Today in 1942 premiered what now is the second longest running program in the history of radio — the BBC’s “Desert Island Discs”:

What’s the longest running program in the history of radio? The Grand Ole Opry.

Today in 1968, the Doors appeared at the Pussy Cat a Go Go in Las Vegas. After the show, Jim Morrison pretended to light up a marijuana cigarette outside. The resulting fight with a security guard concluded with Morrison’s arrest for vagancy, public drunkenness, and failure to possess identification.

The number one British single today in 1969 was its only British number one:

The number one British album today in 1972 was the three-disc “The Concert for Bangladesh”:

The number one single today in 1977:

The number one single today in 2009 was number 97 one week earlier, which shows what showing an excerpt on Fox’s “American Idol” will do:

Today in 1979, Brenda Spencer, 16, fired shots from her .22 rifle at a San Diego elementary school entrance from her house across the street, killing two and injuring nine. When asked why she did it, she replied, “I don’t like Mondays,” which inspired …

Today in 1982, Gary Numan made a forced landing at a Royal Air Force base outside Southampton, England, after his plane ran low on fuel. British media ran inaccurate stories that he had crash-landed on a highway instead. Perhaps instead of flying, Numan should have stuck to …

Birthdays begin with Tony Blackburn, DJ on the late pirate Radio Caroline and the first DJ on BBC Radio One:

David Byron sang for Uriah Heep:

Who is Thomas Erdelyi? Tommy Ramone, drummer for the Ramones:

Louie Perez of Los Lobos:

Rob Manzoli of Right Said Fred:

Eddie Jackson played bass for Queensryche:

Marcus Verne of Living in a Box, which emulated Bad Company in one sense:

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