TODAY IN HISTORY - November 12th
1902 - Enrico Caruso made the first million selling record, Vesti La Giubba.
1945 - Born this day, Neil Young, in Canada, singer, songwriter, Buffalo Springfield, 1967 US No.17 single For What It's Worth, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, solo, 1972 US No.1 and UK No.10 single Heart Of Gold.
1948 - Born this day, Errol Brown, in Kingston, Jamaica, singer, Hot Chocolate, 1977 UK No.1 single So You Win Again plus over 25 other top 40 hits.
1955 - Born on this day, Les McKeown, The Bay City Rollers, (1975 UK No.1 single 'Bye Bye Baby', plus 11 other UK Top 20 singles').
1965 - Having changed his name from Toby Tyler, Marc Bolan performed his first single The Wizzard on the TV show Ready Steady Go!.
1965 - Velvet Underground made their live debut when the played at Summit High School, New Jersey, the band were paid $75 for the gig.
1966 - Hollywood's Sunset Strip riots provided the inspiration for Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth.
1968 - UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The album was then made available as two albums with changed artwork after the complaints.
1970 - The Doors played what would be their last ever live show with Jim Morrison when they played in New Orleans.
1977 - The Sex Pistols went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols, the groups only No.1 album.
1980 - John Lennon's Starting Over was released. John and Yoko were seen kissing on the record cover.
1980 - Bruce Springsteen scored his first No.1 US album with The River, featuring the US No.5 and UK No.44 single Hungry Heart.
1983 - Lionel Richie started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with All Night Long (All Night), becoming Motown's biggest seller to date, it made it to No.2 in the UK.
1988 - UK group The Escape Club went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Wild Wild West. It was not a hit in the UK.
1988 - U2 started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their sixth studio album 'Rattle And Hum' which went on to sell over 14 million copies.
1990 - Rolling Stone Ron Wood broke both his legs after his car had broken down on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire, as he was trying to wave other cars past his.
1991 - Leroy Witucki, a 10-year police veteran in Indiana, pleaded guilty to stealing a pair of tickets to a George Thorogood rock concert off the body of a motorist killed in a car crash. He gave the tickets to a family member, who sold them to friends. Relatives of the crash victim were surprised when the ticket holders sat next to them at the concert 3 weeks after the fatal accident. Witucki resigned from the police force, and faced up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
1997 - US singer, keyboard player Billy Preston was jailed for three years for possessing cocaine.
1997 - The Spice Girls were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second album 'Spiceworld', it was also the name of their tie-in film. The album became a huge hit worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" fever at that time. It produced 4 singles all of which saw commercial success and has now sold over 20 million worldwide.
1998 - Winners at the MTV Europe Awards included Madonna, best female artist and album Ray Of Light, Spice Girls , best group, All Saints, breakthrough artist, Robbie Williams, best male artist, Natalie Imbruglia, best song with Torn.
1999 - Gary Glitter was sentenced to four months in a Bristol prison after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the internet. He was released on 11 January 2000.
2000 - LeAnn Rimes sued Curb Records to void a contract signed by her parents on her behalf in 1995. In the suit the 18 year-old singer asked Curb to relinquish its rights and publishing interests in Rimes' past work, as well as future profits.
2002 - Die hard Beatles fans were enraged after Paul McCartney altered the songwriting credits on his Back In The US 2002 album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney.
2002 - The city of Atlanta declared this day as TLC day to remember Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes who was killed in a car crash
2003 - Drummer Tony Thompson, who had played drums with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid in 1985, died of cancer. He was most famous as the drummer with Chic, whose single 'Le Freak' hit No.1 in the US, and No.7 in the UK. He also played on David Bowie's hit single 'Let's Dance'.
2006 – Police announce they are searching for a shot gun wielding duo who abducted a honeymooning Dutch couple up near Paihia a couple of nights before. The woman was raped during the 5 hour ordeal.
2007 - Former Culture Club frontman, Boy George was charged with the false imprisonment of a 28-year-old man. Police said the offence was alleged to have taken place at the 47-year-old's home in Hackney, in London on 28 April of this year. The singer, DJ was bailed and was due to appear before Thames Magistrates' Court on 22 November.
2008 - Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his US hotel room aged 61. Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966 he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix. During the 70's Mitchell failed an audition for Paul McCartney's new band, Wings
2008 – A couple of days out from hitting newsstands Rolling Stone Magazine releases the results of its “Greatest Singer of the Rock Era”. 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors and other music industry insiders were asked to submit their top 20 choices and an accounting firm tabulated the results. Here are the top 10;
1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown
1902 - Enrico Caruso made the first million selling record, Vesti La Giubba.
