Pick a Day

18 JULY

In Music History

1975 Daron Malakian (guitarist, vocalist for System Of A Down) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1974 Reinforcing his anti-establishment beliefs, the US denies renewal of John Lennon's visa based on a drug possession conviction in England four years earlier. The matter is sorted out and an international incident averted.

1972 All six members of Sly & the Family Stone are arrested in Hollywood after police search their tour bus and find two pounds of marijuana and two vials of cocaine.

1968 Hugh Masekela's "Grazing In The Grass" is certified Gold.

1968 Gary Puckett & the Union Gap's "Lady Willpower" is certified Gold.

1966 Bobby Fuller (of The Bobby Fuller Four) is found dead, soaked in gasoline, in his automobile outside of his apartment in Hollywood, California. The details of the 23-year-old singer's death are murky - it's unclear whether it was a murder, suicide, or accident - but the official cause of death is reported as asphyxia due to inhalation of gasoline.

1966 The Beach Boys release "Wouldn't It Be Nice" with "God Only Knows" on the flip side.

1964 The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

1962 Rock drummer Jack Irons (of Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1960 Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry," recorded when she was just 15, hits #1 for the first of three weeks. It's the first of her two chart-toppers; her next single, "I Want To Be Wanted," also goes to #1.

1958 Nigel Twist (drummer for The Alarm) is born Nigel Buckle in Manchester, England.

1957 Keith Levene (of The Clash) is born Julian Keith Levene in Muswell Hill, London, England.

1955 Terry Chambers (drummer for XTC) is born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.

1954 Country/bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs is born in Cordell, Kentucky.

1953 18-year-old Elvis Presley, a truck driver by trade, stops into Memphis Recording Service (later renamed Sun Studios), and pays $3.98 to record two songs: "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin."