On this day in rock history, Stevie Ray Vaughan's promising life was cruelly cut short when the helicopter he was riding in with three members of Eric Clapton's touring group crashed. Everyone on board was killed.

Two of rock's most iconic legends intersected as Elvis Presley met the Beatles. The still-rising Fab Four were staying at Zsa Zsa Gabor's Beverly Hills mansion during a break on their 1965 tour, while Presley was at work on a film in Hollywood. Faced with the obviously nervous Beatles, Elvis finally broke the ice by joking, "If you damn guys are gonna sit here and stare at me all night, I'm gonna go to bed."

Alex Lifeson, Rush's prodigiously talented co-founding guitarist, also celebrates a birthday. Born to Serbian parents in Fernie, British Columbia, the future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's given name was Aleksandar Zivojinovic. Randy Newman, meanwhile, had to deal with new commercial expectations with the release of Born Again, which followed his breakout – but widely misunderstood – hit, "Short People."

Watch an exciting recap of many of the day’s biggest rock anniversaries above, narrated by our radio host Zach Martin. And learn more about these important events by clicking the links below.

News Anniversaries:
Elvis meets the Beatles (1965)
Izzy Stradlin pees on a plane (1989)
Stevie Ray Vaughan dies in a helicopter crash (1990)

Album Anniversaries:
Randy Newman, Born Again (1979)

Birthdays:
Alex Lifeson (1953)

See Stevie Ray Vaughan and Other Rockers in the Top 100 Albums of the '80s

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