On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

1908-US 'Great White Fleet' arrives in Auckland
Sixteen American battleships arrived in New Zealand with much pomp and ceremony.


George Nepia, 1928
1930
George Nepia plays last All Blacks test
Nepia was one of the stars of the 1924-5 All Blacks, playing in all 32 matches on the team's tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. He played the last of his nine tests in 1930, against the British Lions.

Cromwell Divides England
1655 -Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell divides England into 11 districts

Cook Reaches the Bering Straits
1778 -Captain James Cook reaches Cape Prince of Wales, Bering Strait


1790 -Robert Gray's Columbia Rediviva returns to Boston after a 3-year journey as the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe

1803- First horses arrive in Hawaii

Fulton's Steamboat Sinks
1803- Robert Fulton tests his steamboat on the River Seine in France, but it sinks

1831 First US steam engine train runs from Albany to Schenectady, NY

1841 Erie boat in Buffalo, NY, catches fire, killing 242 people
TY Cobb Family Tragedy
1905- Ty Cobb's mother, Amanda, kills her husband after mistaking him for a burglar

1907 -First Boy Scout camp concludes on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England

1918- Cincinnati Reds manager Christy Mathewson suspects Hal Chase of taking bribes to fix games and suspends him for "indifferent play"



Music History

2023-Robbie Robertson of The Band dies at 80.

2021-Jason Isbell becomes the first major artist to require proof of COVID vaccination or a current negative test to attend his shows. "I'm all for freedom, but I think if you're dead, you don't have any freedoms at all," he says.

2010-Blues bassist Calvin "Fuzz" Jones dies of complications from lung cancer and a heart attack at age 84 in Southaven, Mississippi.

2008-In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Full House actor Dave Coulier claims he's the subject of his ex-girlfriend Alanis Morissette's hit 1995 song "You Oughta Know." Morissette won't confirm or deny the mystery man's identity, but tells Entertainment Weekly: "Fifty-five people can take credit for that song, and I'm always curious about why they're doing it. But Dave is the most public about it."

2007-Mark Marush, saxophonist for the Fabulous Wailers, dies.

2006-Christina Aguilera issues her first album in four years, Back To Basics. With a retro sound, it harks back to boogie-woogie of the 1940s with tracks like "Ain't No Other Man" (a tribute to her new husband) and "Candyman." It goes to #1, her first to do so since her 1999 debut.

Nickelback Release "Photograph"
2005-Nickelback release "Photograph," the first single from their album All The Right Reasons. Inspired by a drunken snapshot, the song is about Chad Kroeger's memories of growing up in a small town in Alberta.More

2003-Daron Malakian of System Of A Down plays in the annual Hollywood Stars Night celebrity baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Vexed by his teammates, he writes "Old School Hollywood," which appears on their next album, Mezmerize. One actor gets a specific mention: "Tony Danza cuts in line."

2002-Lisa Marie Presley marries actor Nicolas Cage, a union that lasts less than four months.

1997-In Sheffield, England, The Verve play their first show since their breakup two years earlier. The following month, they release their album Urban Hymns, which becomes one of the most successful in UK history.

1995-The original members of Kiss play together for the first time since 1980 when Peter Criss and Ace Frehley join the current band to record their MTV Unplugged special, which is later released as the album Kiss Unplugged. Not counting Ace Frehley's 1976 wedding, it also marks the only time the original members have performed without makeup. The appearance goes over so well that Criss and Frehley rejoin the band in 1996, replacing Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. The subsequent outing becomes the top-grossing tour that year.

1995-Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead dies from a heart attack at age 53. His voice fills the airwaves as millions of Deadheads mourn

1994-Lynyrd Skynyrd release Endangered Species, their eight album.

1993-Lionel Richie finally divorces his first wife Brenda Harvey, who was his college sweetheart. After carrying on a secret relationship with Diane Alexander since 1986, it was only a matter of time. Richie married Alexander on December 21, 1995 and fathered two children, Miles Brockman and Sophia, before the pair split in 2004.