1945 - Born this day, Neil Young, in Canada, singer, songwriter, Buffalo Springfield, 1967 US No.17 single For What It's Worth, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, solo, 1972 US No.1 and UK No.10 single Heart Of Gold.
1948 - Born this day, Errol Brown, in Kingston, Jamaica, singer, Hot Chocolate, 1977 UK No.1 single So You Win Again plus over 25 other top 40 hits.
1955 - Born on this day, Les McKeown, The Bay City Rollers, (1975 UK No.1 single 'Bye Bye Baby', plus 11 other UK Top 20 singles').
1965 - Having changed his name from Toby Tyler, Marc Bolan performed his first single The Wizzard on the TV show Ready Steady Go!.
1965 - Velvet Underground made their live debut when the played at Summit High School, New Jersey, the band were paid $75 for the gig.
1966 - Hollywood's Sunset Strip riots provided the inspiration for Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth.
1968 - UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The album was then made available as two albums with changed artwork after the complaints.
1970 - The Doors played what would be their last ever live show with Jim Morrison when they played in New Orleans.
1977 - The Sex Pistols went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols, the groups only No.1 album.
1980 - John Lennon's Starting Over was released. John and Yoko were seen kissing on the record cover.
1980 - Bruce Springsteen scored his first No.1 US album with The River, featuring the US No.5 and UK No.44 single Hungry Heart.
1983 - Lionel Richie started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with All Night Long (All Night), becoming Motown's biggest seller to date, it made it to No.2 in the UK.
1988 - UK group The Escape Club went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Wild Wild West. It was not a hit in the UK.
1988 - U2 started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their sixth studio album 'Rattle And Hum' which went on to sell over 14 million copies.
1990 - Rolling Stone Ron Wood broke both his legs after his car had broken down on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire, as he was trying to wave other cars past his.
1991 - Leroy Witucki, a 10-year police veteran in Indiana, pleaded guilty to stealing a pair of tickets to a George Thorogood rock concert off the body of a motorist killed in a car crash. He gave the tickets to a family member, who sold them to friends. Relatives of the crash victim were surprised when the ticket holders sat next to them at the concert 3 weeks after the fatal accident. Witucki resigned from the police force, and faced up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
1997 - US singer, keyboard player Billy Preston was jailed for three years for possessing cocaine.
1997 - The Spice Girls were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second album 'Spiceworld', it was also the name of their tie-in film. The album became a huge hit worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" fever at that time. It produced 4 singles all of which saw commercial success and has now sold over 20 million worldwide.
1998 - Winners at the MTV Europe Awards included Madonna, best female artist and album Ray Of Light, Spice Girls , best group, All Saints, breakthrough artist, Robbie Williams, best male artist, Natalie Imbruglia, best song with Torn.
1999 - Gary Glitter was sentenced to four months in a Bristol prison after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the internet. He was released on 11 January 2000.
2000 - LeAnn Rimes sued Curb Records to void a contract signed by her parents on her behalf in 1995. In the suit the 18 year-old singer asked Curb to relinquish its rights and publishing interests in Rimes' past work, as well as future profits.
2002 - Die hard Beatles fans were enraged after Paul McCartney altered the songwriting credits on his Back In The US 2002 album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney.
2002 - The city of Atlanta declared this day as TLC day to remember Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes who was killed in a car crash
2003 - Drummer Tony Thompson, who had played drums with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid in 1985, died of cancer. He was most famous as the drummer with Chic, whose single 'Le Freak' hit No.1 in the US, and No.7 in the UK. He also played on David Bowie's hit single 'Let's Dance'.
2006 – Police announce they are searching for a shot gun wielding duo who abducted a honeymooning Dutch couple up near Paihia a couple of nights before. The woman was raped during the 5 hour ordeal.
2007 - Former Culture Club frontman, Boy George was charged with the false imprisonment of a 28-year-old man. Police said the offence was alleged to have taken place at the 47-year-old's home in Hackney, in London on 28 April of this year. The singer, DJ was bailed and was due to appear before Thames Magistrates' Court on 22 November.
2008 - Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his US hotel room aged 61. Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966 he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix. During the 70's Mitchell failed an audition for Paul McCartney's new band, Wings
2008 – A couple of days out from hitting newsstands Rolling Stone Magazine releases the results of its “Greatest Singer of the Rock Era”. 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors and other music industry insiders were asked to submit their top 20 choices and an accounting firm tabulated the results. Here are the top 10;
1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown