August 31

Musical birthdays today include Crickets drummer Jerry Allison (74), studio musician and Jazz Crusaders founding member Wilton Felder (73), Van Morrison (68), Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker (65), violist Kim Kashkashian (61), Waterboys multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaite (58), Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock (56), Squeeze lead singer Glenn Tilbrook (56), Debbie Gibson (43) and Biffy Clyro guitarist Simon Neil (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for songwriter and composer Alan Jay Lerner, born on this day in 1918... for composer and guitarist Robbie Basho, who would have been 73... for former Fleetwood Mac member and solo artist Bob Welch, who would have been 68... for singer-songwriter and session guitarist Chris Whitley, who would have been 53... and for jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, who left us today in 2002. 

Also on August 31: Elvis Presley plays for the last time outside of the US, at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. Some 26,000 are in attendance (1957)... The Ronettes' 'Be My Baby', which will be the group's only stateside top 10 hit, enters the US charts. Lead singer Veronica Bennett will soon shorten her first name to Ronnie and change her last name to Spector (1963)... Decca Records release what has often been called the Rolling Stones' most political song, Street Fighting Man, written after Mick Jagger attended a March, 1968 anti-war demonstration outside the US embassy in London, during which mounted police repeatedly charged the crowd of 25,000. The single will fail to crack the US top 40, as many radio stations will refuse to play it for its 'subversive content' (1969)... Traffic play their last live show, at England's annual Reading Festival (1974)... George Harrison is found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack Song 'He's So Fine' when writing 'My Sweet Lord'. After earnings from the song have been paid to Mack's estate, the Chiffons reunite to record their own version of Harrison's 1970 worldwide hit (1976)... Prince's film Purple Rain opens nationwide in the UK (1984)... The no. 1 album in the US is Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms (1985)... The largest pre-order of albums in the history of Columbia Records occurs when 2.5 million advance copies of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' are shipped to record shops across the US. The album will go on to sell over 13 million copies (1987)... Oasis are at no. 1 on the UK charts with their third release, 'Be Here Now'. The album sold 1.2 million copies on its first day of release (1997)... The British medical magazine Thorax issues a warning to music fans saying that playing loud music in the car can induce a collapsed lung in the listener.  A 19-year-old had been treated in Bristol for the condition after repeatedly subjecting himself to the 1,000-watt bass box in his Fiat Panda (2004)... The New York Times runs a story about the contractual demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists that there a be an eye, ear, nose & throat doctor on call at every venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meatloaf a mask and an oxygen tank. David Bowie requires that the temperature of his dressing room be between 14º  and 18º C at all times, and Paul McCartney must have arrangements of white Casablanca lilies. Mick Jagger has to have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, and a reminder of the name of the city in which he is performing (2006). 

August 30

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Jewel Brown (76), Specials bassist Horace Panter (60), ex-Swing Out Sister and Magazine drummer Martin Jackson (55), former Panic! at the Disco led guitarist Ryan Ross (27), and classical piano prodigy Emily Bear (12).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country music legend Kitty Wells, born on this day in 1919... for bebop trumpeter Kenny Dorham, who would have been 89... for John Phillips, who would have been 78... for influential British DJ John Peel, who would have been 74... and for the Velvet Undergropund's Sterling Morrison, who died in 1995 two days after his 48th birthday. 

Also on August 30: Bob Dylan releases Highway 61 Revisited (1965)... Two weeks after Woodstock ends, the second Isle of Wight festival begins. Bob Dylan, The Band, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues and The Who are the headliners playing for some 150,000 fans who have paid 25 shillings ($3) per ticket. Among those spotted in the crowd are John & Yoko, George, Ringo, Jane Fonda, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (1969)... The Texas International Pop Festival opens in Lewisville TX with Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Santana and Grand Funk Railroad headlining (1969)... Backed by Elephant's Memory, John & Yoko play Madison Square Garden to raise money for the One to One charity. The performance is recorded, and partially released on the Sometime in New York City album (1972)... The no. 1 single in the US is Steve Winwood's 'Higher Love' (1986)... Bruce Springsteen's wife Julianne Phillips files for divorce after salacious pictures of her husband and singer Patti Scialfa  are published worldwide (1988)... James Taylor and Carly Simon perform live together before a crowd of 10,000 at Martha's Vineyard. It is the first time the pair have appeared on the same stage since 1979. The former couple play their own solo sets before joining forces to raise money for the local agricultural society (1995)... Stella McCartney marries publisher Alasdhiar Willis on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Guests include dad Sir Paul, Madonna, Chrissie Hynde and Chris Martin (2003). 

August 29

Musical birthdays today include Blood, Sweat & Tears multi-instrumentalist Dick Halligan (70), Radiators guitarist Dave Malone (61), Fairground Attraction's Eddi Reader (54), Planet X guitarist Tony McAlpine (53), former Cocteau Twins lead singer Liz Fraser (50), Brian Jonestown Massacre founder Anton Newcombe (46), Ned's Atomic Dustbin bassist Alex Griffin (42) and Simple Plan bassist David Desrosiers (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Charlie 'Bird' Parker, who would have been 93 today... for GG Allin, who would have been 57... for Michael Jackson, who would have been 55... and for bluesman Jimmy Reed, who died today in 1976. 

Also on August 29: Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman' is released in the US. The lyric was inspired by a remark that Orbison's songwriting partner Bill Dees made when his [Orbison's] wife Claudette interrupted their conversation to say that she was going out. When Orbison asked if she was okay for money, Dees interjected "A pretty woman never needs any money" (1964)... The Beatles play their last scheduled concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA. They do not play any songs from Revolver, their most recent release, and close the show with 'Long Tall Sally' (1966)... Edwin Starr tops the US singles charts with 'War' (1970)... The no. 1 single in the UK today is Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You up' (1987)... U2 play the second rock concert in the history of Yankee Stadium [Billy Joel's in 1990 was the first] (1992)... Oasis release their debut album Definitely Maybe, which will become the fastest-selling debut of all time (1994)... During the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, Madonna stuns a packed house by passionately kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera while performing a racy version of Like a Virgin (2003)... 77-year-old Fats Domino is rescued by helicopter from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. He had earlier told his agent that he planned to remain in his home despite the order to evacuate (2005). 

