1964-A riot broke out during a The Rolling Stones' gig at The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire. Keith Richards noticed a man with his hands on the stage exhorting the crowd to spit, and warned him, but the spitting continued. Richards is then reported to have stood on his hands and kicked him in the face, whereupon some of the 7000 fans in attendance started fighting, causing over 4,000 Pounds in damage. Blackpool City Council later voted to ban The Stones from playing in the city. 44 years later, the 2008 council voted to lift the ban, but a spokesman for the group said they had no plans to return.
1967-Jefferson Airplane's second album "Surrealistic Pillow" is certified Gold on the strength of the Top Ten hits, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit".
1972-23-year-old Bobby Ramirez, drummer with Edger Winter's White Trash, was killed in a bar fight in Chicago after some redneck made a comment about the length of his hair. He died of head injuries after being kicked with steel-tipped shoes
1976-Elton John, who had already achieved stardom in the United States, had his first hit in the UK with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a duet with Kiki Dee. Like many of Elton's singles from his early career, the song was never included on an original album.
1982-A Chicago quintet called Survivor started a six week run at #1 on the Billboard singles chart with "Eye Of The Tiger". The song also topped the UK chart. Over the next four years, the band would place six more songs on the Billboard Top 40 and become an icon of '80s Rock.
1982-John Cougar (Mellencamp) topped the Cashbox Best Sellers chart with "Hurts So Good". Two weeks later the record would climb to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay in the Top 10 for 16 weeks, longer than any other song in the 1980s.
2011-Dan Peek, a founding member of the Soft Rock trio America died in his sleep at the age of 60. The group notched eight Top 40 hits in the US between 1971 and 1975, including "Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Highway", "Tin Man", "Daisy Jane" and Peek's own composition "Lonely People".
BORN TODAY
1944-Jim Armstrong
guitarist with Van Morrison and Them, also played with The Doors, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa.
1961-Paul Geary
drummer with Extreme