1991-The 5th Dimension are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1988-Edie Brickell & New Bohemians release their debut album, Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, the title a reference to their longshot chances of making it big. The first single is the easygoing, introspective "What I Am," which stands out from the dance music and hair metal on the charts and becomes a surprise hit.

1986-At the Knebworth Park Festival in England, Queen play their last concert with Freddie Mercury, who dies five years later. An audience of 120,000 hears them close out with "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" and "God Save The Queen."

1985-Looking to capitalize on the success of the Motown 25 special, NBC debuts a variety series called Motown Revue, which is cancelled after a five-week run.

1983-22-year-old Thomas Reilly is shot and killed by a British soldier in Belfast. He was a friend of the band Spandau Ballet, and sold merch on their True tour. His death would inspire the band's song "Through The Barricades" and the Bananarama song "King Of The Jungle."

1978-Muddy Waters performs at the Carter White House.

1975-"Jive Talkin'" by the Bee Gees goes to #1 in the US, becoming their first disco chart-topper. It holds the position for two weeks.

1975-Composer/pianist Dmitry Shostakovich dies of lung cancer at age 68 in Moscow, Russia.

1974-Four members of the jazz-rock group Chase, including leader Bill Chase, are killed in a plane crash near Jackson, Minnesota. The group had a hit with "Get It On" in 1971.

1974-Gilbert O'Sullivan's "A Woman's Place/Too Bad" is released on the MAM label in the UK.

1972-Arion Salazar (bass guitarist for Third Eye Blind) is born in Oakland, California.

1969-Sly and the Family Stone release "Hot Fun In The Summertime."

1969-Three Dog Night releases "Easy To Be Hard."

1967-At England's National Jazz and Blues Festival in Sunberry, Jerry Lee Lewis is kicked off the stage after the overenthusiastic crowd responds to his set with a near-riot.

1963-Whitney Houston is born in Newark, New Jersey.

1963-The musical variety show Ready! Steady! Go! premieres in the UK with performances by The Searchers, Pat Boone and The Tremoloes. It becomes a showcase for top musical acts, running until 1966.

1961-The movie Come September, starring first-time actor Bobby Darin and his wife Sandra Dee, opens in theaters. The pair met on set and married after a whirlwind romance.

1959-Rapper Kurtis Blow is born Kurt Walker in The Bronx, New York.

1949-In New York, Louis Jordan records "Saturday Night Fish Fry," a #1 R&B hit for 12 weeks.

1947-Singer-songwriter Amanda McBroom is born.

1947-R&B/Soul singer Barbara Mason is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1946-Marinus "Rinus" Gerritsen (bassist, keyboardist for Golden Earring) is born in The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands.

1946-John Parry (trombonist for The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band) is born.

1944-Vivian "Viv" Prince (drummer for The Pretty Things) is born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.

1939-Billy Henderson, a founding member of The Spinners, is born in Detroit, Michigan.

1934-Country singer-songwriter Merle Kilgore is born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Co-wrote "Ring of Fire" with June Carter Cash.

[Bikkie]

Fall of Nineveh
612 BC Fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians and the forces of Medes, leads to the sack of one of the greatest cities in the world, the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and the death of King Sinsharishkun [date approximate]

Romans Capture Jerusalem
70 Second Temple in Jerusalem set on fire by Roman army under Titus during the capture of the city (approx)

991 Battle of Maldon: English, led by Earl Byrhtnoth, confront a band of inland-raiding Vikings near Maldon in Essex. The battle and the English defeat are immortalized in the well-known Old English poem "The Battle of Maldon."

1316 Second Battle of Athenry, Anglo-Norman victory over Gaelic clan alliance
1346 Majorcan explorer Jaume Ferrer sets sail to find the legendary "river of gold" along the West African coast and disappears without a trace

Cabot's Tales of Asia
1497 Explorer John Cabot tells King Henry VII of his trip to "Asia"

Treaty of Nonsuch
1585 English Queen Elizabeth I signs Treaty of Nonsuch: Aid for Netherlands

The Sinking of the Vasa
1628 Swedish warship Vasa sinks in Stockholm, killing 30

US Declaration Reaches London
1776 News of the United States Declaration of Independence reaches London during the American Revolutionary War


Eine kleine Nachtmusik
1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his chamber piece "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (A Little Serenade)

1840
A race to Akaroa?
HMS Britomart arrived at Akaroa, on Banks Peninsula, a week before a shipload of French colonists landed there. The Britomart's captain raised the Union Jack to confirm the British claim to sovereignty over the area.

1876 First phone call between Brantford and Paris, Canada

Battle of the Big Hole
1877 Battle of the Big Hole: US Army led by Colonel John Gibbon fights the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph and Looking Glass in Montana; both sides suffer heavy casualties, causing the Nez Perce to continue their long fighting retreat



Music History


2020-Split Enz hit #1 in their native New Zealand with the 40th anniversary reissue of their album True Colours, knocking off Folklore by Taylor Swift, who was born nine years after the album was first released.

2016-Chance the Rapper takes the #SoGoneChallenge, posting a video where he raps about his pregnant girlfriend (who is taking the video) over the track to Monica's 2003 hit "So Gone." It is quickly retweeted over 250,000 times and the challenge goes viral, with Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Dwayne Wade joining in.

2013-Singer Eydie Gorme dies six days before her 85th birthday. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Steve Lawrence, and a son, composer David Nessim Lawrence.

2013-Jody Payne (guitarist for Willie Nelson's band, The Family) dies of cardiac problems at age 77 in Stapleton, Alabama.

2012-Insane Clown Posse takes exception to the FBI naming their fans, collectively known as "Juggalos," as a criminal gang in the FBI's "2011 National Gang Threat Assessment Report." At the annual Gathering of the Juggalos event in Illinois, they announce intentions to sue the FBI. Despite this, the FBI continues to list Juggalos as an organized gang in later years.

2012-The bands Kiss and Motley Crue donate $100,000 together to the families of the victims of the Aurora, Colorado, "Dark Knight" shooting. The massacre occurred Friday, July 20 at a movie theater showing The Dark Knight Rises. James Eagan Holmes burst into the theater with guns blazing, killing 12 and wounding 58. The story rocks the United States and the ensuing trial of shooter Holmes, who was inspired by the actions of The Joker, a famed villain in the Batman franchise played by Heath Ledger, is to generate top headlines for many months yet.

2008-Soul singer/actor Isaac Hayes dies of a stroke in Shelby County, Tennesee, 10 days before his 66th birthday.

2007-Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot, announces the band have left Columbia Records. Switchfoot goes on to create their own record label, lowercase people records.

2007-Laura Marling shares the stage with other Indie artists like Crystal Castles and Mystery Jets at the first-ever Underage Festival in Victoria Park, London. The festival, which grew out of a series of club nights in the Elephant and Castle district of South London, is open only to 13-17 year olds. At 17, Marling fits right in.

2006-R&B singer-songwriter Barbara George dies of a lung infection, paired with a history of liver disease and Hepatitis C, at age 63 in Chauvin, Louisiana. Known for the 1961 hit "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)."

2005-The Rolling Stones build a buzz for their A Bigger Bang tour with a surprise warm-up show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, which holds about 1,000 people. Tickets are just $10, but many had to wait in line many hours to get them after hearing rumors of the show.

2004-The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts confirms that he is undergoing treatment for throat cancer, which eventually goes into remission.

1997-Rush drummer Neil Peart loses his 19-year-old daughter Selena to a car accident. A year later, Selena's mother Jackie (Peart's common-law wife) dies of cancer, leading Peart to take a long sabbatical from the band where he rides his motorcycle across North America.

1996-Oasis play the first of two shows at Knebworth, England. One in 20 of the UK's population applies for a ticket, and the band plays to 125,000 people per night in what are the biggest gigs of the Britpop era.

1993-Ed Roberts (of Ruby & the Romantics) dies of cancer at age 57.

1987-Wilson Pickett is found guilty of threatening patrons at a New Jersey bar with a loaded shotgun after a brawl inside the club. He is given two years' probation and fined $1000.

1987-Wilson Pickett is found guilty of threatening patrons at a New Jersey bar with a loaded shotgun after a brawl inside the club. He is given two years' probation and fined $1000.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Release Debut Album
1984-Red Hot Chili Peppers release their self-titled debut album, an arduous collaboration with producer Andy Gill of the British rock band Gang of Four.

1985-While taking part in a yacht race, Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon is trapped along with five other team members after his boat capsizes. The British coast guard scrambles to rescue the stricken crew, and after repairs to its keel the vessel goes on to take third place in the 1985/86 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.

1977-Aaron Kamin (lead guitarist for The Calling) is born in Studio City, California.

1976-Elton John begins a record-breaking 10-night run of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1975-The vocal group The Manhattan Transfer debut a summer replacement series on CBS, simply called Manhattan Transfer. The variety show runs for four weeks.

1974-Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love" hits #1 in America, becoming the first song produced solo by a woman to top the chart. Flack produced it herself under the name Rubina Flake.

1974-John Denver's album Back Home Again hits #1 in America.

1972-Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested backstage in Gothenburg, Sweden, for possession of six ounces of marijuana, which was mailed to them by someone in McCartney's office who thought they would like some weed on the road. The couple are released after paying a combined fine of $1,200.

1969-Maurine Dallas Watkins - author of the book Chicago - dies from lung cancer at age 72.

1968-R&B singer Michael "Biv" Bivins (of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe) is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1968-The Who release "Magic Bus."

1968-Cream's Wheels Of Fire album hits #1 in the US.

1967-Guitarist Todd Nichols (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1966-Sandy Posey records "Single Girl."

1964-On his way to visit two injured fans in Liverpool, England, Mick Jagger is pulled over and fined 32 pounds for speeding and driving without insurance.

1964-Rapper/singer/songwriter Neneh Cherry is born in Stockholm, Sweden.

1963-Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips (Part 2)" becomes the first live recording to hit #1 in the US. It holds the position for three weeks.

1961-INXS drummer Jon Farriss is born in Perth, Western Australia. His brothers Tim and Andrew are also in the band.

1959-The four male singers in The Platters are arrested in Cincinnati for aiding and abetting prostitution. They are acquitted of the charges, but the incident strains relations with their female singer Zola Taylor and gets them removed from some playlists.

1948-R&B/Pop/Jazz singer Patti Austin is born in Harlem, New York.

1946-Mick Clarke (bass player/vocalist for the Rubettes) is born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England.

1943-Singer-songwriter James Griffin (of Bread) is born Cincinnati, Ohio.

1940-Bobby Hatfield (of The Righteous Brothers) is born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

1928-Country singer/musician Jimmy Dean is born in Plainview, Texas.

1928-Singer Eddie Fisher is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1909-Inventor Leo Fender, who founded Fender Musical Instruments, is born in Anaheim, California.

1899-Scott Joplin signs a contract for a royalty of 1% per copy, with a minimum sales price of $.25, for "The Maple Leaf Rag."

1880-Composer/violinist Clarence Cameron White is born in Clarksville, Tennessee.

[Bikkie]

Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar
3114 BC 3114-08-11 BCE is traditionally considered the start date of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans

1093- Foundation stone for the new Norman Durham cathedral laid by Bishop William of St. Calais in England

1304- Sea Battle of Zierikzee: Franco-Holland forces defeat the Flemish fleet

1378- London's Westminster Abbey is desecrated when Robert Hauley is murdered during High Mass attempting to seek sanctuary after escaping the Tower of London. The Abbey is closed for four months. [1]
Defiance in the Hundred Years' War

1415- Henry V of England and an army of 12,000 sail from Southampton, England, bound for France on a campaign to reassert English sovereignty [1]

$100,000 Raised for Statue of Liberty
1885- $100,000 is raised in the US for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty

Green Bay Packers Founded
1919- Green Bay Packers football club is founded by George Calhoun and Curly Lambeau and is named after sponsor Indian Packing Company



Music History

2012-Geto Boys reunite at the 12th annual Gathering Of The Juggalos.

