1926, The first issue of The Melody Maker went on sale priced at 3d. The monthly magazine was for 'all who are interested in the production of popular music'. In the first issue, Dance Band news, a feature on Ukuleles and how to read music by sight. Advertisements in Melody Maker helped assemble the line-ups of a number of major bands, including: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Supertramp and The Stranglers. 
 
1954, Eddie Calvert started a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles with 'Oh, Mein Papa.' This was the first No.1 to be recorded at Abbey Road studios in London and stayed at the top of the charts for 9 weeks. 
 
1965,  Elvis Presley  went to No.1 on the US album chart with the soundtrack from 'Roustabout,' Presley's eighth No.1. 
 
1969, The entire shipment of  John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album 'Two Virgins' was seized by authorities in New Jersey due to the full frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover. The album was eventually wrapped in plain brown paper in record stores. 
 
1969,  Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los Angeles during the bands first North American tour. Support group was the Alice Cooper band. 

1969, Filming began at Twickenham studios in England of  The Beatles rehearsing for the 'Let It Be' album. The project ran into several problems including  George Harrison  walking out on the group on January 10th. 
 
1971, The  George Harrison  album 'All Things Must Pass' started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart, making Harrison the first solo Beatle to score a US No.1 album. The triple album included the hit singles 'My Sweet Lord' and 'What Is Life', as well as songs such as 'Isn't It a Pity' and the title track that were turned down by  The Beatles. 
 
1974, US country singer, actor and radio presenter Tex Ritter died of a heart attack when he was trying to bail a member of his band from a jail in Nashville. His song 'High Noon' won an Oscar for Best Song in 1952. 
 
1979,  Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious went on trial in New York accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen three months earlier, when he claimed to have awoken from a drugged stupor to find Spungen dead on the bathroom floor of their room in the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, New York. 
 
1980, US singer Larry Williams was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head in his Los Angeles, California home aged 45. Williams had the 1957 US No.5 & UK No. 21 single 'Short Fat Fannie.' Also known for 'Bony Moronie' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy.'  The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dr. Feelgood, Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Winter,  Little Richard, The Who, Ritchie Valens and Bill Haley & His Comets all covered his songs. 
 
1981, American singer David Lynch of The Platters died of cancer. (1959 UK & US No.1 single 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes'). 
 
1985, Rolling Stone  Ronnie Wood married his girlfriend Jo Woodin Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England. Guests included Keith Richard, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts,  Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and  Jeff Beck. The couple divorced in 2009. 
 
1989, Record Mirror published a chart of last years Top UK singles artists. No.1 was Kylie Minogue, No.2, Bros, No.3, Yazz, No.4 Tiffany, No.5, Phil Collins, No.6, Cliff Richard, No.7, Erasure, No.8, Pet Shop Boys, No.9, Belinda Carlisle, and No.10, Wet Wet Wet. 
 
1994,  Meat Loaf started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his sixth studio album Bat Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell. The LP, which featured the single 'I'd Do Anything for Love', also topped the charts in the US and Australia and has sold more than 14 million copies world-wide. 

1942, Born on this day, Joe McDonald, vocals, Country Joe and the Fish, 1968 US hit 'I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die.' 
 
1950, Born on this day, Morgan Fisher, keyboards,  Mott The Hoople,  1972 UK No.3 & US No.37 single 'All The Young Dudes', a song  David Bowie offered the band on hearing they were about to split up. 
 
1952, Born on this day. Andy Johns, producer and engineer who worked on classic albums by Led Zeppelin,  (Led Zeppelin II and all albums through to Physical Graffiti), the Rolling Stones,  (Sticky Fingers,   Exile On Main Street, Jimi Hendrix  (Axis: Bold as Love), Van Halen and many others. Johns, the younger brother of noted producer Glyn Johns died on April 7th 2013. 

1956, Born on this day, Diane Warren, US songwriter. Warren has written over 80 US Top 20 hits including;  Aerosmith, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing', LeAnn Rimes, 'How Do I Live', Toni Braxton, 'Un- Break My Heart', plus hits for Cher, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Rod Stewart and Ace Of Base. 
 
1956, Born on this day, Australian vocalist, guitarist, songwriter Martin Plaza from Mental As Anything best known for their 1985 hit 'Live It Up'. Plaza also had the 1986 No. 2 hit in Australia with his cover of the 1960s Unit 4+2 song 'Concrete and Clay'. 
 
1956, Born on this day, Andy Gill a founding member and guitarist for the English post-punk group Gang of Four. Their debut album, Entertainment!, was ranked as fifth greatest punk album of all time. 
 
