1950 : Johnny Cash joins the U.S. Air Force.

1956 : Johnny Cash makes his first appearance on the Grand Old Opry show in Nashville.

1956 : A riot breaks out at a Fats Domino concert in San Jose, CA, with twelve injured.

1957 : Elvis Presley scored his first UK No.1 with ‘All Shook Up’, (his tenth UK single release). It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks.

1962 : David Rose and his Orchestra went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Stripper’.

1962 : The Beatles played at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, in Birkenhead. The show was a dance for the local golf club, the capacity of the hall was 450, but 500 people squeezed in to hear and see The Beatles.

1963 : The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars.’ Also appearing on the show was, Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The group made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966.

1966 : The Kinks were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Sunny Afternoon’, the group’s third and last UK No.1.

1968 : The Yardbirds disband immediately after a gig in Luton, England. Jimmy Page begins forming what will become Led Zeppelin.

1968 : The folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary appear as the “mystery guest” on CBS-TV’s What’s My Line?

1969 : Released on this day, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band – “Give Peace A Chance”

1969 : George Harrison recorded his new song ‘Here Comes the Sun’ with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1971 : 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her slight injury.

1971 : The Carpenters debut their variety summer replacement series, Make Your Own Kind Of Music, on NBC.

1973 : Billy Preston started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Will It Go Round In Circles’, his first of two US chart toppers.

1975 : The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards is arrested in Arkansas for reckless driving and firearm possession.

1978 : The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

1980 : Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared at Eissporthalle, West Berlin at the end of a European tour. The set included: ‘Black Dog’, ‘The Rain Song’, ‘Hot Dog’, ‘All My Love’, ‘Trampled Under Foot’, ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, ‘Kashmir’, ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and ‘Rock And Roll’. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of ‘Whole Lotta Love’.

1984 : Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Born In The USA’. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984 : Prince started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘When Doves Cry’, his first US No.1 which went on to sell over 2 million copies, it made No. 4 in the UK.

1989 : It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums. This week’s UK No.1 album was ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’ by Jamiroquai.

1990, The Rolling Stones played the last of three sold out nights at Wembley Stadium, London as part of the bands ‘Urban Jungle’ tour.

1998 : Along with his financial partner Don Barden, Michael Jackson announces plans to build an entertainment complex in Detroit called “The Majestic Kingdom.” It never materializes.

1999 : It was reported that to attract young people to their mobile vans UK ice cream sellers would start to play pop hits as music instead of the traditional chimes. Spice Girls and Oasis hits would be the first to be played.

2001 : The Pointer Sisters’ June Pointer completes her court-ordered rehab for cocaine.

2005 : Members of The Hollies asked High Court judge to jail one of their founder members claiming bass player Eric Haydock had flouted a court order made in 1998 not to play under their name. Haydock formed the group in Manchester, England in the early 1960’s with Allan Clarke and Graham Nash (who left in 1966). Haydock was working in a group calling itself Eric Haydock’s Hollies.

2006 : Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The singer, songwriter, guitarist was one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, active as a rock musician for only about seven years before he went into seclusion. He joined Pink Floyd in 1965 but left three years later after one album. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007 : Ozzy Osbourne became the first artist to be honored on Birmingham’s own Hollywood-style Walk of Fame. The singer, from Aston, told more than 1,000 fans on Broad Street that the brass paving star meant more to him that than any Hollywood accolade. Organizers named other local pop stars who could be joining Ozzy for the walk included Duran Duran, Jamelia, Robert Plant and UB40.

2007 : Snow Patrol Keyboard player Tom Simpson was arrested in connection with a failed court appearance in Glasgow. He was later released and the band went on to headline the T in the Park festival in Scotland. Amy Winehouse pulled out of her slot from the event suffering from “exhaustion”.

2007 : The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organised by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet”. Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009 : Lionel Richie got his first big break when The Commodores snagged 42 dates in the opening slot for The Jackson 5 in 1972. 37 years later on the same date, he performed The Commodores song “Jesus is Love” at a memorial service for the late Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

2009 : Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after an earlier private funeral. Jackson’s daughter Paris, 11, fought back tears to describe him as “the best father you could ever imagine”. Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey paid tribute before the family joined a sombre finale on stage. Motown boss Berry Gordy, who signed the Jackson Five, ended his tribute with the words: “Michael, thank you for the joy, thank you for the love. You will live in my heart forever.”

2010 : Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday. With Ringo’s All Starr Band joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends”.