This Day in Rock History: October 13

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1963: The Beatles made their first appearance on the U.K. show Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Broadcast live, their appearance was watched by over 15 million people across the country, which played a huge role in the band's journey to superstardom.
• 1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first-ever show at the Novelty cinema in Evreux, France. The band opened for the French singer Johnny Hallyday and played a total of four shows in France before touring the U.K.
• 1973: The Rolling Stones' album Goats Head Soup hit No. 1 on the U.S. album chart, where it spent a total of four weeks. It also reached the top spot in several other countries, propelled by the hit single "Angie."

Cultural Milestones

• 1941: Paul Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey. He shot to stardom as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, alongside Art Garfunkel, and later had a similarly successful solo career.
• 1947: Sammy Hagar was born in Salinas, California. Although he's now known mainly as Van Halen's frontman from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s, he was also in several other bands and enjoyed success as a solo artist.
• 2016: Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." He was the first songwriter to ever win the award.