Today in rock history 17th July

1939 – Spencer Davis, he of the Spencer Davis Group, is born in Swansea, Wales.

1949 – Bassist Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath is born in Birmingham

1949 – Mick Tucker, who only could have played drums for Sweet with a name like that, is born in Harlesden, England.

1967 - Jimi Hendrix either quit or was fired as the opening act for the Monkees' US tour after only five days. Mickey Dolenz later recalled, "Jimi would amble out onto the stage, fire up the amps and break out into 'Purple Haze' and the kids in the audience would instantly drown him out with 'We want Daaavy!'

1968 – The full-length animated film “Yellow Submarine,” with songs by the Beatles, premieres in London.

1972 – In Montreal, a bomb destroys several speaker cones inside an equipment truck belonging to the touring Rolling Stones. The musical terrorist responsible remains at large.

1974 – The Moody Blues open the first quadraphonic studio in London.

1974 – The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service orders John Lennon to leave the country within 60 days.

1975 – Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

1979 – Guitarist Gary Moore leaves Thin Lizzy, to be replaced by future Ultravox member and “Do They Know It’s Christmas” songwriter Midge Ure.

1987 – Keith Richards signs with Virgin Records as a solo artist

1987 – The Ozzy Osbourne Band started a 16-week tour of US prisons.

1991 – The revamped Lynyrd Skynyrd launch their latest world tour in Baton Rouge, La.

1994 – In Pontiac, Mich., Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley make a surprise appearance at a Kiss convention. But while browsing the stalls, they discover Kiss costumes stolen from them more than a decade ago.

1996 – Chas Chandler, the Animals bassist who became Jimi Hendrix’s manager, dies in England at age 58.

1996 – Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlin is fired from the band. A week earlier the drummer had been arrested on drug-possession charges in connection with the fatal overdose of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin.

2000 – British vocalist Paul Young, who sang with Mike And The Mechanics and Sad Cafe, dies of a heart attack in Cheshire,

2006 – Hunky Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and teen fantasy Carmen Electra announce they are splitting after three years of marriage. Their beautiful division is described as “amicable.”

2011 – The main stage at Ottawa Bluesfest collapsed during a Cheap Trick concert as a severe thunderstorm sent the musicians and thousands of fans running for cover.

2011 - Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a tribute to Clarence Clemons at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, N.J. The boss played a 45 minute set to an intimate crowd of 400.

Today in rock history 16th July

1952 – Stewart Copeland of the Police is born in Alexandria, Egypt.

1966 – Eric Clapton forms Cream with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker.

1968 – Big Brother & the Holding Company and Sly & the Family Stone open the Fillmore West, the new name given to San Francisco’s Carousel Ballroom since Bill Graham took over.

1969 – On TV tonight, it’s a meeting of the minds as Janis Joplin appears on The Dick Cavett Show.

1969 - The Beatles worked on two new George Harrison songs, "Here Comes The Sun" and "Something" during recording sessions at Abbey Road studios in London.

1969 – The Who release their single “I’m Free” from Tommy. It goes to No. 37.

1973 – NBC broadcasts David Bowie’s TV special

1976 – The Allman Brothers Band splits up.

1980 – No Nukes, a documentary film on the benefit concerts of the same name starring Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor, premieres in New York.

1981 – Harry Chapin dies in an auto accident in Jericho, N.Y., while on his way to play a benefit performance.

1983 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Every Breath You Take,” The Police.

1984 – Roger Waters kicks off his Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking tour with Eric Clapton in Stockholm.

1992 – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts walks off the set of Late Night With David Letterman with his quintet after a disagreement with the show’s producer.

1993 – Bob Dylan has to cancel a show in Lyon, France, due to his bad back.

1993 – In Buenos Aires, a judge throws out a case of drug possession involving Guns N’ Roses. The “drugs” were in fact just vitamins.

1996 – Drummer John Panozzo dies at the age of 49 this day in rock. John was the drummer for the band Styx.

2002 – Dave Matthews Band release Busted Stuff, whose songs date from bootlegged sessions held with producer Steve Lillywhite prior to the release of 2001’s Everyday.