August 28

Musical birthdays today include former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine (65), ex-Stranglers lead guitarist Hugh Cornwell (64), Shania Twain (48), LeAnn Rimes (31) and  Florence Welch (27).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for song and dance man Donald O'Connor, who would have been 88 today... for Velvet Underground founding member Sterling Morrison, who would have been 71... for Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, who died on this day in 1959... and for Hilly Krystal, founder and owner of CBGB, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on August 28: Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin has its premiere in Weimar (1850)... Tamla Motown Records releases The Marvelettes' 'Mister Postman', which will become the label's first no. 1 hit (1959)... Bob Dylan is one of the performers at the Washington Civil Rights March. In addition to performing duets with Joan Baez and folk revivalist Len Chandler [with the latter on the traditional 'Hold On'], Dylan solos on Blowin' in the Wind and Only a Pawn in Their Game (1963)... After playing a show at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, NYC, the Beatles meet Bob Dylan for the first time, at the Delmonico Hotel in Manhattan. Dylan and mutual journalist friend Al Aronovitz introduce the Beatles to marijuana (1964)... Bob Dylan kicks off his now legendary 1965-66 world tour with a show at the Forest Hills Stadium. The format presented at this show is to remain constant throughout the next nine months on the road. The 45-minute opening set features Dylan solo, just guitar and harmonica, followed by a similar-length electric set with the band. A large contingent in the audience boo throughout the second half, something else that will be a constant throughout the tour (1965)... Nearing the end of their final American tour, the Beatles play Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles before a crowd of 45,000. The group's attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate is found to be locked. and the Beatles have to spend two hours in the back of the vehicle before they can leave (1966)... Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album 'Bookends' is at the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic (1968)... Working at London's Trident Studios, the Beatles begin recording John's new song Dear Prudence. They build the song instrument by instrument using 8-track equipment more advanced than anything at Abbey Road. Paul plays drums in place of Ringo, who has been AWOL from the group since the 22nd (1968)... Billy Joel is at no. 1 on the US album charts with River of Dreams. According to the singer, he chose the title because most of the songs in the collection came to him in his sleep. Then-wife Christie Brinkley painted the cover, later voted worst album cover of the year by the readers of Rolling Stone (1993)... Isaac Hayes, co-author of the Sam & Dave classic 'Soul Man', writes a letter of protest to Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, demanding that the Senator stop using his song, which supporters had changed to 'I'm a Dole Man' (1996)... Noel Gallagher quits Oasis, saying that he can no longer work with his brother Liam (2009). 

August 27

Musical birthdays today include Cajun singer Jimmy C. Newman (86), Daryl Dragon (71), Alabama founding member Jeff Cook (64), Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (60), original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock (57),  Yolanda Adams (52), No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal (43), Bloodhound Gang guitarist Jimmy Pop (41) and Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz great Lester 'Pres' Young, born on this day in 1909... for Alice Coltrane, who would have been 76... for Beatles discoverer and manager Brian Epstein, who died today in 1967 age 32... for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who was killed in a helicopter crash today in 1990 at the age of 45... and for pioneering British rocker Vince Taylor, who left us today in 1991. 

Also on August 27: The 9-year-old Metropolitan Opera House in NYC is gutted by fire. The 1892-93 season will be cancelled while the structure is rebuilt along its original lines (1892)... On the last day of a 5-day break during their current American tour, the Beatles visit a Byrds recording session in L.A., then in the evening meet Elvis for the first time, at his mansion in Beverly Hills. The encounter is an awkward one, leading John Lennon to conclude that the King's personality is "unmagnetic". Asked what it was like meeting Elvis, Lennon replies "It was like meeting Engelbert Humperdinck" (1965)... The Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows' peaks at no. 2 on the UK singles chart. In addition to being one of the first pop hits to use 'God' in its title, producer Brian Wilson used many unorthodox instruments, including the French horns used in the song's introduction. Paul McCartney later calls the tune 'the greatest pop song ever written' (1966)... In response to pressure from the British media, Bob Dylan agrees to a press conference at a hotel on the Isle of Wight in anticipation of his appearance at the festival three days hence. At one point, Dylan claims that his 1966 stage act "...was all for publicity. I don't do that kind of thing anymore. After the Q&A, which Dylan cuts short by standing up and announcing "I think I've answered enough questions", there is a brief photo session on the seafront before the singer is whisked back to his rehearsals with the Band (1969)... Pearl Jam release their debut album 'Ten' (1991)... Singer-songwriter Janis Ian marries her partner Patricia Snyder in Toronto. It is the second marriage for both (2003). 

August 26

Musical birthdays today include jazz vibraphonist Peter Appleyard (85), former Hawkwind sax & winds player Nik Turner (73), Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker (69), Valerie Simpson (67), Leon Redbone (64), Branford Marsalis (53) and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for original Deep Purple drummer Chris Curtis, who would have been 72 today... for English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, who died today in 1958.... for Lee Hays of the Weavers, who passed away in 1981... and for Laura Branigan, who left us today in 2004 at the age of 37. 

Also on August 26: The Beatles hold a press conference with the Maharishi Mashesh Yogi at University College in Bangor, north Wales. The Fab Four announce that they have become disciples of the guru and that they renounce the use of drugs. Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull, who have arrived to take part in the Maharishi's 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement', are also present (1967)... Bob Dylan and his wife Sara fly from New York to Heathrow Airport. Their ultimate destination is the second annual Isle of Wight festival, where the singer will arrive in the early hours of the next day to begin rehearsals with the Band (1969)... Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until he was 53, announces that he is running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. He will carry the election in 1988, and go on to win a seat in Congress in 1996 (1987)... Rolling Stone Magazine names Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history (2003)... A plaque was unveiled by former Quarrymen John Duff Lowe and Colin Hantonat at the site where the band that was to become the Beatles made their first recordings. John, Paul and George recorded a version of Buddy Holly's That'll Be the Day and  Lennon-Harrison song called 'In Spite of All the Danger' at Liverpool's Percy Studio in 1958 (2005)... A post office on the same street as the Los Angeles studio where Ray Charles recorded many of his classic sides is renamed after the R&B legend. A federal bill is signed by president George W. Bush to effect the name change (2005). 

August 25

Musical birthdays today include Wayne Shorter (80), Gene Simmons (64), Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford (62), Geoff Downes (61), Elvis Costello (59), Billy Ray Cyrus (52), Def Leppard guitarist Viv Campbell (51), Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy (46), Belle & Sebastian lead singer Stuart Murdoch (45), Jo Dee Messina (43) and Amy Macdonald (26). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Leonard Bernstein, born on this day in 1918... for former Siouxie and the Banshees and PiL guitarist John McGeoch, who would have been 58 today... for Mia Zapata of The Gits, who would have been 48... for jazz legend Stan Kenton, who died today in 1979... for film score composer and longtime Neil Young sideman Jack Nitzsche, who left us today in 2000... and for Aaliyah, who was killed in a plane crash today in 2001 at the age of 22. 

Also on August 25: Little Eva, babysitter to the songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, takes the couple's tune The Loco-motion to no. 1 on the US charts (1962)... Two female Beatles fans hire a helicopter to fly them over the house in Beverly Hills that the group are renting. They jump from a height of approximately 50 feet and land unhurt in the swimming pool (1965)... The number 1 song in the US today: Bobbie Gentry's 'Ode to Billy Joe'. The song will stay in the top spot for the next month (1967)... In Honolulu, Brian Wilson plays live with the Beach Boys for the first time in two years, as the group promote the recently released Heroes and Villains album (1967)... A party to celebrate the grand opening of Electric Ladyland Studios is held in NYC (1970)... Elton John makes his live debut in America as he opens a 17-date tour with a show at the Troubador in Los Angeles (1970)... Bobby Darin gives his final live performance, at the Las Vegas Hilton (1973)... The Knack's My Sharona begins a 5-week run at no.1 on the Billboard Top 40 (1979)... Snoop Doggy Dogg is released on $1 million bail after being accused of involvement in the murder of a member of the By Yerself Gang in L.A. He will be acquitted of the charges in 1996 (1993)... Jimmy Page and Robert Plant record their MTV Unplugged set in London (1994)... Jimmy Buffett crashes his Grumman G-44 Wigeon seaplane on takeoff from Martha's Vineyard, MA. He swims away from the wreckage uninjured (1994)... An escaped mental patient attempts to set fire to the stage on which Michael Jackson is performing in Helsinki, Finland. The man splashes gasoline on the stage from a jerry can, but is subdued by security before he can light it (1994)... Bob Dylan reveals on his weekly radio show that he is speaking to a number of car companies about becoming the voice for their satellite navigation systems. The 68-year-old singer says he thinks that drivers might enjoy hearing his distinctive voice say such things as "Take a left at the next street... No,  right... You know what? Just go straight" (2009). 

