1954 - Bill Haley & the Comets release Rock Around the Clock - estimated to have sold the most copies of any single, at 25 million
1956 - Elvis Presley's first US hit - Heartbreak Hotel
1962 - The Beatles churn out their first UK hit - Love Me Do
1969 - Between 300,000 and 500,000 people attend the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York from 15th to 17th August
1970 - Fleetwood Mac's Rumours released. Till date, it has sold over 20 million copies, making it the highest selling album by any group.
1973 - Pink Floyd releases The Dark Side of the Moon. The album spent a record 741 weeks in the US Album Charts up to the end of 1992.
1984 - Michael Jackson wins 8 Grammy Awards
1988 - Rod Stewart plays to an estimated 3.5 million people at a free concert in Rio de Janeiro
1994 - The death of Kurt Cobain