2003 – Santana wraps up his Supernatural tour and donates $2 million to help conquer the AIDS crisis in South Africa.

2003 – Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde blocks traffic with fellow PETA protesters in front of a Paris Kentucky Fried Chicken. They also cover the restaurant’s windows in red blood. Hynde is taken into police custody and released about an hour later.

2007 – The White Stripes played their ‘shortest live show ever’ at George Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Jack White played a single C# note accompanied by a bass drum/crash cymbal hit from Meg. At the end of the show, Jack announced, “We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada.”

2012 - Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord died after suffering a pulmonary embolism at the London Clinic. He was 71 years old.

2014 - Johnny Winter, the Blues guitarist who overcame albinism and poor eye sight and rose to fame as an arena-level concert draw in the early to mid-'70s, died at the age of 70.

2016 - A two-page, handwritten letter from Paul McCartney to Prince was sold by Boston's RR Auction for nearly $15,000. The note, which begins "Dear Princely person," shows the former Beatle asking for a donation to help establish the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which McCartney co-founded in 1996.

Today in rock history 15th July

1949 – Producer Trevor Horn is born in Hertfordshire,

1952 – New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders is born in Leesburg, Fla.

1956 – Joseph “Satch” Satriani is born

1956 – Born on this day, Ian Curtis, guitar, vocals, Warsaw, Joy Division,

1958 – John Lennon’s mother, Julia, dies in a road accident in Liverpool, England, thereby providing the young songwriter with plenty of angst-ridden solo material.

1963 – Paul McCartney is busted for speeding and fined 17 pounds for the offense.

1967 – Jefferson Airplane and the Doors perform at the Anaheim Civic Center in California. Jim Morrison behaves himself.

1968 – Creedence Clearwater Revival release their self-titled debut album.

1970 – Creedence Clearwater Revival release their very popular fifth album, Cosmo’s Factory.

1970 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” Three Dog Night. The song is written by Randy Newman.

1971 – Yoko Ono appears at the London department store Selfridges, where she signs copies of her book Grapefruit. John Lennon turns up to lend a wrist.

1973 – A depressed Ray Davies, balancing a beer can on his head, announces he is retiring from music during a Kinks concert at London’s White City Stadium.

1974 – Elton John re-signs with MCA. Elton will receive $8 million for delivering his next five albums to the record label, including Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

1988 - MTV bans Neil Young's video "This Note Is For You", which parodied corporate Rock by showing a Michael Jackson look-alike whose hair catches fire. The ban would soon be lifted and the video was put into heavy rotation, resulting in it eventually winning the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year in 1989.

1989 – Pink Floyd perform in Venice on a floating stage. Seems like a good idea. But the 200,000 people who gather to see them end up causing damage to the city’s bridges and make marble crumble from centuries-old buildings.

1994 – Phil Collins, whose songs like “In the Air Tonight” dwelled on the breakup of his first marriage, announces that he’s divorcing his latest wife, Jill.

1999 – The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir marries his lady Natasha.

1999 – Opening night of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s North American reunion tour.

1999 – Rock drummer Tommy Lee is congratulated by a judge for abstaining from drugs and alcohol while on probation for spousal abuse.

2002 – Sir Paul McCartney was named the highest-earning music star of the year so far after selling tickets worth £33.9m during his recent US tour.

2004 – U2 called in police after thieves nicked a copy of the bands latest album ‘Vertigo’. The CD was stolen during a photo shoot with the band in the south of France.

2006 – Avril Lavigne is married to sweetheart Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 in Montecito, California.

2007 – The UK music industry reacted angrily at a decision to give away ‘Planet Earth’ the new album by Prince as a ‘covermount’ with the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

2015 - Neil Young announced on his Facebook page that he intended to remove his music from all streaming services because he was unsatisfied with the quality of the sound.

2017 - The first Eagles concert since Glenn Frey passed away in January, 2016, took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Detroit rocker Bob Seger joined Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh and Vince Gill for "Heartache Tonight".

