On This Day:
In 1956 An optometrist gave Buddy Holly contact lenses but he couldn’t adjust to them, so he kept his glasses, which became his trademark.
In 1976 Yardbirds frontman Keith Relf was electrocuted by his guitar when he attempted to tune the instrument while in the bathtub. His body was found by his eight-year-old son. Relf was 33.
In 1988 Surviving members of Led Zeppelin, Genesis, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash reunited for the 40th anniversary celebration of Atlantic records. Foreigner and Yes also appeared at the event.
In 1998 Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack. He was 82.
In 2001 The Black Crowes were inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.
In 2002 The Queen-inspired musical “We Will Rock You” opened in London.
Van Morrison released the album “Down the Road.”
In 2004 Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow celebrated the birth of their daughter, Apple.
Phil Spector, already facing a trial in connection with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, was arrested in Los Angeles in conjunction with a fight with his chauffeur. When police arrived on the scene, both the producer and the driver were trying to place each other under citizen’s arrest for assault in the matter.
In 2005 Motley Crue made an appearance on the Fox show “America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back” in an effort to help find a missing woman who disappeared while on her way to one of the band’s concerts in Washington, DC.
In 2008 Joni Mitchell’s album “For the Roses” was among the new additions to the National Recording Preservation Board’s National Recording Registry.
The last of the 30 signs marking “Bob Dylan Way,” a pathway through the arts district in downtown Duluth, were hung, completing the two-year-old project to honor the legendary folk rocker.
In 2011 John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for The Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” sold for 237-thousand-dollars at a two-day auction in Beverly Hills.
In 2012 Bret Michaels’ lawsuit against the Tony Awards was dismissed after both parties told the judge they had reached a settlement. The case stemmed from Michaels’ appearance at the 2009 Tony Awards, in which he was injured when a piece of the scenery hit him in the head during a production number. Bret’s immediate injuries included a broken nose and a cut lip, but the singer later alleged that the incident caused his near-fatal 2010 brain hemorrhage.
In 2013 R.E.M. released their 25th anniversary deluxe edition of “Green.”
In 2015 Blues singer and guitarist B.B. King died in his sleep at the age of 89.
In 2016 The Beatles’ former press officer, Tony Barrow, who coined the term ‘The Fab Four’ to describe the band, died aged 80.
In 2019 Mike Wilhelm, founder of The Charlatans, died at the age of 77.
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