1939
The real Eleanor Rigby died in her sleep of unknown causes on October 10, at age 44. The 1966 Beatles' song that featured her name wasn't really written about her, as Paul McCartney's first draft of the song named the character Miss Daisy Hawkins. Eleanor Rigby's tombstone was noticed in the 1980s in the graveyard of St. Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, a few feet from where McCartney and Lennon had met for the first time in 1957.

1955
The Four Aces led the US hit parade with "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing", the first US number one record that was specifically written for a motion picture.

Buddy Holly and his sidemen, Larry Welborn and Bob Montgomery, open a show for Bill Haley and His Comets at a concert in Lubbock, Texas. Talent agent Eddie Crandell is in the audience and in the next few weeks, arranges for Holly to record his first demo.

1956
Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" entered the Billboard chart for a 19 week stay. It was #1 for 5 of those weeks. The song, from Presley's first film of the same name, was adapted from the tune "Aura Lee", written in 1861.

1957
Jerry Lee Lewis records his biggest hit, "Great Balls of Fire" as a follow-up to his six million seller, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On".

Although it was banned by some US radio stations for its suggestive lyrics, The Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" reached the top of the Billboard singles chart. In the UK, it hit #2.

The Elvis Presley classic, "Jailhouse Rock" is released. It would become his ninth US number one and stay on the chart for nineteen weeks.

On tour in Sydney, Australia, Little Richard denounces rock 'n' roll, saying "If you want to live for the Lord, you can't take rock and roll too. God doesn't like it." When his sax player, Clifford Burks, dares Richard to prove his "faith in God," Little Richard tosses four diamond rings, valued at $8,000, into Sydney's Hunter River and soon after launches a gospel career. Five years later, he would switch back.

1958
Billboard Magazine runs a story about the vocal group, The Teddy Bears, saying "18 year old Phil Spector, who wrote and arranged their hit 'To Know Him is to Love Him', is studying to be a court reporter."

Eddie Cochran records "C'mon Everybody". It will prove to be his last US Top 40 hit, reaching #35.

1959
21 year old Bobby Darin becomes the youngest performer to headline at the Sands Hotel's Copa Room in Las Vegas. The previous record-holder, Johnny Mathis, appeared at 23. Darin was touring in support of his mega-hit, "Mack The Knife", which was number one in the US this week.

1960
A silly novelty song called "Mr. Custer" by Larry Verne, was the number one single in America. The record told a story about a US cavalry trooper who tries to talk his way out of fighting the Sioux Indians at Little Big Horn in 1876. The song failed to chart at all in the UK.

Aretha Franklin appears at the Village Vanguard club in New York, marking the first non-gospel performance of her career.

1961
"Hit The Road Jack" becomes Ray Charles' second US #1 hit. In the UK, it reached #6.

1962
After a five year absence, Little Richard makes his return to rock and roll as he kicks off his first ever tour of the UK, sharing the bill with Sam Cooke.

Britain's BBC bans Bobby 'Boris' Pickett's "Monster Mash". Although the song is neither obscene or controversial, it's about a horror movie party and like many other songs, is banned under a catch-all regulation prohibiting the broadcast of anything deemed "offensive."

The Beatles, still just an up and coming local group, open for one of their idols, Little Richard at a concert at New Brighton Towne, Liverpool.

Don Everly of The Everly Brothers, collapsed during rehearsal at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, on the eve of a 22 date UK tour. He was flown back to the US for treatment and the tour continued with Phil performing solo.

1963
The first demonstration of Beatlemania took place as The Beatles appear on BBC's Sunday Night at the Palladium. Many fans battled with police to get into the theater as 15 million British viewers watched the show on TV.

"Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It would go on to be the best selling single of the year.

1964
The Rolling Stones announce the cancellation of a planned South African tour due to an anti-apartheid embargo by the British Musicians' Union.

The Beach Boys record "Dance Dance Dance", with Glen Campbell playing the lead guitar intro. It would go on to become their twelfth US Top 40 hit.

The Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack" is released. Of their six US Top 40 hits, it will be their only number one.

1965
"Yesterday" by The Beatles, topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Magazine Best Sellers chart. The song was actually recorded by Paul McCartney alone, as John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were not in the studio.

The Who record "My Generation", a song that expresses the anger and frustration of teenagers of the day. The tune will rise to number 2 in the UK, but stalled at number 74 in the US.

Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers marries the secretary of his fan club in Liverpool.

The Miracles' "My Girl Has Gone" enters the Hot 100 where it will reach #14. It's the Motown group's 20th pop chart entry.

The Supremes make the first of many appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1966
The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first major concert at the Olympia Theatre in Paris in front of an audience of 14,500. The British press call Hendrix "the wild man of pop."

Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapses on a Sussex University stage after playing a 20 minute drum solo. He recovered in a local hospital.

