1969 Testifying at his trial for possesion of hashish and heroin in the Toronto Supreme Court, Jimi Hendrix claims that he has now "outgrown" drugs. The jury finds him not guilty after eight hours of deliberations.
1968 Graham Nash plays his last gig with The Hollies, a charity concert in London. He moves on with Crosby, Stills and Nash; The Hollies replace him with Terry Sylvester and continue their hit-making ways with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress."
1967 The Rolling Stones release Their Satanic Majesties Request, the title a play on their malevolent image. It contains a hit with a much more anodyne title: "She's A Rainbow."
1967 Traffic release their debut album, Mr. Fantasy.
1966 Sinead O'Connor is born in Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland.
1966 Rapper Bushwick Bill (of Geto Boys) is born Richard Stephen Shaw in Jamaica.
1962 Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed appears at his payola trial in New York City and testifies to receiving money from labels to play their records on the air. He is found guilty, fined $300, and given six months probation, but the irreparable damage to his career has been done.
1962 Marty Friedman (lead guitarist for Megadeth) is born in Washington, D.C. He picks up the guitar at age 14 after seeing Kiss in concert.
1960 Henry Mancini records "Moon River."
1959 Paul Rutherford (of Frankie Goes to Hollywood) is born in Liverpool, England.
1957 Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is born in Hackney, London, England. He joins the band in 1982 as a replacement for Pete Willis.
1956 Warren Cuccurullo is born in Brooklyn, New York. He joins Duran Duran in 1985 to replace guitarist Andy Taylor. He learned of the vacancy while working on Taylor's solo album - before the rest of the band had been informed.
1956 Guy Mitchell's "Singing The Blues" hits #1.
1950 Dan Hartman is born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The "I Can Dream About You" singer also pens hits for other artists, including "Free Ride" for Edgar Winter Group and "Living In America" for James Brown.
1949 Ray Shulman (of Gentle Giant) is born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.
John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.
Read more2004 Dimebag Darrell is shot dead on stage while performing with his band Damageplan at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The murderer, Nathan Gale, kills three others before being shot dead by a police officer.More
1995 Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead announce their breakup, stating, "The 'long strange trip' of the uniquely wonderful beast known as the Grateful Dead is over." Members Bob Weir and Vince Welnick continue as Ratdog.
1976 An updated version of the musical drama A Star is Born debuts in movie theaters, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and featuring the Academy Award-winning chart-topper "Evergreen."More
1969 The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously) release their only album, Permanent Damage, with Frank Zappa producing. The band is entirely made up of "groupies." The lineup consists of Pamela Miller (later Des Barres), Mercy Fontenot, Cynthia Wells (later Cale-Binion), Christine Frka, Lucy Offerall, Sandra Rowe and Sandy Parker.More
1963 Frank Sinatra Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.
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