[Gravdigr]

July 3

1967, A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for The Monkees. Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum.

1968, At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell's house in Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together for the very first time. The trio went on to form Crosby, Stills and Nash.

1969, Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27.



His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner's report stated "Death by misadventure", and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and in the early 60’s used the name "Elmo Lewis."

1971, American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors



was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some of the group's biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of his death an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France to pay their respects.

1972, Blues singer, guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer aged 68. The Rolling Stones covered his 'You Got To Move' on their Sticky Fingers album. He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.

1973, Laurens Hammond the inventor of the Hammond organ died aged 73. Many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Allman Brothers Band and The Faces featured the sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent spring-driven clock and during the second world war he helped design guided missile systems.

1973, After 182 Ziggy Stardust



concert performances, David Bowie announced he was about to retire from live performing, although it eventually transpires that Ziggy Stardust the stage persona is being retired and not Bowie himself. Only his guitarist Mick Ronson knew about the announcement, which came as a complete shock not only to the audience but the rest of Bowie's band and crew.

1975, Lead singer from Three Dog Night Chuck Negron



was arrested at his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the bands tour and charged with possession of cocaine.

2000, Harvard professor Ronald Ferguson accused the culture of hip-hop and rap music of stalling academic progress among young American blacks. He claimed time spent learning intricate rhyming lyrics detracted from reading.

2001, American singer, songwriter Johnny Russell died aged 61. Wrote 'Act Naturally' covered by The Beatles and Buck Owens. Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt all covered his songs.

2004, David Crosby was fined $5,000 (£2,745) by a US court after admitting attempted criminal possession of a weapon. It followed his arrest in New York in March when a gun, knife and marijuana were found in his luggage.

2012, KISS announced that they were set to release a guitar size book containing unseen photographs from their 40-year career. The limited edition called Monster would have a $4,299 price tag and come in at at 3 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide.



1878 – George M. Cohan ("Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "You're a Grand Old Flag"), 1893 – Mississippi John Hurt, 1930 – Pete Fountain, 1930 – Carlos Kleiber, 1930 – Tommy Tedesco(member of The Wrecking Crew), 1940 – Fontella Bass (sang "Rescue Me", 1943 – Judith Durham (The Seekers), 1946 – Michael Clarke(The Byrds), 1946 – Johnny Lee (sang "Lookin' For Love"), 1948 – Paul Barrere (Little Feat), 1949 – John Verity (Argent), 1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (Heatwave ("Boogie Nights")), 1952 – Laura Branigan, 1952 – Andy Fraser(Free), 1957 – Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex), 1958 – Aaron Tippin, 1959 – Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), 1960 – Vince Clarke (Erasure, Depeche Mode), 1969 – Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies)



1969 – Brian Jones, 1971 – Jim Morrison, 1973 - Laurens Hammond, 1986 – Rudy Vallée, 1999 – Mark Sandman(Morphine), 2001 – Johnny Russell, 2007 – Boots Randolph, 2012 – Andy Griffith