1953, Elvis Presley graduated from J.C. Hulmes High School in Memphis; his graduation photo shows him to have a split curl in the middle of his forehead, later to become his trademark. He was the first member of his family to graduate high school.
1964, During a photo session Ringo Starr was taken ill suffering from tonsillitis and pharyngitis, days before a world tour was about to start. After a last-minute phone call from George Martin, session drummer Jimmy Nichol rushed over to EMI Studios, where he and The Beatles ran through six songs from their tour repertoire in a quick rehearsal. Nichol replaced Ringo and became a Beatle for eleven days.
1967, Aretha Franklin went to No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of the Otis Redding hit ‘Respect’. A No.10 hit on the UK chart. Aretha scored her first UK No.1 20 years later with a duet with George Michael ‘I Knew You Were Waiting’.
1967, The Doors ‘Light My Fire’ was released in the US, where it went on to be No.1 on the singles chart two months later. When The Doors were booked to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show they were asked to change the line “girl, we couldn’t get much higher”, as the sponsors were uncomfortable with the possible reference to drug-taking. The band agreed to do so, and did a rehearsal using the amended lyrics; however, during the live performance, lead singer Jim Morrison sang the original lyric, after which they were informed they would never appear on the Ed Sullivan show again.
1968, Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol and art critic and curator Mario Amaya at Warhol’s studio in New York City. Solanas had been to see Warhol after asking for the return of a script which had apparently, been misplaced. Warhol was seriously wounded in the attack and barely survived.
1970, The Kinks Ray Davies was forced to make a 6,000 mile round trip from New York to London to record one word in a song. Davies had to change the word ‘Coca- Cola’ to ‘Cherry Cola’ on the bands forthcoming single ‘Lola’ due to an advertising ban at BBC Radio.
1970, Deep Purple released their fourth studio album ‘Deep Purple In Rock’. This was the first album to feature the classic Mk II lineup of – Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
1972, The Rolling Stones kicked off their seventh North American tour at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada. The 32 date tour grossed $4 million, making it the richest rock tour in history.
1977, Bob Marley & the Wailers released Exodus. The album featured the hits, ‘Jamming’, ‘Waiting In Vain’, ‘Three Little Birds’ and ‘One Love’. In 1999, Time magazine named Exodus the best album of the 20th century.
1983, US session drummer Jim Gordon, murdered his mother by pounding her head with a hammer. A diagnosed schizophrenic, it was not until his trial in
1984 that he was properly diagnosed. Due to the fact that his attorney was unable to use the insanity defense, Gordon was sentenced to sixteen years-to-life in prison in 1984. A Grammy Award winner for co-writing Layla with Eric Clapton, Gordon worked with The Beach Boys, John Lennon, George Harrison Frank Zappa and many other artists.
1995, Bryan Adams started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman’ Taken from the film ‘Don Juan De Marco’ it became Adams third US solo No.1, a No.4 hit in the UK.
2002, Paul McCartney, Sting, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Cliff Richard, Ozzy Osbourne, The Corrs, Will Young, Atomic Kitten and S Club 7 all appeared at The Queen’s Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, London.
2003, Barry Manilow suffered a broken nose after he accidentally walked into a wall at his home in Palm Springs, California and knocked himself unconscious. Although he passed out for four hours, he didn’t endure any lasting effects as doctors determined that surgery was not necessary.
2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers were at No.1 on the UK and US album charts with Stadium Arcadium the bands ninth studio album.
2011, American singer, songwriter Andrew Gold died in his sleep aged 59 from a heart attack. Had the 1977 US No.7 single ‘Lonely Boy’, 1978 UK No.5 single ‘Never Let Her Slip Away’ and as a member of Wax the 1987 UK No.12 single ‘Bridge To Your Heart’.
2016, English folk musician and singer-songwriter Dave Swarbrick died aged 75. His work for the group Fairport Convention from 1969 has been credited with leading them to produce their seminal album Liege & Lief (1969) which initiated the electric folk movement.
