Today in rock history 19th May

1945 – Pete Townshend, lead guitarist/songwriter of the Who, is born in London. 1947 – Greg Herbert of Blood Sweat & Tears is born 1947 - Steve Currie-bassist for T. Rex is born 1949 - Dusty Hill-bassist for ZZ Top born in Texas 1951 - Joey Ramone-singer for The Ramones is born 1954 - Phil Rudd-drummer for AC/DC is born 1960 – Alan Freed is indicted for accepting payola 1965 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Ticket to Ride,” The Beatles. It is the first Beatles single to feature Paul McCartney on lead guitar. 1976 - After falling asleep at the wheel, Keith Richards crashed his Bentley in Buckinghamshire, England. Police discovered cocaine & LSD in the car. 1979 – Eric Clapton marries George Harrison’s ex-wife, Patti Boyd. Harrison, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney are among the musicians who perform at the wedding reception. 1984 – On this day, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has been on the American charts for 10 years solid. 1992 - Aerosmith donated $10,000 to MIT in Boston to fund an explicit exhibition of photographs & sculptures after the National Endowment for the Arts pulled support. 1996 - Peter Frampton, The Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth made guest appearances on The Simpsons where they were on tour as part of a music festival that Homer Simpson joined as a carnival freak. 2000 – Folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary celebrate their 40th year together with a U.S. tour that kicks off with a three night stand in Las Vegas. 2000 – The Allman Brothers announce that founding guitarist Dickey Betts will not be a part of the veteran Southern rockers’ summer tour. In a statement, the band says, “sadly, there are creative differences.” 2000 – Three ex-members of the Dead Kennedys are awarded approximately $220,000 in damages after a San Francisco jury finds that band leader Jello Biafra (real name Eric Reed Boucher) failed to pay them back royalties or to promote their catalogue. 2004 – The Strokes play a homecoming show at New York’s Central Park, covering Guided By Voices’ “A Salty Salute.” 2010 – Radio Station, “Absolute Classic Rock” names, “Stairway to heaven” the UK’s favorite classic rock song 2012 – Van Halen postpones over 30 concert dates in the US.