Birthdays
- 1909 - Benny Goodman (d. 1986)
- 1926 - Johnny Gimble (d. 2015)
- 1933 - Don Wayne (songwriter) (d. 2011)
- 1942 - Tom Collins (producer)
- 1944 - Lenny Davidson (Dave Clark Five)
- 1945 - Gladys Horton (Marvelettes) (d. 2011)
- 1955 - Topper Headon (Clash)
- 1958 - Marie Fredriksson (Roxette)
- 1960 - Stephen Duffy (Duran Duran)
- 1963 - Michael Langevin (Voivod)
- 1964 - Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1964 - Wynonna Judd
- 1966 - Stephen Malkmus (Pavement)
- 1967 - Sven Pipien (Black Crowes)
- 1967 - Tim Burgess (Charlatans)
- 1971 - Patrick Dahlheimer (Live)
- 1971 - Idina Menzel
- 1974 - Cee Lo Green (Gnarls Barkley)
- 1974 - Big L (born Lamont Coleman) (d. 1999)
- 1975 - Brian Fair (Shadows Fall)
- 1981 - Devendra Banhart
- 1981 - Remy Ma (born Reminsce Smith)
Deaths
- 1980 - Carl Radle (Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Derek & the Dominoes) - Kidney failure (38)
- 1993 - Sun Ra - Pneumonia (79)
- 1996 - John Kahn (Jerry Garcia) - Heroin overdose (48)
- 1997 - West Arkeen (Guns N' Roses) - Drug overdose (36)
- 2000 - Tex Beneke - Respiratory failure (86)
- 2003 - Mickie Most (producer of Herman's Hermits, Animals, Donovan, Jeff Beck Group) - Mesothelioma (64)
- 2006 - Bobby Harden (the Harden Trio) -
- 2010 - Anita Humes (Essex) (69)
- 2015 - Jeremy Brown (Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts) (34)
On This Day
- 1962 - Benny Goodman & his band were the first jazz group to play the Soviet Union.
- 1966 - The Jefferson Airplane performed a benefit for the Haight-Ashbury Legal Organization.
- 1966 - Anne Murray signed to become a regular on the CBC's Singalong Jubilee.
- 1972 - Roxy Music plays their first live show in Lincolnshire, England.
- 1974 - Bernadette Whelan, a 14-year-old fan of David Cassidy, died four-days after being in the crush of over 1,000 fans at one of his shows.
- 1987 - Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys was arrested on suspicion of throwing a beer can that hit a fan in the face.
- 1987 - Deep Purple cancelled their House of Blue Lights tour after Ritchie Blackburn broke his finger on stage while showing off.
- 1987 - David Bowie started his Glass Spiders Tour in Rotterdam, Holland.
- 1987 - It was reported that Michael Jackson had offered $50,000 for the bones of The Elephant Man, John Merrick.
- 1990 - Midnight Oil played a concert in front of Exxon's New York office in protest of the Valdez oil spill.
- 1990 - New inductees in the Songwriters Hall of Fame include Smokey Robinson and Michel Legrand.
- 1991 - Morrissey played the first show of his debut solo U.S. tour in San Diego, CA.
- 1993 - Julio Iglesias made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.
- 1997 - Neil Young slices his finger while cutting a sandwich, causing a European tour to be postponed.
- 1997 - Yanni became the first western artist to perform at China's Forbidden City
- 1999 - A Kenny Rogers concert at London's Royal Albert Hall is interrupted when a bomb threat causes the venue to be cleared.
- 1999 - Lenny Kravitz ended a show after 40 minutes after collapsing from heat exhaustion. He had been wearing a fur coat on stage.
- 2000 - Oasis played their first show without departed guitarist Noel Gallagher.
- 2002 - Diana Ross voluntarily entered the Promises rehabilitation facility to work out some "personal problems" before beginning a tour.
- 2003 - Chester Bennington of Linkin Park enters a Los Angeles hospital for severe back and abdominal pain.
- 2004 - Madonna was ordered to pay almost $500,000 in damages for copying photos by Guy Burton in her video for Hollywood.
