On this day today:
1929 - Singer-songwriter Jacques Brel is born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium.
1947 - Yes guitarist Steve Howe is born in London.
1963 - Julian Lennon is born John Charles Julian Lennon, the first child of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia.
1963 - Frank Sinatra hosts the 35th Academy Awards, held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Lawrence of Arabia wins Best Picture, with composer Maurice Jarre taking home Best Original Score. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer land Best Original Song for "Days Of Wine And Roses" from the film of the same name.
1964 - Rapper Biz Markie is born Marcel Theo Hall in New Jersey.
1964 - The Supremes record "Where Did Our Love Go," which becomes their breakout hit.
1967 - The Doors' first single, "Break On Through (To The Other Side)," hits a wall, stalling at #126 in the US. Their next release, "Light My Fire," does much better, going to #1.
1968 - The TV special Petula airs on NBC. At one point in the show, host Petula Clark grabs hold of Harry Belafonte's arm while they are singing a duet. This marks the first time a white woman and black man have physical contact on TV in such context.
1975 - Dutch singer-songwriter Anouk is born Anouk Teeuwe in The Hague, Netherlands.
1977 - The Clash release their self-titled debut album on CBS Records.
1984 - Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig is born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
1989 - The 1975 lead singer Matt Healy is born in London.
1989 - "The Look" by Roxette hits #1 on the Hot 100, the first of four chart-toppers for the Swedish duo.
1991 - English trip hop group Massive Attack released their debut studio album Blue Lines. In 1997, Blue Lines was named the 21st greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
1994 - The Offspring release their breakthrough album Smash on the indie label Epitaph Records. Thanks to the success of the singles "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem," it sells over 10 million copies worldwide to become the best selling independently released and distributed album of all time.
1994 - The Recording Industry Association of America announced that Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon had become the fourth biggest-selling album in US history and had passed the 13 million mark in sales. The album has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
1994 - Electrician Gary Smith who was working at Kurt Cobain's house in Seattle discovered Cobain's body lying on the floor in the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that the Nirvana singer and guitarist was dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain's body. A suicide note was found that said, 'I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now'. A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in Cobain's body.
1995 - Take That had their sixth UK No.1 single when the Gary Barlow penned 'Back For Good' went to the top of the UK charts. The song sold over 300,000 copies in its first week and was also a US Top 10 hit. The song won Best British Single at the 1996 Brit Awards.
2000 - In a Saturday Night Live skit where Blue Öyster Cult is recording "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Christopher Walken demands more cowbell from Will Ferrell, who complies. A catch phrase is born.
2001 - Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton scored her first UK No.1 single with 'What Took You So Long.' She became the fourth Spice Girl to have a solo No 1. Written by Richard Stannard who wrote six of the Spice Girls' UK No.1 hits.
2006 - The Rolling Stones play their first-ever concert in mainland China with a gig in Shanghai.
2013 - Cher fans fear the singer is dead when the hashtag #nowthatchersdead trends on Twitter. It turns out the tag is for Margaret Thatcher.
2016 - The Guns N' Roses reunion tour gets underway in Las Vegas. Axl Rose, who fractured his foot at a warm-up show, performs from the throne Dave Grohl used to play Foo Fighters shows when he was hobbled.
2016 - Steve Miller, notoriously averse to awards ceremonies, goes on a backstage rant when he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He says the Hall is like "a private boys club," and lets loose on the organizers. "It's a bunch of jackasses and jerks and f--king gangsters and crooks."
2016 - Bruce Springsteen cancels an upcoming show in Greensboro, North Carolina, in protest of a state law limiting the rights of transgender people. "Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry - which is happening as I write - is one of them," he writes.
2017 - The late rapper Tupac Shakur, singer, songwriter Joan Baez and Pearl Jam were all entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.They were inducted alongside the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Journey and Yes during a concert in New York City.
2023 - Jimin of BTS becomes the first South Korean solo artist to hit #1 in America when his song "Like Crazy" debuts at the top spot. PSY came close in 2012 when "Gangnam Style" went to #2.
