2024: Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh dies at 84. A founding member in 1965, he played with the band for three decades and later kept the music alive with his group Phil Lesh and Friends.
2017: Country legend Kenny Rogers gets an all-star farewell concert in Nashville. Chris Stapleton, Lionel Richie and Don Henley performed his songs to honor his 60-year career, and Rogers closed the night alongside Dolly Parton on “Islands in the Stream.” He died in 2020 at 81.
2010: Taylor Swift releases Speak Now. Swift wrote every song on the album herself, including “Mean,” aimed at her critics. It sold more than a million copies in its first week.
2008: Britney Spears tops the Hot 100 with “Womanizer.” It was her first number one since “…Baby One More Time” nearly ten years earlier, and served as the lead single from her album Circus.
2003: Ludacris scores his first number-one album with Chicken-N-Beer. The Atlanta rapper's album was powered by the number-one single “Stand Up,” a milestone for the Dirty South hip-hop sound.
1999: Dolly Parton releases the bluegrass album The Grass Is Blue. The back-to-her-roots record went on to win the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.
1997: Johnny Cash tells a concert crowd he has Parkinson's disease. The announcement came from the stage in Flint, Michigan, and his manager confirmed the news two days later.
1992: Country singer and songwriter Roger Miller dies at 56. Best remembered for “King of the Road,” he also wrote the songs for the Broadway musical Big River, which won the Tony for Best Musical.
1986: Cyndi Lauper's “True Colors” hits number one. Written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, the ballad was the title track of her second album and became her second chart topper in the U.S.
1980: Barbra Streisand's “Woman in Love” reaches number one. Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees wrote the song, which came from her album Guilty, produced by Barry Gibb.
1977: Elton John guest stars on The Muppet Show. He performed “Crocodile Rock,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Don't Go Breaking My Heart,” and his flashy style helped inspire the Muppet bandleader Dr. Teeth.
1975: Paul Simon releases Still Crazy After All These Years. It became the former Simon & Garfunkel star's first number-one solo album, with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and the title track reaching the Top 40. It later won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
1968: Led Zeppelin plays its first show under that name. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham had been touring as the New Yardbirds before the gig at Surrey University in England.
1964: The Rolling Stones make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. They played “Around and Around” and “Time Is on My Side,” which soon became their first Top 10 hit in America. They returned to the show five more times.
1961: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards cross paths at a train station in Dartford, England. The childhood acquaintances bonded over a shared love of blues and rock and roll records, a meeting that led to the formation of The Rolling Stones.
Born on This Day
1985: Ciara, American singer Turns 41. The R&B star broke through with “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step.”
1984: Katy Perry, American singer Turns 42. Her hits include “I Kissed a Girl,” “Firework” and “Roar.”
1970: Ed Robertson, Canadian singer (Barenaked Ladies) Turns 56. Sang lead on “One Week” and wrote the theme to The Big Bang Theory.
1970: Chely Wright, American country singer Turns 56. Best known for the 1999 hit “Single White Female.”
1968: Speech, American rapper (Arrested Development) Turns 58. Led the group on the early 1990s hits “Tennessee” and “Mr. Wendal.”
1961: Chad Smith, American drummer (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Turns 65. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he has anchored the band since the late 1980s.
1959: Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer (Divinyls) Fronted the band on the 1991 hit “I Touch Myself.”
1955: Matthias Jabs, German guitarist (Scorpions) Turns 71. Lead guitarist on “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “Wind of Change.”
1947: Glenn Tipton, English guitarist (Judas Priest) Turns 79. One half of the heavy metal band's twin guitar attack on “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight.”
1944: Jon Anderson, English singer (Yes) Turns 82. The voice of “Roundabout” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”
1944: Taffy Danoff, American singer (Starland Vocal Band) Sang on the group's 1976 number-one hit “Afternoon Delight.”
1943: Dick Dodd, American singer (The Standells) A former Mouseketeer, he sang lead on the garage rock classic “Dirty Water.”
1941: Helen Reddy, Australian-American singer Best known for the 1972 anthem “I Am Woman,” along with “Delta Dawn” and “Angie Baby.”
1924: Earl Palmer, American drummer The New Orleans session great played on classic records by Little Richard and Fats Domino.
1912: Minnie Pearl, American country comedian The Grand Ole Opry favorite was famous for her “How-DEE!” greeting and her hat with the price tag on Hee Haw.
1838: Georges Bizet, French composer Wrote the opera Carmen.
1825: Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer The “Waltz King” wrote “The Blue Danube.”