August 24

Musical birthdays today include Quicksilver Messenger Service founding member David Freiberg (75), former Bob Dylan backup singer Ronee Blakely (68), Average White Band saxophonist Malcom Duncan (68), Jean-Michel Jarre (65), Madness bassist Mark bedford (52), former Anthrax lead singer John Bush (50) and Phantom Planet lead guitarist Darren Robinson (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman and songwriter Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, born on this day in 1905... for Quicksilver messenger Service co-founder John Cippolino, who would have been 70... and for big band leader and pop singer Louis Prima, who died today in 1978. 

Also on August 24: Stevie Wonder becomes the first artist since the inception of the Billboard charts to have the no. 1 single ['Fingertips part 2', also the first live recording to reach the ranking] and album [Little Stevie Wonder, the 12-Year-Old Genius] in the same week (1963)... The Doors go into Sunset Sound Recording Studios in Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album (1966)...  Queen begin recording Bohemian Rhapsody at a studio in south Wales. The sessions will continue for 10 to 12 hours a day for 3 weeks as Freddie Mercury pursues the sound that he wants. There are 180 vocal overdubs in the finished version of the song (1975)... One week after being named an honorary police chief in his hometown of Luckenbach, Texas, Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession (1977)... Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life (1981)... Jerry Lee Lewis' fifth wife [0f 77 days], 25-year-old Shawn Stevens, is found dead  of a Methadone overdose at the couple's Mississippi home (1983)... The Who perform Tommy at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. with the help of Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, Elton John, Patti LaBelle and Billy Idol (1989)... Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher fails to turn up for the recording of the band's MTV Unplugged session at the Royal Albert Hall. The band go on with Liam's brother Noel taking over the vocals. In fact, Liam is sitting in the audience in disguise for the entire show (1996)... The Los Angeles county coroner rules Michael Jackson's death a homicide, caused by a mix of drugs intended to treat insomnia. Proceedings begin to indict the singer's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray (2009). 

August 23

Musical birthdays today include satirist Mark Russell (82), South African jazz singer Letta Mbulu (71), Rick Springfield (64), Bucks Fizz singer Bobby G (60), Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo (52), Happy Mondays lead singer Shaun Ryder (51), Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas (35) and Lianne La Havas (24). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter and activist Malvina Reynolds, born on this day in 1900... for song & dance man Gene Kelly, born in 1912... for Keith Moon, who would have been 67 today... and for jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on August 23: John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant registry office in Liverpool. He then plays  gig with the Beatles that night at the Riverpark Ballroom (1962)... The Rolling Stones make their first of 20 appearances on the pop music show Ready, Steady, Go! (1963)... 'She Loves You' enters the British singles charts at no. 1 (1963)... The Beatles play Shea Stadium for the last time, with some 11,000 seats unsold... At home, the group are atop the British singles charts again with the double A-side Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby. According to Paul, he came up with the name of the latter song after working with actress Eleanor Bron in the film Help!, and from frequent patronage of a wine & spirits shop in Bristol called Rigby & Evens Ltd. (1966)...  In the course of a wild 21st birthday party during the Who's current US tour, Keith Moon drives a Lincoln Continental limousine into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan (1967)... Joni Mitchell plays live in the UK for the first time when she opens for folk rockers The Piccadilly Line at the Marquee Club in London (1967)... The Heatwave Festival takes place in Toronto, Talking Heads, the B-52s, the Pretenders and Elvis Costello are among those on the bill. Tickets cost $30, and with only 50,000 attending, the event loses over $1 million (1980)... Queen become the first western rock group to receive official approval in Iran since the Khomeini revolution in 1979. Freddy Mercury was of Iranian ancestry, and bootleg CDs and tapes had been available for years (2004). 

August 22

Musical birthdays today include Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies (68), former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Godchaux (66), Beach Boys founding member David Marks (65), Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson (52), Tori Amos (50), Gary 'GZA' Grice (47), ex-Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley (46), The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn (42), Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough (40) and Simple Plan lead guitarist Jeff Stinco (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claude Debussy, born on this day in 1862... for John Lee Hooker, who would have been 96 today... for Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, and rock 'n' roll pioneer Dale Hawkins, both of whom would have been 77... for announcer Al Dvorin, who coined the phrase 'Elvis has left the building' [At a Las Vegas gig in the early '70s, Colonel Tom Parker asked him to inform the audience that Elvis would not be doing an encore ~ Dvorin took the stage and announced "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building ~ thank you and goodnight"], and who passed away on this date in 2004... for ex-the Knack drummer Bruce Gary, who died today in 2006 age 55... and for Jerry Lieber and Nick Ashford, two great songwriters who both left us 2 years ago today. 

Also on August 22: Handel's Water Music is performed for the first time, on the royal barge of George I on the Thames (1715)... Elvis Presley begins work on his first film, Love Me Tender (1956)... The first television appearance of the Beatles is recorded by Manchester-based Granada TV, who film a lunchtime session at the Cavern Club [the episode will be broadcast on the 17th of October] (1962)... Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas are at no. 1 on the UK charts with 'Bad to Me', which John Lennon wrote while on holiday in Spain with Brian Epstein. It is the first Lennon-McCartney composition to be a hit for an act other than the Beatles themselves (1963)... The Supremes go to no. 1 on the Billboard chart with Where Did Our Love Go? The Holland-Dozier-Holland team originally gave the song to the Marvelettes, who rejected it as 'childish' (1964)... Jimi Hendrix is part of another curious lineup as he appears on the BBC's Simon Dee Show following Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens (1967)... Ringo storms out of the White Album sessions, saying that he can't take the bickering and tension in the group anymore and announcing that he's quitting. The news of the drummer's departure is kept secret, and he will rejoin the group on the 3rd of September. In the meantime, the remaining Beatles record 'Back in the USSR' with John on bass and Paul on drums (1968)... The Beatles meet at John's Tittenhurst Park estate for what will be their final photo session together. Two of photographer Ethan Russell's shots will form the front and back of the US compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a heavily pregnant Linda McCartney [she will give birth to daughter Mary 6 days later] also appear in some of the pictures (1969)... Creedence Clearwater Revival begin a 9-week run at the top of the US album charts with Cosmo's Factory. The name of the album came from the Berkeley, CA warehouse where the band rehearsed ~ drummer Doug Clifford, who was nicknamed Cosmo, had begun calling the space 'the Factory' owing to John Fogerty's insistence on long daily practices (1970)... Sid Vicious makes his last live stage appearance, at London's Electric Ballroom with Rat Scabies of the Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen. In the audience are Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry and Joan Jett, among others (1978)... In through the Out Door, Led Zeppelin's final album when all 4 original members were alive, is released. Fool in the Rain is issued simultaneously as the first single from the album (1979)... Sting and longtime girlfriend Trudie Styler are married. The band at the reception is The Troggs, who will be joined by the former Policemen themselves for two numbers (1992).

