February 1
• 1952: Rick James is born (bitch!)
• 1949: RCA Victor introduces the 45 RPM record
February 2
• 1979: Ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious dies of a heroin overdose in New York City
• 1942: Graham Nash, co-founder of The Hollies and later of Crosby, Stills, & Nash, is born (not on Jan. 2, like we inadvertently reported last month)
February 3
• 1959: Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly are killed in an Iowa plane crash
February 4
• 1983: Karen Carpenter dies of heart failure as a complication of anorexia
• 1948: Alice Cooper is born
February 6
• 1962: Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses is born William Bruce Rose Jr.
• 1945: Bob Marley is born Robert Nesta Marley
February 7
• 1964: The Beatles land at Kennedy Airport and set foot on American soil for the first time
February 9
• 1964: The Beatles set new records for television ratings when appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
February 11
• 1972: David Bowie debuts his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, at a concert in Tollworth, England
February 13
• 1981: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon finishes 402 consecutive weeks (more than seven years) on the Billboard charts
February 17
• 1982: Jazz legend Thelonious Monk dies
February 19
• 1980: Bon Scott, vocalist of AC/DC, dies in London after choking on his own vomit
• 1963: Seal is born Sealhenry Olusegun Olumide Samuel
• 1948: Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is born
• 1940: Smokey Robinson, founding member of The Miracles, is born
February 20
• 1996: Snoop Doggy Dogg and his bodyguard McKinley Lee are found not guilty of murder in a shooting death case
• 1967: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana is born
February 22
• 1989: Jethro Tull is selected over Metallica to win the first Hard Rock/Metal Grammy
February 24
• 1969: Johnny Cash performs at San Quentin Prison, spawning the legendary Live at San Quentin album
February 25
• 1943: George Harrison of The Beatles is born
February 26
• 1932: Johnny Cash is born
February 28
• 1984: Michael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards for his album Thriller
• 1942: Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones is born
