THIS DAY IN MUSIC

February 9th: On this Day

1961, The Beatles appeared at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, for the very first time (as The Beatles), they would go on to make a total of 292 other appearances at the Club. They were paid £5 for this luchtime appearance and George Harrison was nearly denied admission to play because he was wearing jeans.

1964, The Beatles made their US live debut on CBS-TV's 'The Ed Sullivan Show'; they performed five songs including their current No.1 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. Never before had so many viewers tuned-in to a live television program, which with 73 million viewers, was three-fourths of the total adult audience in the United States.The show had received over 50,000 applications for the 728 seats in the TV studio.

1967, Canadian conductor Percy Faith died aged 67. He scored the 1953 hit 'Song from the Moulin Rouge' and 1960 US No.1 'Theme From A Summer Place', which spent nine weeks at No.1, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961.

1967, The film for the latest Beatles single 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' was shown on BBC-TV's Top Of The Pops. It was the first Beatles single not to make No.1 in the UK since 1963, held off the top by Engelbert Humperdinck's 'Release Me.'

1968, Hal Cone former manager of The Monkees and Head of Jones Records was found guilty of theft, forgery, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.

1972, Paul McCartney's Wings played the first night of a UK College tour in Nottingham. The group arrived unannounced asking social secretaries if they would like them to perform that evening. The band's intended first stop on the tour, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, refused to allow them to play so they drove on to Nottingham. Admission was 40p, British pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz was the opening act for the tour.

1981, American singer and musician Bill Haley who became known as the first Rock 'n' Roll star, was found dead, fully clothed on his bed at his home in Harlingen, Texas from a heart attack, aged 55. He scored the 1955 UK & US No.1 single 'Rock Around the Clock' as well as 'See You Later, Alligator’, ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, ‘Rocket 88’, ‘Skinny Minnie’, and ‘Razzle Dazzle’. Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation and later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye.

1982, George Harrison presented UNICEF with a cheque for $9 million (£5.3 million), ten years after the fundraising The Concert For Bangladesh.

1985, Madonna started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Like A Virgin', a No.3 hit in the UK.

1987, Winners at this years Brit awards held in London included Peter Gabriel who won British Male Solo Artist, Kate Bush won British Female Solo Artist, Best British Group went to Five Star, British Album was Dire Straits 'Brothers In Arms', British Breakthrough Act was The Housemartins, International Solo Artist went to Paul Simon. The Bangles won Best International Group, Best British Video went to Peter Gabriel for 'Sledgehammer' and Best British Single was The Pet Shop Boys for 'West End Girls'.

1993, British broadcaster Bill Grundy died of a heart attack aged 69. He conducted the famous Sex Pistols interview on Thames Television on December 1, 1976; when Grundy provoked the band into using obscenities on live TV. The broadcast wrecked Grundy's television career. He was also the first television presenter to present The Beatles on Granada Television on October 17, 1962.

1997, Scottish singer Brian Connolly with the Seventies Glam rock group Sweet died of kidney and liver failure aged 51. Connolly replaced Ian Gillan (later of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath ) in Wainwright's Gentlemen who became Sweetshop and then shortened to Sweet. The group scored 15 UK top 40 hits including the 1973 No.1 hit ‘Block Buster’.

1997, American Delta blues singer and guitarist Jack Owens died aged 92. In 1995 he appeared in a TV advertisement for Levi's jeans, showing him seated on his front porch. He was a recipient of a 1993 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States

1998, Winners at this year's Brit Awards included Finley Quaye who won Best British Male Solo Artist, Best British Female Solo Artist went to Shola Ama, The Verve won British Group and Best British Album for 'Urban Hymns', British Dance Act went to The Prodigy, British Breakthrough Act was Stereophonics, Best Selling British Album Act was The Spice Girls International Male, Jon Bon Jovi, International Female, Bjork, International Group, U2 and Outstanding Contribution went to Fleetwood Mac. During the show Chumbawamba singer Danbert Nobacon threw a plastic bucket full of cold water over UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

2001, Eminem beefed up security for his UK shows following the threat of gay rights protests. Campaigners said the rapper was a homophobe who fuelled prejudice with hate-filled lyrics.