August 21

Musical birthdays today include Kenny Rogers (75), Former Statler Brothers bass singer Harold Reid (74), Jackie DeShannon (69), ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith (59), System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (46), Prodigy founder Liam Howlett (42), and Cameron 'Big Chocolate' Argon (23). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Count Basie, born today in 1904... for bebop trumpeter Art Farmer, who would have been 85... for Joe Strummer, who would have been 61... for Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer that bears his name, who died today in 2005... and for Nashville session drummer Buddy Harman, who played on Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' [see below] and Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man', and who left us 5 years ago today. 

Also on August 21: Tchaikovsky personally conducts the orchestra at the debut performance of his 1812 Overture in Moscow (1882)... Patsy Cline records the classic Willie Nelson song, ‘Crazy’. Cline is still on crutches after going through a car windshield in a head-on collision two months earlier and has difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs. 'Crazy'will spend 21 weeks on the charts and eventually become one of her signature tunes.(1962)... The Rolling Stones top the US album charts for the first time with their LP 'Out of Our Heads' (1965)... On their final US tour, the Beatles perform in two cities because of a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they perform at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. They then fly to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they perform under a tarpaulin due to a downpour. Paul McCartney will later say it was this gig that convinced him that the Beatles should stop performing live (1966)... Bono marries longtime girlfriend Alison Stewart at All Saints Church in the Dublin suburb of Raheny. Adam Clayton is best man (1982)... Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone has a four-hour neurosurgical operation at Bellevue Hospital after being found unconscious on a Lower East Side street where he had been involved in a brawl (1983)... Oasis' third album 'Be Here Now', becomes one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release (1997)... A Beatles fan in America foils three men breaking into a shop in Liverpool, England. The man, who had logged onto a site streaming live footage of Mathew Street and a forthcoming Beatles festival, saw the men smash the window of a shop and climb inside. He phoned Merseyside Police, who arrested the perpetrators at the scene (2006)... Paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter returns to Thailand after being refused entry to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities inform the UK Foreign Office that they barred Glitter from entry. He was earlier deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two pre-teen girls. He flew to Hong Kong from Bangkok after refusing to fly to the UK, and had made a plea for medical treatment after saying he was suffering a heart attack (2008). 

August 20

Musical birthdays today include Hawkwind guitarist Dave Brock (72), Kraftwerk founder and leader Ralf Hütter (67), Chicago [the group, that is] trombonist and horn arranger James Pankow (66), Robert Plant (65), John Hiatt (61), Fred Durst (43) and Demi Lovat0 (21). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Jack Teagarden, born on this date in 1905... for Jim Reeves, who would have been 90... for original Flying Burrito Brother and country rock pioneer Sneaky Pete Kleinow, who would have been 79... for Isaac Hayes, who would have been 71... for Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, who would have been 64... for Joe Dassin, who died today in 1980... and for Bread member and widely employed session man Larry Knechtel, who left us today in 2009. 


Also on August 20: Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and his partner found Immediate Records. The launch party is attended by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Nico, among others. The new label's first release will be the McCoys' 'Hang on Sloopy', and will go on to become the home of the Small Faces and the Nice, as well as the place where Jimmy Page will serve his apprenticeship as a producer (1965)... The Rolling Stones release (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in the UK, some 2 1/2 months after its American debut (1965)... Dr. David R. Lipscomb, director of the audio lab at the University of Tennessee, reports that a guinea pig subjected over a 3-month period to 90 hours of rock music recorded at 120 decibels at a Knoxville club have suffered acute inner ear damage. NYC disco owner Steve Paul is quoted as saying "In the event that we notice a rise in guinea pig attendance at The Scene, we will bear their comfort in mind" (1968)... After finishing I Want You (She's So Heavy), the Beatles begin working on the running order for the Abbey Road album. The medley is initially slated for side 1 of the record, and Octopus' Garden and Oh! Darling are in reverse order from the final version. This day marks the last time all four Beatles are together in the Abbey Road studio (1969)... Bob Dylan visits Michael Bloomfield at the guitarist's home in Marin Co., CA to play him some of the material from the yet-to-be-recorded Blood on the Tracks. He is considering using Bloomfield on some of the sessions. The visit does not go well, however, and the atmosphere is tense as Dylan runs through song after song without a pause. Bloomfield is unable to follow the chord changes, and Dylan seems uninterested in helping him learn the songs (1974)... Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen makes his first live appearance with the band since losing his left arm in a car accident (1986)... A doctor in Phoenix, AZ files a $35 million lawsuit against the Southwest Bell phone company. He alleges that his wife died because he could not get through to 911, all lines being jammed by callers trying to purchase Garth Brooks concert tickets (1992)... Madame Tussaud's opens an interactive Pop Idol display with a speaking waxwork of judge Simon Cowell. The waxwork makes such comments as "That was extraordinary... Unfortunately, I mean extraordinarily bad", and "Thank you, goodbye, and that was the worst performance I have ever heard" (2003)... A man in Stoke-on-Trent, England names Bryan Adams as the 'other man' in a divorce action after years spent trying to cope with his wife's obsession with the singer. Rob Tinsley says that he has been living for years with a life-size cutout standing at the foot of the marital bed, and posters of the Canadian rocker covering most of the wall surfaces of the house (2004). 

August 19

Musical birthdays today include Ginger Baker (74), Johnny Nash (73), Billy J. Kramer (70), Ian Gillan (68), John Deacon (62) and Lee Ann Womack (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Blind Willie McTell, who died on this day in 1959... and for rockabilly pioneer Dorsey Burnette, who left us today in 1979. 

Also on August 19: All You Need is Love goes to the top of the US charts, giving the Beatles their 14th stateside no. 1 (1967)... After 58 episodes, The Monkees' TV show airs on NBC for the last time (1968)... Joni Mitchell, Steven Stills, David Crosby and Jefferson Airplane all appear on the Dick Cavett Show from Television Center in NYC (1969)... Miles Davis begins three days of sessions that will yield the landmark fusion album Bitches Brew (1969)... Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge are married in Malibu, CA. The couple will divorce in 1979 (1973)... The Three Degrees score their only UK no. 1 with When Will I See You Again. The girl group were reportedly Prince Charles' favourite band of the '70s (1975)... The Sex Pistols began an incognito tour under the name The Spots [an acronym for Sex Pistols on Tour Secretly] (1977)... 

August 18

Musical birthdays today include Hugues Aufray [known in France for his translations and performances of Bob Dylan's songs] (84), Northern Irish singer Ronnie Carroll [the only performer to date to have represented the UK in the Eurovision song contest two years in a row] (77), Barbara Harris, formerly of The Toys (68), Split Enz bassist Nigel Griggs (64), ex-Foreigner drummer Dennis Elliott (63), Men at Work lead guitarist Ron Strykert (56), House of Pain frontman Erik 'Everlast' Schrody (44) and Arcade Fire's Régine Chassagne (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Antonio Salieri, born on this date in 1750... for folk singer and Woody Guthrie collaborator Cisco Houston, who would have been 95... for pioneering Dixieland jazz trumpeter Paul Mares, who died today in 1949... and for Searchers bassist Tony Jackson, who left us 10 years ago today. 

