18 OCTOBER
In Music History
1957 Paul McCartney and John Lennon perform together for the first time after Paul joins John's band the Quarrymen. The show takes place at New Clubmoor Hall in their hometown of Liverpool, and Paul plays guitar.
1957 The second Frank Sinatra Show debuts on ABC, lasting only one season. The singer's first version of the show lasted two seasons.
1949 Gary Richrath (guitarist for REO Speedwagon) is born in Peoria, Illinois.
1946 Joe Egan (co-founder of Stealers Wheel) is born in Paisley, Scotland.
1943 Russ Giguere (vocalist/percussionist/guitarist for The Association) is born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but would be raised in San Diego, California.
1940 Songwriter Cynthia Weil is born in New York. Known for her work with husband Barry Mann, including "On Broadway," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," to name a few.
1938 R&B singer Ronnie Bright (of The Coasters) is born in New York.
1935 Tommy Dorsey records "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You."
1926 Chuck Berry is born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, the first national broadcasting corporation, is founded on this day in London.
1899 Gussie Davis, the first popular black Tin Pan Alley composer, dies at age 35.
Second SNL Is Paul Simon's Show
1975Saturday Night Live airs its second episode, hosted by Paul Simon, who gets most of the airtime.
Read more18 OCTOBER
Featured Events
2008 Adele is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Cold Shoulder" and "Chasing Pavements." Sarah Palin is on the show, which leads to a huge audience and lots of exposure for Adele, giving her a big boost in America.
2000 Rage Against The Machine lead singer Zack De La Rocha quits the politically charged rock outfit, releasing a statement saying, "Our decision-making process has completely failed. It is no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal." The other three members form Audioslave with Chris Cornell; Rage returns to action (with De La Rocha) in 2007.
1974 Al Green's "Grits Incident": When a stewardess friend of Green's shows up to meet the singer, he ends up at his Memphis home with her and his companion, Mary Woodson, who is dangerously obsessed with the singer. When Green goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth, Woodson bursts in and pours a pot of boiling grits on him, burning him badly before going in the next room and killing herself with his gun. Green takes these disturbing events as a sign from God and focuses his career on gospel music and preaching.More
1969 Promoter Richard Nader puts on the first "Rock and Roll Revival" concerts, with performances by Chuck Berry, The Coasters, The Shirelles, Sha Na Na and Bill Haley. Held at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum, the two shows sell out, leading to a series of similar concerts and the emergence of the "oldies" format.More
1961 Mirisch Pictures releases the film version of the Broadway musical West Side Story, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, and Rita Moreno. The soundtrack features music by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim - including the song "Somewhere," later recorded by Tom Waits, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, Kylie Minogue, and others.
1947 Celebrated songwriter Laura Nyro, whose compositions include "Wedding Bell Blues" and "And When I Die," is born in New York City. She dies of cancer in 1997 at age 49; in 2012 she is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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