1945, Elvis Presley made his first ever-public appearance in a talent contest at the Mississippi Alabama Dairy Show singing ‘Old Shep’, Elvis was 10 years old at the time and came second.
1958, The Biggest Show Of Stars 1958 Tour kicked off at the Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts. This Autumn Edition featured; Buddy Holly, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, The Olympics, Dion & The Belmonts, Bobby Freeman, The Elegants, Jimmy Clanton, The Danleers, Duane Eddy, Clyde McPhatter and The Coasters.
1967, American singer, songwriter Woody Guthrie died after suffering from Huntington’s Chorea disease. Guthrie was a major influence on Bob Dylan and American folk music. The 70s film ‘Bound For Glory’ is based on his life. His best-known song is ‘This Land Is Your Land’, which is regularly sung in American schools.
1968, Working at Trident Studios in London, The Beatles recorded the new George Harrison song ‘Savoy Truffle’. George, Paul, and Ringo recorded just one take of the basic track (drums, bass, and lead guitar). The song was inspired by Eric Clapton’s love of chocolates, particularly Mackintosh’s Good News.
1978, The members of Aerosmith bailed thirty fans out of jail after they were arrested for smoking pot during an Aerosmith concert at Fort Wayne Coliseum.
1987, M/A/R/S were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Pump Up The Volume.’ The first British-made house hit heavily sampled other recordings which resulted in litigation.
1991, M.C. Hammer offered a $50000 reward for the return of Michael Jackson’s white glove, which had been stolen from the Motown Museum. This was part of an on-going battle between Hammer and Michael Jackson.
1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Stevie Ray Vaughan, (Stevie Ray Vaughan’s birthday), to be “Stevie Ray Vaughan Day”. An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.
1992, Sinead O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul II, on the US TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’, as a protest over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The incident happened as Sinead ended her live performance and out of nowhere, produced a photograph of Pope John Paul II, which she ripped into pieces. There was stunned silence in the studio and the station went to a commercial. NBC was fined $2.5 million dollars by the Federal Communications Commission.
1999, Akio Morita the founder of Sony electronics died aged 78. The 1979 Sony Walkman transformed both Sony and consumers across the world.
1999, Tom Jones went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Reload’, making the singer the oldest artist to score a UK No.1 album with new material. The album featured the collaboration with Mousse T, ‘Sexbomb’, which reached No.3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was later used in an episode of The Simpsons.
2000, The Cars singer and bass player Benjamin Orr died of cancer at home in Atlanta at the age of 53. Sang lead vocals on the bands hits ‘Just What I Needed’, ‘Let’s Go’ and ‘Drive’.
2000, John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman was denied parole after serving 20 years in prison. Chapman was interviewed for 50 minutes by parole board members who concluded that releasing Chapman would ‘deprecate the seriousness of the crime.’
2002, Original guitarist, vocalist from American psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly Darryl DeLoach died of liver cancer at the age of 56.
2004, UK singer Joss Stone scored her first UK No.1 album with her second release Mind Body & Soul. Stone became the youngest female singer to top the UK Albums Chart, a record previously held by Avril Lavigne.
2008, Singer, producer and songwriter Johnny J (Johnny Jackson) died after jumping from a tier in a Los Angeles jail while serving a sentence for driving under the influence. He produced Tupac Shakur’s albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, as well as many of Shakur’s subsequent posthumous albums and Candyman.
2011, According to new scientific research, Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ was found to be the catchiest song ever written. Musicologist Dr Alisun Pawley from the University of London, England, conducted research into what makes a song memorable and compiled a list of the ten “catchiest” songs of all time. During the research, they discovered that sing-along songs contained four key elements: long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch changes in a song’s ‘hook’, male vocalists, and higher male voices making a noticeable vocal effort. Y.M.C.A. by the Village People, Sum 41’s Fat Lip, and Europe’s The Final Countdown were also in the list.
2013, The family of Michael Jackson lost a negligence case against concert promoters AEG Live over the death of the 50-year-old pop star. A jury concluded the doctor looking after Jackson ahead of his concert tour was not unfit for his job – and so AEG had not been negligent in hiring him. Jackson died in 2009 after taking an overdose of a surgical anaesthetic.
2014, A mint-condition copy of The Beatles’ Please Please Me album, signed by George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr sold for $36,655 at an auction held in the US.
