16 JUNE
In Music History
1965 At Columbia Studios in New York City, Bob Dylan finishes recording "Like A Rolling Stone," a song about a socialite who falls from grace. The Hammond organ comes courtesy of Al Kooper, who later forms Blood, Sweat & Tears.
1962 Gary U.S. Bonds appears on US TV for the first time, performing his hit "Quarter To Three" on American Bandstand.
1956 Bill Doggett records "Honky Tonk."
1956 Gogi Grant's "The Wayward Wind" hits #1 in America, where it stays for eight weeks.
1954 Garry Roberts (lead guitarist for The Boomtown Rats) is born in Dublin, Ireland.
1952 Gino Vannelli is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1950 Soul singer James Smith (of The Stylistics) is born in New York City.
1949 Peppy Castro (guitarist, vocalist for Blues Magoos) is born.
1946 Iain Matthews (singer for Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort) is born Iain Matthew McDonald in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
1942 Edward Levert (lead vocalist of The O'Jays) is born in Birmingham, Alabama, but will be raised in Canton, Ohio.
1941 Lamont Dozier, member of the famed Motown songwriting and production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, is born in Detroit, Michigan.
1939 Billy "Crash" Craddock, rockabilly/country singer of the '70s known for hits like "Rub It In" and "Broken Down In Tiny Pieces," is born in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1934 Carl "Little Caesar" Burnett (of Little Caesar & the Romans) is born.
1792 Francis Johnson, an African American musician and composer during the Antebellum era, is born in Martinique in the West Indies.
David Bowie Gets Ziggy With It
1972David Bowie unveils his landmark album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. His breakthrough LP, it sells over 7 million copies and is hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Read more16 JUNE
Featured Events
2010 Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax play on the same bill, marking the first time the "Big Four" of thrash metal do a show together.More
2002 A remixed version of Elvis Presley's 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" hits #1 in the UK, released as part of a successful plan by his estate to claim the UK record for most #1 hits on the tally from The Beatles.
1997 In the UK, The Verve release "Bitter Sweet Symphony," which lives up to it's title: the song is a huge hit, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end up getting credits and royalties.More
1980 The movie The Blues Brothers, adapted from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's classic SNL skit, premieres in Chicago. A love letter of sorts to '60s R&B and soul, it will help re-establish the careers of its musical co-stars, including James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin.
1978 The movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, opens in US theaters, becoming the smash hit of the year.More
1969 Experimental avant-garde/free-jazz artist Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, releases Trout Mask Replica, a polyrhythmic, polytonal collection of noise that is either an unlistenable mess or a work of genius.More
1967 The first Monterey International Pop festival begins at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. It's the first of many big Rock festivals, with The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and The Animals among those performing. Many consider it the beginning of the "Summer of Love."More
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