On April 22nd, 1961, the first annual Country Music Festival was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Performers included Webb Pierce, Porter Wagoner, Patsy Cline and Earl Scruggs.
In 1966, “Wild Thing” by The Troggs was released in the US.
In 1969, John Lennon changed his middle name from Winston to Ono.
Also in 1969, The Who performed the rock opera “Tommy” in its entirety for the first time in Dolton, England. That show was unannounced. They premiered it officially in London a few weeks later.
In 1974, Tina Turner began filming her role as the Acid Queen in the film version of “Tommy.”
In 1978, Bob Marley and The Wailers performed at the One Love Peace concert in Jamaica. It was his first public appearance in his homeland since being wounded in an assassination attempt about a year-and-a-half earlier.
Also in 1978, the Blues Brothers — John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd — made their network debut on “Saturday Night Live.” On the same show, Steve Martin performed his novelty hit “King Tut.”
In 1979, Keith Richards performed a benefit concert in Ottawa, Canada, with his band, The New Barbarians. The concert was part of his sentence for a 1977 drug arrest.
In 2003, actor Alan Thicke was hit by a puck while playing hockey. He lost five front teeth and had to have 30 stitches in his face.
In 2010, Poison singer Bret Michaels was rushed to a hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was recovering from an emergency appendectomy ten days earlier.
