1960 - In Britain, the director of public prosecution is called upon to ban the American hit "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson. The song was being denounced in the press as likely to inspire a teen-age "glorious death cult." The story tells of a lovesick youngster who drives in a stock car race to win the hand of his sweetheart. He crashes, and just before dying, groans out the words of the title. Ironically, EMI-Columbia immediately hired Welsh singer Ricky Valance to record a domestic cover version. Despite a strict BBC broadcast ban, Valance's version capitalized on the massive press notoriety and soared to #1 on the UK Singles Chart later that exact month.

With the American music scene still reeling from the payola scandal, the US Federal Communications act was amended to outlaw payments of cash or gifts in exchange for air play on American airwaves. The practice was classified as a federal misdemeanor. Violators faced punishments of up to a $10,000 fine and one year in prison.

1962 - Elvis Presley had his 12th UK #1 hit with "She's Not You". The single, backed by "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello", topped out at #5 in the US.

1965 - Ringo Starr's first wife, Maureen gives birth to their son, Zak Richard Starkey at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, London. The lad would grow up to be a drummer and performed with The Spencer Davis Group, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, and The Who.

The Beatles' tune "Yesterday" is released as a single in America. It would top the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, starting on October 9th, and spend a total of eleven weeks on the chart. The record took only five weeks to sell a million copies in the US. Although it was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1966 Grammy Awards, it lost out to Tony Bennett's "The Shadow of Your Smile". More than 2,500 cover versions of "Yesterday" exist, making it one of the most recorded songs in history. In 2012, the BBC reported that it was the fourth-most-successful song of all time in terms of royalties paid, having earned a total of £19.5 million in payments.

1968 - Clarence Carter received a Gold record for his million-selling hit, "Slip Away", which had peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and #6 on the Hot 100. The singer from Montgomery, Alabama, had been blind since age one and taught himself to play guitar by age 11.

1969   John Lennon put a band together for the Rock 'n' Roll Revival Concert in Toronto, Canada that included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman (bass player from Manfred Mann) and drummer Alan White (who would later join Yes). Also on the bill were Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Gene Vincent, Alice Cooper and The Doors. The concert would produce a live album called "Live Peace in Toronto 1969", which reached #10 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

1974 -With his current album "Fulfillingness' First Finale" sitting atop the Billboard 200 chart, Stevie Wonder kicks off his first tour since an accident left him in a coma for four days last year. Wonder had been asleep in the front passenger seat of a car driven by his cousin, who became momentarily distracted and slammed into the back of a flatbed logging truck.

1975 - Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" peaks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it would stay for two weeks. Janis would say that she gained the inspiration to write the song after reading a New York Times article about a girl who thought her life would improve after she attended a debutante ball, and her ensuing letdown when it did not. The article actually began with the phrase, "I learned the truth at eighteen." When Ian tried to sing the line over her bossa-nova style guitar rhythm, "eighteen" did not fit the musical meter. She changed it to "seventeen" to make it flow properly, creating one of the most famous opening lines in pop music history.

The Isley Brothers' album "The Heat Is On" ascends to the number one spot on the Billboard 200 for a one week stay. The LP would spend forty weeks on the chart and would be certified Double Platinum on August 17th, 1999.

1976 - Peter Frampton's fourth solo album, "Frampton", is awarded a Gold Record for sales of 500,000. It's his commercial breakthrough LP containing the hits "Show Me the Way" (US #6, UK #10) and "Baby I Love Your Way" (US #12, UK #43).

Columbia Records releases Bob Dylan's live album, "Hard Rain". Despite lukewarm reviews, the LP would peak at #17 in the US and #3 in the UK and earned Gold certification from the RIAA just over a week later.

Lynyrd Skynyrd issues their first live album, "One More from the Road". Containing an excellent version of "Sweet Home Alabama", the double LP would be certified Gold six weeks later and Platinum by the end of the year. It was recognized as 3X Platinum on July 21st, 1987.

1979 - Geraldo Rivera anchored an hour-long program for ABC's 20/20 titled "The Elvis Cover-Up", which exposed that Elvis Presley's death was linked to severe, multi-year prescription drug dependency rather than just natural causes. The investigation documented that Dr. George Nichopoulos prescribed over 5,300 pills and injectables in the final seven months of Presley's life, prompting investigations into the physician's practices.

ABBA kicked off their first North American concert tour in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The show was the group's first in over two years, and they needed a venue where they could "shake the bugs out of their show before hitting the big US market." The city was carefully chosen because Edmonton audiences had reputation of being appreciative and forgiving.

1980 - Trying to cash in on the popularity of American Bandstand and Soul Train, the American syndicated music television series Solid Gold premieres, hosted by Dionne Warwick. When the 41-year-old singer was replaced in 1981, a revolving door of younger moderators took her place, including Andy Gibb, Marilyn McCoo, Rex Smith, Rick Dees, Nina Blackwood and Arsenio Hall. The program's final episode ran on July 23rd, 1988.

1984 - "Swept Away", the fifteenth solo album by Diana Ross, is released by RCA Records in North America and by Capitol Records in Europe. It would peak at #26 in the US and #40 in the UK and contain the hit singles "Missing You" (US #10, UK #76), "Swept Away" (US #19) and "All of You" (US #19, UK #43). The LP would be certified Gold by the RIAA by the end of the year.