Date: May 31, 1948

1948 : Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham is born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England.

Date: May 31, 1956

1956 : Buddy Holly sees the John Wayne film, The Searchers, and the line, "That'll be the day" in it inspires him to write a song with that title.

Date: May 31, 1957

1957 : No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: Pat Boone's Love Letters in the Sand

Date: May 31, 1961

1961, Chuck Berry opened 'Berry Park', an amusement complex near St Louis. The park had its own zoo, golf course and ferris wheel.

Date: May 31, 1961

1961 : Jimi Hendrix enlists in the Army for 3 years and is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a member of the Screaming Eagles fighting squad. He is honorably discharged a little over a year later after breaking his ankle during a parachute jump.

Date: May 31, 1961

1961 : Chuck Berry opens the Berryland amusement park in Wentzville, Missouri, outside of St. Louis.

Date: May 31, 1961

1961 : Jimi Hendrix enlists in the Army for 3 years and is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a member of the Screaming Eagles fighting squad. He is honorably discharged a little over a year later after breaking his ankle during a parachute jump.

Date: May 31, 1961

1961 - Chuck Berry opened "Berry Park," an amusement complex near St Louis. The park had its own zoo, golf course and ferris wheel.

Date: May 31, 1962

1962, The Beatles played the last night of a 7-week run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany. During their residency they would play for four-and-a-half hours on weekdays and six hours on Saturdays, with some songs lasting over 20 minutes to fill out the time.

Date: May 31, 1964

1964 : The family-friendly Dave Clark Five go on the Ed Sullivan Show, for the first time, performing Glad All Over. They're a hit with the host, who has them on 18 more times.

Date: May 31, 1966

1966 : Lulu's first movie, To Sir With Love, begins filming in London.

Date: May 31, 1966

1966, Filming began on The Monkees first TV series. The Monkees' first single, 'Last Train to Clarksville' was released in August 1966, just weeks prior to the TV broadcast debut. In conjunction with the first broadcast of the television show on September 12, 1966 on the NBC television network, NBC and Columbia had a major hit on their hands.

Date: May 31, 1966

1966 : Filming begins on "The Monkees (Here Come The Monkees)," the first filmed episode of the television series The Monkees (though not the first shown).

Date: May 31, 1966

1966 - Filming began on The Monkees first TV series.

Date: May 31, 1967

1967 : The Beatles record "It's All Too Much"

Date: May 31, 1967

1967 : Big Brother & the Holding Company film a scene in the Richard Lester moviePetulia.

Date: May 31, 1968

1968 : While recording vocals for Revolution, John Lennon does some improvised ranting that will be included in the head-scratching Revolution 9.

Date: May 31, 1968

1968, Working on what will become The White Album, The Beatles added overdubs of bass and vocals on ‘Revolution’. After numerous overdubs have been added, the final six minutes of the song evolved into chaotic, jamming, with Lennon repeatedly shouting "alright" and Yoko Ono speaking random phrases. The jam becomes the basis for ‘Revolution 9’, and this session is the first that Yoko attends.

Date: May 31, 1969

1969 : Stevie Wonder releases "My Cherie Amour"

Date: May 31, 1969

1969 : The Rolling Stones record "Honky Tonk Women"

Date: May 31, 1969

1969 : The Supremes host the variety show Hollywood Palace, with guests The Jackson 5 and Sammy Davis Jr.

Date: May 31, 1969

1969, Jimi Hendrix was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents (2/6). More on Jimi Hendrix 

Date: May 31, 1971

1971 : Badfinger record "Day After Day"

Date: May 31, 1971

1971, 36 Grateful Dead fans were medically treated after unknowingly drinking L.S.D. laced cider, at a gig in the US.

Date: May 31, 1972

1972 : No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: The Staple Singers' I'll Take You There

Date: May 31, 1974

1974 : Gordon Lightfoot's LP Sundown is certified gold.

Date: May 31, 1974

1974 : William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful For What You Got" is certified gold.

Date: May 31, 1975

1975 : Freddy Fender's Before the Next Teardrop Falls hits #1.

Date: May 31, 1975

1975 : The Eagles release One Of These Nights

Date: May 31, 1975

1975, During a press conference held at the 5th Avenue Hotel in New York City to announce The Rolling Stones forthcoming American tour, the Stones themselves came down the street playing live from the back of a flat-bed truck. Stones drummer Charlie Watts came up with the idea, after the practise of New Orleans jazz musicians, who would play walking down the street.

Date: May 31, 1976

1976 : The Who set the record for "World's Loudest Rock Band" when their show in London measures 126 decibels. Guiness later stops certifying the record, concerned about hearing loss.

Date: May 31, 1976

1976, The Who gave themselves a place in the Guinness book of Records as the loudest performance of a rock band at 120 decibels, when they played at Charlton Athletic Football ground.

Date: May 31, 1977

1977, The BBC announced a ban on the new Sex Pistols single 'God Save The Queen' saying it's, "in gross bad taste". And the IBA issued a warning to all radio stations saying the playing the single would be in breach of Section 4:1:A of the Broadcasting act. The single reached No.2 on the UK chart. 

Date: May 31, 1977

1977, -The BBC announced a ban on the new Sex Pistols single "God Save The Queen" saying it's, "in gross bad taste".

Date: May 31, 1979

1979 : Supertramp's Breakfast In America is certified gold.

Date: May 31, 1980

1980, Lipps Inc went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Funkytown'. The disco hit was also a No.1 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and The Netherlands. It reached No. 2 in the UK.

