1986 Tom Waits' play titled Franks Wild Years debuts at the Briar St. Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Starring Waits as Frank, the play is performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and its soundtrack is later released as Waits' ninth studio album (also titled Franks Wild Years).
1984 The Dolly Parton movie Rhinestone is released, featuring Parton as a country singer trying to mentor a New York cabbie played by Sylvester Stallone.
1979 Neil Young releases his highly lauded live album, Rust Never Sleeps. It contains several new songs that go on to be Young favorites, including "Powderfinger," "My My, Hey Hey," and "Pocahontas."
1977 Peter Laughner (guitarist for Pere Ubu) dies of acute pancreatitis at age 24 after years of drug and alcohol abuse.
1974 Madonna, 15, goes to her first concert: David Bowie at Cobo Arena in Detroit. "I recognized myself in him somehow and he gave me license to dream a different future for myself," she says.
1970 Steven Page (former co-lead of Barenaked Ladies) is born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
1970 The Who show in Atlanta is delayed after Pete Townshend, frustrated waiting to take off in Memphis, jokes about planting a bomb on the airplane, resulting in a search of the aircraft and a few hours of questioning.
1969 After a long battle with drug and alcohol abuse, Judy Garland dies of an overdose at age 47.
1968 Mason Williams releases "Classical Gas."
1967 The Young Rascals records "How Can I Be Sure?"
1964 One day after graduating from high school, Dolly Parton moves to Nashville.
1964 Mike Edwards (lead singer, keyboardist of Jesus Jones) is born in Wiltshire, England.
1963 The Surfaris release "Wipe Out."
1961 Pop singer Jimmy Somerville (of Bronski Beat) is born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1961 Elvis Presley's Wild In The Country movie opens nationally.
Glen Campbell's wife, Kim Woollen, announces that the singer has Alzheimer's disease.
Read more2009 Chris Brown pleads guilty to assaulting Rihanna the night before the Grammy Awards. He avoids jail time, but is sentenced to five years' probation and about 1400 hours of community service. Rihanna asks that no restraining order be issued, but the judge implements one anyway, saying it could be rescinded after he undergoes a year of counseling.
1998 Todd Rundgren marries Michele Gray on his 50th birthday. The wedding takes place in Hawaii, the 50th state.
1993 Liz Phair releases her debut album, Exile In Guyville. The indie rocker approached the project as a track-by-track response to The Rolling Stones' 1972 album, Exile On Main St. Her candid perspective on sex and relationships earns her favor with critics and a growing fanbase and Guyville is hailed as one of the best albums of the decade. More
1991 N.W.A.'s second and final studio album, Niggaz4life (also known as Efil4zaggin), hits #1 in the US, becoming just the fourth rap album to top the chart. The previous rap chart-toppers are Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys in 1987, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em by MC Hammer in 1990, and To the Extreme by Vanilla Ice later that year.
1990 Billy Joel becomes the first rock act to play at Yankee Stadium when he performs at the first of two sellout shows.
1987 Fred Astaire dies of pneumonia at age 88. Shortly before his death, Astaire abdicated his throne as the king of song and dance and welcomed a new royal: Michael Jackson. He said: "I didn't want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was, thank you Michael."
1981 Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to the murder of John Lennon six months earlier and is sentenced to 20 years-to-life in prison.
1953 Cyndi Lauper is born in Astoria, Queens, New York. She releases an album with her group Blue Angel before going solo, exploding onto the scene with her 1983 album She's So Unusual, which includes the hits "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "Time After Time."
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