- 2005 - Coldplay's new album leaked to the internet a week before its U.S. and U.K. release despite large amounts of precautions.
- 2007 - The White Stripes album Icky Thump was played on a Chicago radio station in advance of its street date.
- 2007 - Britney Spears admitted on her website that she hit "rock bottom" when her husband, Kevin Federline, left her.
- 2009 - Ozzy Osbourne sued Tony Iommi over royalty payments, saying that Iommi's ownership of the band name stopped royalties from properly flowing through to him.
- 2009 - Steve Martin made his Grand Ole Opry debut. Vince Gill, Randy Scruggs, John McEuen and Stuart Duncan backed him up.
- 2013 - The Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville opened.
- 2014 - Aretha Franklin was given an honorary degree by Harvard.
- 2014 - Miley Cyrus' house was broken into with the theives taking jewelry and a car.
- 2015 - Enrique Iglasias sliced his finger open trying to catch a drone while performing in Tijuana, Mexico.
- 2017 - Olivia Newton-John was forced to postpone her latest tour after she had a recurrence of her breast cancer which also had spread to her back.
Marriages
- 1966 - Dolly Parton and Carl Dean
- 1982 - Deborah Allen and Rafe Van Hoy
- 1992 - Paul Simon and Edie Brickell
- 2008 - Simon Fuller and Natalie Swanston
Recorded
- 1968 - The Beatles (White Album) - Beatles (first day of recording)
- 1969 - Honky Tonk Woman - Rolling Stones
- 1978 - In Through the Out Door - Led Zeppelin (first day of recording)
Released
- 1953 - These Foolish Things - Five Keys (single)
- 1953 - You Are My Only Love - Cardinals (single)
- 1960 - I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee (single)
- 1989 - On Our Own - Bobby Brown (single)
Broadcasts
- 1963 - American Bandstand (ABC) - Lesley Gore (first TV appearance)
- 1965 - The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) - Animals, Connie Francis, Wayne Newton
- 1975 - Midnight Special (NBC) - Joan Baez hosts with guests Hoyt Axton, Hampton Hawes, Kool & the Gang
- 1980 - Midnight Special (NBC) - Temptations host with guests Firefall, Robbie Dupree, Jim Photoglo
- 1989 - Hypotheticals (British TV) - Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) (talking about the fatwa against Salman Rushdie)
- 1992 - Hee Haw (Syn) (final broadcast)
- 2017 - World of Dance (NBC) - Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo
Number Ones - U.S. Singles
- 1964 - Love Me Do - Beatles (1 week)
- 1970 - Everything is Beautiful - Ray Stevens (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Albums
- 1953 - Music For Lovers Only - Jackie Gleason (1 week)
- 1992 - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion - Black Crowes (1 week)
- 2009 - 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day (1 week)
- 2015 - Pitch Perfect 2 - Soundtrack (1 week)
Number One - U.S. R&B Singles
- 1952 - I'm Mad - Willie Mabon & His Combo (2 weeks)
- 1981 - What Cha' Gonna Do For Me - Chaka Khan (2 weeks)
- 1987 - Head to Toe - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (2 weeks)
- 1992 - Come and Talk With Me - Jodeci (2 weeks)
- 2009 - Birthday Sex - Jeremiah (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Country Singles
- 1981 - Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys (1 week)
- 1987 - It Takes a Little Rain (to Make Love Grow) - Oak Ridge Boys (1 week)
- 1992 - Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus (5 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles
- 1964 - Love Me With All Your Heart - Ray Charles Singers (4 weeks)
- 1981 - How 'Bout Us - Champaign (2 weeks)
- 1987 - Always - Atlantic Starr (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.K. Singles
- 1998 - Feel It - Tamperer Featuring Maya (1 week)
- 2009 - Bonkers - Dizzee Rascal Featuring Armand Van Helden (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.K. Albums
- 1992 - Michael Ball - Michael Ball (1 week)
- 1998 - Blue - Simply Red (1 week)
- 2009 - Relapse - Eminem (2 weeks)
- 2015 - The Desired Effect - Brendon Flowers (1 week)