| 96 | years ago | 1930 | New Orleans clarinetist Pete Fountain is born. |
| 57 | years ago | 1969 | Former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones is found dead in his swimming pool at his Cotchford Farm, Hartfield, England home. Rumours of suicide and murder begin. The coroner's cites high levels of alcohol and barbiturates in his blood and attributes the drowning to “misadventure.” |
| 57 | years ago | 1969 | The Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, for the first and only time, featured rock artists. Among those appearing were Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck and Ten Years After. |
| 56 | years ago | 1970 | The 3-day Atlanta Pop Festival opens at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia. The crowd of 200,000 hears and sees Jimi Hendrix play his version of The Star Spangled Banner. Two days later, Georgia Governor Lester Maddox says he will seek legislation banning rock festivals in the state. |
| 55 | years ago | 1971 | Singer, songwriter, and poet for the Doors, Jim Morrison, dies of a heart attack. He was found in his bathtub in Paris. News of his death wasn't made public until days after his burial in a Paris cemetery. |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | David Bowie ends a 60-date tour with a show at the Hammersmith Odeon. Right before the encore he shocks the crowd by saying, “This night shall always be special in my memory. Not only is it the last show of my British tour...but it is the last show I will ever do.” He brings the show down with Rock 'n' Roll Suicide. His retirement lasts until next June. |
| 51 | years ago | 1975 | Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night is arrested for cocaine possession. He is picked up in his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the group's tour. The charge is dropped in October when a Kentucky court determines the warrant used for the bust was granted on the basis of “unfounded information.” |
| 50 | years ago | 1976 | The Manhattans enter the pop chart with Kiss and Say Goodbye. It climbs to #1 and stays on the pop charts for 26 weeks. |
| 45 | years ago | 1981 | On the 10th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death, the remaining Doors members, Robbie Kreiger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore lead fans in a graveside tribute in the Paris cemetery where Morrison is buried. |
| 44 | years ago | 1982 | The Stray Cats Built for Speed and Men at Work's Business as Usual enter the album charts. The albums become two of the biggest selling albums of the year. The Stray Cats have 2 big hits, Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut while Men at Work make some money with Who Can It Be Now? and Down Under. |
| 31 | years ago | 1995 | Courtney Love's request to spread the ashes of late husband Kurt Cobain is rejected by Seattle's Lake View Cemetery, who say they've already got their hands full with people wanting to see Bruce and Brandon Lee's gravesites. |
| 31 | years ago | 1995 | Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland pleads innocent to drug charges. |
| 20 | years ago | 2006 | Rapper Lil’ Kim gets out of jail after 10 months behind bars for lying to a federal grand jury about a 2001 gun battle outside WQHT-FM, Hot 97 in New York The gunfight was with rival rap group Capone-N-Noreaga, whose song Bang, Bang contains an insult to her from rival Foxy Brown. Lil’ Kim, a.k.a Kimberly Jones, had been sentenced to a year, but is released early for good behavior. She leaves in a silver Rolls Royce. |
| 19 | years ago | 2007 | Rod Stewart’s son Sean, star of the A & E reality show Sons of Hollywood, pleads not guilty to four felony charges stemming from an attack on a couple outside a party in the Hollywood Hills. A hearing is set for August 6th and Sean remains free on $60,000 bail. |
| 16 | years ago | 2010 | Legendary jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain celebrates his 80th birthday at a party at Mid City Lanes, also known as Rock ’n’ Bowl™. Mayor Mitch Landrieu has proclaimed it “Pete Fountain Day in New Orleans.” |
| 16 | years ago | 2010 | Gladys Knight and Alicia Keys each perform at the Essence Music Festival in the New Orleans Superdome. |