Violence

The Lyric Trio record Sometime We'll Understand, Unchain The Dogs Of War, The Torpedo And The Whale, Farewell My Own and other songs for Victor records in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Mr. Ed Spence of The Holland Club, Grants Pass, Oregon, USA, sees a couple dancing the Bunny Hug and becomes involved in an arguement over it, insisting it is a rule at the club that no 'animal dances' were allowed. The animated discussion becomes a fight in which Mr. Spence is knifed 11 times.

The USS Reuben James is torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat near Iceland, Europe, with the loss of almost 100 crew members. The incident will inspire Woody Guthrie to write the song The Sinking of the Reuben James which will be released in 1942, and will be covered by The Weavers, Johnny Horton, The Kingston Trio, Country Joe McDonald and many others.

Red Foley records Smoke On The Water, There's A Blue Star Shining In Heaven Tonight, Hang Your Head In Shame and You Sang My Love Song To Somebody Else in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A patriotic pseudo-religious war-mongering anti-Japanese/German/Italian rabble rouser, Smoke On The Water, will top the charts for thirteen consecutive weeks.

The Buchanan Brothers record Atomic Power, in New York City, USA. The song is inspired by the World War II bombing of Hiroshima.

A rousing performance by Little Richard at The Cotton Club, Lubbock, Texas, results in the venue being shut down when fights break out among the crowd.

Jesse Belvin, composer of The Penguins' smash, Earth Angel, dies in a car crash near Little Rock in Hope, Arkansas, USA. Rumours that the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan had tampered with his steering wheel are never substantiated.

US tv's Tennesse Ernie FordShow is shot on location at Drury College, Springfield, Missouri, USA.

Ray Charles and His Orchestra play at The National Guard Armory, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA. During the show, a soldier is shot dead by a rival on the dance floor.

Ringo Starr drums for the first time as an official member of The Beatles, at The Horticultural Society Dance, Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, Birkenhead, Lancashire, UK.

A coroner's inquest is held in Los Angeles, California, USA, into the recent shooting of popular singer and songwriter Sam Cooke.

Militaristic right wing anthem, The Ballad of the Green Berets by Staff Sgt Barry Sadler, is released in the USA.

Lightnin' Hopkins records Viet Nam War (Pt.1) and (Pt.2), at ACA Recording Studio, Houston, Texas, USA.

In Phoenix, Arizona, USA, Jim Morrison of The Doors is charged with "assault, intimidation and threatening a flight attendant on an interstate flight."

The tv special James Paul McCartney, featuring Paul McCartney, is broadcast on ABC in the USA. The climax of the show comes with a performance of Live And Let Die, during which McCartney's piano is rigged with pyrotechnics, intended as an explosive end to the song. Unfortunately, too much explosive has been packed into the piano, causing McCartney and other band members to be blown over. Luckily, no-one is seriously injured.

Police are called in when three hundred ZZ Top fans go on the rampage in San Francisco, California, USA, because they cannot get tickets for the band's upcoming show.

Jerry Lee Lewis, brandishing a Derringer pistol, drives to Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and demands that Elvis Presley should come out to speak with him. Elvis declines. Jerry Lee goes home.

During The Clash's White Riot tour, 200 seats are trashed during an all-out riot at The Rainbow, London, England, UK, Europe. Also on the bill are The Jam, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Prefects.

When Bad Manners play at The Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, England, UK, Europe, a member of the audience clambers onstage and tries to stab vocalist Buster Bloodvessel. The knifeman is kicked off the stage by band member Louis 'Alphonso' Cook before he can inflict any injury but an audience member is stabbed in the kidneys.

Now being managed by notorious rock entrepreneur Don Arden's daughter Sharon, Ozzy Osbourne releases the album Blizzard Of Ozz.

During a clash between feuding Bronx and Brooklyn hip hop factions, rap performer Scott La Rock is shot dead in the street in New York City, USA. His killer is never apprehended.