Also on August 18th: Ringo Starr makes his debut with the Beatles at the Horticultural Society Dance at Birkenhead, Merseyside, after a single 2-hour rehearsal with the band (1962)... Nearly 10,000 frenzied fans meet the Beatles as they arrive in America to begin another tour. The band are taken into a fenced-off enclosure so that photographers can take pictures of them. As fans press against the barrier, it comes crashing down just seconds after the Fab Four have managed to make their escape (1964)... Mick Jagger is accidentally shot in the hand during the filming of the movie 'Ned Kelly' in Australia. The film has been dogged by problems since the start of production, including the attempted suicide by leading lady Marianne Faithfull shortly after arrival in Sydney (1969)... Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa play together in public for the last time, in a concert at the New School, NYC (1973)... The Police make their live debut at Rebecca's in Birmingham, England (1977)... The city of Liverpool names four streets after the Fab Four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive (1982)... R.E.M. play before their biggest audience to date as they open for the Police at Shea Stadium. Following the Athens, GA quartet on the bill are Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (1983)... Bon Jovi release the album Slippery When Wet, which will go on to sell more than 28 million copies worldwide (1986)... Kurt Cobain becomes a father when his wife Courtney Love gives birth to their daughter Frances (1992)... Kanye West calls for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop community during an MTV interview (2005). 

August 17

Musical birthdays today include Bahamian calypso singer Ronnie Butler (76), Box Tops guitarist Gary Talley (66), Kevin Rowland (60), Belinda Carlisle (55), Maria McKee (49) and Cage the Elephant lead singer Matthew Shultz (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz and popular singer Georgia Gibbs, born on this day in 1919... for Native American activist and country singer Floyd Red Crow Westerman, who would have been 77 today... for guitarist and longtime Howlin' Wolf sideman Luther Allison, who would have been 74... for lyricist Ira Gershwin, who died 30 years ago on this date... and for Pearl Bailey, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on August 17: Elvis Presley releases his first no. 1 hit, I Forgot to Remember to Forget, with a version of Mystery Train on the B side (1955)... Miles Davis releases Kind of Blue (1959)... The Beatles begin their first Hamburg engagement, at the Indra Club, where they are booked for 48 nights (1960)... Glasgow council in Scotland announces that all men with Beatles moptops will be required to wear bathing caps in public swimming pools henceforth, as hair from 'Beatle-cuts' is clogging the filters (1964)... The Byrds are forced to cancel a concert on their UK tour when only 250 out of 4,000 tickets to their show at The Guildhall, Portsmouth are sold (1965)... The Doors have the no. 1 album in the US with Waiting for the Sun. The top spot on the singles chart is held by the Rascals with 'People Got to Be Free' (1968)... The final day of the Woodstock Festival is held on Max Yasgur's farm (1969)... Bob Dylan is interviewed by Neil Hickey of TV Guide for a cover story the magazine is doing to promote the singer's upcoming 'Hard Rain' television special. Dylan is generally forthcoming, though he bristles slightly when the journalist asks him how imagines God, replying "How come no one ever asks Kris Kristofferson questions like that?" (1976)... Nirvana shoot the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in a Culver City, CA studio for under $50,000, and using Nirvana fans recruited through classified ads as audience members (1991)... Jackson Browne files a copyright infringement lawsuit against Republican Party US presidential candidate John McCain for using the song 'Running on Empty' in a campaign ad without the singer's permission. Browne is seeking $75,000 in damages (2008). 

August 16

Musical birthdays today include outlaw country singer Billy Joe Shaver (74), Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay (65), Stooges drummer Scott 'Rock Action' Asheton (64), Tubes founding member Bill Spooner (64), INXS guitarist Tim Farriss (56), Madonna (55) and Vanessa Carlton (33).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Nadia Boulanger, the first woman to conduct a major metropolitan orchestra [the Boston Symphony], born on this date in 1887... for Bill Evans, who would have been 84 today... for Soft Machine guitarist Kevin Ayers, who died in February of this year and who would have been 69... for legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, who died today in 1938 at the age of 27... for Elvis Presley, who left us today in 1977... and for Alan Caddy, lead guitarist of The Tornadoes [their 1962 hit 'Telstar' was the first single by a British act to hit the top 5 on the US Billboard chart], who passed away today in 2000. 

Also on August 16: Wagner's opera 'Siegfried' has its world premiere at Bayreuth (1876)... 12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder releases his first single, entitled 'I Call It Pretty Music (But the Old People Call It the Blues)'. The session musicians include Marvin Gaye on drums (1962)... Brian Epstein informs Pete Best of his firing, but still asks the drummer to play with the Beatles tonight at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester. When Best refuses, Johnny Hutchinson of local act The Big Three takes his place in the drummer's chair (1962)... The Jackson Five make their debut before the general public, opening for the Supremes at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles (1968)... The Beatles spend most of the day in the studio working on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, going through 14 takes (1968)... Bruce Springsteen's new band Earth make their debut at the Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, NJ ~ admission is 75 cents. The group will last for six months before breaking up (1968)... Hippie leader Abbie Hoffmann is bodily thrown offstage by Pete Townshend during The Who's set at Woodstock. Townshend will later say that he didn't recognize the activist at the time (1969)... The Ramones play their first public gig, at a recently opened club on the Bowery called CBGB (1974)... Peter Gabriel announces that he is leaving Genesis. The group will audition more than 400 singers over the next 18 months before promoting from within, deciding that long-time drummer Phil Collins could front the band (1975)... On the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, over 30,000 fans descend on Memphis, TN to complete a 10-minute mourning circuit circling the King's grave. A poll shows that approximately a third of those present are keeping an eye out for Elvis in the crowd (1997).

August 15

Musical birthdays today include Rose-Marie (90), coloratura soprano Rita Shane (77), ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Pete York (71), Sylvie Vartan (69), songwriter Jimmy Webb [who gave us 'Up, up and away' and 'MacArthur Park' among many others] (67), former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning (44), Joe Jonas (24). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Leon Theremin, inventor of the eerie-sounding instrument that bears his name, and who was born on this date in 1896... for Joe Garland, composer of the standards 'In the Mood' and 'Leapfrog', born in 1907... for jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, who would have been 80 today... for Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original Drifters, born on the same day... for Bobby Helms of 'Jingle Bell Rock' fame, who would have been 80... for legendary producer Jerry Wexler, who died on this day in 2008... and for the great Brazilian choro flautist Altamiro Carrilho, who left us a year ago today. 

Also on August 15: Elvis Presley attends a meeting in Memphis with his current manager Bob Neal, his father Vernon and Colonel Tom Parker [not a real colonel at all, but rather a Dutch immigrant named Andreas Cornelius van Kujik, whose honorary title was given to him in 1948 by the governor of Louisiana]. Elvis signs a contract naming the latter a 'special advisor' and giving him control over virtually every aspect of the singer's career (1955)... Elvis scores his first post-US Army US no. 1 with 'It's Now or Never' (1960)... The Beatles set  new world record for largest attendance at a pop concert when they play before 55,600 screaming fans at Shea Stadium. Bob Dylan visits them at their hotel after the show (1965)... Five members of the Ku Klux Klan led by the Grand Wizard of Maryland picket the Beatles concert at DC Stadium (1966)... The three-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair ['3 Days of Peace & Music'] opens on Max Yasgur's farm near Bethel, NY (1969)... Boyz II Men begin their rec0rd-setting 13-week run at the top of the US charts with 'End of the Road' (1992)... Boyzone become the first Irish act to have four no. 1 singles in the UK, as 'No Matter What' tops the charts. They also become the first band in British chart history to hit the top 5 with their first 12 releases (1998)... David Bowie and his wife Iman welcome their first child, a daughter named Alexandria Zahra Jones(2000)... Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts begins treatment for throat cancer (2004)... U2's first gig on their current tour breaks the attendance record for a concert at Wembley Stadium, as more than 88,000 attend the show (2009). 