2005, Winners at this year's Brit Awards included The Streets who won Best British male solo artist, Joss Stone won British female solo artist, Best British Album went to Keane for 'Hopes and Fears', Franz Ferdinand won Best British Group and Best Rock Act, McFly won Best Pop Act, Scissor Sisters won Best International group and the Best Album award the Brits 25 best song award went to Robbie Williams for 'Angels' and Sir Bob Geldof won the Outstanding Contribution To Music award.

2009, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant took home five prizes for his collaboration with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss at this year's Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles. The duo won album of the year for Raising Sand and record of the year for ‘Please Read The Letter.’ Coldplay (who won song of the year for ‘Viva La Vida’) Adele, Duffy, Radiohead and Peter Gabriel were among other UK acts to be honoured.

2009, Ringo Starr became the 2,401st person to be added to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame during a ceremony that marked the 50th anniversary of the attraction. The Beatles as a group were given a star in 1998.

2010, The White Stripes were taking on the US Air Force, complaining that it used one of the group's songs 'Fell In Love With A Girl' in a TV advert without permission. In a statement on their website, the duo said they took "strong insult and objection, with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support."

2015, Bob Dylan turned the tables on his critics during a 30-minute speech, at the Musicares charity gala honouring his career. The 73-year-old, who rarely talks about his work, asked why critics complained he "can't sing" and sounds "like a frog" but do not "say that about Tom Waits?" The singer added, "Critics say my voice is shot, that I have no voice. Why don't they say those things about Leonard Cohen? Why do I get special treatment?"

February 9th: Born on this day

1925, Born on this day, American steel guitar player Billy Williamson. He was a member of Bill Haley and His Saddlemen, and its successor group Bill Haley & His Comets, from 1949 to 1963. Williamson had the distinction of being the only Comet allowed to record lead vocal tracks during Haley's tenure at Decca Records (such as the song ‘Hide and Seek’ on their 1956 album, Rock and Roll Stage Show and ‘B.B. Betty’ on the 1958 Bill Haley's Chicks album. He died on 22 March 1996.

1939, Born on this day, Barry Mann, US singer, songwriter. Wrote many early 60s pop hits including 'Saturday Night At The Movies', 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling', 'Walking In The Rain'. Also had the 1961 US No.7 solo single 'Who Put The Bomp, In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp.'

1940, Born on this day, Brian Bennett, drummer with The Shadows, who had the 1963 UK No.1 single 'Foot Tapper' plus 28 other UK Top 40 singles as well as having hits with Cliff Richard.

1942, Born on this day, Carole King, US singer, songwriter who wrote many songs with Gerry Goffin including the 1962 UK No.3 & US No.22 single, 'It Might As Well Rain Until September'. Her 1970 US No.1 album 'Tapestry' has sold over 15 million copies and became a Grammy award winner in 71.

1947, Born on this day, Joe Ely, country singer who toured with The Clash in the late 70s, and was a one time member of Linda Ronstadt's band.

1947, Born on this day, Major Harris, singer from American R&B/soul vocal group The Delfonics who had the 1968 US No.4 single 'La-La Means I Love You', and the hits 'Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)', and 'Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'. Harris died in a Richmond, Virginia, hospital on November 9, 2012 from congestive heart and lung failure at the age of 65.

1951, Born on this day, Dennis Thomas, singer with Kool & The Gang who had the 1981 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Celebration', and the 1984 UK No.2 single 'Joanna' plus over 15 other Top 40 hits.

1955, Born on this day, Jimmy Pursey, singer with UK punk group Sham 69 who had the 1979 UK No.6 single, 'Hersham Boys'.

1960, Born on this day, Holly Johnson, singer who was a member of Liverpool based groups Big In Japan and Frankie Goes To Hollywood who had the 1984 UK No.1 & US No. 10 single 'Relax' and six other UK Top 40 singles. As a solo, artist scored the 1989 UK No.4 'Love Train' and 1989 UK No.1 album 'Blast'.

1963, Born on this day, Dave Rotheray, guitarist with English group The Beautiful South who had the 1990 UK No.1 single 'A Little Time' plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles.

1964, Born on this day, Rachel Bolan, from American heavy metal band Skid Row. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) the latter of which reached No.1 on the Billboard chart.