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1947--Dave Davies, guitarist for The Kinks and frequent sparring partner with his brother Ray, is born in Muswell Hill, England.

1959--Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens are all killed in a plane crash. The trio were en route to a concert date in Fargo, North Dakota, and with the weather being so bad and the bus’s heater having broken down, they decided to pay $36 each for plane tickets. The plane crashes eight miles from the Mason City, Iowa, airfield and the wreckage is discovered at 9 a.m.

1961--The Beatles perform at St. John's Hall, Bootle. For this show The Beatles receive a larger fee from the promoter than usual: £7.5 pounds.

1961--Bob Dylan makes his first recording, taping San Francisco Bay Blues in New York.

1962--The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club -- a night show.

1963--After one night, the Helen Shapiro tour takes a rest, allowing The Beatles to perform a night show at the Cavern Club. They headline an eight-hour, eight-band "Rhythm and Blues Marathon."

1963--The Beatles are scheduled for their own tour to begin in May. They are booked as co-headliners with Duane Eddy. Meanwhile, EMI announces plans to tape the group at the Cavern Club for a live album.

1964--US release of LP The Beatles With Tony Sheridan and Their Guests (MGM). Includes Why, Cry For a Shadow, My Bonnie, The Saints, and non-Beatles material. 14 weeks on Billboard chart; highest position #68.

1964--The Beatles perform two shows at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France. Earlier in the day they had gone to the US embassy in Paris to obtain visas and permits to visit and work in the United States.

1966--Paul McCartney attends a performance of Stevie Wonder at Scotch of St. James' Club in London and has a backstage meeting with the 15-year-old genius.

1967--The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Two, EMI Studios, London). Paul McCartney re-records his vocal part for A Day in the Life, as well as a bass part. Ringo Starr re-records his drum part for the same song, to get a different sound.

1968--The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Three, EMI Studios, London). Recording Lady Madonna. The Beatles' planned trip to India is near, so they decide to record a single to be released during their absence from England. After three piano / drum takes are taped, The Beatles overdub bass, fuzz guitars, drums, and vocals.

1969--Ringo Starr begins 13 weeks of filming for a major role in the movie "The Magic Christian." Peter Sellers is the film's main star, but Ringo has a very significant part. The movie is to be a satire, based upon a Terry Southern novel, about greed and the things that people will do for money. On the same day, Allen Klein is hired by John, George, and Ringo to handle The Beatles' financial affairs. Paul refuses to be represented by Klein; he wants John Eastman to continue to represent him. This split is a key moment in the disintegration of The Beatles. As a compromise with Paul, the other Beatles agree to let Eastman & Eastman serve as The Beatles' general counsel. But the antagonism between the brash Klein and the refined Eastmans leaves everyone miserable and unhappy with the situation. Klein's abrasiveness toward Clive Epstein leads Epstein to sell Nemperor to Triumph Investment instead of to The Beatles.

1971--John Lennon joins in a George Harrison recording session, playing piano. Songs recorded over a two day period include: Try Some Buy Some, You, Tandoori Chicken, A Bit More of You, and Loverly Laddy Day. (It’s not clear what tracks John played on.)

1973--At the world-famous Cavern Club it is announced that following last orders this evening, the club will close its doors for business. Manager Roy Adams says, “We’ve got to go. There’s nothing we can do about it!” Following a last minute reprieve from the local council, the Cavern stays in business until May 27.

1977--In an interview, when asked about a Beatles reunion, George Harrison says, ”Physically we’re all in different places and we don’t spend time together anymore. That’s the problem. We’d have to get to know each other again. Everyone’s into their own lives. It seems very difficult, the idea of trying to get together.” When asked about the recent huge money offers they have been receiving, he says, “That’s a joke! I mean it needs a joke when the last offer was for $50 million and it’s just crazy, you know. It’s trying to put the responsibility of making the world a wonderful world again onto The Beatles. I think that’s unfair. I know a lot of people like The Beatles, but it’s eight years ago we split up and it’s different, you know. It’s like we all grew up and left home. It’s like trying to get the family back again or trying to get us to go back to school again.”

1978--It's the 19th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death. It's also the day on which his birthplace in Lubbock, Texas had been scheduled for demolition by the Lubbock Building Department. The Department had no idea the house had any association with the town's most famous son. However a few days ago, a man bought the place, moved it intact, outside the city limits and fixed it up so his family could move in. He too, did not know the significance of the house and he became the man who accidentally saved Buddy Holly's birthplace.

1979--A sold-out crowd packs into the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, for a concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Wolfman Jack hosts with featured performances by Del Shannon, Jimmy Clanton, and The Drifters.

1989--A four-hour radio special entitled “Meet The Beatles: The 25th Anniversary” is syndicated across many radio stations in the US. It is in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Beatles arrival in America.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net