February 2

 

British pop's most principled voice Graham Nash celebrates his 84th birthday today, the Hollies founder turned CSN&Y member whose "Teach Your Children" and activism proved that rock stars could maintain integrity while achieving commercial success across six decades…

 

Punk's most tragic figure Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose in New York today in 1979 at 21, just months after being charged with girlfriend Nancy Spungen's murder, the Sex Pistols bassist's death cementing his role as punk's most nihilistic symbol…

 

Pop culture scandal erupted on this day in 2004 when CBS apologized after Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show, the "wardrobe malfunction" creating a media firestorm that damaged Jackson's career far more than Timberlake's…

 

Cinema lost one of its greatest character actors today in 2014 when Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose at 46, the brilliant performer who captured rock journalist Lester Bangs' passionate criticism in 'Almost Famous' among countless other transformative roles…

 

Motown's keyboard foundation crumbled today in 2007 when Joe Hunter died in Detroit at 79, ending the life of the Funk Brothers session pianist whose work on countless Supremes, Temptations, and Four Tops hits helped create the label's signature sound…

 

We remember the voice that went undiscovered until after her death, Eva Cassidy, on her birthday today in 1963, the Washington D.C. singer whose interpretations of "Fields of Gold" and "Over the Rainbow" found massive audiences only after melanoma killed her at 33 in 1996.