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.

Musician Birthdays: Southside Johnny (singer, harmonica player for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, born in 1948), Gary Rossington (guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, born in 1951), Jay-Z (rapper, born in 1969)

– In 1956: The so-called ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ jam session took place at Sun Studios in Memphis with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.

– In 1962: The Beatles made their London-area debut on television when they appeared in a live broadcast from Wembley on ‘Tuesday Rendezvous’, on ITV station Rediffusion. The Beatles performed live, doing lip-sync performances of ‘Love Me Do’ and 45 seconds of ‘P.S. I Love You.’

– In 1964: The Beatles released their fourth album ‘Beatles For Sale’. The album featured: ‘No Reply’, ‘I’m a Loser’, ‘Baby’s in Black’, ‘Rock and Roll Music’, ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’, ‘Mr. Moonlight’, ‘Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey’, ‘Eight Days a Week’, ‘Words of Love’, ‘Honey Don’t’, ‘Every Little Thing’, ‘I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party’, ‘What You’re Doing’, and ‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby’. It spent 11 weeks as the UK No.1 album.

– In 1965: The Byrds started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ the group’s second No.1. A No.26 hit in the UK. Unlike their first chart topper, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, the entire band was allowed to play on the recording, instead of studio musicians.

– In 1971: Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK chart with the Four Symbols album, otherwise known as Led Zeppelin IV Featuring the 8-minute track Stairway To Heaven, the album stayed on the US chart for one week short of five years, selling over 23 million copies in the US alone.

– In 1971: Sly and the Family Stone started a five-week run at No.1 on the US single chart with ‘Family Affair’, their third US No.1.

– In 1971: T Rex scored their first No.1 album with their 6th release ‘Electric Warrior’.

– In 1971: Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ entered the US Hot 100. The eight and a half minute song would eventually sell over 3 million copies.

– In 1976: American guitarist Tommy Bolin died from a heroin overdose aged 25. Member of Zephyr (1969 to 1971), The James Gang (1973 to 1974) and Deep Purple (1975 to 1976).

– In 1976: Workers at EMI records went on strike, refusing to package the Sex Pistols single ‘Anarchy In The UK.’

– In 1980: Led Zeppelin disbanded, due to the death of their drummer and band mate, John Bonham. The band felt they couldn’t go on without him.

– In 1987: Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn and then changed her mind a week later.

– In 1988: Roy Orbison played his final ever gig when he appeared in Cleveland, Ohio. Orbison died of a heart attack two days later.

– In 1993: Multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer, Frank Zappa died of prostrate cancer. Zappa recorded many albums with The Mothers Of Invention and solo including the 1969 album ‘Hot Rats’ and 1974 album ‘Apostrophe.’ Zappa recorded one of the first concept albums, ‘Freak Out’. He married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, in 1967, they had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen.

– In 2002: Whitney Houston admitted in an US TV interview that drink and drugs nearly killed her. Bobby Brown’s missus also admitted to being addicted to sex. She said her business is sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and got into the lifestyle after missing out on partying when her career kicked off aged 18.

– In 2006: Yahoo revealed that Britney Spears was the most searched for term of 2006 with more online searches done about Spears than any other topic or person. Female celebrities dominated the top 10 overall search list, with Shakira at number three, Jessica Simpson at number four and Paris Hilton at number five.

Musician Birthdays: Ozzy Osbourne (singer for Black Sabbath, solo, born in 1948).

– In 1955: Elvis Presley’s first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two songs ‘Mystery Train’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ had been purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Elvis was described by his new record company as ‘The most talked about personality in recorded music in the last 10 years.’

– In 1961: Brian Epstein invited The Beatles into his office to discuss the possibility of becoming their manager.

– In 1965: Rolling Stone Keith Richards was knocked unconscious by an electric shock on stage at the Memorial Hall In Sacramento, California, when his guitar made contact with his microphone.

– In 1966: Ray Charles was given a five year suspended prison sentence and a $10,000 fine after being convicted of possessing heroin and marijuana.

– In 1966: The Monkees made their live debut at the International Arena, Honolulu.

– In 1969: The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Brown Sugar’ at Muscle Shoals studios. The single went on to be a UK & US No.1.

