U2's Adam Clayton was born on this day in 1960 to an Royal Air Force pilot father and a mother who was an airline stewardess.  The future U2 bass guitarist became friends with Dave Evans, aka The Edge,  in his early teens, shortly before Clayton began to develop an interest in music as an alternative to participating in scholastic sports, something he had little aptitude for or interest in.  Early piano lessons were given up for guitar as soon as Adam got turned on to guitar driven rock bands beginning to break-out in the US and UK.  Clayton and Evans became acquainted with Bono (Paul Hewson) and Larry Mullen Jr. at a school all three attended.  A bulletin board notice Mullen posted in hopes of recruiting propective band members drew the interest of Clayton, Hewson, Dave Evans and his brother and a couple of others.  The band Feedback started as a quintet, but was soon down to Dave Evans, Mullen, Hewson and Clayton.  The group adopted the name The Hype and then changed it to U2 shortly after Dik Evans left the fold.

 

1950 Early Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan is born.

1958 Gold Record standards announced by the Recording Institute of America.

1965 Eric Clapton leaves the Yardbirds to join John Mayall's Blues Breakers.

1966 Pink Floyd plays the Marquee Club for the first time. The venue helps launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Cream and King Crimson.

1966 Rod Stewart goes solo, leaving the band Steampacket that also included Long John Baldry, Animals lead guitarist Vic Briggs, Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll.

1972 The Eagles start recording debut album.

1977 David Bowie and Iggy Pop open a North American tour in Montreal.

1987 Bob Seger is honored on Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
2001 Eric Clapton releases Reptile.

2006 Rock Hall Of Fame inducts Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blondie, the Sex Pistols and Miles Davis. The Sex Pistols refuse to attend and former Blondie band members not inducted disrupt the awards appearance of their replacements.