1962 - Stuart Sutcliffe
The Beatles former bass player Stuart Sutcliffe died, (original bassist for eighteen months - January 1960 - June 1961). Sutcliff had stayed in Hamburg Germany after leaving the group. He died of a brain haemorrhage in an ambulance on the way to hospital, aged 22.
1965 - Wayne Fontana
British acts started a run of seven weeks at the top of the US charts when Freddie and the Dreamers went to No.1 with 'I'm Telling You Now', followed by Wayne Fontana's 'Game Of Love', Herman's Hermits 'Mr's Brown' and The Beatles 'Ticket To Ride.'
1965 - The Rolling Stones
A British school in Wrexham, North Wales, asked parents to please keep children in school uniform and not to send them to school in 'corduroy trousers', like the ones worn by The Rolling Stones.
1967 - Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye recorded his version of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.
1970 - Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison was dragged off stage by keyboardist Ray Manzarek during a Doors concert in Boston, after Morrison asked the audience, 'Would you like to see my genitals?'. Theater management quickly switched off the power. Morrison had been arrested in Miami a year earlier for 'lewd and lascivious behavior' during a performance.
1970 - Paul McCartney
27 year-old Paul McCartney issued a press statement, announcing that The Beatles had split, (one week before the release of his solo album). McCartney said, 'I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John'. John Lennon, who had kept his much-earlier decision to leave The Beatles quiet for the sake of the others, was furious. When a reporter called Lennon to comment upon McCartney's resignation, Lennon said, 'Paul hasn't left. I sacked him'.
1970 - Elton John
Elton John released his self titled second studio album which included his breakthrough single 'Your Song'. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year the following year.
1976 - Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Frampton Comes Alive', one of the biggest selling 'live' albums in rock history. It was the best-selling album of 1976, selling over 6 million copies in the US. Frampton Comes Alive! was voted Album of the year in the 1976 Rolling Stone readers poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks.
1982 - Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden scored their first UK No.1 album with The Number Of The Beast. The bands third studio album saw the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson and the final appearance of the late drummer Clive Burr. This was their first album to reach No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and be certified platinum in the US.
1984 - Nate Nelson
Nate Nelson, lead vocalist for The Flamingos on their 1959 hit 'I Only Have Eyes For You', died of heart disease aged 52, a day after his wife had made a plea to his fans to find a heart for her ailing husband.
1985 - Madonna
Madonna kicked off her very first North American tour by playing the first of three nights at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington. The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna on this 40-date Virgin Tour.
1990 - Tom Waits
Tom Waits took Doritos Chips to court for using a 'Waits', sound-alike on radio ads. The jury awarded him $2.475 million in punitive damages, Waits comments after the case, 'now by law I have what I always felt I had...a distinctive voice.'
1994 - Kurt Cobain
Over 5,000 fans attended a US public memorial service for Kurt Cobain at Seattle Flag Pavilion.
1999 - Linda McCartney
A charity tribute concert for the late Linda McCartney was held at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Among the performers were Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, George Michael, Elvis Costello and Sinead O’Connor.
2001 - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen won a court battle to keep the rights to his early songs. Ronald Winter of Masquerade Music had released the album 'Before The Fame' was found to be in breach of copyright. Springsteen was awarded more than £2m damages.
2001 - Sean Puffy Combs
Sean Puffy Combs was stopped by police in Golden Beach, Miami who informed him that his driving license was suspended. Combs was not arrested because he claimed he was unaware of the suspension, but he was cited for the traffic violation.
2001 - Eminem
Eminem was given 2 years probation and fined £1,800 and £3,600 costs after admitting carrying a concealed weapon. The charges followed an incident outside a club in Warren, Michigan last June when Eminem 'pistol whipped' John Guerra after he saw him kissing his wife.
2003 - Little Eva
American singer Little Eva died in Kinston, North Carolina, aged 59. She had the 1962 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'The Loco-Motion'. Eva was working as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin who asked her to record the song they'd just written. 'The Loco-Motion' was also a hit for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 (US No.1) and for Kylie Minogue in 1988 (US No.3).
2003 - Noel Fox
Former Oak Ridge Boys member Noel Fox died at a Nashville hospital following a series of strokes aged 63. Fox sang with the Oak Ridge boys until 1972, and later became a music business executive.
2005 - Ozzy Osbourne
The final episode of The Osbournes was aired on MTV in the UK. The show reached a peak audience of eight million at it's height during a three year run. Ozzy Osbourne was at a loss to explain its popularity, saying, 'I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week.'
2006 - Chris Martin
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin announced they had named their second child, a boy, Moses Martin. The couple also had a daughter named Apple.
2007 - Johnny Cash
The former home of Johnny Cash burnt to the ground. Cash and his wife June Carter used the base in Tennessee to write many of their songs, and to entertain fans and US presidents. Part of Cash's famous late-period video 'Hurt' was shot inside the house, 20 miles north-east of country music capital Nashville. After the couple's deaths in 2003, the home in Henderson was bought by Bee Gee Barry Gibb who was preparing to refurbish the property when fire struck - within a few hours, only the stone chimneys remained of the building.
2013 - Kate Bush
Kate Bush received her CBE for services to music from the Queen at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, England. The singer-songwriter, who was catapulted to fame in 1978 when Wuthering Heights topped the charts, said she was 'incredibly thrilled'. The 54-year-old dedicated the award to her family and joked that it would have pride of place at the top of her Christmas tree.