1958, Born on this day, Joseph Saddler, (Grandmaster Flash), 1982 UK No.8 single 'The Message.' Major force in early Rap music, was given his nickname after his rapid hand movements on the record decks. 
 
1968, Born on this day, Rick J. Jordan (born Hendrik Stedler), German techno group Scooter who have sold over 14 million records and are considered the most successful single-record German act with 20 top ten hits. 2008 UK No.1 album 'Jumping All Over The World.' 
 
1972, Born on this day, Tom Barman, guitar, vocals with Belgium band, dEUS, (1996 UK Top 50 album 'Little Arithmetics'). 
 
1980, Born on this day, English guitarist Richie Faulkner. He joined Judas Priest in April 2010 replacing guitarist K. K. Downing. He also arranged music for actor Christopher Lee's heavy metal album Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, which was released on 27 May 2013, Lee's 91st birthday. 
 
1985, Born on this day, British songwriter, record producer and musician Shahid Khan, best known as Naughty Boy. Had the 2013 No.1 hit 'La La La', featuring Sam Smith and 'Lifted', a collaboration with Emeli Sandé. 

1953, American singer-songwriter and musician singer  Hank Williams died of a heart attack brought on by a lethal cocktail of pills and alcohol aged 29. Williams is regarded as one of the most important country music artists of all time. 35 of his singles (five released posthumously) were placed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, 11 of which ranked at No.1, including 'Cold, Cold Heart,' 'Hey, Good Lookin', 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive,' and 'Your Cheatin' Heart.' During his last years Williams's consumption of alcohol, morphine and painkillers severely compromised his professional life. 
 
1956, Bill Haley's  'Rock Around the Clock'  went to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time. The single is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m. 
 
1957, BBC Television aired its new rock & roll show 'Cool For Cats' for the first time. With a miniscule budget, the program was forced to rely on artists miming and the talents of a resident dance group (led by Douglas Squires). Ker Robertson, the first host, was succeeded after a few weeks by Kent Walton, later better known for his ITV wrestling commentaries 
 
1959,  Johnny Cash  played a free concert for the inmates of San Quentin Prison, California. One of the audience members was 19 year-old Merle Haggard, who was in the midst of a 15 year sentence (he served three years) for grand theft auto and armed robbery. 
 
1962,  The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in West Hampstead, London. A&R boss at Decca Dick Rowe turned them down in what is considered one of the biggest mistakes in music industry history, Decca decided to reject the band, selecting instead Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. 

1964, The first edition of the BBC TV show  Top Of The Pops was transmitted from an old church hall in Manchester, England. Acts miming to their latest releases included  The Rolling Stones, (I Wanna Be Your Man), The Dave Clark Five, (Glad All Over), The Hollies, (Stay), and The Swinging Blue Jeans, (Hippy Hippy Shake). The first song played was Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You'. Also featured on disc and film, The Beatles (I Want to Hold Your Hand), Freddie & the Dreamers, Cliff Richard and the Shadows and Gene Pitney. 
 
1966,  Simon and Garfunkel started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Sounds Of Silence', a No.13 hit in the UK. 
 
1967,  The Doors made their first live television appearance lip-synching their first single 'Break on Through' on Shebang, KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles. The single peaked No. 126 on the US chart mainly due to lack of airplay after censors objected to the drug use implied by the line "she gets high", which is repeated in the middle section of the song. 
 
1968, Billboard magazine reported that for the first time albums had outsold singles in the US with album sales reaching over 192 million units. 
 
1969, Marmalade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of  The Beatles song 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da', which features on  The White Album. 
 
1977, Genesis  played the first of three nights at the new-look Rainbow Theatre, London, tickets cost £2.50 ($4.25). The theatre had been completely renovated at a cost of £80,000 ($136,000). 
 
1977,  The Clash played the opening night at punk's first real venue, The Roxy Club in London. 
 
1982,  ABBA  made their final live appearance as a group when they played in Stockholm, Sweden. 

1984, Alexis Korner died of lung cancer aged 55. Know as "the Founding Father of British Blues", he was a major force behind the UK early 60's R&B scene. Formed Blues Incorporated; members at various times included Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Graham Bond and Charlie Watts. Had hits with CCS, including a version of Led Zeppelin's  'Whole Lotta Love' which was used as the theme for BBC's  Top Of The Pops for several years. He became a radio presenter in the Seventies. 
 
1989,  Nirvana signed a one-year recording contract with Sub Pop records. The Seattle based label began not as a record label but as a fanzine (called Subterranean Pop), in the early 80's, also signed Soundgarden and Mudhoney. 
 