Date: May 31, 1980

1980, The Theme From M*A*S*H* (Suicide Is Painless), by Mash was at No.1 on the UK singles chart, 10 years after it was first recorded after being championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds. Mike Altman the son of the original film's director, Robert Altman, was 14 years old when he composed the song's lyrics.

Date: May 31, 1980

Today in 1980, Lipps Inc. went to No.1 on the US singles chart with "Funkytown." The disco hit was also a No.1 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and The Netherlands. Written by Steven Greenberg with lead vocals by Cynthia Johnson, the song expresses the singer's pining for a metaphorical place that will "keep me movin', keep me groovin' with some energy". It is said that the song was written while the band lived in Minneapolis with dreams of moving to New York City. "Funkytown" is often considered to be one of the last hits of the disco genre.

Date: May 31, 1982

1982, R.E.M. signed a five-album deal with I.R.S. Records, an independent label based in California.

Date: May 31, 1982

1982, The Rolling Stones played at the 100 Club, Oxford St, London, to a sold out crowd of 400 people. More on The Rolling Stones

Date: May 31, 1985

1985 : The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), sends its first letter to the RIAA requesting a ratings system for albums and concerts. The group is led by Tipper Gore, who is the wife of Senator Al Gore, so the record industry takes it seriously, and cuts back on their Metal budgets. The end result is warning stickers on albums containing offensive lyrics.

Date: May 31, 1986

1986, Peter Gabriel scored his second solo UK No.1 album with 'So' featuring the singles 'Sledgehammer' and a duet with Kate Bush 'Don't Give Up'.

Date: May 31, 1986

1986, The Notting Hillbillies made their live debut when they appeared at The Grove in Leeds. The group featured Mark Knopfler, Steve Phillips and Brendan Crocker who were each paid £22.

Date: May 31, 1987

1987 : No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: Kim Wilde's You Keep Me Hangin’ On

Date: May 31, 1989

1989, David Bowie's Tin Machine made their live debut at the International Music Awards, New York.

Date: May 31, 1996

1996 : Bass singer Elsbeary Hobbs (of The Drifters) dies from throat and lung cancer in Manhattan, New York at age 59.

Date: May 31, 1997

1997, Eternal started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Wanna Be The Only One' the girl soul trio's first - and only UK chart-topper.

Date: May 31, 1998

1998, Simply Red went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Blue', their fifth consecutive No.1 album.

Date: May 31, 1998

1998, The Tamperen went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Feel It'. The track featured US vocalist Maya and was based on the Jacksons 1981 hit 'Can You Feel It'.

Date: May 31, 1998

1998 : Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell officially leaves The Spice Girls, releasing this statement: "Sadly I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls. This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best… PS, I'll be back."

Date: May 31, 1998

1998, Geri Halliwell announced she had quit The Spice Girls saying "This is because of differences between us. I am sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best."

Date: May 31, 1999

In 1999, VH1's "Behind the Music" began airing nightly. The premier show was "The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Behind the Music."

Date: May 31, 2000

2000, US soul singer Johnnie Taylor died of a heart attack in a Texas hospital shortly after his 62nd birthday. Taylor had been a member of The Highway QCs and The Five Echoes and in 1957 Taylor replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers. He scored the 1976 US No.1 'Disco Lady'.

Date: May 31, 2003

2003 : 50 Cent's second single, "21 Questions," tops the chart for the first of 4 weeks. Featuring Nate Dogg on the chorus, the song explores 50's romantic side, as he asks a girl if she would be there for him through thick and thin.

Date: May 31, 2003

2003, UK police announced that thousands of people at this year's pop festivals would be subjected to a computerised drug test. Fans would be asked to provide swab samples from their hands, which would be inserted into a drug detection machine. It was to be a voluntary test but Anti-drug officers could search anyone refusing.

Date: May 31, 2004

2004, US guitarist Robert Quine was found dead of a heroin overdose in his New York City home. Worked with Richard Hell And The Voidoids, (1977 album 'Blank Generation' features the track 'Love Comes In Spurts') and Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Lloyd Cole, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Waits and They Might Be Giants.

Date: May 31, 2005

2005 : Strawberry Field (no s), the Liverpool orphanage which inspired The Beatles' famous song, is closed by the Salvation Army after almost seventy years.

Date: May 31, 2005

2005, Former East 17 singer Brian Harvey was in a critical condition in a London hospital after he fell under the wheels of his Mercedes convertible. The accident happened outside his home in Walthamstow when Harvey was reversing from an access road into the street. The singer suffered a broken leg, pelvis and a crushed abdomen and ribs.

Date: May 31, 2006

2006, 71 year-old songwriter Hal Bynum, (whose credits include Kenny Rogers "Lucille,") and his wife were arrested and charged with growing marijuana inside their Nashville home and possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms. After receiving a tip, police searched the couple's home and confiscated 256 marijuana plants, 7.5 pounds of harvested marijuana, 14 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, growing lamps and other drug paraphernalia. Bynum, and his wife were released on $73,500 bond each.

Date: May 31, 2007

2007 : Rob Grill, lead singer of The Grass Roots, is arrested for illegal possession of prescription painkillers at his home in Mount Dora, FL.

Date: May 31, 2008

2008, Death Cab For Cutie were at No.1 on the US album chart with their sixth release 'Narrow Stairs'.

Date: May 31, 2008

2008 - Death Cab For Cutie were at No.1 on the US album chart with their sixth release "Narrow Stairs."

Date: May 31, 2014

2014, A car and jewellery belonging to Miley Cyrus were stolen after her home in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles was burgled. A Maserati and an unspecified amount of jewellery were taken in the raid.