Music Almanac: September 20
- 1885 - Jelly Roll Morton (d. 1941)
- 1924 - Gogi Grant (88)
- 1925 - Bobby Nunn (Robins, Coasters) (d. 1986)
- 1927 - Pearl Butler (Carl Butler and Pearl) (d. 1988)
- 1945 - Sweet Pea Atkinson (Was (Not Was)) (67)
- 1948 - Chuck Panozzo (Styx) (64)
- 1948 - John Panozzo (Styx) (d. 1996)
- 1953 - Jeff Jones (Red Rider) (59)
- 1957 - Alannah Currie (Thompson Twins) (55)
- 1960 - Dave Hemingway (Housemartins) (52)
- 1960 - Robert Wiggins (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five) (d. 1989)
- 1966 - Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) (46)
- 1967 - Matthew Nelson (Nelson) (45)
- 1967 - Gunner Nelson (Nelson) (45)
- 1968 - Ben Shepherd (Soundgarden) (44)
- 1979 - Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr. (Lifehouse) (33)
- 1981 - Keith Semple (One True Voice) (31)
- 1987 - Jack Lawless (Jonas Brothers) (25)
Deaths
- 1961 - Karl Farr (Sons of the Pioneers) (52)
- 1973 - Jim Croce - Plane crash (30)
- 1984 - Steve Goodman - Leukemia (36)
- 1997 - Bob Hudson (Hudson & Landry) (66)
- 2002 - Nils Stevenson (manager for Sex Pistols and Siouxsie & the Banshees) (49)
- 1948 - The Four Freshman played their first live show in Ft. Wayne, IN.
- 1963 - The Rollings Stones' second single, Poison Ivy, was withdrawn from the market.
- 1966 - George Harrison went to India for his first meeting with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
- 1969 - John Lennon told his Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr that he was leaving the group.
- 1969 - The Beatles' Northern Songs was purchased by Associated TV for one million pounds.
- 1970 - Jim Morrison was acquitted of lewd and lascivious behavior but was found guilty of exposing himself to the audience at a Miami, FL concert.
- 1971 - Peter Frampton quit Humble Pie.
- 1972 - Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested at their farmhouse in Scotland after police found marijuana growing on the property.
- 1973 - The Roxy opened in Los Angeles with a show by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
- 1995 - Natalie Merchant opened her first solo tour in New Orleans, LA.
- 2000 - Don Walser received the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Award.
- 2001 - Jennifer Lopez performed a full show for the first time in San Juan, PR.
- 2003 - A motel on the estate of Chuck Berry burned down.
- 2006 - The Rolling Stones opened a U.S. tour in Boston, MA.
Marriages
- 1964 - Bobby Braddock and Sue Rhodes
- 2003 - Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels
Recorded
- 1955 - Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
- 1994 - Under the Table and Dreaming - Dave Matthews Band
Broadcasts
- 1975 - Saturday Night Variety Show - Bay City Rollers (U.S. TV debut)
- 1976 - Captain & Tennille (debut)
- 2005 - Rock Star: INXS - J.D. Fortune won the competition to become lead singer of INXS
Number Ones – U.S. Singles
- 1947 - Near You - Francis Craig (12 weeks)
- 1969 - Sugar, Sugar - Archies (4 weeks)
- 1975 - Fame - David Bowie (1 week)
- 1986 - Stuck With You - Huey Lewis & the News (3 weeks)
- 1958 - South Pacific - Soundtrack (1 week (1 previous week at number 1))
- 1969 - Blind Faith - Blind Faith (2 weeks)
- 1975 - Between the Lines - Janis Ian (1 week)
- 1980 - The Game - Queen (5 weeks)
- 1986 - Top Gun - Soundtrack (1 week (3 previous weeks at number 1))
- 1997 - Ghetto D - Master P (1 week)
- 2003 - Metamorphosis - Hillary Duff (1 week)
- 2008 - The Recession - Young Jeezy (1 week)