– In 1971: The Montreux Casino in Switzerland burnt to the ground during a gig by Frank Zappa. The incident is immortalized by Deep Purple’s 1973 hit, ‘Smoke on the Water.’ (some stupid with a flare gun, burned the place to the ground…”)

– In 1975: Ronnie Wood’s wife Krisse was arrested for alleged possession of cannabis and cocaine after a raid on the couple’s house in Richmond. Krissie’s friend Audrey Burgon was also arrested, newspapers reported that the two women were found ‘sleeping together.’

– In 1976: A giant 40ft inflatable pig could be seen floating above London, England after breaking free from its moorings. The pig, nicknamed Algie, was being photographed for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover. The Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning to all pilots that a flying pig was on the run, and the pig eventually crashed into a barn in Godmersham, Kent, where the farmer complained of his cows being scared by the incident.

– In 1977: Linda Ronstadt started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Simple Dreams’.

– In 1983: Lionel Richie started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Can’t Slow Down’.

– In 1986: Judas Priest were sued by two family’s, alleging that the band were responsible for their son’s forming a suicide pact and shooting themselves after listening to Judas Priest records.

– In 1999: U2 singer Bono had his missing laptop computer returned after loosing it. A young man had bought it for £300 discovered he had the missing laptop, which contained tracks from the forthcoming U2 album.

– In 2009: Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood was arrested in Esher, Surrey on suspicion of assault, after a passer-by dialled 999 as a violent argument took place between Wood and his 21-year-old on-off girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova. He was later cautioned by police.

Musician Birthdays: Nelly Furtado (UK singer/songwriter, born in 1978), Britney Spears (US singer/songwriter, born in 1981)

– In 1963: The Beatles recorded an appearance on the UK TV comedy program The Morecambe and Wise Show. The Beatles played ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and also participate in comedy sketches with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. The program was broadcast on April 18, 1964.

– In 1967: The Monkees album, ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd’ went to number one on the US album chart. It was their fourth album to sell over a million copies, following ‘The Monkees’, ‘More Of The Monkees’ and ‘Headquarters’.

– In 1969: Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes was kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in. She later escaped unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.

– In 1979: Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand’s ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers’ was at No.1 on the US singles chart. A radio station engineer had spliced together Neil’s version with Barbra’s version and got such good response, the station added it to their play list. When Neil Diamond was told about it, he decided to re-record the song with Streisand herself, and within weeks of its release, the single went to No.1 in the US and No.5 in the UK.

– In 1983: MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video for the first time.

– In 1986: Jerry Lee Lewis checked into the Betty Ford Clinic to overcome his addiction to painkillers.

– In 1995: Mariah Carey went to No.1 on the US singles chart with her duet with Boyz II Men ‘One Sweet Day’. It made Carey the first artist in history to have two consecutive single debut at No.1, ‘Fantasy’ being her first.

– In 1997: A man died after falling from a balcony during a Rolling Stones concert at Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan.

– In 1999: It was reported that Stevie Wonder was to undergo an operation to regain his sight. The breakthrough by top eye specialists involved inserting a microchip in the retina.

– In 2000: Thieves broke into the London home Madonna shares with Guy Ritchie. The raiders forced their way in through a basement door then took a set of car keys before loading up Guy Ritchie’s car with some of the couple’s possessions and driving off.

– In 2001: Creed started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Weathered’.

– In 2002: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was arrested and charged with assault after he Kung-Fu kicked a police officer. The incident happened at the Bayerischer hotel in Munich, the singer lost his two front teeth in the brawl and an Oasis minder was knocked out cold.

– In 2003: Darkness singer Justin Hawkins was held for two hours at JFK Airport, New York after police mistook him for a wanted man with the same name and looks. The police only agreed to let him go after Justin’s fiance and manager Sue Whitehouse produced a tour schedule to prove that he was in England on July 4th when the crime was committed.

– In 2007: Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne made more than $800,000 (£389,032) for charity after they sold off some of their possessions from their former US home. Items sold included the family’s custom pool table for $11,250 (£5,470) and a pair of Ozzy’s trademark round glasses went for $5,250 (£2,553). The beaded wire model of the Eiffel Tower that adorned the kitchen fetched $10,000 (£4,862), while skull-adorned trainers worn by Ozzy sold for $2,625 (£1,276).

