1938 Rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran is born in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
1940 Pop rocker Alan O’Day is born in Hollywood, California.
1945 Stan Kenton records “Painted Rhythm.”
1945 Elvis Presley made his first ever-public appearance in a talent contest at the Mississippi Alabama Dairy Show singing “Old Shep”
1949 Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac is born in Palo Alto, California.
1954 Stephen “Stevie” Ray Vaughan is born in Dallas, Texas.
1958 The Biggest Show of Stars 1958 Tour kicked off at the Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts featuring 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
1961 The Beach Boys record their first single, “Surfin’,” at World Pacific studios in Los Angeles.
1962 Tommy Lee (drummer for Motley Crue) is born Thomas Lee Bass in Athens, Greece.
1966 The Zombies release “She’s Not There” in the US
1967 James Brown played two shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London
1967 Woody Guthrie dies at age 55 after a long battle with Huntington’s disease.
1968 Working at Trident Studios in London, The Beatles recorded the new George Harrison song “Savoy Truffle”.
1969 No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani is born in Fullerton, California.
1978 At an Aerosmith show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, cops arrest fans for smoking marijuana, prompting Steven Tyler to chastise them Jim Morrison-style from the stage
1980 Bruce Springsteen begins his tour for The River in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he’s joined by Bob Seger in a performance of “Thunder Road.”
1980 Paul Simon’s semi-autobiographical movie One-Trick Pony, in which he stars, is released in the US
1988 The John Lennon documentary Imagine premiered in Hollywood, CA.
1989 Deborah Harry performed at The Borderline Club, London.
2000 Mark David Chapman was denied parole by the New York State Board of Parole. Chapman had been sentenced to life for the murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980.
2004 Tom Waits releases Real Gone, his fifteenth studio album
2004 – VH1 holds its first Hip-Hop Honors, giving awards to DJ Hollywood, DJ Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Run-D.M.C., Tupac and The Sugarhill Gang.
2006 Skillet releases their sixth studio album, Comatose
2016 Nickelodeon premieres the animated series Kuu Kuu Harajuku, produced by Gwen Stefani, about a group of girls who make music and fight evil