October 9

 

The world received one of its greatest musical gifts today in 1940 when John Lennon was born in Liverpool during a Nazi air raid, destined to become the Beatles' witty provocateur and peace activist whose "Imagine" would become humanity's most enduring anthem before his murder in 1980…

 

California's most introspective troubadour Jackson Browne celebrates his 76th birthday today, the singer-songwriter whose thoughtful examinations of love, loss, and political conscience on albums like 'Late for the Sky' made him the poet laureate of 1970s soft rock…

 

Rock and roll's king and queen ended their fairy tale today in 1973 when Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorced after six years of marriage, closing a chapter that had begun when he met the 14-year-old in Germany and ending amid his spiraling drug abuse and infidelities…

 

We remember The Who's thunderous bassist John Entwistle on his birthday today in 1944, "The Ox" whose explosive playing and dark songwriting contributions made him rock's greatest bass player before his sudden death from a heart attack in 2002…

 

Rock royalty's next generation continued today in 1975 when Sean Ono Lennon was born to John and Yoko on his father's 35th birthday, the musical heir who would later carry on the family's artistic legacy with his own experimental projects…

 

Chanson lost its greatest voice on this day in 1978 when influential French singer Jacques Brel died at 49, ending the career of the Belgian songwriter whose theatrical passion and poetic lyrics influenced artists from David Bowie to Nina Simone…

 

Bruce Springsteen explored marriage's darker corners today in 1987 with the release of 'Tunnel of Love,' the introspective album that documented his crumbling first marriage and featured a stripped-down sound that contrasted sharply with the arena bombast of 'Born in the U.S.A.'