1970 Rapper DMX is born Earl Simmons in Mount Vernon, New York. He takes his stage name from the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used as a teen.
1970 Segregationist Georgia governor Lester Maddox walks off The Dick Cavett Show when the host implies his supporters are bigots. Randy Newman writes a song about it, "Rednecks," which begins: Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show
1965 Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler records "The Ballad Of The Green Berets."
1963 "I Want To Hold Your Hand" replaces "She Loves You" at #1 on the UK singles chart.
1961 Sam Cooke records "Twistin' The Night Away."
1953 Elliot Easton (lead guitarist for The Cars) is born Elliot Steinberg in Brooklyn, New York.
1944 Rock musician Deke Leonard (of Man, Iceberg) is born in Llanelli, South Wales.
1944 Frank Sinatra lands his first big acting role when he plays himself in the RKO movie Higher and Higher. He sings five songs, including the Oscar-nominated "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night."
1941 Sam Andrew (guitarist for Big Brother & the Holding Company) is born in Taft, California.
1938 Chas Chandler (bassist for The Animals, Jimi Hendrix Experience) is born Bryan James Chandler in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight," with a chorus in poorly translated Zulu, tops the Hot 100 for The Tokens.
Read more2009 Pollstar declares Dave Matthews Band the highest-grossing touring artist of the 2010s in North America, with about $530 million in earnings. Their secret: contant touring and affordable tickets. The rest of the Top 5: 2) Celine Dion 3) Kenny Chesney 4) Bruce Springsteen 5) The Rolling Stones
2005 After airing on Saturday Night Live, the Digital Short "Lazy Sunday," about two gangsta wannabes who plan a trip to see The Chronicles of Narnia movie, appears on YouTube. It quickly goes viral, becoming the first TV segment to do so on YouTube, which launched 10 months earlier.More
1998 Alice Cooper's Cooper'stown restaurant opens in Phoenix (try the "Welcome To My Nightmare" chili). To celebrate, Cooper performs with his original bandmates Michael Bruce and Neal Smith - the first time the three have been on stage together in 24 years.
1981 Rod Stewart's concert at the Forum in Los Angeles is broadcast via satellite to an audience estimated at 35 million. Tina Turner joins Stewart for - what else - "Hot Legs."
1980 Christina Aguilera is born in Staten Island, New York. She's raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and eventually lands a record deal thanks to a powerhouse performance of "Reflection," the theme song to the Disney movie Mulan.
1943 Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is born in Dartford, Kent, England.More
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC