1959 : On his 23rd birthday, and still a year away from even buying his first bass guitar, The Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman marries his first wife, 18-year-old bank clerk Diane Corey.

1960 : Brenda Lee’s “I Want To Be Wanted” hits #1

1960 : Frank Sinatra’s LP Nice ‘N’ Easy hits #1

1962 : US Soul singer James Brown recorded his legendary ‘Live At The Apollo’ album. The album was listed at No.24 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

1963 : On the first day of their first foreign tour, The Beatles spent the day in Stockholm, Sweden, recording a performance for a radio program entitled “The Beatles popgrupp fran Liverpool pa besok i Stockholm”, (The Beatles pop group from Liverpool visiting Stockholm). The Beatles, enthused by the chance to play before an audience that wasn’t screaming, played seven songs, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’ ‘Money’, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Twist and Shout.’

1963 : Recorded on this day, Bob Dylan – “The Times They Are A Changin'” & “One Too Many Mornings”

1964 : The T.A.M.I. show (Teenage Music International Show) concert is held in Santa Barbara, California, featuring Chuck Berry, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Rolling Stones, The Miracles, Jan & Dean, Lesley Gore and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The concert is released as a movie later in 1964.

1970 : Pink Floyd were at No.1 on the UK album chart with the ‘Atom Heart Mother’, the group’s first No.1. The album cover shows a cow standing in a pasture with no text nor any other clue as to what might be on the record.

1970 : Santana’s LP Abraxas hits #1

1970 : Picking up on an earlier speech by his Vice-President, US President Richard Nixon delivers a White House address to the National Association of Broadcasters, urging radio stations to ban any and all songs with drug-related lyrics.

1973 : John Lennon sues the US Government alleging that he and his lawyer were bugged and wiretapped while he was fighting deportation and during the government’s investigation of “radical” antiwar elements in society.

1973 : Art Garfunkel’s LP Angel Clare is certified gold

1973 : Rolling Stone Keith Richards was fined £205 after admitting having cannabis, Chinese heroin, mandrax tablets and a revolver at his Chelsea home.

1974 : The film Stardust starring David Essex, premieres in London.

1975 : Recorded on this day, Bob Dylan – “Hurricane”

1975 : Released on this day, John Lennon – “Shaved Fish” LP

1977 : Rolling Stone Keith Richards was fined £205 after admitting having cannabis, Chinese heroin, mandrax tablets and a revolver at his Chelsea home in the UK. Later in the evening, Keith and Anita Pallenberg accidentally set fire to their London hotel bedroom.

1977 : The controversial biopic The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey as the legendary rocker, begins filming in Hollywood.

1978 : The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards pleads guilty to heroin possession in Toronto, Canada and is given a one-year suspended sentence. The Stones are also ordered to play a gig for charity.

1978 : The film version of The Wiz, an African-American remake of The Wizard Of Oz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, premieres in New York City.

1980 : The Guinness Book of World Records presents Paul McCartney with a special rhodium album for being the best-selling songwriter in the history of recorded music, having written 43 platinum songs and sold over 100 million records.

1987 : Michael Jackson started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Bad’, a No.3 hit in the UK. A music video for ‘Bad’, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring one of the first appearances of yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, was released in late 1987.

1987 : Sting went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo release ‘Nothing Like The Sun.’ The title comes from Shakespeare’s Sonnet #130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”), which Sting used in the song “Sister Moon”. The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards.

1988 : John Fogerty’s trial begins. He is accused of plagiarizing himself by using elements of his Creedence Clearwater Revival song Run Through The Jungle for his 1985 solo hit The Old Man Down The Road. The suit was brought by his nemesis and former label boss Saul Zaentz, who owned the publishing on “Jungle.” Fogerty won the case.

1989 : The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces its fifth class of inductees: The Who, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, The Platters, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, The Four Seasons, the Four Tops, the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, Carole King, and Gerry Goffin.

1992 : End Of The Road by Boyz II Men ties Elvis Presley’s Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog as the longest-running #1 single when it reaches its 11th week at the top. It would spend 2 more weeks at #1, but lose the record 3 months later when Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You stays for 14 weeks.

1995 : New York City declares Oct. 24 Tony Bennett Day. The crooner celebrates the occasion with a concert at the city’s famous Radio City Music Hall.

1995 : Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders returns to her home state of Ohio to sing the national anthem in Game three of the World Series in Cleveland.

1996 : Motown founder Berry Gordy is honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

1998 : Former Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown was jailed for 4 months after being found guilty of disorderly behaviour during a flight from Paris to Manchester. Brown had threatened to chop the hands off an air stewardess during a heated exchange.

1998 : Spacedust went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Gym and Tonic. Spacedust were the production duo of Paul Glancey and Duncan Glasson. The track was a cover of Bob Sinclar’s single ‘Gym and Tonic’.

2000 : Past Country Music Association entertainer of the year and ex-Hee Haw host Roy Clark, joins the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

2001 : Kim Gardner former bassist with Ashton Gardner & Dyke died of Cancer. Had the 1971 UK No.3 single ‘The Resurrection Shuffle’ and Gardner formed 60’s band The Birds with guitarist Ron Wood.

2002 : American record producer Tom Dowd died of emphysema. He recorded albums by many artists including: Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Derek and the Dominos, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Cream, Lulu, Chicago, The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Meat Loaf, Sonny & Cher, The Rascals, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Kenny Loggins, Dusty Springfield, The Drifters and Otis Redding.

2004 : Queen became the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music was still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime, but an album of Queen’s greatest hits was released this week in Iran. Freddie Mercury, was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles had made Queen one of the most popular bands in Iran.

2005 : A reformed Cream sell out three nights at Madison Square Garden.

2005 : Madonna gave a surprise lecture at a New York university, discussing her career and new film after she arrived unannounced at City University’s Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students expected a screening of her new documentary, “I’m Going To Tell You a Secret” but they were also given the chance to question the singer.

2006 : Forbes.com revealed that Kurt Cobain had overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity. Cobain’s work earned $50m in the 12 months to October 2006, compared with Presley’s $42m. Former Beatle John Lennon earned $35m.

2006 : To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its best-selling album, Def Leppard reissues Hysteria as a two-CD package. Beyond a remastered edition of the original album, the new edition includes a bonus disc with a host of non-album tracks first issued during the period.