Musician Birthdays: Bette Midler  (singer, actress. Born in 1944), Jon Densmore (drummer for the Doors, born in 1944)

– In 1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets appeared on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, performing ‘That’ll Be The Day’ and ‘Peggy Sue’. Sam Cooke was also a guest on the same show performing ‘You Send Me’.

– In 1964: Beatles drummer Ringo Starr booked into University College Hospital to have his tonsils removed.

– In 1966: Tom Jones was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of ‘Green Green Grass Of Home.’ It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks giving Decca records its first million selling single by a British artist. Also a No.11 hit in the US.

– In 1976: The Sex Pistols appeared on ITV’s live early evening ‘Today’ show (in place of Queen who had pulled out following a trip to the dentists by Freddie Mercury). Taunted by interviewer Bill Grundy who asked the band to say something outrageous, guitarist Steve Jones says: ‘You dirty bastard…you dirty fucker…what a fucking rotter!’ Grundy died of a heart attack aged 69 on 9th Feb 1993.

– In 1977: During a North American tour Queen appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

– In 1982: Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album was released. It spent 190 weeks on the UK album chart became the biggest selling pop album of all time, with sales over 50 million copies.

– In 1983:  Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records because his new music for the label was “not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums.”

– In 1987: A Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the US Supreme Court over her sacking after showing Pink Floyd’s film ‘The Wall’ to her class. The court decided that the film was not suitable for minors with its bad language and sexual content.

– In 1989: Sly Stone was sentenced to 55 days after pleading guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of cocaine, (two weeks later he also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to spend 9-14 months in rehab).

– In 1990: C.C. Deville guitar player with Poison spent six hours in jail in Louisville, after being arrested for public drunkenness and criminal mischief after a concert in the town that night.

– In 1990: Whitney Houston went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’, her 8th US No.1 and the first for writers and producers Reid and Babyface.

– In 1997: Kenny G set a new world record when he held a note on his saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. (The record has since been broken by Geovanny Escalante, who held a note for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 45 seconds, using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time).

– In 2006: An Oasis fan enjoyed “the best day of his life” when Noel Gallagher popped round to his house in Poynton, Cheshire to play an intimate gig. Ben Hayes had won a BBC Radio 1 competition to have the star play in his front room as part of a week of gigs compered by DJ Jo Whiley. 15 people packed into his lounge for the tiny gig – with his mother on hand making cups of tea for the crew.

Musician Birthdays: Dick Clark (TV host of “American Bandstand”, born in 1929), Des’ree (singer/songwriter from the UK, born in 1968), Clay Aiken (2003 American Idol winner, born in 1978)

– In 1968: Glen Campbell started a five-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with ‘Wichita Lineman.’

– In 1969: The Monkees made what would be their last live appearance for 15 years when they played at The Oakland Coliseum, California.

– In 1971: Sly And The Family Stone were at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Family Affair’, it peaked at No.15 in the UK.

– In 1974: Elton John started a ten-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his ‘Greatest Hits’.

– In 1991: Michael Jackson scored his fourth UK No.1 album with ‘Dangerous.’

– In 1991: Milli Vanilli singer Rob Pilatus attempted suicide while staying at The Mondrain Hotel, Los Angeles by taking an overdose of sleeping pills and slashing his wrists.

– In 1994: Tupac Shakur was shot five times during a robbery outside a New York City recording studio.

– In 1996: Ice Cube obtained a restraining order to keep an obsessed fan away from him and his family. Cynthia Renee Collins was told to stop harassing the 26 year-old rapper, and stay at least 100 feet away from him.

– In 1997: Metallica were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Reload’, the bands third US No.1 album.

– In 2005: 50 Cent was planning to create a vibrator of his manhood, so his female fans could pretend to have sex with him. The rapper was also planning to sell a line of condoms and waterproof sex toys designed to excite his female fans. The rapper said: “I need to make a 50 Cent condom and motorised version of me, which will have to be waterproof so you can utilise it in the tub, Blue is my favourite colour so it will probably be blue”.

– In 2005: Police were investigating claims that Michael Jackson was trafficking drugs to feed his 40 pills-a-day habit. The singer was suspected of flying antidepressants and painkillers from the US to his current home in Bahrain.