Music Almanac: September 18

Birthdays

• 1918 - Hank Penny (d. 1992)
• 1918 - Hardrock Gunter (87)
• 1933 - Jimmie Rodgers (79)
• 1940 - Frankie Avalon (72)
• 1940 - Lonnie Lee (72)
• 1941 - Priscilla Mitchell (71)
• 1944 - Michael Franks (68)
• 1945 - Alan "Bam" King (Ace) (67)
• 1949 - Kelly Livgren (Kansas) (66)
• 1951 - Dee Dee Ramone (born Douglas Colvin) (d. 2002)
• 1953 - Carl Jackson (59)
• 1958 - Lita Ford (Runaways) (54)
• 1961 - Martin Beedle (Cutting Crew) (51)
• 1962 - Richard Walmsley (Beatmasters) (50)
• 1962 - Joanne Catherall (Human League) (50)
• 1966 - Ian Spice (Breathe) (d. 2000)
• 1967 - Ricky Bell (New Edition, Bell Biv DeVoe) (45)
• 1967 - Mike Heaton (Embrace) (45)
• 1974 - Xzibit (born Alvin Joiner) (38)
• 1980 - Charles Hedger (Cradle of Filth) (32)

Deaths

• 1970 - Jimi Hendrix - Overdose (27)
• 1992 - Earl Van Dyke (Funk Brothers) - Prostate cancer (62)
• 1997 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Throat cancer (77)

On This Day

• 1947 - The first country music show ever was held at Carnegie Hall in New York with Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl.
• 1965 - Connie Smith joined the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1969 - Tiny Tim announced his engagement to Miss Vicki Budinger on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
• 1969 - Graham Bond was arrested while rehearsing in London on a contempt charge.
• 1971 - Pink Floyd performed Atom Mother Heart at the Classical Music Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland.
• 1974 - John Lennon guest DJ'd on WNEW-FM in New York.
• 1978 - Neil Young and Crazy Horse started a U.S. Tour for Comes a Time in Detroit, MI.
• 1981 - Gary Numan attempted to fly around the world in a single-engine Cessna plane. He was forced to land in India and arrested.
• 1983 - Kiss appeared for the first time, officially, without makeup on MTV.
• 1994 - Farm Aid VII was held in New Orleans, LA with the Neville Brothers, Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, John Conlee, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Deana Carter and Titty Bingo
• 1996 - Julian Lennon was the top bidder at a Sotheby's auction of the hand written lyrics by Paul McCartney of Hey Jude.
• 1998 - Jett Williams saluted her father, Hank Williams, at the Grand Ole Opry to honor his 75th birthday the day before.
• 2000 - Rick Springfield was arrested for alleged spousal abuse. 
• 2004 - Farm Aid '04 was held in Auburn, WA with Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jerry Lee Lewis, Trick Pony, Tony Coleman, Blue Merle, Tegan and Sara, Kate Voegele, Kitty Jerry and Marc Broussard.
• 2005 - The 20th Anniversary Farm Aid concert was held at Tinsley Park, IL with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Arlo Guthrie, Buddy Guy, Congressman Collin Peterson and the Second Amendments, Drew Davis Band, Elizabeth Rainey, Emmylou Harris, James McMurtry, Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra, John Mayer, Kate Voegele, Kathleen Edwards, Kenny Chesney, Los Lonely Boys, Shannon Brown, Supersuckers, Susan Tedeschi, Widespread Panic and Wilco.
• 2006 - Willie Nelson and four members of his band were charged with marijuana possession when police stopped their tour bus in Lafayette, LA. 
• 2006 - Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen was convicted of disturbing the peace after yelling at two fans he found in his dressing room's bathroom.
• 2006 - A plaque was unveiled by Cliff Richard at the 2 i's coffee bar in London, considered the birthplace of British rock and roll.
• 2007 - Britney Spears was dropped by the management company The Firm after only one month. 
• 2008 - The documentary It Might Get Loud, featuring Jimmy Page, Jack White and the Edge, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• 2009 - Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage from food poisoning in Valencia, Spain.

Marriages

• 1942 - Tennessee Ernie Ford and Betty Jean Heminger
• 2004 - Britney Spears and Kevin Federline

Recorded

• 1968 - Birthday - Beatles

Released

• 1961 - Fool No. 1 - Brenda Lee (single)
• 1976 - More Than a Feeling - Boston (single)
• 1978 - Gene Simmons - Gene Simmons
• 1978 - Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley
• 1978 - Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley
• 1978 - Peter Criss - Peter Criss
• 1983 - Lick It Up - Kiss
• 1987 - Crazy Nights - Kiss

Awards

• 1976 - Don Kirshner's Rock Music Awards
• Album - Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
• Group - Fleetwood Mac
• Rock Personality - Peter Frampton

Broadcasts

• 1957 - The Big Record (debut of CBS dance show) - Patti Page (host), Sal Mineo, Tony Bennett

Number Ones – U.S. Singles

• 1961 - Take Good Care of My Baby - Bobby Vee (3 weeks)
• 1976 - Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry (3 weeks)
• 1999 - Unpretty - TLC (3 weeks)
• 2010 - Teenage Dream - Katy Perry (2 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Albums

• 1993 - In Pieces - Garth Brooks (3 weeks)
• 1999 - Fly - Dixie Chicks (2 weeks)
• 2010 - Asylum - Disturbed (1 week)