1940 Fontella Bass, known for the 1965 soul hit "Rescue Me," is born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1929 David Lynch (of The Platters) is born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1895 Scott Joplin's "A Picture Of Her Face" is copyrighted.
1854 Czech composer Leoš Janáček is born in Hukvaldy, Moravia.
Jim Morrison of The Doors is found dead in a bathtub at age 27. No autopsy is performed, and while drugs are suspected, the official cause is listed as "heart attack induced by respiratory problems."
Read more2011 Unable to walk since a botched operation two years earlier, Little Richard is wheeled in with a piano to perform at the "A Capitol Fourth" concert at the National Mall in Washington, DC. It's his first performance since the operation.
1995 The members of R&B group TLC file for bankruptcy despite continued success.More
1995 Jewel lands her first television gig, appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where she is spotted by actor Sean Penn. The two begin dating shortly after.
1985 Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as a time-traveling teenager, opens in theaters. When he plays "Johnny B. Goode" in 1955 at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, he gives birth to rock and roll. In the real-life present, a new generation gets a lesson in Chuck Berry from the scene.More
1973 At the Hammersmith Odeon in London, David Bowie appears as Ziggy Stardust for the last time, explaining: "Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do." Many take this to mean Bowie was retiring from music altogether, though Bowie just means he is retiring Stardust. This show is later made into a movie directed by D.A. Pennebaker called Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.
1969 Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones is found dead in his swimming pool in England. The death is ruled accidental, although Jones, 27, has high levels of alcohol in his blood.
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