History Highlight:

Today in 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the Horticultural Society Dance in Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George and Ringo. The four would play in Minnesota only one time — on Aug. 21, 1965 — 50 years ago this Friday.

Also, Today In:

1969 - Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia. The film was dogged by problems: Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had gone to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney resulting in being hospitalized in a coma, and pulling out of the film.

1973 - Diana Ross scored her second U.S. No. 1 single with "Touch Me In The Morning." The song marked a turning point in her career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues.

1977 - The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's in Birmingham, England. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae and jazz.

1979 - Chic went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Good Times," the group's second U.S. No. 1

1986 - Bon Jovi released their third studio album, Slippery When Wet, which peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, going on to sell more than 28 million copies worldwide. The album features the hit singles, "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

1992 - Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love became parents, giving birth to a daughter.

2005 - Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop community during an MTV interview, saying, "Hip hop was always about speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip hop discriminates against gay people. Not just hip hop, but America just discriminates, I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it'."

2010 - French beauty brand Etat Libre D'Orange announced that it had teamed up with The Sex Pistols to bottle the scent of the punk era by launching the band's first fragrance. Company executives said, "To wear this scent, you must resist tradition, fight conformity, and disregard aromatic conventions."

Birthdays:

Former Men at Work bassist John Rees is 64.

Former Men at Work lead guitarist Ron Strykert is 58.

Erik Schrody of House of Pain is 46.

Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire is 38.