15 JULY
In Music History
1956 Ian Curtis is born in Macclesfield, England. In 1976 he joins Joy Division, one of the most influential and critically acclaimed UK alternative bands. Following the singer's death in May 1980, the remaining members of the band continue to write and perform as New Order.
1953 Alicia Bridges is born in Lawndale, North Carolina. Known for the disco hit "I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)."
1952 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd records "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."
1952 Jeff Carlisi (guitarist for .38 Special) is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1952 Johnny Thunders (of New York Dolls) is born John Anthony Genzale Jr. in Queens, New York.
1952 David Pack (frontman for Ambrosia) is born in Huntington Park, California.
1952 Eight-year-old prodigy Gladys Knight appears on the TV show Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, a precursor to shows like Star Search and American Idol. She wins the top prize of $2,000 for her performance of Nat King Cole's "Too Young."
1952 Popular singer Patti Page begins her summer replacement series on CBS, attempting to hold the audience in Perry Como's usual timeslot three times a week for 15 minutes.
1950 Nat "King" Cole's "Mona Lisa" hits #1 in America. Written for the film Captain Carey, U.S.A., it goes on to win the Oscar for Best Song.
1948 Thomas Delmer Pyle is born in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1974, under the name Artimus Pyle, he joins the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. His musical career with Skynyrd earns him induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
1947 Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson, founder of the 13th Floor Elevators and pioneer of psychedelic music, is born.
1947 Guitarist Peter Banks, a founding member of Yes who is with the band until 1970, is born Peter William Brockbanks in Chipping Barnet, North London, England.
1945 Peter Lewis (rhythm guitarist for Moby Grape) is born in Los Angeles, California, to actress Loretta Young and writer-producer Tom Lewis.
1944 Soul singer-songwriter Millie Jackson is born in Thomson, Georgia.
1936 Country singer Tommy Dee is born in Vicker, Virginia. In 1959, he writes the hit "Three Stars" in honor of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, who tragically died in a plane crash earlier that year.
Bret Michaels Looks For His Rock Of Love
2007After getting favorable ratings for their unruly reality series Flavor of Love, featuring hip-hop legend Flavor Flav, VH1 decides to cash in on a bygone era of rock n' roll with a similar spectacle called Rock of Love, starring one the biggest names in hair metal: Bret Michaels of Poison.
Read more15 JULY
Featured Events
2016 As he's done since 1972, Alice Cooper announces he's running for president, this time with the campaign slogan "A Troubled Man for Troubled Times." His platform includes "Adding Lemmy to Mount Rushmore" and "Getting Brian Johnson back in AC/DC." He loses to Donald Trump, but gains more exposure for his song "Elected."More
2012 The "Gangnam Style" video is posted to YouTube; we are powerless to resist.More
2009 45 years after he played at the Ed Sullivan Theater with The Beatles, Paul McCartney returns to the venue to appear on The Late Show With David Letterman. Earlier in the day, McCartney plays a few songs from the theater's marquee, surprising the onlookers in Manhattan.
1986 Run-DMC's Raising Hell becomes the first rap album certified Platinum.
1978 Bob Dylan performs at the biggest open-air concert in history for a solo artist, playing for over 200,000 at "The Picnic at Blackbushe" at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, England.
1962 Héctor Angulo, a Cuban student attending the Manhattan School of Music, plays the song "Guantanamera" for Pete Seeger during the Folk Festival of the Catskills at Camp Woodland in Phoenicia, New York, where Angulo is working as a counselor for the summer. Seeger learns the song and adds it to his repertoire, introducing it to American audiences.
1946 Linda Ronstadt is born in Tucson, Arizona. Her music career starts as lead singer of the folk trio the Stone Poneys.
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC