On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

1930
First New Zealand-made 'talkie' screened
Coubray-tone news, the work of the inventive Ted Coubray, had its first public screening at Auckland's Plaza Theatre.



In Music History

2021-Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers dies at 78.

2019-Lifetime airs the first installment of the six-part series Surviving R. Kelly, which documents the singer's alleged sex crimes. John Legend is among those speaking out against Kelly in the series.

2017-Janet Jackson gives birth to her first child, a baby boy named Eissa Al Mana, at age 50. The father is the singer's husband, Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana.

2014-Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers dies of complications from lung disease at age 74.

2008-Britney Spears suffers from a mental breakdown in Beverly Hills, where she refuses to hand over her sons Jayden James and Sean Preston to their father, Kevin Federline. Britney is eventually taken to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center via ambulance and is admitted as a "special needs" patient.


Britney Spears Gets A Quickie Wedding
2004-Britney Spears marries her childhood friend Jason Alexander (not the actor) at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.

DMB Debuts "I Did It" On Napster
2001-The Dave Matthews Band become the first major artist to release a song on Napster when "I Did It" debuts on the controversial file-sharing platform.

1997-Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm publish an article called "Nitric Oxide And Inflammation: The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind" in the journal Nature Medicine. The article deals with the detection of mucosal inflammation, and while we can't speak to its medical efficacy, it does reveal a trend of biomedical researchers using Bob Dylan song titles and lyrics in their articles. The Swedish scientists had a friendly bet going to see how many Dylan references they could inject into their published work; a later study reveals hundreds of medical articles that had borrowed from Dylan, with the most popular song being "The Times They Are A-Changin'.

1995-Canadian news anchor Byron MacGregor, who reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with his version of "Americans," dies of complications from pneumonia in Detroit, Michigan, at age 46.

1989-The Arsenio Hall Show debuts in syndication, bringing a spate of contemporary musical acts - including many hip-hop artists - to late night during its five-season run. Highlights include Mariah Carey's national TV debut in 1990, and a 1992 appearance by Bill Clinton, who uses his airtime to win over young voters on this way to the White House.

1987-The second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced, and it includes the first woman: Aretha Franklin. The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, Clyde McPhatter, Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, and Jackie Wilson also enter.

1981-David Bowie finishes his Broadway run as the title character in the play The Elephant Man.

1980-Mellow rocker Kurt Vile is born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

1980-R&B singer and pianist Amos Milburn dies after a series of strokes in Houston, Texas, at age 52. He is known for the 1953 hit "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer."

1976-American interest in The Bay City Rollers peaks as their song "Saturday Night" hits #1 for one week, which is good enough to get their faces on cereal boxes.

1974-Bob Dylan begins a 6-week tour in Chicago with The Band, who do double duty: backing Dylan and then playing their own set. In July, the double album Before The Flood is released, featuring highlights from the shows.

1970-Davy Jones announces he's leaving The Monkees, essentially dissolving the group, which had dwindled to a duo.

1970-Melody Maker names Al Stewart's Love Chronicles its folk album of the year.

1970-B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" hits #1 in the US for the first of four weeks.

1970-Four days after learning that their movie Let It Be will be released in theaters, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr meet at Abbey Road Studios and record "I Me Mine" for the film and soundtrack.

1967-The Bee Gees set sail from Australia, where they've been living the past nine years, and head to England, the land of their birth, where they arrive five weeks later.

1967-Declaring himself a conscientious objector, The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson refuses to be sworn in after receiving an induction notice from the US Army.

1964-A month before The Beatles make their iconic live debut in the US on the Ed Sullivan Show, Americans get their first look at the Fab Four when Jack Paar shows a film clip of the band performing "She Loves You" on his TV show'

1957-Fats Domino records "I'm Walking."

1956-Elvis Presley plays a show at the Von Theater in Booneville, Mississippi, where he is advertised as "The Folk Music Fireball."

1946-Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones is born in Sidcup, Kent, England.

1945-Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, and later, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, is born in Dallas, Texas. As a solo artist, he has a hit with his 1970 single "Love The One You're With."

1943-Songwriter and musician Van Dyke Parks, known for his work with The Beach Boys, is born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

1926-Beatles producer George Martin is born in London. He signs the group to EMI in 1962 and his expertise as an arranger helps shape the band's unique sound. Upon Martin's death in 2016, Paul McCartney states: "If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George."

1916-Maxene Andrews of The Andrew Sisters is born in Mound, Minnesota, to a family that already includes older sister LaVerne and will welcome younger sister Patty in two years.

1909-Victor Borge - pianist, conductor and comedian - is born Borge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1900-Lawyer turned composer Maurice Jaubert is born in Nice, France.

1843-The opera Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti and Giacomo Ruffini premieres in Paris.

[Bikkie]

1869 - Te Kooti is defeated at Ngatapa, Poverty Bay. He and his followers escape, though about 120 are later captured and executed. Te Kooti and his key lieutenants seek sanctuary with Tuhoe in the Urewera Ranges.

1896 - Utah enters the Union as the 45th state of the United States.

1936 - US Billboard magazine prints first popular music chart.

1948 - Burma (now Myanmar) becomes an independent republic.

1951 - North Korean and Communist Chinese forces take Seoul, South Korea.