1967
The Bee Gees scored their first UK #1 with "Massachusetts".

The Who's "I Can See for Miles" is released. In the UK, the single peaked at #12, while in the US, it reaches #9 and is the group's biggest hit through 1982.

Folk singer Joan Baez was arrested, along with 123 others, for blocking the entrance to an Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California.

1968
Mama Cass Elliot appears as a solo act at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. The two week run is cancelled when opening night proves to be a disaster. Cass has tonsillitis and her band is poorly rehearsed.

Aretha Franklin is awarded her seventh gold record for Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I Say a Little Prayer".

The LP "Cheap Thrills" by Big Brother and the Holding Company hit #1 on the Billboard album chart.

1969
Grand Funk Railroad's debut LP, "On Time" enters the Billboard Hot 200 album chart at #65. Although music critics bash them, Grand Funk will become one of the best selling acts in rock history.

1970
Janis Joplin's ashes are scattered off the coast of California.

Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie" topped the Billboard singles chart. The song was actually inspired by a story that Neil heard on a trip to an Indian reservation and has nothing to do with wine.

FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson responds to Vice President Spiro Agnew's charge that rock music drives young people to drugs, by playing rock music during a speech, saying that Agnew would do well to listen to song lyrics to understand what's happening around the US.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "Tears Of A Clown" is released. By December, it will top both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts as well as the Cashbox Best Sellers list.

1971
Gene Vincent, most often remembered for his 1956 hit "Be Bop A Lula", died of a bleeding ulcer on October 12th, at the age of 36.

Music publishing firm, Arco Industries files a $500,000 dollar lawsuit against Creedance Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, claiming that Fogerty's song Travelin' Band "contains substantial material copied from Little Richard's Good Golly, Miss Molly". The suit is eventually dropped.

1972
Michael Jackson's song "Ben", from the movie of the same name, reaches number one on Billboard's Pop chart. It's the third hit in a year for the 13 year old singer.

Joe Cocker is arrested on drug charges in Adelaide, Australia. He could have faced penalties ranging from a $2,000 fine to two years in prison, but was given a mere four-hour notice to leave the country.

1973
Elvis and Priscilla Presley are granted a divorce after six and half years of marriage. She is given property along with $725,000 and an additional $4,200 a month for the support of their five-year old daughter, Lisa Marie. The settlement also includes half the proceeds from the sale of an L.A. home and five percent of the total outstanding stock in two publishing companies. The couple emerge from a Santa Monica, California courthouse arm in arm, kiss and depart separately.

Elton John is awarded a gold record for his two disc set, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", his third straight number one album.

1974
After a long dry spell, Dionne Warwicke returned to the US top ten with "Then Came You", recorded with The Spinners. Due to some superstitious feelings having to do with astrology, the former Ms. Warwick added an "e" to the end of her name for good luck. She would later return to the old spelling, which is actually a mis-spelled version of her real name: Warrick.

John Denver reached #1 on the UK singles chart with "Annie's Song", which had topped the US charts the previous July.

Ed Sullivan, who introduced The Beatles and dozens of others to North America, passed away on October 13th, at the age of 73, from cancer of the esophagus. His Sunday night variety show was on the air for 23 years and won an Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Variety Show.

1975
Neil Sedaka's comeback continued with his second number one hit of the year, "Bad Blood". In the span of just eight months, he also wrote two other chart topping hits, his own "Laughter In The Rain" and The Captain and Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together".

Janis Ian performs "At Seventeen" on the very first broadcast of NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live.

Rod Stewart performs his last concert with his backup band, The Faces, in Long Island, New York.

1976
"A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band reaches the top of the Billboard singles chart and is awarded a gold record. In the UK it made it to #28. The song was a disco treatment of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

The Who and the Grateful Dead play the second of two back-to-back shows at Oakland Stadium. Neither of the shows is a sell out.

1977
On October 13th, Shirley Brickley of The Orlons was shot and killed by an intruder in her Philadelphia home. She was 32.

1978
On October 12th, Nancy Spungen, the girlfriend of former Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious, is found dead of abdominal knife wounds in their room at Chelsea Hotel in New York. Vicious, nearly unconscious due to the effects of several different drugs, is charged with her murder, jailed and then released. He would die of a heroin overdose before the case ever comes to trial.

Singer Steve Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith are injured at a Philadelphia concert after a firecracker is thrown on stage. From then on, the group performs from behind a cyclone fence.

1979
Warner Brothers Records rush releases Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" album weeks ahead of schedule when tracks begin mysteriously popping up on US radio stations.

Fleetwood Mac receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a rock singer, (transparently based on Janis Joplin) premieres in Los Angeles.

At a Madison Square Garden concert, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull suffers a minor eye injury when a rose is thrown at him by a fan and one of the thorns pierces his eye. Two shows have to be cancelled before Tull resumes the tour.