The Miami Herald reviews the 2 Live Crew LP As Nasty As They Wanna Be with the words, "Many of 2 Live Crew's lyrics are so filled with hard-core sexual, sadistic and masochistic material that they could not be printed here, even in censored form." Within a few days the LP will be judged obscene in Florida, USA, largely on the basis of this review.

In Miami, Florida, USA, the trial of 2 Live Crew and the distributor of its LP As Nasty As They Wanna Be vs Sheriff Nick Navarro begins. Navarro had recently succeeded in having the LP declared obscene, largely based on a recent Mimai Herald newspaper review which states that, "Many of 2 Live Crew's lyrics are so filled with hard-core sexual, sadistic and masochistic material that they could not be printed here, even in censored form."

Lorena Bobbitt who chopped off her husband's penis, claiming it was in retaliation for him sexually assaulting her, is acquitted by a jury in Manassas, Virgina, USA, by reason of temporary insanity. Bobbitt's revenge will inspire several songs, including Bobbit Song by stand-up comedian Richard Morton and Lorena Bobbitt [2012] by Aaradhna. The Bee Gees also parodied their own song To Love Somebody as To Lose Your Penis on the Howard Stern Show in 1994.

Six year old Katherine Korzilius unexpectedly fails to return to her home in Elder Circle, Austin, Texas, USA. She is later found face down on the asphalt about six houses away from the family home. Late that night, Katherine dies from head injuries, but the precise cause of those injuries is never established and no-one is ever charged with having harmed Katherine. She was the daughter of Paul Korzilius, long-time tour manager of Bon Jovi, and in 1997 the band will release the song August 7, 4:15, inspired by the tragic events surrounding her mysterious death.

Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown is jailed for four months for having threatened the captain and a flight attendant on British Airways flight BA 1611 from Charles De Gaulle airport, Paris, France, to London, England, UK, Europe, earlier in the year.

Bill Nelson plays at The Stables, Milton Keynes, UK.

The burnt body of former Warrior Soul drummer Mark Evans is found stuffed into a wheelie bin in a car park in East London, England, UK, Europe.

Iron Maiden release a live version of their 1983 single, The Trooper, in the UK on EMI Records.

It is announced that Marion 'Suge' Knight, who was shot in the leg at an MTV awards pre-party during August, has been released from Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City, USA.

A woman in Northam, near Perth, Western Australia, Oceania, stabs her husband repeatedly with a pair of scissors for driving her to distraction by repeatedly playing Burning Love by Elvis Presley.

Troubled country music star Mindy McCready is arrested for misdemeanor battery and resisting arrest after a drunken, violent fight with her mother. The singer is also charged with having violated her probation.

Akon discusses the dangers of gun violence, making reference to his fallen protege Dolla, at a meeting with students in Poughkeepsie, New York State, USA. The event is part of the community service sentence that Akon received after throwing a fan off the stage at a 2007 concert.

Fourteen people are arrested when fighting breaks out in the crowd at an Oasis gig in Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, UK.

Via a two-minute video posted on his website, Chris Brown publicly apologizes for the beating of his former girlfriend Rihanna. he also states that he is seeking help and wants to live his life as a role model.

The Director of A+R for VP Records, Joel Chin dies after being shot in the head in front of his Stony Hill, St Andrew home, a few miles north of Kingston, Jamaica, Caribbean. Chin is taken to Kingston Public Hospital where he is officially pronounced dead.

When Beyonce and Jay-Z play at The Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, California, USA, there are eleven arrests among the audience, eight of which relate to drunkeness. There is also a bizarre incident in which audience-member Robert Alcaraz-Garnica is arrested for severely biting the finger of another member of the crowd during a brawl over a groping incident relating to the victim's girlfriend.

Brazilian model Liziane Gutierrez is ejected from a private party held by Chris Brown at The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Gutierrez will subsequently accuse Brown of attacking her at the party.

Popular Turkish Uyghur singer and musician, Abdurehim Heyit, dies aged 55 in detention, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XUAR) of nothrthwest China, Asia, after enduring two years of brutal torture. He had been detained and held without formal charge by Chinese government for singing the song Atilar (Forefathers), which was deemed to be critical of the government.