29 JULY
In Music History
1966 Country singer Martina McBride is born in Sharon, Kansas.
1966 Cream make their stage debut, playing at Manchester, England's Twisted Wheel club.
1966 Bob Dylan gets in a motorcycle accident and pretty much disappears for nine months, leaving a void filled with rumors speculating on his condition. He clears things up in his 2004 autobiography, where he writes: "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race."
1965 The Supremes begin a three-week run at the famous Copacabana night club in New York City, a prominent showcase for Motown's hottest act, which has tallied five #1 hits. During the run, they play 16 shows each week, with three on Saturdays and Sundays.
1965 The Beatles' second movie, Help!, premieres in London at the Pavilion Theatre, with none other than the Queen attending. Later, manager Brian Epstein and the group attend a post-premiere reception at the Dorchester Hotel.
1963 Capitol Records sends disc jockeys around the US a list of hot rod terms to assist DJs when talking about the latest music trend.
1961 Dick Clark presents his very first Caravan of Stars revue at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, featuring The Jive Five, The Shirelles, and Clarence "Frogman" Henry.
1959 John Sykes (guitarist for Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy) is born in Reading, Berkshire, England.
1953 Patti Scialfa (Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) is born in Deal, New Jersey.
1953 Rush frontman Geddy Lee is born Geddy Lee Weinrib in Willowdale, Ontario, Canada.
1947 Carlo Paul Santanna (lead singer of Paper Lace) is born in the UK to an Italian mother and Polish father.
1946 Jazz great Charlie Parker falls asleep while smoking and sets his hotel bed on fire. He is arrested after wandering through the hotel lobby wearing nothing but socks. The incident leads to a stay at the Camarillo State Hospital (a mental institution), which inspires his song "Relaxin' at Camarillo."
1946 Neal Doughty (keyboardist for REO Speedwagon) is born in Evansville, Indiana.
1933 Randy Sparks (of The New Christy Minstrels) is born in Leavenworth, Kansas.
1887 Austro-Hungarian composer Sigmund Romberg is born Siegmund Rosenberg in Nagykanizsa, Hungary.
Grease Soundtrack Slides In At #1
1978The Grease soundtrack hits #1 in the US, thanks to the hits "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights."
Read more29 JULY
Featured Events
2015 The Eagles play their last concert with Glenn Frey. The show takes place in Bossier City, Louisiana, the final date of their History of the Eagles tour. The set features 27 songs and two encores, closing with "Desperado." Founding member Frey dies six months later. The band continues on with his son, Deacon, in his stead.
2011 Chuck Berry throws out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game on the same day his statue is unveiled on Delmar Boulevard in the city.
1990 Elton John can't find a facility in Los Angeles that will treat both his bulimia and drug and alcohol addictions, so he checks into the Parkside Lutheran Hospital in Chicago for rehab. He stays for six weeks, then takes a year off from touring and recording.
1979 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers conclude their "Lawsuit Tour" with a show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Petty embarked on the tour to raise money for his legal battles with MCA Records.More
1974 Cass Elliot (of The Mamas & The Papas) dies of a heart attack (not from choking on a ham sandwich) in London, England at age 32.
1966 A US magazine targeted to teenagers called Datebook causes an uproar when they reprint some of John Lennon's interview from four months earlier in the London Evening Standard where Lennon said, "We're more popular than Jesus now." The American media jump on the quote and turns it into a major story.
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