| 92 | years ago | 1934 | Huey “Piano” Smith is born in New Orleans. His Don't You Just Know It will peak at #9 in 1958. But his own vocal track on his Sea Cruise will be erased and re-recorded by white singer Frankie Ford in 1959. Johnny Rivers will cover Huey's Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu and put it in the Top Ten in 1973. |
| 83 | years ago | 1943 | Singer Jean Knight is born in New Orleans. She'll hit with Mr. Big Stuff in 1971. |
| 70 | years ago | 1956 | Buddy Holly's first recording session for Decca is held in Nashville. |
| 69 | years ago | 1957 | Eddie Van Halen, guitar player for Van Halen, is born. |
| 64 | years ago | 1962 | Bishop Burke of the Buffalo, New York Catholic Diocese bans the Twist. It can't be danced, sung about, or listened to in any Catholic school, parish, or youth event. Later in the year, the Twist will be banned from community center dances in Tampa, Florida as well. |
| 63 | years ago | 1963 | The Four Seasons' Walk Like A Man is released. |
| 56 | years ago | 1970 | John Lennon and Phil Spector write and record Instant Karma which is released early next month. |
| 56 | years ago | 1970 | Australia's first rock festival, the Ourimbah Rock Festival is attended by 11,000 people over the weekend. There are only 26 arrests. |
| 49 | years ago | 1977 | Opening a concert for Bob Seger in Tampa, Florida, Patti Smith falls off the stage and must be rushed to the hospital for 22 stitches to close head lacerations. Her injuries mean a temporary retirement from the stage, during which time she will write her fifth book of poetry, Babel. |
| 49 | years ago | 1977 | Fleetwood Mac's first lead guitar player, Peter Green, is committed to a mental hospital in England after firing a pistol in the general direction of a delivery boy who was attempting to deliver to Green a royalties check from Fleetwood Mac record sales. Green left the band in May, 1970 to live a life of religious seclusion. |
| 48 | years ago | 1978 | Workers at EMI's record processing plant in Britain refuse to press copies of punk band the Buzzcocks' Oh Shit, the flip side of their single What Do I Get? The single does get pressed and the What Do I Get? is a #1 smash in the U.K. |
| 24 | years ago | 2002 | Nicklelback hits #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with How You Remind Me. It stays there about a month. |
| 21 | years ago | 2005 | 75-year-old teenager Dick Clark gets out of the hospital and returns to his Malibu home after a 7-week stay to recover from a minor stroke. |
| 21 | years ago | 2005 | The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr and comic book mogul Stan Lee announce a partnership to launch an original entertainment franchise of an animated persona based on and voiced by Ringo. “Ringo is beloved worldwide for his commitment to people and his singular wit,” said Lee, who created Spider-Man and The Hulk. “Our Ringo superhero character will combine these qualities, along with Ringo's secret powers, which people generally didn't know about because he has kept them secret--until now.” |
| 15 | years ago | 2011 | Jimmy Buffett falls off a concert stage in Sydney, Australia and is knocked unconscious. He's released from the hospital the next day. |