Today in rock history 14th July

1912 – Folk singer Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie) is born.

1958 - The Quarrymen, featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John "Duff" Lowe on piano and Colin Hanton on drums, record a vanity disc at a small studio in an electronics shop owned by a man named Percy Phillips.

1967 – The Who begins its first U.S. tour, opening for Herman’s Hermits.

1968 – Promoter Bill Graham leaves the Fillmore Auditorium to take over San Francisco’s Carousel Ballroom. Electric Flag and Blue Cheer play the final Fillmore concerts.

1969 – At the Mississippi River Rock Festival, the Band find themselves upstaged when their boss, Bob Dylan, joins them on stage for three songs. He’s introduced as “Elmer Johnson.”

1973 - Clarence White, a former guitarist with The Byrds, was killed by a drunk driver while loading his car after a gig in Lancaster, California. He was 29.

1977 – Elvis Costello played the first gig with his new band, The Attractions, less than a week after quitting his day job at Elizabeth Arden.

1980 – Former Beatles and Stones manager Allen Klein begins a two-month jail sentence for cheating on his tax return.

1982 – Alan Parker’s film Pink Floyd’s The Wall premieres at the Leicester Square Empire in London.

1987 – Steve Miller is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989 – Alice Cooper releases his comeback single “Poison.” It later goes to No. 7, his biggest hit since 1972’s “School’s Out.”

1992 – Megadeth release their fifth album Countdown to Extinction, which becomes their most successful record to date – peaking at No. 2 in the Billboard album charts.

1992- Motley Crue began writing & rehearsing with their new singer John Corabi. Their first and only album with Corabi was released in March of 1994.

2007 – A pair of glasses worn by former Beatle John Lennon sparked a bidding war after being offered for sale online. The circular sunglasses were worn by Lennon during the Beatles 1966 tour of Japan, where the band played some of their last ever live dates.

2011 - Triumph had a street named after them in their hometown of Mississauga, ON. The dedication of Triumph Lane was attended by all three members of the group.

2012 – Bruce Springsteen with Paul McCartney performs in London’s Hyde Park and gets the plug pulled.

Today in rock history 13th July

1942 – Drummer Stephen Jo Bladd of the J. Geils Band is born in Boston.

1942 - Roger McGuinn-singer & guitarist for The Byrds born today

1955 – Twisted Sister bassist, Mark Mendoza born today

1957 – Elvis tops the English charts for the first time with “All Shook Up.”

1962 – Bob Dylan signs a deal with the music publisher Witmark.

1967 – Herman’s Hermits kick off their North American tour in Calgary, Alberta. With The Who opening up for them

1968 – Steppenwolf release “Born to Be Wild” to the delight of bikers everywhere. The lyrics are responsible for the term “heavy metal.”

1968 - Black Sabbath performed their first concert at a blues club in Birmingham, U.K. At the time of this performance they were known as Earth.

1969 – New York’s Flushing Meadows Singer Bowl plays host to a festival that sees sets from the Jeff Beck Group, Vanilla Fudge, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, and Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin literally play a set that no one can follow, and Vanilla Fudge pull out of the lineup rather than try to top the heavy metal quartet. During the Jeff Beck Group’s set, John Bonham strips off his clothes and has to be bundled off stage. The evening ends with various musicians performing “Jailhouse Rock.”

1973 – Queen release their self-titled debut album.

1974 – Eric Clapton releases his hit version of “I Shot the Sheriff.”

1978 – The BBC bans the Sex Pistols song “No One Is Innocent.”

1981 – Bob Dylan gives a press conference in Denmark after having seen an interview with an imposter in a Danish newspaper. He answers questions for two hours.

1984 – The Jacksons’ Victory tour reaches Dallas, where Eddie Van Halen joins Michael Jackson on stage to perform “Beat It.”

1985 -  Live Aid, spearheaded by Bob Geldof to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia was held in London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium. Performers included Sting, U2, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Bryan Adams, Neil Young and Led Zeppelin.

1991 - Bryan Adams went to number one for a record 16 weeks on the U.K. singles chart with “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” a record that still stands to this day.

