Musical
birthdays today include Jethro Tull frontman Ian
Anderson (79), jazz and R&B singer Patti Austin (76), INXS drummer
Jon Farriss (65), singer-songwriter Julia Fordham (64), Malian kora
player Toumani Diabate (61), Five Star vocalist Lorraine Pearson (59),
New Edition vocalist Michael Bivins (58), and ex-The Calling guitarist
Aaron Kamin (49).
Shoutout
to the Great Beyond for bassist and King Oliver sideman Bill Johnson,
born on this day in 1872... for Leo Fender, founder of Fender Musical
Instruments, inc., born in 1909... for Jimmy 'The King of Bluegrass'
Martin, born in 1927... for Eddie Fisher, born in 1928... for Ronnie Spector, who would have been 83 today... for
Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers, who would have been 86... for Anthony Wilson, the Manchester impresario who signed Joy
Division and The Happy Mondays to his Factory Records label, who died
on this day in 2006... and for Isaac Hayes, who left us today in 2009.
Also
on August 10: Mozart completes the Eine kleine Nachtmusik (1787)...
Mamie Smith records 'Crazy Blues', considered by many 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 № 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)... Frank Zappa appears on the Late Night
with David Letterman show, accompanied by his daughter Moon [who
performs 'Valley Girl']. Not surprisingly, much of the discussion is
devoted to the unusual names of Zappa's children (1982)... 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)... Wilson Pickett is found guilty of possessing a shotgun
with intent to endanger life after his involvement in a bar brawl in
Asbury Park earlier in the year (1987)... At Madison Square Garden, Def
Leppard kick off the North American leg of their 248-date 'Seven Day
Weekend' world tour (1992)... In his official statement on the death of Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan says "He is the very spirit personified of
whatever is Muddy River country at its core and screams up into the
spheres... There are a lot of spaces and advances between The Carter
Family, Buddy Holly and Ornette Coleman, a lot of universes, but he
filled them all without being a member of any school... There's no way
to convey the loss. It just digs down really deep" (1995)... Oasis
rhythm guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthur announces that he is leaving the
band after work on their current album is finished (1999).
This Day in Music History
Monday, 10 August 2026
August 10th
Sunday, 9 August 2026
August 9th
Musical
birthdays today include jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette (84), soul singer Barbara Mason [best known for
her 1965 hit 'Yes I'm Ready'] (79), Kurtis Blow (67), Interpol drummer
Sam Fogarino (58) Third Eye Blind bassist Arion Salazar (56), Pussy
Riot vocalist Ekaterina Samutsevich (44), and The Word Alive lead singer
Tyler Smith (40).
Saturday, 8 August 2026
August 8th
Musical
birthdays today include Connie Stevens [of 'Sixteen
Reasons' fame] (88), Statler Brothers vocalist Phil Balsley (85), former Stax-Volt house drummer Willie Hall (76), session
drummer Anton Fig (74), Flock of Seagulls drummer Ali Score (74),
Madness guitarist and songwriter Chris Foreman (70), 10,000 Maniacs keyboardist Dennis Drew (68), U2 guitarist The Edge [né Dave
Evans] (65), Poison drummer Ricki Rockett [né Richard ream] (65), rapper
Kool Mo Dee [né Mohandas Dewese] (64), Fun Lovin' Criminals frontman
Huey Morgan (57), ex-Creed lead singer Scott Stapp (53), East 17 lead
singer Brian Harvey (52), former 'N Sync co-lead singer JC Chasez (51),
cellist Richard Harwood (47), and The Bravery bassist Mike Hindert (46)
Shoutout
to the Great Beyond for jazzman Benny Carter, born on this date in
1907... for country legend Webb Pierce, born in 1921...for country singer Mel Tillis, born in 1932... for soul singer
Joe Tex, boen in 1935... for Dave
Clark Five saxophonist Denis Payton, who would have been 83... for Pentangle guitarist John
Renbourn, who would have been 82... for Cannonball Adderley, who died on this date in 1975... for French-Canadian chansonnier Félix Leclerc, who passed away in 1988... and for operatic mezzo-soprano Regina Resnik, who died in 2013... and for Glen Campbell, who left us five years ago today.
Also on August 8th: 16-year-old Bryan Hyland goes to № 1 on
the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot
Bikini' (1960)... The Searchers have the first of their three UK № 1s with
'Sweets for My Sweet' (1963)... Bob Dylan releases the album Another
Side of Bob Dylan. On the same day, he 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 the singer's
strongest supporters, writes a harsh review of the performance that will
estrange him from the Dylan camp for months (1964)... The Beatles'
Revolver is released in the US, beginning a 77 week stay in the album
charts, peaking at № 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)... MTV broadcasts its first live concert in
stereo, an REO Speedwagon gig in Denver, CO (1981)... 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 Rolling Stones play their
first concert in Russia in front of some 70,000 fans at Moscow's
Ismailovsky Park, in spite of a driving rain (1998)... 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).
