2015Elvis Presley is granted the honor of a second postage stamp bearing his likeness (the first was introduced in 1993). This one features a black-and-white photograph by William Speer of Elvis in 1955 and is part of the Music Icon series that began in 2013.More
1999The Kiss-produced movie Detroit Rock City, the story of fans on their way to a KISS concert, opens nationwide.
1991Metallica release their fifth album, which is self-titled but commonly known as The Black Album. It goes to #1 in eight countries, including America, where it sells 16 million copies.
1984Lionel Richie performs his hit song "All Night Long (All Night)," with special lyrics written for the occasion, at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. One of his backing dancers is a young Cuba Gooding Jr.
1978After years on the road and substantial chart success, The Commodores finally get their first #1 hit with the Lionel Richie-penned ballad "Three Times a Lady," which is taken from their album Natural High. The single stays at #1 for two weeks.
1970At Harvard, Janis Joplin performs what will be her final concert, ending with a version of Gershwin's "Summertime."
201566-year-old Billy Joel becomes a father for the second time when his fourth wife, Alexis, gives birth to a baby girl, Della Rose.
2014Lauren Bacall, the last living film star mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue," dies at age 89.
2008Metallica release "The Day That Never Comes," the lead single from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic.
2008The man who shot and killed John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, is denied parole for the fifth time.
2008The Jonas Brothers' A Little Bit Longer, featuring the hit single "Burning Up," debuts at #1 in America.More
2001Shania Twain and her husband/producer Mutt Lange welcome a baby boy, Eja (pronounced "Asia").
1997Blues guitarist Luther Allison dies of cancer at age 57 in Madison, Wisconsin.
1997MTV debuts the Fleetwood Mac reunion concert The Dance, marking the first time the five had been on stage together since 1982.
1992Composer John Cage dies of a stroke at age 79 in Manhattan, New York.
1989Richard Marx lands his third consecutive US #1 as "Right Here Waiting" hits the top spot. The song is a love letter to his wife, the actress Cynthia Rhodes, who was away shooting a film when he wrote it.
1986Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne's father, Vernon Franklin Moorer, murders their mother (his wife) Lynn, then commits suicide.
1985Neil Young releases Old Ways, his 14th studio album and one of the lowest-selling and least appreciated albums of his career.
1985Singer/actor Kyu Sakamoto dies in the Japan Airlines Flight 123 crash at age 43.
1982Alice Cooper is beloved in Britain, with "School's Out" hitting #1 in the UK for the first of three weeks.
1977Three of Elvis Presley's former bodyguards (members of the "Memphis Mafia") release the book Elvis: What Happened?, which details his drug use for the first time. Four days later, Presley dies.
Woodstock: The Sequel
1994
Woodstock 2 - officially "Woodstock '94" - begins in Saugerties, New York, with Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and Violent Femmes performing. The festival is a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.
On the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, over 50 bands converge on Winston Farm to celebrate the countercultural touchstone with a massive blowout. Music has changed a lot since 1969 when earthy singer-songwriters captured the tumult of the Civil Rights Era and the injustice of the Vietnam War during four rainy days of rock 'n' roll. The commemoration has something for everybody: Green Day and Nine Inch Nails for alt rock fans, Salt-N-Pepa for the hip-hop crowd, Metallica for metal heads, and newcomer Sheryl Crow and pop-friendly Irish rockers The Cranberries for pop lovers. Plenty of Woodstock alumni come bearing nostalgia, with Joe Cocker reprising his original performance with the throwback "With A Little Help From My Friends."
What '94 doesn’t have, says critics, is the cultural cachet of the '69 festival, where peace was more than a tagline to entice ticket sales. Back then, ticket prices were $18 each if you weren't one of the many gatecrashers. This time around, they're $135 a pop and must be bought in pairs. If you can't attend, you can always order the show on pay-per-view for $49. As for food, the original hippie crowd was fed boiled bulgur wheat with honey and handfuls of dried fruit and nuts; modern festival-goers eat Haagen Dazs and slurp Pepsi. The ice cream and soda giants are the festival's biggest sponsors, along with Apple Computer (which provides an official CD-ROM). With a $30 million price tag, the event is the very symbol of corporate greed that the original Woodstock performers were fighting against, detractors point out. Several artists, including Pearl Jam and Neil Young, stand by that reasoning and refuse to attend. But it's not all bad.
"I feared after I committed to do it that it would be a corporate nightmare, with a Pepsi logo behind the Woodstock thing," Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor told MTV. "But from being here, I've got a pretty good vibe. And I'm pleased to see that it turned out to be so far a pretty positive thing for the fans that came here to see us."
Billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music," Woodstock '94 turns into three days in the mud and the muck, dirtying up a list of squeaky clean rules and regulations attendees are supposed to follow: no alcohol, no outside food or beverage, no camcorders, no money (only special festival currency is accepted). The weather conditions, which earn the concert the nickname "Mudstock," and the unexpected droves of fans sneaking in drugs and beer could spell disaster for the unprepared security team, but – aside from some mudslinging from Green Day fans – the event really does live up to its promise of peace and music. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the next Woodstock bash: '99 is a notoriously volatile affair, plagued by violent brawls, rape, and fires.
What '94 doesn’t have, says critics, is the cultural cachet of the '69 festival, where peace was more than a tagline to entice ticket sales. Back then, ticket prices were $18 each if you weren't one of the many gatecrashers. This time around, they're $135 a pop and must be bought in pairs. If you can't attend, you can always order the show on pay-per-view for $49. As for food, the original hippie crowd was fed boiled bulgur wheat with honey and handfuls of dried fruit and nuts; modern festival-goers eat Haagen Dazs and slurp Pepsi. The ice cream and soda giants are the festival's biggest sponsors, along with Apple Computer (which provides an official CD-ROM). With a $30 million price tag, the event is the very symbol of corporate greed that the original Woodstock performers were fighting against, detractors point out. Several artists, including Pearl Jam and Neil Young, stand by that reasoning and refuse to attend. But it's not all bad.
"I feared after I committed to do it that it would be a corporate nightmare, with a Pepsi logo behind the Woodstock thing," Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor told MTV. "But from being here, I've got a pretty good vibe. And I'm pleased to see that it turned out to be so far a pretty positive thing for the fans that came here to see us."
Billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music," Woodstock '94 turns into three days in the mud and the muck, dirtying up a list of squeaky clean rules and regulations attendees are supposed to follow: no alcohol, no outside food or beverage, no camcorders, no money (only special festival currency is accepted). The weather conditions, which earn the concert the nickname "Mudstock," and the unexpected droves of fans sneaking in drugs and beer could spell disaster for the unprepared security team, but – aside from some mudslinging from Green Day fans – the event really does live up to its promise of peace and music. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the next Woodstock bash: '99 is a notoriously volatile affair, plagued by violent brawls, rape, and fires.
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