"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" became Michael Jackson's second Billboard #1 single. It was the first time he cracked the Top Ten since 1972.

1980
Bob Marley collapses onstage during a concert in Pittsburgh. He is flown to Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City and then to Ethiopia to rest. He would later be admitted to a German disease-treatment center, but would die of brain tumor in May 1981.

John Lennon releases "Starting Over", his first single in five years. It would top the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, starting at the end of December.

Seven people are stabbed during a fight at a Blood, Sweat & Tears concert in Los Angeles.

Although he had scored 15 UK top 40 singles during the 1970s, Gary Glitter declared bankruptcy.

1984
Although her Pop career was on the decline, Anne Murray won the Country Music Association's Album of the Year Award for "A Little Good News". She was the first woman to ever win the award.

Stevie Wonder started a three week run at the top of the Billboard singles chart with "I Just Called To Say I Love You", his seventh US #1. The song also reached #1 in the UK.

1987
Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His film biography, Hail, Hail Rock & Roll premiered the same night.

The three members of ZZ Top made advance bookings for seats on the first passenger flight to the Moon.

1988
Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" finally falls off of Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart after a record 741 weeks.

1989
Michael Jackson attends the opening ceremony of the Michael Jackson Auditorium at his former school, Gardner Street Elementary in Hollywood, California.

1990
On October 8th, Procol Harum's drummer, Barrie Wilson died after several months in a coma following a car accident. He was 43.

1991
Apple Computer settled a lawsuit launched by The Beatles' record company, Apple Corporation, over name and logo rights. The computer company reportedly paid about $29 million to settle the suit.

1992
The US Postal Service announces a commemorative stamp booklet that includes rock legends Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter, Otis Redding and Dinah Washington.

Patty Smyth and Eagles' drummer Don Henley are awarded a gold record for "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough".

The US Supreme Court decides not to reinstate lawsuits alleging that Ozzy Osbourne's music prompted the suicides of two teenagers.

1994
Elvis Aaron Presley: The Tribute is broadcast live on pay-per-view TV in the US. In attendance at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis are Lisa Marie Presley and her husband, Michael Jackson.

1995
Twenty one years after "Frampton Comes Alive" sold over 16 million copies, Peter Frampton released "Frampton Comes Alive II".

1996
The film documentary The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was released. It had been taped in December 1968, but was held back for nearly 28 years, allegedly because The Stones felt that The Who had upstaged them.

1997
John Denver was killed on October 12th when the handmade, experimental airplane he was flying ran out of gas and crashed off the coast of Monterey Bay, CA. killing him instantly. He was 53.

Elton John went to #1 on the Billboard singles chart with his world-wide hit "Candle In The Wind" (Princess Diana version), his eighth US chart topping single. The record would go on to become the largest selling single in history, replacing Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" for that honor.

1998
Craig Atkinson, drummer for Count Five on their 1966, US Top Ten hit "Psychotic Reaction", died from an unknown illness on October 13th, at the age of 50.

1999
A charity auction selling Elvis Presley's belongings was held at The Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. His wristwatch sold for $32,500, a cigar box $25,000, an autographed baseball sold for $19,000 and his 1956 Lincoln Continental went for $250,000.

Michael Jackson's wife, Deborah Rowe, filed for divorce after three years of marriage. The couple met when Rowe was working as a nurse at his plastic surgeon's office.

Six stamps honoring The Bee Gees were issued by the island of their birth, The Isle Of Man.

2001
Peter Doyle, guitarist and vocalist for The New Seekers, died of cancer on October 13th, at the age of 52. The group scored two Top 20 hits, "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma" in 1970 and "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" in 1971.

2002
John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman was denied parole for a second time, on October 9th, the same day that Lennon would have turned 62. The state parole board issued a statement that said releasing Chapman after 22 years in prison would "deprecate the seriousness" of the crime and while Chapman had "acceptable" behavior in prison, that didn't guarantee he wouldn't pose a threat to society. At his first parole hearing two years earlier, Chapman said he did not deserve to go free. The 48 year old prisoner lives in a housing unit separate from the general population for his own safety and works as a clerk.

Twenty-five years after his death, an album of Elvis Presley's best selling songs entitled "Elvis - 30 #1 hits", tops the Billboard album chart.

2003
The studio session for Elvis Presley's debut single "That's All Right" was voted the most pivotal moment in rock history by Mojo Magazine readers. Bob Dylan's switch from acoustic to electric guitars in 1965 came second.

2004
Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer died on October 11th of an apparent heart attack. He was 58.

The US Internal Revenue Service charged 63-year-old Ronald Isley, lead singer of the legendary R&B group, the Isley Brothers, with tax evasion for failing to report income from royalties and performances by the band between 1997 and 2002.

2005
Ronald Isley of went on trial in Los Angeles where he pleaded not guilty to five counts of tax evasion and one count of failing to file a tax return. He was later found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.