Friday, 7 August 2026
August 7th
Musical
birthdays today include classical guitarist Sharon Isbin (70), Iron Maiden
lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson (68), ex-Bananarama vocalist Jacquie
O'Sullivan (66), bluegrass banjo player Alison Brown (64), Kristin Hersh
[formerly of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave] (60), Hatebreed lead
singer Jamey Jasta (49), and violinist, producer & performance
artist Anomie Bell (46).
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 was born today in 1925... for founding member of The Platters Herb Reed, born in 1928... for jazz legend Roland Kirk, who would have been 90... for B.J. Thomas [of 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My
Head' fame], who would have been 84... 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 sideman Marshall Grant, who left us today in 2012.
Also
on August 7: Hank Williams makes his radio debut on 'Louisiana
Hayride', broadcast from the Municipal Memorial Auditorium in
Shreveport, LA. He performs 'Move It on over' and 'I Want to Live and
Love' (1948)... 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)...
Rock and roll is heard for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show as
Bill Haley & His Comets perform 'Rock around the Clock' (1955)...
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)... Ike & Tina Turner hit the Billboard Top 40 for the first
time with 'Fool in Love' (1960)... Patsy Cline releases her final studio
album, Sentimentally Yours (1962)... 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... Christine McVie officially joins Fleetwood
Mac (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).
Thursday, 6 August 2026
August 6th
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Velvet Underground producer and manager Andy Warhol, born on this day in 1928... for jazz bassist Charlie Haden, who would have been 90... for guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who would have been 80... for Elliot Smith, who would have been 56... for early jazz great Bix Beiderbecke, who died on this day in 1931 at the age of 28... for Memphis Minnie, who passed away in 1973... and for Rick James, who left us today in 2004 at the age of 56.
Also on August 6th: Chubby Checker appears on American Bandstand to perform The Twist, which will go to № 1 on the Billboard chart within a week (1960)... At CBS Recording Studio A in NYC, 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)... Rod Stewart makes his UK TV debut on ITV's 'The Beat Room' as lead singer of The Hoochie Coochie Men (1964)... 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 is seriously injured when the car he is riding in crashes into a truck on the I-85 Interstate near Winston-Salem, NC. The singer is left in a coma for four days, and will be left without any sense of smell (1973)... Currently on their debut American tour, Abba score their first US top ten hit as 'Waterloo' rises to № 6 (1974)... Stevie Nicks releases her first solo album, Bella Donna, which contains four top 10 US hits (1981)... The film of Pink Floyd's The Wall starring Bob Geldof goes on general release in the US (1982)... Guns N' Roses debut LP Appetite for Destruction completes a 57-week ascent to the top of the Billboard album chart. 3 tracks from the album ~ 'Sweet Child O'Mine', 'Welcome to the Jungle' and 'Paradise City' will become top 10 singles. The record remains the biggest selling debut album of all time in the US, with Boston's eponymous first release a distant second (1988)... The Ramones play their farewell concert at the Palace in Los Angeles (1996)... Whitney Houston becomes one of the highest paid musicians in the world after signing a new deal with Arista Records said to be worth $100 million (2001)... Willie Nelson joins Bob Dylan for a series of gigs on the latter's 'Never-ending Tour', beginning tonight at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY (2004)... Steven Tyler is airlifted to hospital after falling off the stage during a performance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith lead singer fell from a catwalk into the crowd, injuring two fans as well as himself. Approximately 30 minutes after the mishap, guitarist Joe Perry comes out to tell the crowd that the rest of the show has been cancelled (2009).
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
August 5th
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter Vern Gosdin, born on thisday in 1934... for Dave Clark Five bassist Rick Huxley, who would have been 86... for Dead or Alive lead singer Pete Burns, who would have been 67... f0r Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who would have been 62... for guitarist & Johnny Cash sideman Luther Perkins, who died on this date in 1968... for Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, who passed away in 1992... and for jazz fusion keyboardist George Duke, who left us today in 2013.
Tuesday, 4 August 2026
August 4th
Musical birthdays today include Tangerine Dream keyboardist Klaus Schulze (78), former Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie (67), Flock of Seagulls lead guitarist Paul Reynolds (63), jazz drummer & Herbie Hancock sidewoman Terri Lyne Carrington (60), singer-songwriter Eva Amaral (53), R&B singer Marques Houston (52), and former Trivium drummer Nick Augusto (39).