1958 - Sir Edmund Hillary's team become the first to reach the South Pole overland since Robert Falcon Scott in 1912, and the first to do so in motor vehicles.

1960 - French author Albert Camus dies in a car accident, aged 46.

1964 - Pope Paul VI begins the first visit by a pope to Jerusalem.

1965 - Poet TS Eliot dies, aged 76.

2007 - Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

2010 - The world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, opens.

2016 - Robert Stigwood, Australian impresario who produced the Saturday Night Fever and Grease films and soundtracks, dies aged 81.



In Music History

2020-Mariah Carey becomes the first artist to top the Hot 100 in four different decades when "All I Want For Christmas Is You" stays at #1 for a third week.

2013-Rob Caggiano, longtime lead guitarist for the band Anthrax, announces he's quitting the band. The split is affirmed by all members as amicable, with Caggiano hinting that he'd like to work on other projects.

2013-Sammy Johns, who wrote and recorded "Chevy Van," dies at age 66.

2012-Bryan Ferry, 66, marries Amanda Sheppard, 29. Sheppard dated Ferry's son Isaac for a short time.

2011-Gerry Rafferty, who had a huge solo hit with "Baker Street" and was also a member of Stealers Wheel, dies at age 63.

2011-Grady Chapman of The Robins dies at age 81.

2010-After a concert in Paris, Marilyn Manson (40) proposes to his girlfriend, the actress Evan Rachel Wood (22). She accepts but they never get married and Wood later alleges abuse.

2007-Nikki Bacharach, daughter of popular composer Burt Bacharach and actress Angie Dickinson, commits suicide at age 40 after a lifelong battle with Asperger's syndrome. She was the inspiration for her dad's 1969 song "Nikki."

1991-Nirvana sign with Geffen Records. In September, their album Nevermind is released.

1986-After a long battle with addiction, Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott dies at age 36.

1979-Due to renewed interest in The Beatles, the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, reopens to the public. The club had been an important stepping stone for the band, as they played a residency there early on.

1975-Elton John's "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" hits #1 in the US. The Beatles' original, released in 1967 on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, wasn't released as a single.

1973-Neil Young kicks off his Time Fades Away tour in Madison, Wisconsin with Linda Ronstadt his opening act. Ronstadt is used to playing clubs, but wins over crowds at arenas throughout the tour with her mighty pipes. The following year, she releases her breakthrough album Heart Like A Wheel.

1973-The Allman Brothers Band publicly announce Lamar Williams as their replacement for recently deceased bassist Berry Oakley.

1972-Yes releases "Roundabout."

1970-The Who's Keith Moon accidentally runs over his chauffeur, Neil Boland, killing him. Apparently, Moon's car was under attack from some unruly teenagers, and when Boland jumped out to get them to move, Moon, in a panic, got behind the wheel to drive the car away himself. Unfortunately, the crowd had since pushed Boland under the car.

1968-Jimi Hendrix spends the night in a Swedish jail after trashing a hotel room, reportedly during a fight with his bandmate Noel Redding.

1967-The Doors break on through with their eponymous debut album. The Doors is a hit with listeners and critics alike and produces the single "Light My Fire," which quickly hits #1 in the US.

1966-Deana Carter is born in Nashville. Her dad is country guitarist Fred Carter, Jr.

1965-Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars to CBS for $13 million.

1965-Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons is born in Devon, England.

1965-David Glasper of Breathe is born in Wales.

1964-Bobby Vinton's "There! I've Said It Again" hits #1 in the US for the first of four weeks.

1962-Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins is born in Grangemouth, Scotland.

1962-Peter Steele, the 6' 8" leader of the doom-rock band Type O Negative, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1960-Marty Robbins' "El Paso" hits #1 in the US despite running a shocking 4:40.

1960-R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is born in Decatur, Georgia. In 1980, he befriends Peter Buck, a store clerk at Wuxtry Records in nearby Athens who shares his weird taste in music. They quickly bring Mike Mills and Bill Berry into the fold and just one year later release their debut single, "Radio Free Europe."

1957-Louis Jordan records "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out."

1957-Elvis Presley reports for his pre-induction Army physical in Memphis.

1957-On NBC's Steve Allen Show, former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis introduces the world to singer Solomon Burke, who performs Louis' song "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide."

1957-Patty Loveless is born Patty Lee Ramey in Pikeville, Kentucky. Her professional surname takes inspiration from her former married name, Lovelace.

1956-Bernard Sumner of New Order is born in Manchester, England.

1955-Talk Talk leader Mark Hollis is born in London.

1954-A young truck driver named Elvis Presley pays to record two songs at the Memphis Recording Service. It's his second visit, and this time MRS head Sam Phillips gets his number and later calls him to record for his Sun label.

1946-Arthur Conley, famous for his hit "Sweet Soul Music," is born in Georgia.

1942-Jazz guitarist John McLaughlin is born in Doncaster, England.

1936-Billboard magazine publishes their first "Hit Parade," which ranks songs based on sales and airplay. The first #1: "Stop! Look! Listen!" by Joe Venuti & his Orchestra.

1932-NBC begins airing The Carnation Contented Hour (named for the sponsor, Carnation Milk), which features performances by top musical acts. The show runs for 19 years.

1926-Songwriter Irving Berlin marries Ellin Mackay, heiress to the Postal Telegraph Cable Company. They remain married until her death in 1988.