| 75 | years ago | 1951 | Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone is born. |
| 69 | years ago | 1957 | Jerry Lee Lewis records his classic Great Balls Of Fire. |
| 63 | years ago | 1963 | Steve Perry (the one in Cherry Poppin' Daddies, not Journey) is born. |
| 60 | years ago | 1966 | The U.S. Government officially declares the psychedelic drug LSD, also known as acid, to be a dangerous and illegal substance. |
| 58 | years ago | 1968 | Cass Elliot debuts as a solo act at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. She cancels her two week gig when opening night proves to be a fiasco. She has tonsilitis and her band has not rehearsed enough. |
| 55 | years ago | 1971 | John Lennon records Imagine. |
| 52 | years ago | 1974 | Dionne Warwick, one of the biggest hitmakers of the sixties has a dry spell for several years before the #1, Then Came You, recorded with the Spinners. It's the first #1 of her career. |
| 49 | years ago | 1977 | Billy Joel's breakthrough album, The Stranger, enters the Billboard album chart. |
| 47 | years ago | 1979 | Warner Bros. Records rush releases Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album weeks ahead of schedule when tracks begin mysteriously popping up on radio stations. |
| 46 | years ago | 1980 | Reggae giant Bob Marley collapses onstage during a Wailers concert in Pittsburgh -- the last one he will ever perform. He is flown directly to Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City, where spokesmen will deny that Marley is dying of a brain tumor or cancer. Marley will then fly to Ethiopia to rest and will later turn up at a German disease-treatment center. Marley will die of a brain tumor in May 1981, enroute to Jamaica. |
| 43 | years ago | 1983 | The Police's King Of Pain peaks at #3 on the chart. |
| 39 | years ago | 1987 | Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His film biography, Hail, Hail Rock & Roll premiers that night. |
| 38 | years ago | 1988 | Keith Richards is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. |
| 38 | years ago | 1988 | Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon finally falls off the Billboard 200 Album Chart after a record 741 weeks. |
| 38 | years ago | 1988 | Cheap Trick's Don't Be Cruel peaks at #4 on the pop singles chart. |
| 34 | years ago | 1992 | The U.S. Postal Service announces a commemorative stamp booklet that includes rock legends Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Ritchie Valens plus R&B stars Clyde McPhatter, Otis Redding, and Dinah Washington. |
| 32 | years ago | 1994 | A Tribute To Elvis airs on pay-per-view. Artists performing include Chris Isaak, Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop, U2, Melissa Etheridge, and Tony Bennett. |
| 14 | years ago | 2012 | With frontman Billie Joe Armstrong in rehab since the previous month, Green Day cancels its upcoming Voodoo Experience gig scheduled for the end of this month. A replacement isn’t immediately announced. |