On July 20, 1947, rock guitar god Carlos Augusto Alves Santana was born in the city of Autlán de Navarro, in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. The son of Jose Santana, a well-known Mariachi violinist, and Josephina, Carlos learned to play the violin when he was five years old.

Although the family moved to Tijuana in 1955, there is a plaza in Autlán (with a statue) dedicated to Carlos Santana.

Autlán de Navarro had a population of 53,269 in 2005. The word "Autlán" comes from the Nahuatl language and roughly means "next to the water ditch."

view full location details...

On July 13, 1985, Live Aid was opened at Wembley Stadium by Princess Diana and Prince Charles. The 16-hour super-concert continued (via satellite) in Philadelphia, and was broadcast worldwide to a billion viewers in 110 countries.

The brainchild of The Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, Live Aid was a response to Geldof's 1984 trip to Ethiopia, where he witnessed the horrors of starvation during a famine that threatened to kill millions.

After the trip, Geldof called up his connections (Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham!, and others) and recorded a song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" as a super-group called Band Aid. It raised $10 million for charity.

In the US, Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson recorded a response track with their buds: "We Are the World" raised $44 million.

Live Aid itself was an international success, raising $127 million by itself and shaming Western nations into shipping excess grain to Africa for immediate famine relief.

view full location details...

Johnny Allen Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 at King County Hospital of Seattle (now called Harborview Medical Center).

Born to James Allen "Al" Hendrix and Lucille Jeter, the elder Hendrix changed his son's name to James Marshall Hendrix when he was three years old to honor his late brother.

view full location details...

Located in the Greenwood Memorial Park of Renton, WA (a suburb SE of Seattle) is the Jimi Hendrix Memorial.

Semi-completed in 2002, it's the final resting place of Jimi, as well as some members of his family (the family memorial contains some 54 plots). The memorial is also decorated with pictures of Hendrix, lyrics, his signature engraved in a stone, and the head stone of his previous grave.

The centerpiece of the memorial is a covered structure held up by three columns that is supposed to house a bronze statue of Jimi in the future. The project has been held up since the main proponent, Jimi's father Al Hendrix, died in 2002.

The memorial is free and open to the public.

view full location details...

On July 4, 1976, at a music venue/pub at the bottom of Snig Hill and Bank Street, in the steel town of Sheffield, The Clash played their first live show.

On that day, The Clash had traveled up from London to open a show for The Sex Pistols. While The Sex Pistols had been together since February, The Clash had only been practicing for four weeks before the show.

Guitarist/vocalist Joe Strummer had had extensive experience with his pub rock The 101'ers, but bassist Paul Simonon could barely play, relying on Mick Jones to tune his bass during the set. Also performing in the band were Keith Levene (later with Public Image Ltd) and Terry Chimes on drums.

The set included four songs:
"Listen"
"Rabies"
"Ooh, Baby, Ooh (It's Not Over)"
"Protex Blue"

The Black Swan (sometimes called "The Muddy Duck") eventually became Boardwalk. The owners have been trying to sell the place for years- not sure if it's open now.

view full location details...