1908 : The first two-sided vinyl record (!) was offered for sale by the Columbia label in an ad running in this week’s Saturday Evening Post.

1956 : Elvis Presley visits his favorite local movie theater, the Memphian, and is beset by an adoring crowd who, in the ensuing melee, scratch his new Cadillac. Thus begins Elvis’ new habit of renting the entire theater whenever he wants to watch a movie.

1957 : Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock hits #1

1958 : Buddy Holly’s last recording session took place at Pythian Temple Studios, New York City. The songs recorded included ‘Raining In My Heart’, ‘Moondreams’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ which became a No.1 hit.

1965 : Bill Black, Elvis Presley’s bass player, (1954-57), died four months after receiving surgery to remove a brain tumour, aged 39. With guitarist Scotty Moore, and Elvis Presley on rhythm guitar, Black played on ‘That’s All Right (Mama)’, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, ‘Baby Let’s Play House’, ‘Mystery Train’, ‘Hound Dog’; ‘Jailhouse Rock’ in the late 1950’s. Black, Scotty Moore and drummer D. J. Fontana toured extensively during Presley’s early career. After leaving Presley Black formed Bill Black’s Combo.

1965 : Wanting to improve on a previous recording session The Beatles started from scratch on a new song called ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, finishing recordings in three takes. They also begin working on another new John Lennon song ‘Nowhere Man.’

1965 : The Spencer Davis Group recorded ‘Keep On Running’ at Pye Studios in London, England. The track went on to top the UK chart next January.

1967 : Scottish singer Lulu started a five-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the theme from the film ‘To Sir With Love’.

1968 : Johnny Cash wins best album at the Country Music Awards for his live release Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.

1971 : Rolling Stone Mick Jagger became a father when his wife Bianca gave birth to daughter Jade in a Paris hospital.

1972 : Chuck Berry started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Ding-A- Ling’, his first and only US and UK No.1, 17 years after his first chart hit.

1972 : Curtis Mayfield started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with soundtrack to ‘Superfly’.

1975 : The city of Los Angeles declares this “Elton John Week” and awards the musician his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6915 Hollywood Blvd.

1976 : Keith Moon played his last show with The Who at the end of a North American tour at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto. On September 7, 1978, Moon died of an overdose of a sedative Heminevrin, that had been prescribed to prevent seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal.

1978 : The Clash sacked manager Bernie Rhodes, saying the band and record company ‘found him hard to deal with’. Melody Maker journalist Caroline Coon took his place.

1985 : The Cinemax cable TV special Carl Perkins and Friends, taped to honor the 30th anniversary of his hit Blue Suede Shoes, is taped with special guests George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Dave Edmunds, and Ringo Starr.

1989 : Jive Bunny And The Mastermixes had their second UK No.1 single with ‘That’s What I Like.’ The Theme from Hawaii Five-O was the recurring hook in the record which also included ‘Lets Twist Again’, ‘Lets Dance’, ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘The Twist’.

1992 : George Michael took Sony Records to court in a fight over his contract with the company; he lost the case in 1994. Michael worked with Sony again less than 10 years later.

1992 : Elton John sues the syndicated US television show Hard Copy for alleging that the singer moved to the Atlanta suburbs to be near an AIDS treatment facility.

1992 : Madonna’s book Sex is released. Everything about it is shocking: the $50 price, the Mylar wrapping, the metal covers, and especially the images inside. Steven Meisel’s photos show the singer naked in various erotic scenes, and a few celebrities show up as well, including Isabella Rossellini, Naomi Campbell and Vanilla Ice.

1995 : Green Day singer Billie Joe was arrested and fined $141 after mooning at the audience during a gig in Milwaukee.

1996 : A former executive of EMI Records, Jay Barbieri, announces the official launch of the first Internet record label, J-Bird Records at http://www.j-birdrecords.com. The record label is the first of its kind, a label that operates almost exclusively on the World Wide Web.

1997 : Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind 97’ was declared by the Guinness Book Of Records as the biggest selling single record of all time, with 31.8 million sales in less than 40 days and raising more than £20 million for charity.

1998 : Kiss members Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick are sued for copyright infringement over the song “Dreamin’,” which the suit alleges sounds too similar to the Alice Cooper hit I’m Eighteen.

1999 : George Martin, who produced most of the Beatles albums, lends his reputation and four decades of music business experience to a start-up Internet company catering to unsigned bands. Martin announces that he will serve as chairman of the advisory board for Garageband.com.

2001 : Concerts at Madison Square Garden and the RFK stadium in Washington were expected to raise millions in funds for the victims of the Sept 11th attacks. Stars who appeared included Michael Jackson, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, *NSYNC, P Diddy, James Brown, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, The Who and Elton John.

2002 : For the second year running, Radiohead is honored as “best act in the world today” at the Annual Q Awards, held in London.

2003 : Elton John signs the deal for the first of his famous “Red Piano” concerts at Las Vegas’ Ceasar’s Palace.

2005 : Bob Seger sings the US national anthem before today’s World Series game between the Detroit Tigers and the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

2006 : American musician, singer, songwriter, and drummer Sandy West died. Founding member (with Joan Jett) of all girl group The Runaways, hailed by fans and critics alike to be one of the most groundbreaking drummers in rock and roll history.

2006 : British broadcaster John Peel left over £1.8m and over 25,000 vinyl records in his will. Peel died suddenly at the age of 65 from a heart attack in 2004.

2006 : Evanescence were at No.1 on the US album chart with their second album ‘The Open Door.’ It became the 700th No.1 album in Billboard since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956.

2007 : Kid Rock and five members of his entourage were arrested after an argument with a man escalated into a fight in a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. Kid Rock’s tour bus was pulled over by police after it left the scene; Rock was released after posting $1,000 (£490) bail. Kid Rock also had the No.1 album on the US chart with ‘Rock N Roll Jesus’ his eleventh album release and first to debut at the top of the chart.