1881 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer, dies from alcoholism. He was best known for his Pictures at an Exhibition and the opera Boris Godunov.

1920 - Two of Hollywood's greatest stars, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, marry.

1943 - Sergei Rachmaninov, Russian composer and virtuoso pianist, dies in California; he was best known for his piano concertos and his Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.

1945 - Chuck Portz, bass player with Happy Together hit-makers the Turtles, is born in Santa Monica, Calif.

1947 - With the horrors of World War Two looming — and fearful of a German invasion of England — Virginia Woolf, 59, loads her pockets with stones and walks into the River Ouse, near her home in Rodnell, Sussex, in southeastern England. She leaves a note for her husband Leonard: 'I have a feeling I shall go mad. I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer.'

1958 - Legendary songwriter W.C. Handy dies at age 84. The Father of the Blues is credited with writing the seminal St. Louis Blues, as well as Memphis Blues. The former was the first song to have the word 'blues' in the title. On the same day, Eddie Cochran records Summertime Blues.

1960 -Two anti-payola bills are introduced in Congress by Representative Emanuel Celler of New York. He blames payola for 'the cacophonous music called rock & roll' and claims that rock & roll would never have achieved popularity, 'especially among teenagers,' if not for the result of payola.

1964 - Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London announces the Beatles will be cast in wax, the first pop album stars to be honored.

1966 - New York City Parks Commissioner Thomas Hoving describes plans for rock & roll concerts to be held in Central Park.

1967 - Van Morrison records Brown Eyed Girl in a New York studio.

1968 - The Doors play the Kaleidoscope, Hollywood, CA.

1968 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding. The song reaches No. 1 three months after Redding is killed in a plane crash near Madison, WI.

1969 - In London, Ringo Starr says the Beatles will make no public appearances. John Lennon counters that there will be several in 1969.

1970 - In Hollywood, Janis Joplin records One Night Stand with Paul Butterfield.

1970 - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Woodstock is released. Their cover of the Joni Mitchell song goes to No. 11.

1973 - Marlon Brando rejects his Oscar for The Godfather, sending Indian actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the Academy Award´s platform to describe the plight of the American Indians.

1974 - Blues guitarist Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup dies of a stroke at the age of 69 in Nassawadox, Va. Elvis Presley loved his song That's All Right (Mama), so much he recorded it as his first single for Sun Records in 1954. The Song was later recorded by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart.

1982 - David Crosby is arrested for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of cocaine and carrying a concealed .45-caliber pistol in Los Angeles.

1985 - Marc Chagall, Russian-born French artist, dies at 97; Apollinaire coined the word 'surrealist' to describe Chagall´s work.

1987 - The Doobie Brothers shift a concert scheduled for Phoenix to Las Vegas to protest Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham's decision to rescind Martin Luther King Day.

1991 - Funeral services are held in England for Eric Clapton's son Conor, who fell to his death from a New York City high rise apartment window. Phil Collins and George Harrison are among the many who attend.

1994 - Ninety-one people are arrested after the Grateful Dead play a series of weekend concerts on Long Island, N.Y.

1994 - Eugene Ionesco, Romanian-born French playwright, a giant of the 'theatre of the absurd' and one of the world´s most performed authors, dies in Paris at 81.

2000 - Jimmy Page receives an undisclosed figure in damages after he sues Ministry magazine in High Court for claiming he contributed to the death of Zeppelin bandmate John Bonham by a wearing Satanic robe and chanting spells while the dying drummer was choking on his vomit. The magazine apologizes and also offers to pay Page's legal bills. Page donates all of the money to Action for Brazil's Children Trust.

Doors History Spotlight: The Kaleidoscope

The Kaleidoscope was one of the most well designed rock ballrooms of the era, featuring a state-of-the-art sound system which was virtually unsurpassed in its day. After some difficulties securing an appropriate location, the Kaleidoscope celebrated it's grand opening on Sunset on March 22, 1968.

This following weekend features The Doors. The evening continues the atmosphere of celebration engendered the week before. Over time, operating costs unfortunately prove to be prohibitive, and the following year the venue is sold.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net