August 14

Musical birthdays today include Buddy Greco (87), David Crosby (72), Connie Smith (72), Larry Graham, former bassist for Sly and the Family Stone (67), Maddy Prior, ex-lead singer for Steeleye Span (66), Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap (62), Sarah Brightman (53), Charlatans' guitarist Mark Collins (48), and Scissor Sisters lead singer Ana Matronic (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pioneering American jazz violinist Stuff Smith, born on this date in 1900... for Augustus Montague Toplady, composer of the hymn Rock of Ages, who died on this day in 1778... for blues legend Big Bill Broonzy, who passed away in 1958... for singer Johnny Burnette (best known for the top 10 hit 'You're Sixteen'), who was killed in a boating accident in California at the age of 30 today in 1964... for guitarist Roy Buchanan, who hanged himself in his cell in the Fairfax Co., VA jail with his own shirt on this day after being arrested for public drunkenness. Buchanan released 15 solo albums and was a sometime collaborator with Jeff Beck (1988)... for The Platters' lead singer Tony Williams, who left us today in 1992... and for Lita Roza, the first woman to have a no. 1 single in the UK [with a version of 'How Much Is That Doggie in the Window' in 1953] who passed away in Liverpool five years ago today. 

Also on August 14: Unhappy with Pete Best's role in the Beatles, Brian Epstein and the remaining three members of the group decide to sack him. John Lennon places a call to Ringo Starr, nearing the end of a 3-month engagement with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at a Butlin's Holiday Camp in north Wales, to  offer him the job. Best will play his final show with the group at the Cavern tomorrow night (1962)... Sonny and Cher top the US charts with I Got You, Babe. Bono is said to have been inspired to write the song by Bob Dylan's use of the term of endearment in It Ain't Me, Babe (1965)... 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen plays his first known public show, as lead singer of The Castilles at a gig at the Surf 'n' See Club in Seaside, NJ. Also on the bill are Little Anthony and the Imperials, with lead guitarist Steve van Zandt (1966)... The number 1 song in the UK today is 'Fire' by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Brown frequently performs the number live whilst wearing a top hat set alight (1968)... The 3-day Yorkshire Folk, Blues and Jazz festival opens in Calderton, W. Yorks. Atomic Rooster, Yes, the Kinks and Elton John are among those performing. Headliners Pink Floyd will miss their spot on the first day because they are fogbound at Orly Airport, and will not appear (1970)... Foo Fighters make their US network television debut, performing 'This Is a Call' on the Late Show with David Letterman (1995)... An oil-stained pizza menu signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison goes for $48,000 to an anonymous collector bidding by phone at an auction in Melbourne, Australia. Ringo Starr, suffering from laryngitis, was not on the tour (2001)... Boy George is spotted sweeping streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as part of a five-day community service sentence. He will be moved into a fenced-off area only 30 minutes later after being mobbed by the media and fans. The 45-year-old former Culture Club frontman was found guilty earlier in the year of cocaine possession and filing a false burglary report (2006).

August 13

Musical birthdays today include Dave 'Baby' Cortez (75), former Undertones lead singer Feargal Sharkey (59), his bandmate, bassist Michael Bradley (54), Danny Bonaduce of the Partridge Family (54), The Bravery guitarist Sam Endicott (39), LeAnn Rimes (31) and James Morrison (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Anna Mae Winburn, leader of the Sweethearts of Rhythm, the first known racially integrated all-female orchestra in jazz history, and who was born 100 years go today... for British jazz pioneer George Shearing, born on this date in 1919... for Dan Fogelberg, who would have been 62 today... for French composer Jules Massenet, who died on this date in 1912... for saxophonist Curtis Ousley AKA King Curtis [who played on the Coasters' 'Yakety Yak' as well as sessions for John Lennon], fatally stabbed by a vagrant on the steps of his Harlem brownstone today in 1971... and for singer and electric guitar pioneer Les Paul, who left us 4 years ago today. 

Also on August 13: The original version of 'Hound Dog' is recorded by Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton (1952)... Gerry Mulligan plays his first session with Thelonious Monk (1957)... Manfred Mann hits no. 1 in the UK with 'Do Wah Diddy'. The song was originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters (1964)... The Supremes release 'Baby Love'. The song will go on to be the group's first UK no. 1, and the second of five straight no. 1s stateside (1964)... Jefferson Airplane make their live debut at San Francisco's Matrix Club. The cover shot of the group's biggest selling album, Surrealistic Pillow, was taken at the Matrix after a 1967 show there (1965)... The Beatles arrive at JFK airport for their second extended US visit. John Lennon, who has already grown disenchanted with the touring process, will take to screaming off-mike obscenities at the audiences (1965)... Starting a 3-week run at the top of the US charts today: 'Summer in the City' by the Lovin' Spoonful (1966)... Fleetwood Mac make their live debut at the British National Jazz and Blues Festival at Windsor. Also on the bill are Jeff Beck, Cream, Donovan and Pink Floyd (1967)... John Lennon flies from Heathrow to JFK ~ the former Beatle will never set foot on British soil again (1971)... Pink Floyd play their first ever Australian date when they appear at Melbourne's Festival Hall. The group, who just completed an Asian tour, conclude their only visit Down Under with a show in Sydney two days later (1971)... Yes score their second UK no.1 album with Going for the One, which also marks the return of keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman, who had quit the band in 1974 because of creative differences (1977)... On the 25th anniversary of the original festival, Woodstock '94 is held in Saugerties, New York. Headliners include Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1994)... Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall's marriage is annulled by the High Court in London, forestalling what had been expected to be a lengthy court battle (1999)... Adam Ant pleads guilty to endangering patrons at the Prince of Wales pub in London earlier this year. The former '80s pop star returned to the establishment with a starter's pistol and discharged it after being refused entry. He also threw the alternator from his car engine through a window, showering several customers with broken glass (2002). 

August 12

Musical birthdays today include Mark Knopfler (64), August Darnell, AKA Kid Creole (63), Pat Metheny (59), Culture Club multi-instrumentalist Roy Hay (52), Felt and Go Kart Mozart frontman Lawrence (52) and Anthony 'Sir Mix-a-Lot' Ray (50).

Shoutouts to the Great Beyond for country legends Porter Waggoner and Buck Owens, who would have been 86 and 84 today, respectively... for Czech composer Leoš Janáček, who died on this date in 1928... for American avant-garde composer John Cage, who left us today in 1992.


Also on August 12: Pete Best auditions to become the Silver Beatles drummer. He passes and is asked if he would be available to accompany the band to Hamburg for its next set of dates. Before departing, the group will shorten its name to The Beatles (1960)... A Hard Day's Night opens in America on general release to rave reviews (1964)... Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham play together for the first time when they rehearse at a Gerrard Street studio in London's West End. The first song they play is 'The Train Kept A-rollin'. They also work up an early version of Dazed and Confused called 'I'm Confused'. At this point, the group are still known as The New Yardbirds, a name which they will keep through the first few live dates before changing to Led Zeppelin next month (1968)... No. 1 on the UK singles chart today is Alice Cooper's School's out for the Summer (1972)... Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and The Eagles are on the bill at the Corral Club in Topanga Canyon (1973)... The Commodores hit no. 1 on the US and UK singles charts simultaneously with Three Times a Lady. Reportedly, Lionel Ritchie came up with the tune first, and then was unable to decide whether he wanted to write a lyric to his wife, his mother or his grandmother ~ hence the 'Once, twice, three times a lady' written to one unnamed woman (1978)...  The two day Moscow Music Peace Festival is held at the city's Lenin Stadium. Western headliners include Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, The Scorpions and Bon Jovi. For the first time, fans are permitted to stand up and dance at a stadium rock concert in the USSR ~ previously, all concertgoers were required to remain seated (1989).

