August 5th

Musical birthdays today include composer Betsy Jolas (91), producer Joe Boyd (75), Rick Derringer (70), former Guess Who guitarist Greg Leskiw (70), Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda (62), Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear [né Georg Ruthenberg] (58), Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin (52), former L7 bassist Jennifer Finch (51), Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws (50), rapper & DJ Funkmaster Flex [né Aston Taylor, Jr.] (49), Bloodhound Gang bassist Jared Hasselhoff (46), Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave (42), and Dawn Richard (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter Vern Gosdin, who would have been 83 today... for Dave Clark Five bassist Rick Huxley, who would have been 77... for Dead or Alive lead singer Pete Burns, who would have been 58... f0r Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who would have been 53... 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 four years ago today. 

Also on August 5th: Doris Day has the № 1 single in the UK with 'Qué Sera, Sera', which was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's recent film 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (1956)... American Bandstand with host Dick Clark first airs on ABC-TV... Patsy Cline's self-titled debut album is released (1957)... The Beach Boys record 'When I Grow up to Be a Man' (1964)... The Beatles release Revolver in the UK (1966)... Pink Floyd release their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)... George Harrison has his new Moog synthesiser delivered to  the studio where The Beatles are putting the finishing touches to the Abbey Road album. Today he adds overdubs to 'Because' (1969)... Aerosmith are signed to Columbia Records after label head Clive Davis sees them perform at Max's Kansas City in NYC (1972)... Drummer Sandy West and guitarist Joan Jett form The Runaways, the first ever all-female hard rock group, after being introduced by Kim Fowley (1975)... NBC-TV airs 'The Beach Boys: It's OK', the groups' 15th anniversary special (1976)... The Police lead off the Mont de Marsan Punk Festival in SW France; following them on the bill are The Clash, The Damned, The Rich Kids, Electric Cellar and and Asphalt Jungle (1977)... The Rolling Stones go to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Miss You' (1978)... David Crosby is sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in Texas for cocaine possession and various weapons charges. The former Byrd slept through most of his trial (1983)... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band play the first of ten sold out nights at the Meadowlands to mark the return home of the Born in the USA world tour (1984)... It is reported that the BBC music show Top of the Pops has hit rock bottom ~ only two and a half million viewers watched the most recent broadcast of the program. In its heyday, the show attracted nearly 18 million viewers weekly (1996)... Police are called to Gary Glitter's west London home after a crowd gathers outside and starts to shout abuse. The former pop star, now under a cloud of controversy over allegations of child molestation and abuse, is back in the UK to tend to business affairs before heading abroad again (2000)... 'Like a Rolling Stone' tops a poll of rock and film stars to find the music, movies, TV shows and books that changed the world. Bob Dylan's 1965 single beat Elvis' 'Heartbreak Hotel' to second place in the survey done by Uncut Magazine. Sir Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, Robert Downey, Jr., Keith Richards and Lou Reed were among those polled (2005)... A 53-year-old who claims that he is secretly engaged to Miley Cyrus is charged with stalking the singer. Mark McLeod was arrested after trying to contact the former Hannah Montana actress on a film set near Savannah, GA. McLeod claims that he met Cyrus 18 months earlier. He told police that the singer's father, country star Billy Ray Cyrus, approved of their relationship, and that she had been sending him secret messages encoded in the dialogue of her TV show (2009).