1937 Composer George Gershwin dies at 37 following surgery to remove a brain tumor.
1931 Singer-songwriter Thurston Harris is born in Pomona, California.
1931 Tab Hunter is born in New York City. He's best known as an actor, but has a huge hit in 1957 with "Young Love."
Jerry Garcia, who has a passion for painting and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, introduces a line of neckties he designed.
Read more2009 "Boom Boom Pow," after spending 12 weeks at #1, is replaced by another Black Eyed Peas song, "I Gotta Feelin'."
2000 The free Back 2 Basics Tour, sponsored by Napster, kicks off with a show in Detroit. The tour runs for 24 dates and features Limp Bizkit, Cypress Hill, and Cold. The bands take some heat within the industry for working with Napster, a file sharing service that allows users to download songs for free.
1996 The night before a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin dies at age 34 after shooting heroin with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who is fired from the band a few days later (he returns to the fold in 1999). The Sarah McLachlan song "Angel" is inspired by Melvoin's death.
1990 Steven Adler is fired from Guns N' Roses because of his drug use. He is replaced by Matt Sorum, who was previously with The Cult.
1979 The space station Skylab crashes to Earth after six years in space. Leading up to the event, Electric Light Orchestra take out ads in trade magazines dedicating their new single, "Don't Bring Me Down," to Skylab.
1969 David Bowie's "Space Oddity" single is rush-released to beat the moon landing, which happens nine days later.
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