October 11

 

Soul-pop's blue-eyed architect Daryl Hall celebrates his 79th birthday today, the Hall & Oates frontman whose smooth vocals and sophisticated songwriting made the duo the most commercially successful partnership in rock history with hits spanning three decades…

 

Corporate warfare ended today in 1991 when Apple Computers settled a lawsuit brought by The Beatles' Apple Corps over name and logo rights, temporarily resolving the dispute between Steve Jobs' tech giant and the Fab Four's business empire until iTunes reignited tensions years later…

 

Late-night television was revolutionized on this date in 1975 when NBC's Saturday Night Live debuted with original musical guests Janis Ian and Billy Preston, launching the show that would become rock's most important TV platform for four decades and counting…

 

Pop royalty expanded her family today in 2006 when Madonna adopted one-year-old David Banda from Malawi, beginning her controversial involvement with African adoption that would bring both humanitarian praise and accusations of celebrity privilege…

 

Hard bop's driving force Art Blakey was born on this day in 1919, the drummer and bandleader whose Jazz Messengers became the ultimate finishing school for young talent, nurturing legends from Lee Morgan to Wynton Marsalis before his death in 1990…

 

Musical culture clash reached its peak today in 1981 when Prince opened for The Rolling Stones in his hometown of Minneapolis and got booed off the stage by rock fans unprepared for his sexually charged funk, though history would vindicate his artistic vision.