August 11

Musical birthdays today include Manfred Mann drummer Mike Hugg (71), The Guess Who bassist Jim Kale (70), Eric Carmen (64), Devo lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh (61), Joe Jackson (59), Jah Wobble (55), and Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard (37).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Russell Procope, one of the longest-serving members of the Duke Ellington orchestra [alto sax from 1946 until Ellington's death in 1974], born on this date in 1908... for original Iron Butterfly lead guitarist Erik Brann, who would have been 63 today... and to Ventures drummer Mel Taylor, who left us today in 1996. 

Also on August 11: Elvis Presley releases the Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog double A-side single. The 45 will reach no. 1 on the US charts and stay there for 11 weeks, setting a record that will last 36 years (1956)... Paul Hindemith's opera Harmonie der Welt has its world premiere in Munich (1957)... The Beatles begin recording their as yet untitled fourth album ~ it will eventually become Beatles for Sale ~ at EMI Studios (1964)... The High Numbers [who will soon change their name to The Who] play at the Railway Hotel in Harrow, NW London. Just before the band are to go on, Roger Daltrey's father-in-law arrives backstage and drags the singer outside, punching him several times before bouncers separate the pair. The group begin their opening number and Daltrey joins them on stage just in time for the first verse (1964)... At a press conference at the Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago preceding the opening show of what will turn out to be his band's final US tour, John Lennon apologizes for his remarks to the effect 'the Beatles are more popular than Jesus'. Lennon tells reporters "Look, I wasn't saying the Beatles are better than God or Jesus. I said 'Beatles' because it's easy for me to talk about the Beatles. I could have said 'TV' or 'cinema' or 'motorcars' or anything popular and I would have got away with it" (1966)... 350 guests personally invited by Berry Gordy come to the Daisy Club in Beverly Hills, CA to hear the debut performance of Motown's latest signing, the Jackson Five (1968)... At Knebworth House, Herts., Led Zeppelin play what proves to be their last UK show (1979)... Bruce Springsteen's The Rising goes to the top of the US album charts (2002). 

August 10th

Musical birthdays today include Ronnie Spector (70), Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson (66), jazz singer Patti Austin (63), INXS drummer Jon Farriss (52) and Malian kora player Toumani Diabate (52)... 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Leo Fender, founder of Fender Musical Instruments, inc., born on this date in 1909... Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers, who would have been 73 today... for Anthony Wilson, the Manchester impresario who signed Joy Division and The Happy Mondays to his Factory Records label and who died on this day in 2006... and for Isaac Hayes, who left us 5 years go today. 

Also on August 10: Mozart completes the Eine kleine Nachtmusik (1787)...  Mamie Smith records 'Crazy Blues', often considered to be the first hit record to establish the blues as a form (1920)... Four members of the Platters are arrested after a gig in Cincinnati, OH after being found with four women (three of them white) in various stages of undress. The scandal results in the group's records disappearing from the playlists of numerous US radio stations (1959)... 13-year-old Little Stevie Wonder becomes the youngest artist ever to have a Billboard no. 1 single, when his Fingertips part II tops the chart (1963)... The top 3 albums on the UK charts today are 1) Bridge over Troubled Water, 2) Let It Be, and 3) Bob Dylan's 'Self Portrait' (1970)... During the Wings over Europe Tour, Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested and fined 8000 SEK [$1,230 US] for possession of cannabis in a bust after a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden. McCartney jokes that the arrest will make good publicity for the tour  (1972)... Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon is airlifted to safety when his boat overturns while racing off the English coast. Le Bon was trapped under the hull for 20 minutes with 5 crew members until Royal Navy rescuers arrived (1985)... Michael Jackson outbids Paul McCartney and Yoko to buy ATV Music Publishing [which includes the entire Beatles song catalogue] for $47 million (1985). 

August 9th

Musical birthdays today include classical violinist Camilla Wicks (85), jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette (71), soul singer Barbara Mason [best known for her 1965 hit Yes I'm Ready] (66), Bruce Thomas (59), Kurtis Blow (54), Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino (45) and Third Eye Blind bassist Arion Salazar (43)...

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Whitney Houston, who would have been 50 today... for Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who died on this date in 1975... and for Grateful Dead patriarch Jerry Garcia, who left us today in 1995. 

Also on August 9: Berlioz's opera 'Beatrice et Benedict' has its world premiere in Baden-Baden, Germany (1862)... 17-year-old Cliff Richard, billed as 'Britain's answer to Elvis', signs a deal with EMI Records. He also begins a 4-week residence at Butlin's Holiday Camp in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex (1958)... Ready Steady Go! makes its debut on ITV. The pioneering rock/pop music show will air until December 1966 and produce 175 episodes. At its peak, guests will include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Four Tops and many others (1963)... The Rolling Stones play the Belle Vue Ballroom in Manchester. Two policemen are knocked unconscious and one hospitalised with broken ribs when some of the 3,000 screaming fans charge the stage (1964)... The Small Faces release 'Itchycoo Park', which is one of the first pop singles to use flanging, an effect that can be heard in the bridge section after each chorus (1967)... Sessions for the White Album continue at Abbey Road. After the other Beatles go home at 2 AM, Paul McCartney stays behind in the studio and records Mother Nature's Son, requiring 25 takes until he is satisfied (1968)... Led Zeppelin play the Anaheim Convention Center in Los Angeles on their current US tour. Their opening act Jethro Tull have just topped the UK album charts with Stand Up, their second release (1969)... The no. 1 single in the USA is the Bee Gees' Jive Talkin' (1975)... Ten original drawings for Pink Floyd's album The Wall by artist Gerald Scarfe are stolen from the foyer of Earls Court, London, where they are being exhibited (1980)... Following opening acts Big Country and Status Quo, Queen give what will prove to be their final live performance, before a crowd of 120,000 at Knebworth Park, Herts. The show closes with 'We Are the Champions' and God Save the Queen. Not attending the concert are some 250 Gary Numan fans who are picketing BBC 1 on the same day to demand more airplay for their favourite pop star (1986)... Amy Winehouse cancels a series of European dates after being admitted to hospital for what her spokesman calls 'severe exhaustion'. The 23-year-old singer is taken to University College Hospital in London and discharged after 2 days (2007)... Mayor Sheila Dixon proclaims today Frank Zappa Day in her city of Baltimore, Maryland, citing the singer's musical accomplishments as well as his defense of the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution (2007). 

August 8th

Musical birthdays today include: Mel Tillis (81), Connie Stevens [of 'Sixteen Reasons' fame] (75), Dave Clark Five saxophonist Denis Payton (70), session drummer Anton Fig (61), Flock of Seagulls drummer Ali Score (61), Madness guitarist and songwriter Chris Foreman (57), Dennis Drew [keyboardist for 10,000 Maniacs] (56) and The Edge (52)... 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Benny Carter, born on this date in 1906... for country legend Webb Pierce, who would have been 92 today... for Joe Tex, who would have been 80 ... for Cannonball Adderley, who died today in 1975... and for French-Canadian chansonnier Félix Leclerc, who left us today in 1988. 

