1814 : Francis Scott Key is inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner during the British attack of Fort McHenry on September 13, 1814 and the courageous defense made by American force.

1958 : Cliff Richard made his British TV debut on Jack good’s ‘Oh Boy’, performing ‘Move It’. Before he was allowed to appear on the show, Richard was ordered to remove his sideburns.

1959 : Elvis Presley meets his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu at a party at his house in Germany, where he is serving in the U.S. Army. They hit it off that night, with Elvis playing her some songs on guitar.

1960 : The Federal Communications act in the USA was amended to outlaw payments of cash or gifts in exchange for airplay of records.

1960 : A campaign was started in the UK to ban the American hit ‘Tell Laura I Love Her’ by Ray Peterson. The song was being denounced in the press as likely to inspire a teen-age “glorious death cult.” The story told of a lovesick youngster who drives in a stock car race to win the hand of his sweetheart. He crashes and just before dying, groans out the words of the title.

1963 : Graham Nash fell out of The Hollies van after a gig in Scotland. Nash checked to see if the door was locked, it wasn’t and he fell out as it traveled at 40 m.p.h.

1964 : During a UK tour two dozen rugby players were hired as ‘a human crash barrier’ at a Rolling Stones gig at the Liverpool Empire. The ‘human chain’ disappeared under a wave of 5,000 fans as the Stones took to the stage.

1964 : Murray The K’s latest rock and roll show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre ends after ten days, featuring Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas, The Shangri-Las, and Jay and the Americans.

1965 : The Paul McCartney song ‘Yesterday’ was released as a Beatles single in the US. The final recording was so different from other works by The Beatles that the band members vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. (However, it was issued as a single there in 1976.)

1965 : The Beatles win their first Grammy’s, for Best New Artist and Best Album (for A Hard Day’s Night), at the awards ceremony in New York.

1967 : The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company’s director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialised). One of his more outrageous plans was to replace the acoustic baffles around Ringo Starr’s drums with an invisible sonic force field. George Harrison later said that employing Mardas was “the biggest disaster of all time.”

1969 : John and Yoko flew to Canada with the Plastic Ono Band to perform at the Rock & Roll Revival Show in Toronto, Canada. The band members Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White were put together so late that they had to rehearse on the plane from England. Also making an appearance at the concert were Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley, The Doors and Alice Cooper. Lennon later released his performance as the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album.

1969 : The first day of the 3 day Rugby Bag Blues Festival in Warwickshire, England with Pink Floyd, The Nice, Taste, Free, Third Ear Band, Ralph McTell, Roy Harper, King Crimson, The Strawbs, Edgar Broughton, Spirit of John Morganand John Martyn, tickets from 12/6.

1969 : Santana’s LP “Santana” hits #1.

1973 : The New York Dolls perform “Trash” and “Personality Crisis” on The Midnight Special television program.

1975 : The Isley Brothers’ LP “The Heat Is On” hits #1.

1975 : Bruce Springsteen’s LP “Born To Run” enters the charts.

1979 : ABBA starts their first and only tour of North America with a show at the Edmonton Sports Arena.

1980 : The TV series Solid Gold premieres. Like its genre-mates American Bandstand and Soul Train, the show consists of Top-40 music (mostly recorded) in a studio with a dance stage and floor. A feature of the show was a specialty crew of “Solid Gold dancers” who would bump and grind to the tunes. Dionne Warwick is the host for the first season, but the show rotated through numerous hosts during its course. The show ran almost eight seasons before discontinuing in 1988.

1980 : Kelly Marie was at No.1 in the UK with the single ‘Feels Like I’m In Love’. Ray Dorset from Mungo Jerry wrote the song.

1982 : David Bowie reports to the Cook Islands to begin filming his role in the movie Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

1985 : ‘We Are The World’ won Best Group Video and the Viewer’s Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Don Henley’s ‘The Boys Of Summer’ video won four trophies, including Best Video. Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’ gets the nod for Best Male Video and Tina Turner won Best Female Video for ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’.

1986 : Berlin went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Giorgio Moroder written and produced ‘Take My Breath Away’. On the B side, The Righteous Brothers ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, both songs were featured in the film ‘Top Gun’.

1986 : The Communards were at No.1 on the UK with the singles chart with ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, which had been a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975 and later a hit for Thelma Houston.

1990 : Eddie Vedder does some surfing, writes some lyrics, and adds his vocals to three instrumental tracks recorded by the guys he would later join in Pearl Jam. The songs become “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps.”

1991 : Geffen Records threw a party to launch Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ The band ended up being thrown out of their own party after starting a food fight.

1992 : Skywalker Machine Gun Feedback, Jealous and Oasis all appeared as part of the UK music convention ‘In The City’ unsigned-band night in Manchester, England.

1993 : Max Weinberg, drummer with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, begins his new job as bandleader for NBC-TV’s new show Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

1996 : American rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur died after being shot six days earlier when he was driving through Las Vegas. 13 bullets were fired into his BMW. The incident was blamed on East and West Coast Gang wars. Shakur was a convicted sex offender, guilty of sexual abuse. After serving eleven months of his sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion “Suge” Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records.

1996 : Both Noel and Liam Gallagher arrived back in the UK on separate flights from the US amid rumors that Oasis were splitting. A statement from the record company said there would be no live gigs but the band would continue to record.

1997 : The Verve scored their first and only UK No.1 single with ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’, taken from their third album, Urban Hymns. The track became the band’s most successful single in the United Kingdom.

1998 : Lauryn Hill started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.’

2000 : Elton John threw a tantrum when he was set to appear at a sell-out show at the Estoril Casino near Lisbon. Elton was unhappy after the audience were slow in leaving a VIP dinner before the concert, Elton left the building and flew home on his private jet without playing a note.

2003 : US stores Wal-Mart were refusing to stock ‘Permission To Land’ the Number 1 album by UK rock group The Darkness because the sleeve featured a woman’s bottom.

2003 : Michael Jackson held a charity party for 500 guests at his Neverland ranch in Santa Ynes Santa Barbara County, with tickets costing $5000.

2005 : The home where Jimi Hendrix grew up in Seattle was saved from demolition after a new location was agreed at the last minute. The James Marshall Hendrix Foundation and the City of Seattle agreed to renovate the building into a community center opposite the cemetery where the guitarist was buried in 1970.

2005 : The Sex Pistols were among new names added to a celebrity Walk of Fame in Covent Garden London. Other musical celebrities to immortalized on the Avenue of the Stars include Bob Geldof, Tom Jones, Gracie Fields and Bob Hope.

2008 : “Come Dancing”, a musical devoted to the music of The Kinks, opens in London.

2009 : Green Day capture three trophies at MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Rock Video for 21 Guns.

2009 : Vera Lynn went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn’. At the age of 92 it made her the oldest living artist to achieve this feat with an album. The previous oldest living artist to top the charts was Bob Dylan, who at 67 saw his album ‘Together Through Life’ become number one in the UK earlier this year.

2010 : George Michael was sent to jail for eight weeks after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis in Hampstead, north London last July. He smiled in disbelief as the sentence was passed and he was led away to the cells.

2011 : The B-52’s play their first ever show in Idaho, finally performing their song Private Idaho in the state that inspired it.

2012 : An unlucky day for Mickey Hart, former drummer for the Grateful Dead, as police in Hollywood issue a warrant for his arrest in connection with a charge of assault at an alleged incident at a nightclub. Hart firmly denies the incident.