1993 – At the All-Star baseball game in Baltimore, Rush’s Geddy Lee treats the audience to his interpretation of “Oh Canada.”

1996 - Over 2,000 guitar players, including Chet Atkins and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, set a new world record for the largest jam session ever when they played "Heartbreak Hotel" for 75 straight minutes at Nashville's Riverfront Park.

2002 – Oasis, Gomez, No Doubt, Starsailor, Foo Fighters, Chemical Brothers and Green Day all appeared at this years two day T In The Park Festival at Kinross, Scotland.

2004 – New York Dolls bassist Arthur Kane dies in Los Angeles due to complications from leukemia. He is 55.

2006 – Evanescence’s Amy Lee reveals that bassist William Boyd is the latest musician to leave her multi-platinum band

2007 – Rod Stewart collected his CBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

2015 - Clark County medical examiners issued a statement that said they had found no evidence to prove allegations by two of B.B. King's adult children that the Blues legend had been poisoned, hastening their father's death last May.

Today in rock history 12th July

1943 - Christine McVie-keyboardist and singer for Fleetwood Mac is born

1950 - Eric Carr-drummer for Kiss is born

1952 – Bassist Phil Kramer of Iron Butterfly is born in Youngstown, Ohio.

1954 – Elvis Presley signs his first recording contract (Sun Records) and quits his job as a truck driver.

1962 – The Rolling Stones make their performing debut at the Marquee Club in London.

1969 – Blind Faith makes its live debut in the United States at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1970 – A solo Janis Joplin plays her first gig backed by the Full Tilt Boogie Band in Louisville, Ky.

1979 - Chicago disc jockey Steve Dahl held the infamous Disco Demolition between games of a baseball doubleheader at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

1979 – Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice joins Whitesnake

1992 – Police arrest Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose at New York’s Kennedy Airport on charges related to a 1991 incident at a concert in St. Louis. The singer is said to have started a melee by diving into a crowd during the Guns N’ Roses concert.

1999 – Limp Bizkit frontman and Interscope senior executive Fred Durst is arrested in St. Paul, Minn. after allegedly kicking a local security guard in the head during the band’s show at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

2000 -A statue honouring John Lennon is unveiled in London. The sculpture is of a handgun with a knotted barrel.

2003 –Rob Halford announces he’s rejoining Judas Priest for a new album and tour – their first together in 13 years.

2005 – Veteran rock group INXS emerges from the land down under with a new record deal and a very public search for a new singer. The band launches their reality show, Rock Star: INXS, to replace late frontman Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997.

2012 – The Rolling Stones release “The Rolling Stones: 50″ Photo album

2012 – Steven Tyler, Aerosmith, quits‘American Idol’ for the following season,saying he wants to dedicate himself to his band. “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back,”

2012 - Pollstar magazine announced that former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters had racked up $158.1 million in concert ticket sales worldwide so far this year with 'The Wall Live' show.

Today in rock history 11th July

1960 – Richie Sambora, guitar god with Bon Jovi and owner of a great set of teeth, is born in New Jersey.

1964 - After being recorded on May 18th in just one take, The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" topped the UK chart.

1969 – Led Zeppelin play at Laurel Pop Festival

1969 – David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” album is released.

1974 - The Grateful Dead receive two Gold records for albums they released in 1970, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty".

1979 – Los Angeles’ Bruin Theatre hosts the premiere of Rust Never Sleeps, a concert film directed by Neil Young.

1987 – Heart are at the top the American singles charts with their ballad, “Alone.”

1995 – R.E.M.’s Mike Mills becomes yet another rock casualty on the ill-fated Monster tour. He undergoes abdominal surgery while the band is in Germany.

1998 – MTV airs “Beastiography,” a special profiling the Beastie Boys.

1999 - Iron Maiden kicked off their first tour in six years with Bruce Dickinson singing for them at the Harbour Station in St. John, NB.

1999 – Limp Bizkit started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Significant Other’ the bands first US No.1.