2011-Go-Go's receive the 2,444th star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It is located where the legendary punk club The Masque used to stand. Go-Go's frequently played this club during their early years.

2011-Warrant lead singer Jani Lane dies at age 47 after a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

2009-Train get back on track, releasing "Hey Soul Sister," their first hit since "Calling All Angels" in 2003. It becomes the top-selling song of 2010 on iTunes.

2009-Lady Antebellum release "Need You Now," a song about drunk dialing. A huge crossover hit, it goes to #1 on the Country chart, #2 on the Hot 100, and sells 9 million digital downloads.

2008-Noah and the Whale debut Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down is released on the Mercury/Vertigo label. Laura Marling, who was a member of the band at the time of recording but soon left to focus on her solo career, is featured as a vocalist on the album. Fellow Indie-Folk artist Emmy the Great also contributes vocals to the album.

2008-The Canadian singer Feist appears on Sesame Street, where she turns her song "1234" into a lesson in counting. It becomes one of the most popular music segments on the show, and far more popular than the original.

2007-"Beautiful Girls," the debut single for 17-year-old Sean Kingston, goes to #1 in America, making him the first artist born in the '90s to land a #1 hit.

2006-Singer/talk show host Mike Douglas dies suddenly on his 86th birthday after a bout of dehydration in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

2004-Vanessa Williams and her basketball-player husband Rick Fox get divorced.

2003-Phish bass player Mike Gordon is arrested backstage at a Grateful Dead concert in Jones Beach after he is found taking photos of a 9-year-old girl. He is later cleared of the charges, and the girl's parents agree that it was an "unfortunate misunderstanding."

2000-Madonna gives birth to her second child, Rocco. The father is Guy Ritchie, director of the films Snatch and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.

1999-Kiss are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997-Backstreet Boys release their second album, Backstreet's Back, in international markets. It tops the charts in several countries, including Canada, Spain and Germany. In America, some of the songs appear on their next album, Millennium, in 1999.

1997-Sonny West, Red West, Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker, four of the biggest members of Elvis' "Memphis Mafia," recall the King in a one-time-only webchat.

1996-Mel Taylor (drummer for The Ventures) dies of lung cancer at age 62 in Los Angeles, California.

1995-Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer as an inner-city schoolteacher, debuts in US theaters. The movie's soundtrack tops the Billboard albums chart thanks to its lead single, Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise."

1993-Soundgarden play the Civic Auditorium in Rapid City, South Dakota, their first show on an 8-date trek with headliner Neil Young and opener Blind Melon. These dates end up being Soundgarden's only live performances of the year.

1992-The Mall of America opens in Bloomington, Minnesota, with Ray Charles performing "America The Beautiful."

1989-Bruce Springsteen joins Ringo Starr onstage at a concert in New Jersey, where they perform "Get Back," "Long Tall Sally," "Photograph" and "With A Little Help From My Friends."

1987-LL Cool J's second album, Bigger And Deffer, goes Platinum, making him the first rap solo act to hit that mark.

1987-Rolling Stone magazine declares The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the best album of the last 20 years.

1986-The Monkees, on a reunion tour, have an amazing six albums on the Billboard 200. The highest is The Monkees at #92.

1985-J-Boog (of B2K) is born Jarell Damonte Houston in Compton, California.

1982-Donna Summer has her first daughter, Amanda Grace Sudano, with husband Bruce Sudano.

1980-Johnny Cash sings a duet of "Jackson" with Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show. He also gets under the fur of Rowlf the dog with his song "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog."

1978-Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly of Kris Kross is born in Atlanta, Georgia. The rap duo becomes known for their hit "Jump" and for wearing their clothes backwards, a look they call "totally krossed out."

Keith Moon Shows His Dark Side In A Moment Of Lunacy1976
Keith Moon trashes a hotel room - no surprise there. But this time The Who drummer is hospitalized after beating up his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami

1976-With the help of some weed and tequila, Neil Young records an album's worth of songs in a single evening at Indigo Ranch Recording Studio in Malibu, California. Featuring "Pocahontas" and "Powderfinger," the album is buried by record executives until September 8, 2017, when it's released under the title of Hitchhiker.