1990, New American radio station WKRL in Florida played the Led Zeppelin track  'Stairway To Heaven' for 24 hours, as a prelude to an all Zeppelin format. 
 
1997, American singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt died age 52. His music has been covered by such notable and varied musicians as  Bob Dylan,  Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Cowboy Junkies, Andrew Bird, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song 'Pancho and Lefty', scoring a No.1 hit on the Billboard country music charts. 
 
2002,  Eric Clapton married 25-year old Melia McEnery the mother of his baby daughter at a secret ceremony at the 15th Century St Mary Magdalen Church in Ripley, Surrey, England. 
 
2005, In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including Bill Haley's  'Rock Around the Clock',  and 'Only You' by The Platters. 
 
2007,  Queen  beat  The Beatles to be crowned greatest British band of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in the UK. They pipped the Fab Four in a live contest, trouncing other finalists  The Rolling Stones,  Oasis and Take That. The bands were judged on song-writing, lyrics, live performances, originality and showmanship. More than 20,000 listeners voted by email, text and phone. 

2013, Patti Page, one of the most popular artists of the 1950s, died at the age of 85. She recorded four US No.1 hits, including 'Tennessee Waltz' and the novelty record '(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window'. Page recorded her first hit single, 'Confess' in 1947. Because of a strike, background singers were not available to provide harmony vocals for the song, so instead, Page decided to overdub her own, thus, Page became the first pop artist to overdub her vocals on a song.

1963, The Rolling Stones performed at Studio 51 in Soho, London, on the same bill as Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, who featured a young Rod Stewart. The Stones played a regular Sunday afternoon gig at the club from 4pm until 6.30pm and were billed as Rhythm and Blues with The Rolling Stones.

1965, The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Man, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appeared on tonight's episode of TV pop show 'Shindig!' The US series featured "British invasion" bands and performers throughout its run.

1966, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine appeared at the UFO presents Night Tripper at the Blarney Club, London, England.

1967, The Beatles scored their 15th US No.1 with 'Hello Goodbye', Gladys Knight and the Pips were at No.2 with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and The Monkees at No.3 with 'Daydream Believer'

1968, Led Zeppelin (who were advertised as Len Zefflin), appeared at Gonzaga University Gymnasium, Spokane on their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge.

1969, Peter Tork quit The Monkees buying himself out of his contract which left him broke. He went on to form a group called Release and played banjo on George Harrison's soundtrack to the film Wonderwall.

1995, American saxophonist and guitarist Clarence Satchell from The Ohio Players died aged 55. The band formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables and were later best known as a backing group for The Falcons. The Ohio Players scored the 1974 US No.1 single 'Fire' and had hits with ‘Skin Tight’, ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘Love Roller Coaster.’

1998, American rhythm and blues singer Johnny Moore who was lead singer for The Drifters on their 1960s hit 'Under The Boardwalk', died at the age of 64. Moore began as lead singer of the Cleveland based group the Hornets, before being discovered by the Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist in New York in 1955, at age 21. Moore also sang lead on the hits ‘Saturday Night At The Movies’, ‘Come On Over To My Place’ and ‘Up In The Streets Of Harlem’. 1999, George Harrison and his wife Olivia were attacked when an intruder broke into their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Olivia beat off the attacker with a poker and heavy lamp. Harrison who was stabbed in the chest was admitted to hospital and treated for a collapsed lung and various minor stab wounds. His wife, Olivia, was treated for cuts and bruises she had suffered in the struggle with the intruder. Police later arrested Michael Abram from Liverpool who had nursed an irrational obsession with The Beatles. 1999, In the Queen's Millennium Honours list, former Slade singer Noddy Holder was awarded an MBE and guitarist Mark Knopfler was awarded an OBE.

1956, Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboards Top 100 for week ending Dec 19th.

1962, During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at The Troubadour in London.

1964, The Liverpool Youth Employment Service announced that some school leavers were finding it difficult to get jobs because their 'Beatle' style haircuts and clothing were unacceptable to employers.

1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their debut on the UK TV show Top Of The Pops performing 'Hey Joe'.

1966, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’, recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects. The song's title is derived from the name of a street near John Lennon's house, in the band's hometown, Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of the city.

1967, British guitarist and singer Dave Mason quit Traffic after differences of musical opinion. Mason wrote 'Hole in My Shoe', a psychedelic pop song that became a hit in for Traffic in 1967.

