1956 : Buddy Holly begins his first solo tour, opening for country singers George Jones and Hank Locklin.

1966 : According to the “Paul Is Dead” rumors, this was the day Paul McCartney “blew his mind out in a car,” meeting his doom and being replaced with a lookalike.

1967 : The first issue of the rock periodical Rolling Stone hits the shelves in San Francisco, CA, with a cover featuring John Lennon, in a still from his upcoming movie How I Won The War, and a free roach clip with every issue.

1998 : Rick James suffers a stroke after a blood vessel ruptures in his neck while he is head banging during a performance in Denver, Colorado. A spokesman later comments, “The doctor called it a result of rock’n’roll neck, the repeated rhythmic whiplash motion of the head and neck.”

1999 : The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces the biggest-selling artists of the century in the United States: The Beatles have sold the most albums (106 million), Garth Brooks is the best-selling male solo act, and Barbra Streisand the best-selling female. Elton John’s 1997 “Candle In The Wind” is the best-selling single of the century, and the best-selling album is the Eagles’s Greatest Hits 1971-1975.