2000 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich & The Byrds’ guitarist Roger McGuinn testified at a U.S. Senate hearing over copyright law issues concerning songs being downloaded for free on the internet.

2002 – The funeral of The Who’s bass player John Entwistle took place at a church in The Cotswolds. More than 200 mourners filed into the 12th century church of St Edward in Stow-on-the-wold

2004 – Lenny Kravitz, Avril Lavigne, Jamelia, Alanis Morisette, Nelly Furtado, The Corrs and Lionel Richie all play the Prince’s Trust concert held in London’s Hyde Park.

2008 - The hand-painted drum skin that appeared on the cover of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" sold for $1.1 million at a Christie's memorabilia sale in London.

2013 – Sammy Hagar’s new album has such great talent as, Neal Schon, Joe Satriani, Nancy Wilson.

2014 - Tommy Ramone, drummer for The Ramones, died from from cancer of the bile duct at the age of 62.

Today in rock history 10th July

1949 – Ronnie James Dio is born in Portsmouth, N.H.

1952 – Memphis producer and Sun Studios owner Sam Phillips records the last of five sessions with bluesman Howlin’ Wolf.

1954 – Memphis’ WHBQ plays Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right (Mama)” for the first time.

1964 – An estimated 200,000 people lines the route the Beatles take to a civic reception in Liverpool, England, where their film A Hard Day’s Night has its premiere in the North of England.

1965 – The Rolling Stones have their first American No. 1 with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

1966 – On The Ed Sullivan Show tonight, Ed plays host to those naughty Rolling Stones.

1968 – After they burn an American flag onstage, the Nice (“America”) are banned from London’s Royal Albert Hall.

1969 – Rolling Stone Brian Jones is buried in the Priory Road Cemetery in Cheltenham, England, following a funeral attended by the Rolling Stones minus Mick Jagger, who is in Australia filming Ned Kelly.

1972 – Harry Nilsson releases his Son of Schmilsson album, featuring contributions from George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

1975 – Cher files for divorce from Gregg Allman a mere 10 days after they were married.

1979 – Chuck Berry is sentenced to four months in jail for income tax evasion.

1984 – Huey Lewis & the News sing the national anthem at the All-Star baseball game In San Francisco.

1986 – Jerry Garcia slips into a diabetic coma.

1993 – Bob Seger marries Juanita Doricott.

1994 – Guitarist Scott Ian of Anthrax marries Debbie Leavitt.

1997 – Chrissie Hynde marries Lucho Brieva, an artist from Colombia who is 14 years her junior.

2010 - A US judge drastically reduced a $675,000 US verdict against a Boston University graduate student charged with illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs.

2011 - A pub in Dundee, Scotland called Lennon's Bar was forced to change the name of the venue and remove all Beatles memorabilia after Yoko Ono threatened legal action for copyright infringement.

2015 - John Fogerty filed a breach of contract lawsuit against two of his former Creedence Clearwater Revival band mates, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, alleging that the pair were not honouring their earlier agreement that the name could only be used when the pair appeared on stage together.

Today in rock history 9th July

1946 – Bon (Ronald Belford) Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, is born in Kirriemuir, Scotland.

1966 – The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” enters the top 40.

1971 – Jim Morrison is buried in Paris’ Pere Lachaise Cemetery, his family having disowned him. The often-vandalized grave becomes a shrine for fans.

1972 – Paul McCartney’s Wings makes its concert debut in Chateauvillon, France. It is McCartney’s first live performance since the breakup of the Beatles.

1974 - Crosby, Stills, and Nash start their reunion tour in Seattle.

1978 – The Rolling Stones drop in on Chicago’s Quiet Knight club to jam with hero Muddy Waters.

1983 - The Police started an eight week run at #1 on the US singles chart with "Every Breath You Take", also a chart topper in the UK.

1990 – After complaining of an inflamed finger at a Glasgow, Scotland, concert, Keith Richards discovers the digit has gone septic.

1996 – For the first time, Deep Purple play “Smoke on the Water” in the Swiss city that inspired the tune. The band wrote “Smoke on the Water” after surviving a nightclub fire in Montreux.

