 on the chart and was the first of six Top 40 singles for the group in the US. During the bands career, Zeppelin never released any singles in the UK.

– In 1969: The Rolling Stones played a free festival at Altamont in California, along with Jefferson Airplane, Santana, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby Stills Nash & Young. Rolling Stones fan Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death as the group played by Hell’s Angels who’d been hired to police the event. It’s claimed Hunter was waving a revolver. One other man drowned, two men were killed by in a hit-and run accident and two babies were born.

– In 1975: Paul Simon went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’, his first US No.1 solo album.

– In 1978: Sex Pistol Sid Vicious smashed a glass in the face of Patti Smith’s brother Todd Smith during a fight at New York City club Hurrah.

– In 1986: Peter Cetera and Amy Grant went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Next Time I Fall’, not a hit in the UK.

– In 1988: American singer songwriter Roy Orbison died of a heart attack aged 52. Scored the 1964 UK & US No.1 single ‘Pretty Woman’, plus over 20 US & 30 UK Top 40 singles including ‘Only the Lonely’ and ‘Crying’. Formed his first band The Wink Westerners in 1949, was a member of The Traveling Wilburys (known as Lefty Wilbury) with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty and had the 1988 UK No.21 single ‘Handle With Care’. Orbison endured a great deal of tragedy in his life. His first wife, Claudette died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 and two of his three sons, died in a house fire.

– In 1995: Michael Jackson collapsed and was treated for dehydration while rehearsing for the HBO special Michael Jackson: One Night Only at The Beacon Theater in New York.

– In 2003: Elvis Costello married jazz artist Diana Krall in a ceremony at Elton John’s UK mansion. About 150 guests, including Sir Paul McCartney, attended the wedding. It was Costello’s third marriage.

Edit to add: I can’t believe I left out Randy Rhoads’s birthday!

Musician Birthdays: Sonny Boy Williamson (blues singer,born in 1899), JJ Cale (US guitarist, singer/songwriter, born in 1938), Johnny Rzeznik (singer/guitarist for the Goo Goo Dolls, born in 1965)

– In 1960: Elvis Presley started a ten-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘G.I. Blues’. His fifth US No.1 album.

– In 1965: The Beatles played their last ever show in their hometown of Liverpool when they appeared at The Liverpool Empire during the group’s final UK tour. Only 5,100 tickets were available, but there were 40,000 applications for tickets. The group also had the UK No.1 single with ‘We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper.’

– In 1968: The release of The Rolling Stones’ new album Beggar’s Banquet, was celebrated at a party in London. A food fight with custard pies was the highlight of the event that went on without an ill Keith Richards. The original cover for the LP was in the form of a plain white invitation, but was later changed.

– In 1970: Amazing Grace’ by Judy Collins entered the UK singles chart for the first of eight times, it spent a total of 67 weeks on the chart never making the No.1 position.

– In 1976: Music weekly NME reviewed the Sex Pistols debut single ‘Anarchy In The UK’ saying “Johnny Rotten sings flat, the song is laughably naive, and the overall feeling is of a third-rate Who imitation.”

– In 1987: The Jesus And Mary Chain were banned from appearing on a US music TV show after complaints of blasphemy when the group’s name was flashed across the screen. The CBS show asked the band to be called JANC but the group didn’t agree.

– In 1992: Whitney Houston started a ten-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Will Always Love You’. The longest ever run at No.1 for a female artist the Dolly Parton penned song was taken from the Bodyguard soundtrack.

– In 1993: Co-founder of Gin Blossoms Doug Hopkins died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds age 32. The guitarist and songwriter was in a detox unit of Phoenix’s St. Luke’s Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona when he snuck out and bought a .38 caliber pistol. The next day Hopkins committed suicide.

– In 2004: U2 started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’, the bands ninth UK No.1 album. The band also went to No.1 on the US album chart giving them their sixth US No.1 album.

– In 2006: Beatles lyrics handwritten by Sir Paul McCartney to an early version of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer sold for $192,000 (£97,000) at an auction in New York. A guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix fetched $168,000 (£85,000), a notebook containing lyrics written by Bob Marley, sold for $72,000 (£36,445) and a poem penned by Doors frontman Jim Morrison made $49,000 (£25,500) at the Christie’s sale.