We often (and rightfully) celebrate rock & roll birthdays, but look at who we lost on this day:

1998: Carl Perkins

2006: Wilson Pickett

2007: Denny Doherty (Mamas & Papas)

2008: John Stewart (composer & member of the Kingston Trio)

1964: The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” enters to U.S. pop charts at #45  the highest ever debut by a record up to that time. Beatlemania officially begins in the U.S.

1963 – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Ian Stewart all perform together for the first time as the Rolling Stones at the Marque Club in London.

1957: The Cavern Club, a dingy little basement venue, opens its doors for the first time in Liverpool. It opens as a jazz club, but within just a few months it shifts to rock & roll. Within 7 months, a young band named The Quarrymen will play their first gig at the club.

1976: The Eagles announce that they will be replacing Bernie Leadon, who left the group, with a singer/songwriter/guitarist from the James Gang, Joe Walsh.

Most “experts” predict the move will end in disaster.

1966: Young British singer, David Jones legally changes his name to David Bowie because his real name has already gotten famous thanks to Davy Jones of the Monkees.

1968: Columbia Records urged him not to do it, but Johnny Cash went ahead anyway. On this day, the man in black played a live show for the inmates at Folsom State Prison. He also recorded the event.

Live at Folsom Prison went on to become a triple platinum success while “Folsom Prison Blues” from that album went to #1 on the Country charts and #13 on the pop charts.

Rolling Stone magazine named it #88 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

1959: Barry Gordy borrows $500 from his relatives and on this day rents an 8-room house on 2648 W. Grand Boulevard in Detroit. His intention is to use the house as the home base for a new business he’s starting – a record company called Motown.

1964: That peon to garage rock, the song every local band in America knew & played in the middle 60’s, “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen reaches #1 on the charts. Some local stations had banned the song because it was supposed to have dirty lyrics. That only made the record more popular. (And no, the lyrics may be mumbled, but they aren’t dirty.)

1956: Elvis Presley holds his first recording session for his new label, RCA Victor. Drummer D.J. Fontana, guitarist Chet Atkins and keyboard player Floyd Cramer provide the backing. One of the songs recorded that day, “Heartbreak Hotel,” will become the song that catapults Elvis to national prominence.