1974 Eric Clapton invites Todd Rundgren to play guitar during the encore of Clapton's concert at Madison Square Garden. Todd's guitar rig isn't working, so Clapton takes off his guitar, hands it to Todd, and steps aside to listen.
1974 George McRae's "Rock Your Baby" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.
1973 Bob Dylan releases Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, the soundtrack album for the Sam Peckinpah-directed movie of the same name.
1966 Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep - Mountain High," which peaked at #88 in America, climbs to #3 in the UK, earning them a gig opening for The Rolling Stones. Their success has tragic consequences, as Ike gets more an more violent toward Tina, who endures years of abuse.
1964 The Beatles release "A Hard Day's Night" in the US. The title comes from a phrase Ringo Starr came up with.
1959 Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" hits #1 for the first of four weeks.
1959 The Shirelles release "Dedicated To The One I Love."
1959 The movie Hound Dog Man, starring Fabian and Dodie Stevens, goes into production.
1956 Elvis Presley releases "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" as a double-A-side single. It sells four million copies to become the top-selling single of 1956, and makes Elvis a superstar. He's soon booked on every major variety show and launches a movie career.
1954 Country singer Louise Mandrell is born Thelma Louise Mandrell in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is the younger sister of fellow singer Barbara Mandrell.
1951 Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg dies at age 76.
1942 Doo wop singer Jay Uzzell (of The Corsairs) is born in La Grange, North Carolina.
1942 Stephen Bladd (drummer for The J. Geils Band) is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1935 Latin jazz percussionist Pete Escovedo (of Santana) is born in Pittsburg, California.
The Live Aid concerts take place in Philadelphia and London to raise money for the hungry in Africa. The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan all take part.
Read more2013 Glee star Cory Monteith is found dead in a Vancouver hotel room after accidentally ingesting a toxic combination of heroin and alcohol. The 31-year-old actor played Finn Hudson on the popular FOX musical series.
2008 Joan Jett plays a murder victim on the "Reunion" episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her character hosts a show called Rock 'n Talk before she meets her demise.
1996 At Riverfront Park in Nashville, Chet Atkins, Steve Earle and the Goo Goo Dolls join about 1000 other guitarists to jam on "Heartbreak Hotel" for nearly 80 minutes. They come up short in their bid to break the record for largest jam session, set in 1994 when 1,320 guitarists played "Takin' Care Of Business" in Vancouver.
1942 Roger McGuinn of The Byrds is born in Chicago, Illinois.
1897 A US patent is granted to inventor Guglielmo Marconi for transmitting electrical signals, leading to the invention of radio.
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