1957 : Canadian singer, songwriter Paul Anka was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Diana’ (written about his brother’s baby-sitter). His only UK No.1 as an artist, Anka was the first teenage solo act to reach No.1.

1958 : Staten Island, New York doo wop group The Elegants went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their re-worked version of the Mozart lullaby, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” re-titled “Little Star”. The Elegants would be around in one form or another until the 1980’s, but never had another hit record.

1960 : The Shadows were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Apache’. The first of five UK No.1’s for Cliff Richard’s backing group.

1961 : After playing a lunchtime gig at The Cavern Liverpool, The Beatles played aboard the Merseyside riverboat M.V.Royal Iris supporting Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. Tickets cost 8/6.

1962 : Little Eva went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Loco-motion’. The Carole King and Gerry Goffin song was offered to Dee Dee Sharp (Mashed Potatoes), who turned it down. The writers had their babysitter record it who took it to No.1.

1962 : The Four Seasons’ Sherry enters the charts

1964 : The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night is certified gold

1965 : Two female Beatles fans hired a helicopter to fly over the house The Beatles were renting in Beverly Hills, California and jumped from the helicopter into the swimming pool.

1966 : During their last US tour, The Beatles, played two shows at the Coliseum in Seattle, Washington. The first show at 3pm was attended by only 8,000 fans (the arena seated 15,000), but the evening show was a sell-out.

1967 : Bobbie Gentry started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Ode To Billy Joe’, a No.13 hit in the UK. The song generated eight Grammy nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one win for arranger Jimmie Haskell.

1967 : Brian Wilson returned to performing live with The Beach Boys in Honolulu after a 2 year hiatus. The group had just released ‘Heroes and Villains’ in the US.

1970 : A party was held to celebrate the official opening of ‘Electric Ladyland’ studios in New York City, New York. Artists who went on to record at the studio include: Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, AC/DC, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa and Guns N’ Roses.

1970 : Elton John made his US live debut when he kicked off a 17-date tour at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. In the audience that night were Don Henley, Quincy Jones and Leon Russell. Elton’s latest single ‘Border Song’ had just debuted at number 92 on the US chart.

1970 : At Plymouth Guildhall in England, Emerson, Lake & Palmer perform for the first time. They would play to a far larger audience four days later at the the Isle Of Wight Festival.

1973 : Butch Trucks, drummer for The Allman Borthers Band, crashes his car near Macon, GA, breaking his leg in the process. This happens within sight of the spot where Duane Allman had died in a crash two years earlier.

1973 : Donny Osmond was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Young Love’ his third and last No.1. Tab Hunter also had a hit with the song in 1957.

1973 : One hit wonders, Stories started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Brother Louie’. Hot Chocolate who had a No.7 hit with the song in the UK wrote the song.

1973 : Bobby Darin performed his final concert, at the Las Vegas Hilton. He died at the age of 37 on December 20th 1973 following open-heart surgery.

1975 : Released on this day, Bruce Springsteen’s third album and big breakthrough: “Born to Run”

1976 : Released on this day, Boston’s debut album – “Boston”

1979 : 25 years after his first UK No.1 single Cliff Richard had his 10th chart topper with ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ his first No.1 for eleven years.

1979 : The Knack started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Sharona’, the group’s only US chart topper, a No.6 hit in the UK. Lead singer Doug Fieger said he was inspired to write the tune by Sharrona Alperin, a 17 year old senior at Los Angeles’ Fairfax High.

1981 : R.E.M. appeared at The Scorpio, Charlotte, North Carolina. This show was billed as “Charlotte’s First Gay New Wave Disco and Costume Party”, with the $3 tickets benefitting various gay-lesbian charities.

1989 : Chicago mayor Richard Michael Daley declares today “Pops Staples Day” in honor of the native musician and leader of The Staple Singers.

1990 : ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ by Bombalurina was the UK No.1 single. Bombalurina was childrens TV presenter Timmy Mallett with a remake of Brian Hyland’s 1960 hit.

1994 : Jimmy Page and Robert plant recorded their MTV unplugged set at London’s television centre.

1994 : Take That kicked off a 36 date sold out UK tour with 3 nights at the SEC Glasgow. During the tour the group played 9 sold out nights at London’s Wembley Arena.

1994, Jimmy Buffett crashed his Grumman G-44 Widgeon seaplane on take-off in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Buffett swam away from the wreckage.

1994 : Billy Joel is officially divorced from model Christie Brinkley. Their marriage lasted nine years.

1995 : Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork, Neil Young, Green Day, Hole, Paul Weller, Soundgarden, Beck, Foo Fighters, Ash, Deus, Gene all appeared at this years UK Reading festival, a three day ticket cost £60.

1997 : A deranged man who had escaped from a mental institution near Helsinki Finland was arrested. The man had planned to set fire to the stage that Michael Jackson was performing from was arrested before he was able to light the gasoline he had put on the stage.

1999 : Robert Fisher from New Romantic duo Naked Eyes and Climie Fisher died of cancer aged 39. With Climie Fisher scored the 1988 UK No.2 single ‘Love Changes Everything’ and wrote songs for Rod Stewart, Milli Vanilli, Fleetwood Mac and Jermaine Jackson. Fisher also worked as a producer, working with various acts including Eric Clapton.

1999 : Oasis bass player Paul McGuigan announced he had quit the band just a few days after guitarist Bonehead had left the band.

2000 : Academy Award-winning film score composer and record producer Jack Nitzsche died of a heart attack. He produced The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield and The Walker Brothers. Musical scores including The Exorcist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, co-wrote ‘Up Where We Belong’ with Buffy Sainte-Marie from 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman.

2000 : Oasis, Primal Scream, Foo Fighters, The Bluetones, Muse, Eminem, Beck, Stereophonics, Blink 182, Slipknot, Placebo, Pulp, Eminem, Rage Against The Machine, Gomez, Limp Bizkit, Embrace and The Wannadies all appeared at Carling Weekend Reading and Leeds festival in England.

2002 : Eva Cassidy went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Imagine’, the singers second UK No.1 album. Blazin Squad went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Crossroads.’

2005 : Two former members of Guns N’ Roses were suing singer Axl Rose for allegedly naming himself sole administrator of the US rock band’s copyrights. Slash and Duff – otherwise known as Saul Hudson and Michael McKagan, accused Rose of “arrogance and ego”. The legal action claimed the singer “was no longer willing to acknowledge the contributions of his former partners”.

2006 : Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton was undergoing treatment for throat cancer causing him to sit out the first half of the band’s Route of All Evil Tour, the first time he would miss any shows in the band’s history. Longtime band friend David Hull filled in for Hamilton until his return.

2007 : While singing his 1968 hit Fire on stage in Lewes, England, Arthur Brown catches on fire after wearing his customary tinfoil hat with a small fire burning in the center.

2009 : Bob Dylan revealed during his weekly radio show broadcast on 6 Music, that he was speaking to a number of car companies about becoming the voice of their satellite navigation systems. The 68 year-old said he thought it be would be good for drivers to hear him saying things such as: “Take a left at the next street. No, a right. You know what, just go straight”.

2010 : A selection of previously unseen photographs of The Beatles went on display in Liverpool at the Victoria Gallery and Museum. The images were taken by Astrid Kirchherr the former girlfriend of original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe, who took pictures of the band’s early years after meeting them in Hamburg in 1960. The exhibition included images of the Beatles on holiday in Tenerife and of the making of their film A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 in Liverpool.