Also on August 8th: 16-year-old Bryan Hyland goes to no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. The song will reach no. 8 on the British charts (1960)... The Searchers have the first of their 3 UK no. 1s with Sweets for My Sweet (1963)... Bob Dylan joins Joan Baez in her performance at the annual Forest Hills Music Festival. Among their duets is the first known public performance of Dylan's 'Mama You Been on My Mind'. NY Times critic Robert Shelton, hitherto one of Dylan's strongest supporters, writes a harsh review of the performance that will estrange him from the Dylan camp for months (1964)... In response to John Lennon's published remark about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus, the South African Broadcasting Corporation bans all of the group's records. Meanwhile, Revolver is released in the US, beginning a 77 week stay  in the album charts, peaking at no. 1 (1966)... The photo session for the cover of the Beatles' album Abbey Road takes place outside the EMI recording studios of the same name in near northwest London. Photographer Iain McMillan, perched atop a stepladder in the middle of the road,  takes six shots of the Fab Four walking across the zebra crossing while a policeman holds up traffic. The band then go back inside and finished the overdubs on The End, I Want You (She's So Heavy) and Oh! Darling (1969)... The headstone paid for by Janis Joplin for her idol Bessie Smith is installed in a brief ceremony at the blues legend's grave in Mount Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA with Joplin present(1970)... David Crosby of CSN&Y is released after serving 3 years on drug and weapons possession charges. His conviction will be overturned by a Texas appeals court in 1987 (1986)... U2 top the US singles charts with 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for' (1987)... A band called On a Friday plays its first public show at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, England. The group, who during a drinking session following the gig decide to change their name to Radiohead, originally got together at Abingdon School, an all-boys' public school, and always held rehearsals on Friday afternoon in the music room (1991)... The UK's biggest chain of undertakers, Co-Op Funeral Services, report that bereaved families much prefer pop songs to hymns at funerals. Among the most popular choices are Bette Midler's Wind beneath My Wings and My Heart Will Go on by Celine Dion. They also report some unexpected choices, including 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'Wake Me up before You Go-Go' (2002). 

August 7th

Musical birthdays today include: B.J. Thomas [of 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' fame] (71), classical guitarist Sharon Isbin (57), Iron Maiden lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson (55), bluegrass banjo player Alison Brown (51), Kristin Hersh [formerly of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave] (47) and violinist, producer and performance artist Anomie Bell (33)... 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Felice Bryant, best remembered as co-author of the Everly Brothers hits All I Have to Do Is Dream, Bye Bye Love and Wake up, Little Susie with her husband Boudleaux ~ she would have been 88 today... for jazz legend Roland Kirk, who would have been 77... for soul singer Esther Phillips [best remembered for her 1975 hit What a Difference a Day Makes], who passed away today in 1984 aged 48... for classical and jazz harmonica player Larry Adler, who died on this day in 2001... and for Tennessee Two upright bassist and longtime Johnny Cash collaborator Marshall Grant, who left us 2 years ago today. 

Also on August 7... Johnny Cash marries Vivian Liberto in Memphis. Cash shortly thereafter abandons plans to become an appliance salesman, and instead forms a trio with Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant (1954)... The Quarrymen play their first gig at the Cavern Club, but without Paul McCartney, who is away at Boy Scout summer camp. The Cavern at the time is a jazz club that tolerates skiffle, but when John Lennon launches his bandmates into Hound Dog and Blue Suede Shoes, the manager sends a note to the stage ordering them to 'Knock off the bloody rock and roll!' (1957)... Herman's Hermits top the US singles charts with I'm Henry VIII I Am. The single receives no release in Britain (1965)... The Goose Lake International Musical Festival opens in Leoni, MI. Over the next three days, some 200,000 fans will hear Jethro Tull, Mountain, Chicago, Bob Seger, John Sebastian, Iggy and the Stooges, the MC5, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Rod Stewart and Brownsville Station (1970)... Peter Wolf of the J Geils Band marries Faye Dunaway in Beverly Hills, CA (1974)... The Sex Pistols appear on the cover of Melody Maker for the first time (1976)... Dexy's Midnight Runners are at the top of the UK singles charts with Come on Eileen (1982)... Garth Brooks plays to the largest crowd to date to assemble for a musical event in New York's Central Park. Some 1,000,000 attend the live concert with an estimated 14.6 million also watching live on HBO (1997)... Elvis Presley's peacock jumpsuit sells for $300,000 at a Memphis auction, making it the highest price ever paid for a piece of Elvis memorabilia that went on the block. The white outfit with a plunging V-neck and high collar features  blue-and-gold peacock designs hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the trouser legs (2008). 

August 6th

Musical birthdays today include Charlie Haden (76), Allan Holdsworth (67), Randy Debarge (55) and Geri Haliwell (41).. Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Velvet Underground producer and manager Andy Warhol, who would have been 85 today, and for Elliot Smith, who would have been 44... for early jazz great Bix Beiderbecke, who died on this day in 1931 at the age of 28... for Memphis Minnie, who departed 40 years ago today... and for Rick James, who left us today in 2004 aged 56... Also on August 6th: Chubby Checker appears on American Bandstand to perform The Twist, which will go to no. 1 on the Billboard chart within a week (1960)... At CBS Recording Studio A, Bob Dylan begins the sessions for The Times They Are A-changin' with producer Tom Wilson. The title track will become Dylan's first hit single in the UK, and the album will be the first to feature only the singer's own compositions (1963)...The Beatles' album Help! is released in the UK (1965)... At Shea Stadium, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin and Paul Simon headline the Concert for Peace, held on this date to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (1970)... 

Stevie Wonder was seriously injured when the car he was riding in crashed into a truck on the I-85 Interstate near Winston-Salem, North Carolina leaving him in a coma for four days. The 

accident also left him without any sense of smell (1973)... 

Abba score their first US top 10 hit when 'Waterloo' goes to No.6. The Swedish group are also on their first American tour (1974)...

The Police appear at The Red Cow pub, Hammersmith Road in London ~ admission is 60p (1977)...

Stevie Nicks releases her first solo album, Bella Donna, which contains four top 40 US hits. ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, (with Tom Petty), ‘Leather and Lace’, (with Don Henley), ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘After the Glitter Fades (1981)... 

Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' starring Bob Geldof opens in movie theatres in New York. The film was conceived alongside the double album by band member Roger Waters (1982) 

Guns N' Roses debut album Appetite for Destruction completes a 57-week scent to the top spot on the US album charts went to No.1 in the US, after spending 57 weeks. Singles from the album, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City’ were all US top 10 hits. The album remains the best-selling debut album of all-time in the US, with Boston's eponymous debut a distant second (1988)... 

Whitney Houston become one of the highest-paid musicians in the world after signing a new deal with Arista Records said to be worth more than $100 million (2001)... 

Steven Tyler is airlifted to hospital after falling off stage during a gig at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith frontman fell from a catwalk into the crowd, injuring 2 fans as well as himself. Approximately 30 minutes after the accident, guitarist Joe Perry came out to tell the crowd that the remainder of the show had been cancelled (2009).