1960 : Chubby Checker appeared on US TV show American Bandstand and performed ‘The Twist.’ The song went to No.1 on the US chart and again 18 months later in 1962. It is the only song to go to the top of the charts on two separate occasions.

1963 : In the evening at Studio A of the Columbia Recording Studio, New York City, Bob Dylan recorded the first session produced by Tom Wilson for the album The Times They Are A-Changin’. Dylan’s third studio album was the first collection to feature only original compositions, the title track being one of Dylan’s most famous. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely-arranged story songs concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change.

1964 : Rod Stewart made his TV debut on ‘The Beat Room’ as a member of The Hoochie Coochie Men.

1965 : The Beatles released their fifth album and soundtrack to their second film ‘Help!’ which included the title track, ‘The Night Before’, ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’, ‘You’re Going to Lose That Girl’, ‘Ticket to Ride’ and ‘Yesterday’.

1965 : Decca records released The Small Faces debut single ‘Whatcha Gonna Do About It.’ It peaked at No.14 on the UK chart.

1966 : As the Fleet Street press in London reports on the “bigger than Jesus” controversy in America, Beatles manager Brian Epstein cuts his vacation short and flies to New York City for a televised press conference where he defends John Lennon’s remarks, stating “The quote which John Lennon made to a London columnist has been quoted and misrepresented entirely out of context of the article, which was in fact highly complimentary to Lennon as a person… Lennon didn’t mean to boast about The Beatles’ fame. He meant to point out that The Beatles’ effect appeared to be a more immediate one upon, certainly, the younger generation. John is deeply concerned and regrets that people with certain religious beliefs should have been offended.”

1970 : The 10th National Jazz, Blues and Pop four day Festival was held at Plumpton Racecourse in Sussex, England. Featuring, Family, Groundhogs, Cat Stevens, Deep Purple, Fat Mattress, Yes, Caravan, The Strawbs, Black Sabbath, Wild Angles, Wishbone Ash and Daddy Longlegs.

1970 : Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Poco and Johnny Winter all appeared at the Concert For Peace at New York’s Shea Stadium. The concert date coincided with the 25th anniversary of dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

1973 : A devastating car accident drops Stevie Wonder down to two senses, as he temporarily loses smell and taste after the vehicle he’s riding in runs into the back of a logging truck, and a log hits him in the face. He was in a coma for four days, but made a strong recovery and returned to the studio in a few weeks.

1974 : Abba scored their first US top 10 hit when ‘Waterloo’ went to No.6. The Swedish group were also on their first American tour.

1977 : This week’s UK Top 5 singles: No.5 ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’, ELP. No.4, ‘Pretty Vacant’, The Sex Pistols. No.3, ‘Angelo’ Brotherhood Of Man’. No.2, ‘Ma Baker’, Boney M and No.1, ‘I Feel Love’ Donna Summer.

1977 : The Police appeared at The Red Cow, Hammersmith Road in London, admission was 60p.

1981 : Stevie Nicks released her first solo album Bella Donna which contained four top 40 US hits. ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, (with Tom Petty), ‘Leather and Lace’, (with Don Henley), ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘After the Glitter Fades.’

1982 : Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ starring Bob Geldof opened in movie theaters in New York. The film was conceived alongside the double album by Pink Floyd’s, Roger Waters.

1983 : Avant-garde musician and former backing singer with David Bowie Klaus Nomi died at the age of 39 of Aids in New York City aged 38. Nomi was one of the first celebrities to contract AIDS.

1988 : ‘Appetite For Destruction’ Guns N’ Roses debut album went to No.1 in the US, after spending 57 weeks on the chart and selling over 5 million copies. Singles from the album, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City’ were all US top 10 hits. Worldwide sales now stand in excess of 28 million and the album is the best-selling debut album of all-time in the US, beating Boston’s debut album Boston, which has gone 17x platinum.

1989 : Adam Clayton of U2 was arrested in The Blue Light Inn car park in Dublin for marijuana possession and intent to supply the drug to another person. His conviction was waived in exchange for paying £25,000 to the Dublin Woman’s Aid Centre.

1989 : With their song “F–k tha Police” causing an uproar, Detroit police stop N.W.A’s performance before they can perform the song, and escort them back to their hotel. No charges are filed, and officers tell the rappers that they just “wanted to show the kids that you can’t say ‘F–k the police’ in Detroit.”

1994 : Lisa Loeb started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Stay (I Missed You), a No.6 hit in the UK. Actor and friend Ethan Hawke had asked her to provide a song for the upcoming movie Reality Bites and ‘Stay’ was featured in the film.

1997 : In a Spinal Tap moment, U2’s giant lemon they are supposed to emerge from onstage doesn’t open at a show in Oslo.

1999 : Dick Latvala died aged 56 after being in a coma caused by a heart attack. Latvala worked with The Grateful Dead since the early 80’s looking after their archives of live performances which became a series of ‘Dick’s Picks’ albums.

2001 : Whitney Houston became one of the highest-paid musicians in the world after signing a new deal with Arista records, said to be worth more than $100m.

2004 : Rick James was found dead at his Los Angeles home. Known as ‘The King of Punk-Funk’ James scored the 1981 US No.3 album ‘Street Songs’ and 1981 US No.16 single ‘Super Freak part 1’. In the late 60’s James worked as a songwriter and producer for Motown, working with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Addicted to cocaine, he once admitted to spending $7,000 a week on drugs for five years.(now that is Super Freaky, lol)

2007 : Marilyn Manson was being sued by a former band member who said he was owed $20m in shared profits. Stephen Bier, who played keyboards under the stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy, claimed he was not paid properly over a period of almost two decades. In legal papers filed in Los Angeles, Bier claimed Manson falsely told him the band was not making much money and used band money to buy a $2m home and collect Nazi memorabilia, including coat hangers used by Adolf Hitler.

2009 : Steven Tyler was airlifted to hospital after falling off stage during a gig at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith singer fell from a catwalk onto a couple of fans, he suffered neck and shoulder injuries. About 30 minutes after the accident, guitarist Joe Perry came out to tell the crowd that the remainder of the show had been cancelled.

2009 : Willy DeVille died at the age of 58 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The band he formed, Mink Deville, appeared at the legendary CBGB club in New York in the 1970s and scored the 1977 hit ‘Spanish Stroll.’ Doctors discovered he had cancer earlier this year as he was preparing to undergo treatment for hepatitis C.