1973-Rather than join Paul McCartney in traveling to Nigeria to record the band's latest album, Band On The Run, Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell both quit Wings, forcing Paul, wife Linda, and Denny Laine to record the album as a trio.

1973-At a dance party in the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc plays a set with lots of instrumental breaks that his friend MCs over, marking what many consider the beginning of hip-hop.

American Graffiti Revives '50s Music
1973-The first big oldies revival kicks off in earnest as George Lucas' new film, American Graffiti, opens in theaters. Set in 1962, the film creates a wave of nostalgia for songs from the '50s and early '60s.More

1973-The Edgar Winter Group releases "Free Ride."

1972-The mayor of San Antonio, Texas, declares today "Cheech and Chong Day" after the popular comedy duo, although neither was born anywhere near the city.

1970-Jimmy Buffett releases his debut album, Down To Earth, a folk-rock collection that includes "The Captain and the Kid" - a song written in honor of his late grandfather. The album sells just 374 copies.

1970-DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1969-Motown Records introduces their new signing, The Jackson 5, to tastemakers and industry types at a party in Beverly Hills hosted by Diana Ross. The group lives up to the hype, becoming one of the top acts of 1970.

1969-Deep Purple record "Speed King" in Studio 2 at the Aeolin Hall. It is aired six days later on Symonds On Sunday.

1968-Guitarist/singer/songwriter Charlie Sexton is born in San Antonio, Texas.

First Beatles Movie Opens In America
1964-With Beatlemania at a fever pitch, the group's first movie, A Hard Day's Night, debuts in America.

1964-The Who, temporarily known as the High Numbers, take the stage at Harrow, England's Railway Hotel, but not before lead singer Roger Daltrey is involved in a fistfight with his father-in-law just outside.

1962-Tony Bennett releases "Once Upon A Time" b/w "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." When DJs begin flipping over the record and playing the b-side, "San Francisco" climbs to #19 on the charts and eventually wins Bennett Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance.

1962-Mary Wells releases "You Beat Me To The Punch."

1962-Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

1962-Bragi Ólafsson (bassist for The Sugarcubes) is born in Reykjavík, Iceland.

1958-Elvis Presley's "Hard Headed Woman" is certified Gold.

1956-Richard Goodman and Bull Buchanan, recording as Buchanan and Goodman, enter the charts with "Flying Saucer," the first song to use what's called the "Break In" technique, dropping in bits of other hit songs throughout. The song eventually peaks at #3.

1954-Singer/musician Joe Jackson is born David Ian Jackson in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England.

1954-Guitarist Bryan Bassett (of Wild Cherry) is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1952-Hank Williams' membership in the Grand Ole Opry is revoked because of his drinking problem and no-shows. He dies four months later.

1950-Eric Braunn (guitarist for Iron Butterfly) is born Rick Davis in Pekin, Illinois.

1949-Eric Carmen (of The Raspberries) is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

1948-Bill Hurd (pianist/organist for the Rubettes) is born in East Ham, East London, England.

1943-Songwriter Kenny Gamble is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Co-wrote a string of popular Soul hits with Leon Huff, including "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "Back Stabbers" and "Me and Mrs. Jones."

1943-Saxophonist Denis Payton (of The Dave Clark Five) is born in Walthamstow, North London, England.

1943-Jim Kale (bassist for The Guess Who) is born Michael James Kale in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1942-Mike Hugg (of Manfred Mann) is born in Gosport, Hampshire, England.

1942-Guy Villari (of The Regents - the original "Barbara Ann" singers) is born in The Bronx, New York.

1939-Rockabilly guitarist Ronnie Dawson is born in Dallas, Texas. He makes a name on the local scene in the '50s and '60s but becomes much more visible during the rockabilly resurgence of the '90s.

1937-Shel Talmy, who produces the first Who album and much of the early Kinks output, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1925-Singer/talk show host Mike Douglas is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1922-Ron Grainer, composer of the "Doctor Who Theme," is born in Queensland, Australia.