1998 – Scott Weiland misses his second court date, stemming from drug possession charges earlier in the year.

1999 – The marriage between Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall is annulled in an English court.

2001 – James Hetfield, lead singer and guitarist of hard rock act Metallica, checks himself into an undisclosed rehab facility “to undergo treatment for alcoholism and other addictions.”

2003 – The White Stripes guitarist/singer Jack White is in a car accident in his native Detroit, leaving him with a compound fracture to his left index finger.

2004 – Courtney Love is rushed to hospital in New York with what her lawyer calls “a gynecological medical condition.”

2006 – A plaque is stolen from Bon Scott’s grave in Western Australia on what would have been the late AC/DC frontman’s 60th birthday.

2010 – Slash featuring Myles Kennedy with special guest Fergie to perform at Sunset Strip Music Festival.

2013 - Jon Bon Jovi returned to his home town of Sayreville, New Jersey to donate $1 million to the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

2015 - A New Zealand judge sentenced AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd to eight months of home detention after the musician pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man who used to work for him.

Today in rock history 8th July

1944 - Jaimoe Johanson,drummer for The Allman Brothers Band born

1954 – Producer Sam Phillips took an acetate recording of Elvis Presley singing ‘That’s All Right’ to Memphis radio station WHBQ DJ Dewey Phillips.

1956 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley & His Comets. The song is the opening theme for the film “The Blackboard Jungle,” starring Glenn Ford and inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.

1969 - Marianne Faithfull collapsed due to a barbiturate overdose on the set of Ned Kelly after Mick Jagger told her their relationship was over and was sent to a Sydney hospital. She was later dropped from the movie.

1970 – Beck Hansen born today

1971 - A mini riot broke out during a Mott the Hoople concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which caused the venue to temporarily ban rock concerts.

1984 – At Wembley Stadium, Bob Dylan is joined by U2’s Bono and Van Morrison. All three unite for a spin through “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

2000 – Halfway into the first song of the band’s encore for their Mannheim, Germany show, Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers falls losing his footing and plunges 10-feet off the front of the stage and into the photographers’ pit.

2003 – A tooth and lock of hair reputedly belonging to Elvis Presley turns up for sale on eBay.

2003 – Canadian rockers Nickelback film the video to “Someday” with director Nigel Dick in their Vancouver hometown.

2003 – Upon the release of the 2003 UN Human Development report, U2 singer and campaigner Bono says he’s “about to bang a lot of dustbin lids” if the problem of global poverty is not addressed soon.

2003 – David Lee Roth releases Diamond Dave during the course of which he butchers – I mean, covers – The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen,” Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 was 9″ and The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

2004 – Scott Weiland, formerly of Stone Temple Pilots and lately of the chart-topping Velvet Revolver, is given three years probation after being found guilty of DUI in a Los Angeles court.

2004 – Mark Purseglove known as the world’s ‘biggest bootlegger’ was sentenced to 3 years 6 months jail by Blackfriars Crown Court. Purseglove had built up a £15 million pirate CD empire by bootlegging live concerts of some of the world’s biggest stars including The Beatles, David Bowie and Pink Floyd.

2010 – Bret Michaels’ doctors deny rumours that singer faked medical emergencies

2010 – Ozzy Osbourne has said he was against the idea of replacing Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake’s work on his first two solo albums.

Today in rock history 7th July

1940 – Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) is born in Liverpool,

1957 – Elvis Presley scored his first UK No.1 with ‘All Shook Up’,

1962 – The Beatles played at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, in Birkenhead. The show was a dance for the local golf club, the capacity of the hall was 450, but 500 people squeezed in to hear and see The Beatles.

1963 – The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars.’ Also appearing on the show was, Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The group made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966.

1966 – The Kinks were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Sunny Afternoon’, the group’s third and last UK No.1.

1967 – The Monkees open a national tour with little-known Jimi Hendrix as the opening act.

1968 – The Yardbirds finally call it quits, leading guitarist Jimmy Page to form the New Yardbirds in order to fulfill some tour commitments. The group, featuring Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, becomes Led Zeppelin.

