This Day in Music

2005 - Spencer Dryden, the drummer for legendary rock band the Jefferson Airplane, dies of cancer at his home in Petaluma, Calif. He was 66.

2005 - Singer/songwriter Jimmy Griffin, best known for his work with 1970s soft rock act Bread, dies at his home near Nashville of complications from cancer. He is 61 and had been undergoing treatment for the past several months.

2003 - Mickey Finn, percussionist with U.K. band T. Rex, dies in Croydon, south London. He is 55.

2002 - Rosemary Clooney undergoes successful lung cancer surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The 73-year-old singer and former TV personality has the upper lobe of her left lung removed a day after being diagnosed with lung cancer during a regular physical exam.

2000 - Singer Gary Glitter is released from prison in Bristol, England, after serving two months of a four-month sentence for possessing child pornography.

2000 - Chart-topping R&B vocalist Whitney Houston is caught with more than a half-ounce of marijuana at Keahole-Kona International Airport in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The drugs are discovered in Houston's handbag during a search at the airport's security checkpoint. Although the bag is taken and security personnel attempt to detain her, Houston simply walks off and boards a United Airlines flight to San Francisco.

1999 - As part of the inauguration festivities for Governor Roy E. Barnes, Georgia native John Berry does an a cappella version of the National Anthem on the steps of the state capitol in Atlanta. Georgia's newly elected chief executive is reportedly a big Berry fan.

1999 - Lena Horne, 81, renews her recording contract with Blue Note Records. Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall announces the renewal at a 60th anniversary celebration for the label at the Blue Note club in New York.

1999 - U.K. pop star Robbie Williams scoops a record six nominations for the Brit Awards, the United Kingdom's equivalent of the Grammys. Williams dominates the shortlist with nominations for best single, best British video and best British album.

1999 - Italian singer/songwriter Fabrizio De Andre dies of cancer in Milan. He is 58. De Andre began recording in 1958, achieving his first commercial success in 1965. Nineteen albums followed, the last being 1997's "Mi Innamoravo Di Tutto."

1999 - Sean "Puffy" Combs and Dwight "Heavy D" Myers, along with the City University of New York (CUNY), are found negligent in a 1991 celebrity basketball game that killed nine people and injured dozens.

1995 - Michael Jackson releases a statement saying, "I will no longer stand by and watch reckless members of the media try to destroy my reputation." The statement was prompted by unsubstantiated rumors of a video depicting Jackson fooling around with a young boy.

1988 - ``So Emotional'' becomes the sixth consecutive No. 1 hit for Whitney Houston, following ``Saving All My Love For You,'' ``How Will I Know,'' ``The Greatest Love of All,'' ``I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)'' and ``Didn't We Almost Have It All.''

1987 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood begins what will be its final tour in Manchester, England.

1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,'' Leo Sayer.

1971 - Singer and songwriter, Mary J. Blige is born in Atlanta, GA.

1969 - Jethro Tull's debut album, ``This Was,'' is released.

1964 - ``Ring of Fire'' by Johnny Cash becomes the first country album to top the U.S. pop album chart.

1963 - The Whisky A-Go-Go, the Hollywood club devoted to the cutting edge of rock, opens. The Doors were discovered there by Elektra boss Jac Holzman when opening for Love at the Whisky in 1966.

1956 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Memories Are Made of This,'' Dean Martin.