August 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include Blood, Sweat & Tears multi-instrumentalist Dick Halligan (81), Radiators guitarist Dave Malone (72), Fairground Attraction singer & multi-instrumentalist Eddi Reader (65), Planet X guitarist Tony McAlpine (64), former Cocteau Twins lead singer Liz Fraser (61), Brian Jonestown Massacre founder Anton Newcombe (57), Ned's Atomic Dustbin bassist Alex Griffin (53), Simple Plan bassist David Desrosiers (44), and One Direction vocalist Liam Payne (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Charlie Parker, born on this day in 1920... for Dinah Washington, born in 1924... for punk rocker GG Allin, who would have been 67... for Michael Jackson, who would have been 66... for bluesman Jimmy Reed, died on this day in 1976... and for producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, who left us two years ago today.  

Also on August 29: Seated at a grand piano, John Cage gives the first public 'performance' of Four Minutes and Thirty Three Seconds of Silence for Any Instrument in Woodstock, NY (1952)... 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)...Paul and Linda McCartney are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'. Macca would later explain that the Uncle Albert in the title was his father's older brother, who would quote the Bible from memory every time he got drunk (1971)... Iggy Pop releases the album Lust for Life (1977)... The № 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)... Detroit police officials call for an indefinite ban on rap concerts in the city after numerous brawls broke out at a Master P and Scarface show over the weekend (1998)... 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'... During an appearance as a guest DJ on the NYC radio station Q104.3, Mets catcher Mike Piazza plays 'IRS', a track that has been leaked from the forthcoming Guns N' Roses album Chinese democracy. The band's management immediately demands that the sound file be retrieved (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).