1956 : 21-year-old Elvis Presley pulled into a Memphis gas station where he started to attract a small crowd of autograph seekers. After repeatedly asking Elvis to move on so he could resume normal business, station manager Ed Hopper slapped Presley on the head and found himself on the receiving end of a punch in the face from Elvis. Station employee Aubrey Brown tried to help his boss, but was no match for Presley. After police are called, Hopper and Brown were charged with assault and were fined $25 and $15 respectively.

1957 : The second Frank Sinatra Show debuts on ABC-TV, lasting only one season.

1957 : Paul McCartney made his first appearance with The Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall, Norris Green, Liverpool. The line-up for The Quarry Men was John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, and Len Garry. Paul played John some songs that he had composed which Lennon contributes, marking the birth of the Lennon and McCartney songwriting partnership.

1964 : Taking a day off from their British tour The Beatles went into the studio and completed the recording of six album tracks and the A-side of their next single: ‘I Feel Fine’. They also completed ‘Eight Days a Week’, ‘Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey’, ‘Mr. Moonlight’, ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’, ‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby’. ‘Rock and Roll Music’ and ‘Words of Love.’

1964 : The Animals begin their first UK tour as headliners, playing the ABC Club in Manchester with supporting acts Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Nashville Teens, and Tommy Tucker.

1966 : The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first gig as a band supporting French pop star Johnny Hallyday at the Paris Olympia in France.

1967 : The Richard Lester movie How I Won The War, an antiwar satire featuring John Lennon in the role of Pvt. Gripweed, opens at London’s Premiere Theatre, with all four Beatles attending.

1967 : The Bee Gees were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Massachusetts’, the group’s first of five UK No.1’s. Engelbert Humperdink was at No.2 with ‘The Last Waltz’ and Traffic were at No.3 with ‘Hole In My Shoe.’

1968 : John Lennon and Yoko Ono are busted for marijuana possession in their apartment in London’s Montague Square, a flat leased to them by Ringo and previously lived in by Jimi Hendrix. Having gotten wind of the bust ahead of time (and also having begun experimenting with heroin), John, Yoko, and John’s friend Pete Shotton clean the place to within an inch of its life, but the police nevertheless claim to find approximately 230 grains of cannabis resin, enough to arrest the two. Later in the day, after paying a 150 pound fine, the pair are released, but not before Yoko begins to feel discomfort in her stomach, an ominous symptom of the miscarriage she will soon suffer.

1969 : In Hawaii, Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane is arrested for possession of marijuana.

1969 : Rod Stewart joins The Faces, formerly known as The Small Faces.

1969 : A clearly ill Bill Haley plays the First Annual Rock and Roll Revival show at New York’s Madison Square Garden and, at the end of his set, receives an eight-minute standing ovation.

1969 : The Temptations scored their second US No.1 single with ‘Can’t Get Next To You’. A No.13 hit in the UK.

1969 : The Jackson 5 make their TV debut and first appearance as a Motown act when they appear on the variety show Hollywood Palace.

1974 : Al Green’s “Grits Incident”: When a stewardess friend of Green’s shows up to meet the singer, he ends up at his Memphis home with her and his companion, Mary Woodson. When Green takes a bath, Woodson pours a pot of boiling grits in the tub, burning him badly before going in the next room and killing herself with his gun. Green takes these disturbing events as a sign from God, and focuses his career on Gospel music and preaching.

1975 : Simon & Garfunkel, who broke up in 1970, get back together to perform on the second ever episode of Saturday Night Live, playing a new song called “My Little Town.” Simon becomes a frequent guest on the show, appearing in many memorable skits.

1975 : John Denver’s LP Windsong hits #1

1976 : No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: If You Leave Me Now by Chicago

1979 : After a series of renovations, New York’s legendary venue Radio City Music Hall re-opens with a showing of its first film, Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.

1979 : Buggles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star.’ A studio band featuring producer Trevor Horn. Famously, it was the first ever music video shown on MTV in North America.

1981 : Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Quincy Jones produced 1963 Lesley Gore hit ‘It’s My Party.’

1989 : During a gig opening for The Rolling Stones in Los Angeles, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses announces on stage: “Unless certain people in this band get their s–t together, these will be the last Guns N’ Roses shows you’ll f–king ever see. Cause I’m tired of too many people in this organization dancing with Mr. Brownstone.” His bandmates promise to clean up after the incident. He was referring to their use of heroin. He later wrote a song about a heroin dealer, ‘Mr. Brownstone.’

1991 : Los Angeles declares it “Rocky Horror Picture Show Day” in honor of the 1975 cult classic musical.

1996 : Joni Mitchell was interviewed by Morrissey for the promotional CD ‘Words and Music’ by Reprise Records to promote her new releases Hits and Misses.

2000 : American singer and actress Julie London died after suffering a stroke. Scored the 1956 US No.9 & UK No.22 single ‘Cry Me A River’, which was also featured in the 1956 film The Girl Can’t Help It. She recorded 32 albums during her career, played the role of nurse Dixie McCall, in the television series Emergency! (1972 – 1979).

2000 : Internet firm DNA Visual Business Solutions filed a lawsuit against Britney Spears and her marketing company for failing to pay for the redesign of her website britneyspears.com.

2002 : After a 15 year court battle, New York State’s highest court ruled that the Ronettes, did not have the right to share the money earned by their producer Phil Spector through the use of the group’s songs in movies, television and advertising. Citing a 1963 contract signed by the group, the court also substantially reduced the amount they stood to gain from royalties on sales of records and compact discs.

2005 : Live Aid co-founder Midge Ure collected his OBE from the Queen for his music and charity work. The 52 year-old ex-Ultravox singer wore a kilt for the occasion at Buckingham Palace, London.

2005 : Madonna admitted that she wrote a grovelling letter to Abba asking if she could sample their music on her latest single ‘Hung Up.’ The singer had to seek permission to sample ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ and became only the second act that Abba has allowed to sample their work. The Fugees used part of ‘The Name Of The Game’ on their 1996 track ‘Rumble In The Jungle.’

2005 : An image of a naked John Lennon, taken on the last day of his life, was named the top US magazine cover of the past 40 years. The Rolling Stone front cover, taken by Annie Leibovitz and showing Lennon curled around Yoko Ono, was picked by editors, artists and designers.

2005 : Charlie Daniels is honored as a BMI Icon at the BMI Country Awards.

2007 : South African reggae star, Lucky Dube was shot dead by car thieves when he was dropping his teenage son and daughter off in a Johannesburg suburb. Police said Dube’s son and daughter were already out of the car when three shots were fired through the car window, witnesses said the wounded singer tried to drive away, but lost control of his car and hit a tree.

2007 : Amy Winehouse and her husband Blake Fielder-Civil were arrested in Bergen, Norway and held overnight for possession of cannabis. The singer was released the following morning after paying a fine of $714.