1895 : Scott Joplin’s “A Picture Of Her Face” is copyrighted.

1956 : Elvis Presley meets Gene Vincent at Grand Central Station in New York City.

1967 : A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for the Monkees. Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum.

1968 : The Equals were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Baby Come Back’. The group’s only UK No.1. The song was first released in 1966 but did not chart. The song was covered by and became a No.1 hit for Pato Banton in 1994, (with Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40).

1968 : At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell’s house in Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together for the very first time.

1969 : Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner’s report stated “Death by misadventure”, and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and in the early 60’s used the name “Elmo Lewis.”

1969 : James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, Jeff Beck, Savoy Brown, Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Mothers Of Invention and Ten Years After all appeared at the four day US Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.

1970 : The three day Atlanta Pop Festival took place, featuring The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter, Mountain, Procol Harum and Rare Earth. Over 200,000 music fans attended the festival.

1971 : American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of his death an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France to pay their respects.

1972 : Blues singer, guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer aged 68. The Rolling Stones covered his ‘You Got To Move’ on their ‘Sticky Fingers’ album. He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.

1973 : Laurens Hammond the inventor of the Hammond organ died aged 73. Many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Allman Brothers and The Faces featured the sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent spring-driven clock and during the second world war he helped design guided missile systems.

1973 : At the Hammersmith Odeon in London, David Bowie appears as Ziggy Stardust for the last time, explaining: “Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do.” Many took this to mean Bowie was retiring from music altogether, though Bowie just meant he was retiring Stardust. This show was later made into a movie directed by D.A. Pennebaker called “Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars”.

1975 : Lead singer from Three Dog Night Chuck Negron was arrested at his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the bands tour and charged with possession of cocaine.

1976 : Brian Wilson played his first live show with The Beach Boys in seven years when they appeared at the Anaheim Stadium, California.

1976 : When rain stopped play during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Cliff Richard launched into a spontaneous concert, where he led spectators through some of his old hits. It was later learned that Sir Cliff had planned the moment as a publicity stunt.

1977 : Hot Chocolate were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘So You Win Again’. Their only UK chart topper they went on to score over 20 other UK Top 40 hits.

1982 : After a record breaking jump from No.33 on the UK singles charts, The Damned’s guitarist Captain Sensible started a two week run at No.1 with his version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song ‘Happy Talk’ from the 1949 musical South Pacific.

1982 : The Human League started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with ‘Don’t You Want Me’, also a UK No.1.

1985 : Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of three sold out shows at Wembley Stadium, London, England.

1985 : Universal Pictures releases Back to the Future, which features the hit “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News. The single went on to be certified Gold. The film garnered enormous success, and was even quoted in Ronald Reagan’s 1986 State of the Union address.

1986 : U2 crew member Greg Carroll was killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song ‘One Tree Hill’ on the bands Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll.

1996 : AC/DC played the second of two nights at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain on their Ballbreaker world tour.

2000, Harvard professor Ronald Ferguson accused the culture of hip-hop and rap music of stalling academic progress among young American blacks. He claimed time spent learning intricate rhyming lyrics detracted from reading.

2001 : American singer, songwriter Johnny Russell died aged 61. Wrote ‘Act Naturally’ covered by The Beatles and Buck Owens. Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt all covered his songs.

2002 : A session violinist serenaded a High Court judge during a copyright battle worth an estimated £100,000. The case was over the rights to The Bluebells version of ‘Young At Heart.’ Bobby Valentino won his case as joint owner of the song.

2002 : Sir Elton John became the first person to be made an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy Of Music.

2002 : The wife of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne underwent an emergency operation after being diagnosed with cancer. The family had become cult heroes after the success of the MTV ‘The Osbournes Show’.

2002 : Three diners at a newly opened Britney Spears owned restaurant suffered food poisoning. The three students who had eaten wild striped bass at the New York restaurant made official complaints and vowed never to eat they’re again.

2003 : Libertines singer Pete Doherty was arrested after breaking into band member Carl Barat’s flat and stealing a laptop computer and a guitar.

2004 : David Crosby was fined $5,000 by a US court after admitting attempted criminal possession of a weapon. It followed his arrest in New York in March when a gun, knife and marijuana were found in his luggage.

2007 : Pete Doherty escaped jail after a judge decided to defer sentencing him for drugs offences on condition he went into rehab. Doherty pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine and heroin at West London Magistrates’ Court. He was warned by Judge Davinder Lachhar that he would go into custody if he failed to take up a place he was offered on a detox program.

2011 : Unable to walk since a botched operation two years earlier, Little Richard is wheeled in with a piano to perform at the “A Capitol Fourth” concert at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It’s his first performance since the operation.