2015 - All Time Low
All Time Low were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their sixth studio album Future Hearts. The American rock band also reach No.2 in the US, giving them their highest placing on the US album chart to date.
Birthdays
1921 - Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley, actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song and US No.1 'The Purple People Eater'. He died at the age of 82 in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 16, 2003.
1932 - Nate Nelson
Nate Nelson, The Flamingos, 1959 hit 'I Only Have Eyes For You'. Died of heart disease on April 10th 1984 aged 52, a day after his wife had made a plea to his fans to find a heart for her ailing husband.
1936 - Bobbie Smith
Bobbie Smith from American rhythm and blues vocal group the Detroit Spinners who had the 1980 UK No.1 & US No.2 single 'Working My Way Back To You'. Smith died on 16th March 2013 in Orlando, Florida at the age of 76 due to complications from pneumonia and influenza.
1936 - Ricky Valance
Ricky Valance, (born David Spencer), who became the first Welsh singer to score a UK No.1 with the 1960 single, 'Tell Laura I Love Her' which sold over a million copies. He died on 12 June 2020 at his home in Spain at the age of 84.
1947 - Karl Russell
Karl Russell from American pop and soul trio The Hues Corporation, who scored the 1974, US No.1 & UK No.6 single 'Rock The Boat' which sold over 2 million copies.
1947 - Bunny Livingston
Jamaican singer songwriter and percussionist Bunny Wailer, who was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
1947 - Burke Shelley
Burke Shelley, bass guitarist, and vocalist from Welsh hard rock Budgie. They were one of the earliest heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts. Budgie had the 1971 single 'Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman'.
1948 - Fred Smith
Fred Smith, bassist with Television. The group's debut album, Marquee Moon, is often considered one of the defining releases of the punk era. He was the original bassist with Blondie until he replaced Richard Hell when Hell left Television in 1975.
1950 - Ernest Stewart
Ernest Stewart, keyboards, with American disco and funk group KC and the Sunshine Band who had the 1975 US No.1 single 'That's The Way, I Like It', and the 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up'. He died on 26th April 1997.
1950 - Eddie Hazel
American guitarist and singer Eddie Hazel, who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. They had the 1978 US No.16 album One Nation Under A Groove. He died on December 23, 1992, from internal bleeding and liver failure.
1953 - Terre Roche
Terre Roche, singer, songwriter, The Roches, who has also worked with Paul Simon and Loudon Wainwright.
1957 - Steven Gustafson
Steven Gustafson, from American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs that was founded in 1981. They achieved their greatest success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four albums that charted in the top 50 in the US.
1959 - Brian Setzer
American guitarist, singer, and songwriter Brian Setzer, guitar, vocals, The Stray Cats who spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s. They scored the 1980 UK No.9 single 'Runaway Boys', and the 1983 US No.3 single 'Stray Cat Strut'. He later worked with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra.
1959 - Katrina Leskanich
Katrina Leskanich from British-American rock band Katrina And The Waves, best known for the 1985 hit 'Walking on Sunshine'. They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Love Shine a Light'.
1963 - Mark Oliver Everett
Mark Oliver Everett, (known by the stage name E), lead singer, guitarist, and keyboardist with American rock band Eels. Since 1996, Eels has released eleven studio albums, seven of which charted in the Billboard 200.
1964 - Reni
Alan 'Reni' Wren, English rock drummer with The Stone Roses who had the hit singles 'Sally Cinnamon' (1987) and 'Fool's Gold' (1989).
1968 - Kenediid Osman
Kenediid Osman, bassist from English Britpop band Sleeper, who scored the 1996 UK No.10 single 'Sale Of The Century'.
1970 - Q- Tip
1970, Q- Tip, US male rapper who had the 1997 UK No. 6 single 'Got 'Til It's Gone'. He embarked on his music career as part of the critically acclaimed East Coast hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.
1970 - Mike Mushok
Mike Mushok, guitarist with American rock band Staind who had the 2001 US No.1 album, Break The Cycle.
1979 - Sophie Ellis Bextor
Sophie Ellis Bextor, English singer, with theaudience who had the 2000 UK No.25 single 'If You Can't Do It When You're Young, When Can You Do It', the 2000 UK No.1 single with Spiller, 'Groovejet, If This Ain't Love'. As a solo artist Bextor scored the 2001 UK No.2 single 'Murder On The Dancefloor.
1980 - Bryce Dane Soderberg
Bryce Dane Soderberg, bassist and singer, with American rock band Lifehouse who had the 2001 US No.10 & UK No.25 single 'Hanging By A Moment' from their debut studio album, No Name Face.
1981 - Liz McClarnon
Liz McClarnon, singer who with Atomic Kitten had the 2000 UK No.1 single 'Whole Again'. McClarnon co-wrote several Atomic Kitten songs, including the UK Top 10 hits 'See Ya', 'I Want Your Love' and 'Someone like Me'.
1983 - Andrew Dost
American multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Dost from Fun. Fun's second album, Some Nights saw the band score their first No.1 hit single, 'We Are Young'.
1984 - Mandy Moore
American singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore who had the 2000 UK No.6 single 'Candy'.
