1967: Influential alternative band, The Stooges (fronted by singer Iggy Pop) play their first gig at a Halloween party in Detroit.

1939: Happy Birthday to one of the greatest singers in rock history: Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship. (BTW – Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on this day in 1995.)

1971: Just on the cusp of superstardom, young Duane Allman guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band is involved in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia that took his life. He was only 25.

1961: It was Saturday on this day in 1961 and a customer named Raymond Jones entered the Liverpool record store of Brian Epstein. Jones is looking for a copy of “My Bonnie,” a record cut by a local rock band known as The Beatles, yet available only as an import (as The Beatles cut the record in Germany).

Intrigued that a local band could have a German record, Epstein decides to investigate further. After learning that the band performs regularly at the Cavern Club, Epstein enters that famous “cellar full of noise,” likes what he sees (apparently, liking John Lennon, in particular) and offers to manage them.

1975: Enjoying the first taste of mass popularity following the release of his Born to Run album and subsequent tour, Bruce Springsteen winds up on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week. This event finally establishes the pride of New Jersey as a bona fide rock star.

1961: Columbia Records signs Bob Dylan to his first recording contract.

1960: On this day, 17-year-old art student Keith Richards bumps into an old school chum at a London train station. His friend, Mick Jagger is carrying a batch of R&B albums under his arm. Deciding to renew their friendship (and listen to the albums) the two will soon form their first group: Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys.

1964: One of the most historic concerts ever took place on this day. The Teenage Music International Show (later known as TAMI) went on stage at California Civic Center in Santa Barbara. Look at this line-up: Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, James Brown, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Jan & Dean, Lesley Gore, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and Billy J. Kramer!

Even more incredible, the tickets for the show were FREE – distributed to local area school kids. The event was shown on a closed circuit basis at movie theaters around the country.

1977: For some unfathomable reason, on this day the city of San Francisco banned electric instruments from all free outdoor concerts. In response, Jefferson Starship cancels an upcoming free concert in Golden Gate Park.

A few years later, Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf write "We Built This City" for the band (now calling itself just Starship) about this event. The song goes on to win a 2011 Rolling Stone Readers’ Poll as “The Worst Song of the 1980s.”

A tale of 2 classic albums...

1964: The Beatles Second Album (actually, a totally American creation of Capitol Records assembled from various singles, EPs and left-over tracks from the British album With the Beatles) reaches #1 on the U.S. album charts.

1967: The Monkees release their third album, Headquarters, the first to be completed under the Monkees’ own direction,. Tired of being relegated to simply adding vocals to tracks created by session musicians, Michael Nesmith led a successful rebellion to gain more input and creative control of Monkees recordings