August 18th

 

Musical birthdays today include Hugues Aufray [known in France for his translations and performances of Bob Dylan's songs] (95), 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] (88), Barbara Harris, formerly of The Toys (79), Split Enz bassist Nigel Griggs (75), ex-Foreigner drummer Dennis Elliott (74), Men at Work lead guitarist Ron Strykert (67), House of Pain frontman Erik 'Everlast' Schrody (55) and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Régine Chassagne (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Antonio Salieri, born on this date in 1750... for folk singer and Woody Guthrie collaborator Cisco Houston, born in 1918... for pioneering Dixieland jazz trumpeter Paul Mares, who died on this date in 1949... for Searchers bassist Tony Jackson, who passed away in 2003... for film score composer Elmer Bernstein, who died in 2004... and for Scott McKenzie [best remembered for 'San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair')], who left us today in 2012. 

Also on August 18th: As this year's Mozart Festival in Salzburg gets underway, Mahler conducts the orchestra in a performance of The Marriage of Figaro. Richard Strauss is billed to conduct Cosi Fan Tutte tomorrow (1906)... At Columbia's 30th St. Studio in NYC, Dave Brubeck and sidemen finish the sessions for the Time Out album (1959)... 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... Jethro Tull have the № 1 album in the US with A Passion Play (1973)... Patrick Moraz offcially replaces Rick Wakeman on keyboards in Yes (1974)... The Police make their live debut at Rebecca's in Birmingham, England (1977)... The Who release Who Are You, their final album with Keith Moon (1978)... Nick Lowe marries Johnny Cash's stepdaughter Carlene in Los Angeles (1979)... 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)... French perfume makers Etat Libre d'Orange announce that they have teamed up with The Sex Pistols to bottle the scent of the punk era by launching the band's first fragrance. The press kit says: 'To wear this scent, you must resist tradition, fight conformity, and disregard aromatic conventions' (2010).