1968, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Portland on their first North American tour opening for Vanilla Fudge. 1973, Jim Croce scored his second No.1 US single of the year when 'Time In A Bottle' went to the top of the charts. Croce was killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert on September 20th 1973. 1980, American singer, songwriter Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose. Hardin wrote the songs 'If I Were A Carpenter' (covered by Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash and June Carter, The Four Tops, Leon Russell, Small Faces, Robert Plant and Bob Seger,) and 'Reason To Believe', (covered by Rod Stewart). Hardin appeared at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. 1982, Sets of commemorative stamps in memory of Bob Marley were issued in Jamaica. 1984, Band Aid were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Do They Know It's Christmas? and Madonna was at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Like A Virgin.'

1960, The Beatles appeared at Litherland Town Hall Ballroom in Liverpool. Added to the bill at the last minute, The Beatles were not advertised to appear, so banners had been pasted onto advertising posters, saying "Direct From Hamburg, The Beatles!" Since The Beatles were playing in an area they'd only played in once before, most of the audience assumes they were a German group.

1963, The music critics from the UK newspaper The Times, named John Lennon and Paul McCartney as The Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two days later, the Sunday Times' music critic Richard Buckle proclaims the same two songwriters "the greatest composers since Beethoven."

1967, The Doors appeared on the Jonathon Winters Show CBS TV show from Los Angeles, California.

1969, Led Zeppelin II was at No.1 on the US album charts, (the band's first album to reach No.1 on charts in the UK and the US), it went on to sell over six million copies in the US alone. The album's cover designer David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

1969, Diana Ross and The Supremes went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Someday We'll Be Together', the group's 12th US No.1. A No.13 hit in the UK.

1975, Queen started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK chart with A Night At The Opera, the group's first No.1 album.

1975, The Faces split became official. Rod Stewart had severed all connections with the group to work as a solo artist, Ronnie Wood was on permanent loan to the Stones, Ronnie Lane went on to form Slim Chance and drummer Kenny Jones joined The Who.

1975, The Staple Singers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let's Do It Again' the group's second US No.1.

1975, Future Smiths singer Steve Morrissey had a letter published in this week's music magazine the NME, complaining about the lack of media coverage for the New York Dolls.

1976, Blues guitarist Freddie King died of heart trouble and ulcers aged 42. Eric Clapton covered his 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman' on his Layla album. Major influence on British and American blues-rock musicians such as Jimmy Vaughan, Ronnie Earl, Peter Green and Eric Clapton.

1978, American singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Bell from Big Star was killed after his car crashed into a telephone pole, he was 27. Bell inspired the likes of Beck, R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, Wilco, The Posies, and The Replacements, all of which have covered his music or name-dropped Big Star in the press.

1980, John and Yoko's  Double Fantasy album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. 'Just Like Starting Over' started a five-week stay at No.1 on the singles chart.

1935, Born on this day, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, The Four Tops, (1965 US No.1 single 'I Can't Help Myself', 1967 UK No.6 single 'Standing In The Shadows of Love').

1939, Born on this day, Phil Spector, producer, 'The Spector Wall Of Sound’. Spector was a member of Teddy Bears, who had the 1958 US No.1 single 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. He went on to produce many classic songs including; Ben E King, 'Spanish Harlem', The Crystals, 'Da Doo Ron Ron', The Ronettes, 'Baby I Love You', The Righteous Brothers, 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling', Ike and Tina Turner, 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Also produced albums for The Ramones, John Lennon, George Harrison, The Beatles, Cher and Harry Nilsson. The 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home led to his 2009 conviction of murder in the second degree. He is serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life.

1953, Born on this day, Henning Schmitz, Kraftwerk, (1982 UK No.1 single 'Computer Love / The Model').

1963, Born on this day, Lars Ulrich, drums, Metallica, (1991 UK No.5 single 'Enter Sandman', 1991 US & UK No.1 album 'Metallica').

1963, Born on this day, Dana Baldinger, bass, Popinjays, (1990 UK album 'Bang Up To Date With The Popinjays').

1966, Born on this day, Jay Farrar, American songwriter and musician who formed Uncle Tupelo (with Jeff Tweedy later of Wilco), and Son Volt.

1971, Born on this day, Jared Joseph Leto, American actor and musician, 30 Seconds to Mars.

1979, Born on this day, Chris Daughtry, American guitarist, singer. Daughtry was the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol. His band's self-titled debut 2007 US No.1 album sold more than 1 million copies after just five weeks of release, becoming the fastest selling debut rock album of all time.

1990, Born on this day, Andy Biersack, American singer and pianist, founder and lead vocalist for the American rock band Black Veil Brides.

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