1967 Pink Floyd appear on the British TV show Top Of The Pops for the first time, performing "See Emily Play."
1966 Elvis Presley's Paradise Hawaiian Style movie opens nationwide.
1965 Jackie Wilson releases "Higher And Higher."
1965 Marty Balin starts recruiting members for the band that will become Jefferson Airplane.
1964 The first Beatles' movie, A Hard Day's Night, debuts in London.
1963 Guitarist Tim Bricheno (of The Sisters Of Mercy) is born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England.
1959 John Keeble (drummer for Spandau Ballet) is born in Hampstead, London, England.
1953 Nanci Griffith is born in Seguin, Texas.
1949 Mike Shrieve (drummer for Santana) is born in San Francisco, California.
1945 Rik Elswit (lead guitarist for Dr. Hook) is born in California.
1943 Soul singer Jan Bradley, who becomes popular by covering Curtis Mayfield tunes before writing her own songs, is born Addie Bradley in Byhalia, Mississippi.
1937 Gene Chandler is born Eugene Dixon in Chicago, Illinois.
1932 Big Dee Irwin is born DiFosco T. Ervin Jr. in Harlem, New York. Recorded a popular version of "Swinging on a Star" with Little Eva.
1931 Della Reese is born Delloreese Patricia Early in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.
1925 Bill Haley is born in Highland Park, Michigan.
1972David Bowie performs "Starman" on Top Of The Pops, causing an uproar among the conservative British audience by singing with his arm coquettishly draped around the shoulder of guitarist Mick Ronson – a move that makes him as a household name overnight.
Read more1988 MTV refuses to play Neil Young's video for "This Note's For You," citing a policy against videos that mention products. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud.More
1977 Performing at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on the final stop of Pink Floyd's first stadium tour, Roger Waters spits on an unruly fan and excoriates the crowd for setting off fireworks. The experience inspires their next album, The Wall.More
1975 50 Cent is born Curtis Jackson III in Queens, New York. Dropped from Columbia Records in 2000, he makes a name on the New York City rap scene and lands a deal with Dr. Dre's Shady/Aftermath Records. His label debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', is released in 2003 in blows up, with the hit "In Da Club" going to #1.
1974 "Rock The Boat" by The Hues Corporation becomes the first disco song to top the Hot 100.
1973 In the UK, Queen release their self-titled debut album, along with their first single, "Keep Yourself Alive." The album is released in America on September 4.
1971 Louis Armstrong dies of a heart attack in his sleep in Corona, Queens, New York, a month shy of his 70th birthday. More
1957 Paul McCartney and John Lennon meet for the first time at the Village Fete in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton, where Lennon's group, the Quarrymen, are performing. When they meet again, Lennon asks McCartney to join his band.
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