1969 – George Harrison recorded his new song ‘Here Comes the Sun’ with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1973 – Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1978 – The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

1986 – David Lee Roth releases his first solo album, Eat ‘Em and Smile. Rolling Stone decides, “Roth seems to have taken up the challenge from replacement shouter Sammy Hagar to enter into a full-scale battle of the bozos.”

1986 – Bob Dylan performs a second gig with the Grateful Dead, joining them for three songs.

1995 – Rod Stewart’s jet is forced to land at Landvetter Gothenburg International Airport in Sweden after it collides with a bird.

2000 – Metallica vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield aggravates a chronic back injury before a show at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. The band plays its scheduled sets on the Summer Sanitorium tour in Atlanta, Sparta, Ky., and Irving, Texas, with bassist Jason Newstead handling vocal chores on several songs

2003 – Godsmack cancel their European tour due to “a few projects with contractual deadlines that couldn’t be moved,” according to a spokesperson for the Boston rockers.

2004 – A judge rules that the independent Cleopatra Records label can release Hollywood Rose: The Roots of Guns N’ Roses, an album of early recordings and demos, over the objections of singer Axl Rose.

2006 – Pink Floyd co-founder Roger “Syd” Barrett dies in Cambridge, England at the age of 60, due to complications from diabetes.

2007 – Ozzy Osbourne became the first artist to be honoured on Birmingham’s own Hollywood-style Walk of Fame. The singer, from Aston, told more than 1,000 fans on Broad Street that the brass paving star meant more to him that than any Hollywood accolade.

2007 - Twelve concerts took place around the world as part of Live Earth to raise awareness of global warming. These concerts took place in London, New York, Washington D.C., Sydney, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hamburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Rome and Antarctica. Some of the artists that performed included The Police, Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Cat Stevens & Spinal Tap

2010 – Paul McCartney celebrated Ringo Starr’s 70th birthday performing at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Today in rock history 6th July

1925 – Rock `n’ roll pioneer Bill Haley (William John Clifton Haley Jr.) is born in Highland Park, a section of Detroit.

1949 - Mike Shrieve-drummer for Santana is born

1956 – Paul McCartney meets John Lennon of The Quarry Men It was Saturday, July 6th, 1956 and John Lennon’s skiffle group, The Quarry Men, were playing Woolton Village Church Garden Fete.

1964 – A Hard Day’s Night premieres in London before Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon at the London Pavilion. The Beatles won’t get a chance to see the finished film until July 10.

1965 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones. It is the Stones’ first No. 1 single in the U.S.

1967 – Pink Floyd perform for the third time on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, promoting their successful “See Emily Play” single.

1973 – Queen release their debut single in the U.K., “Keep Yourself Alive.”

1976 – The Damned give their performance debut at the 100 Club in London.

1980 – 36 Ted Nugent fans are arrested for supposedly smoking pot and throwing bottles at the Gonzo Rocker’s Concert, in Hollywood, Fla.

1991 – Van Halen’s “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’‘ debuts at No. 1 on Chart Toppers’s pop album chart.

1995 – A day after the Justice Department refuses to investigate Ticketmaster, Pearl Jam issues a statement saying they are “disappointed” in the result.

2002 – Jimmie Lee Robinson, a Chicago blues stalwart known for his pointed lyrics and storyteller’s sensibility is found dead in his car on Chicago’s southwest side. He is 71.

2002 - George Harrison's widow Olivia put the couple's home up for sale for 20 million pounds, saying she couldn't bear to live with the memories of the attack by schizophrenic Michael Abram who broke into the house in 1999.

2003 – Skip Battin, former bassist for the Byrds and other notable country-rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s, dies near Palm Springs, Calif., of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He is 69.

2003 – Eight people are struck by lightning before a Dave Matthews Band concert in East Troy, Wisconsin.

2004 – Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Tenacious D and Liz Phair play a Los Angeles fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

2005 – Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof becomes the first member of the Boomtown Rats to ever be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

2012 – Celebrated American electric guitarist Eric Johnson kicks off his first ever solo UK tour.