August 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include South African jazz singer Letta Mbulu (84), Rick Springfield (77), Survivor frontman Jimi Jamison (75), Bucks Fizz singer Bobby G (73), ex-Orange Juice frontman Edwin Collins (67), Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo (64), Happy Mondays lead singer Shaun Ryder (63), jazz pianist Brad Mehldau (56), folk singer Eliza Carthy (51), Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas (48) and Lianne La Havas (37). 

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 jazz pianist & film score composer [best remembered for the soundtrack to Godard's 'Breathless'] Martial Solal, born in 1927... for satirist Mark Russell, born in 1932... for Keith Moon, who would have been 80 today... and for jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on August 23: President Harry Truman's daughter Margaret, an aspiring classical singer, presents her first concert before a crowd of 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl. Reviews are generally negative, prompting a famously scathing letter from dad to Paul Hume, music critic for the Washington Post. Hume will keep the letter framed in his office for the rest of his career (1947)... 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!... 'She Loves You' enters the British singles charts at no. 1 (1963)... In Jerusalem, Stravinsky's oratorio Abraham and Isaac is performed for the first time. Dedicated to the people of Israel, the Israel Festival Orchestra play under the baton of Robert Kraft (1964)... 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... 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)... Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis marries high school sweetheart Deborah Woodruff ~ they are 19 and 18, respectively (1975)... 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... David Bowie goes to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ashes to Ashes'. The release of the song was also accompanied by a video costing some £250,000 [a record at the time], but which will be seen only sporadically until the launch of MTV the following year (1980)... Bob Dylan's childhood home at 2425 7th Avenue East in Hibbing, MN is sold to an anonymous buyer (1990)... 'The Bigger They Come', a previously unreleased track by Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott, is heard for the first time on the soundtrack of the Don Johnson vehicle 'Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man' at the film's Los Angeles premiere (1991)... 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 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies (81), former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Godchaux (79), Beach Boys founding member David Marks (78), Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid (68), Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson (65), Tori Amos (63), Gary 'GZA' Grice (59), The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn (55), Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough (53) and Simple Plan lead guitarist Jeff Stinco (48). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claude Debussy, born on this day in 1862... for John Lee Hooker, born in 1917... for avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, born in 1927... for Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, and rock 'n' roll pioneer Dale Hawkins, both of whom would have been 88... for Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who would have been 58... 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 The Knack drummer Bruce Gary, who died today in 2006... and for Jerry Lieber and Nick Ashford, two great songwriters who both left us today in 2012.

Also on August 22: Handel begins work on The Messiah. Working in the white heat of inspiration [many musical biographers and historians today believe that the composer was bipolar], he will finish the oratorio in three weeks (1741)... 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 № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Where Did Our Love Go?' The Holland-Dozier-Holland team originally offered 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... Ornette Coleman's drummer Don Blackwell teams up with Don Cherry for the first time, as the two begin the sessions that will produce the album Mu (1969)... Creedence Clearwater Revival start 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, 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 with all 4 original members, is released. 'Fool in the Rain' is issued simultaneously as the first single from the album (1979)... Levon Helm discovers the perils of playing the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, when Bruce Springsteen spontaneously jumps on stage after the opening riff of 'Up on Cripple Creek' and commandeers lead vocals (1987)... 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)... At a Lilith Fair stop in Toronto, Prince appears during Sheryl Crow's set to jam on 'Every Day Is a Winding Road' (1999)... The Times of London publishes an open letter from Pink to Prince William urging the future monarch to stop hunting on behalf of furry animals everywhere (2003). 

August 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include former Statler Brothers bass vocalist Harold Reid (87), Jackie DeShannon (82), ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith (72), System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (59), Prodigy founder Liam Howlett (55), Kelis Rogers AKA Kelis (47), and former Burning the Masses lead singer Cameron 'Big Chocolate' Argon (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Count Basie, born on this day in 1904... for bebop trumpeter Art Farmer, born in 1928... for Kenny Rogers, who would have been 87 today... for Joe Strummer, who would have been 74... for Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer that bears his name, who died on this date in 2005... for Nashville session drummer Buddy Harman, who played on Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' [see below] and Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man', and passed away in 2008... and for Don Everly, who left us four years ago today.  

Also on August 21: The US Marine Corps Band gives its first performance for the general public in Washington, DC (1800)... Motown release The Marvelettes' 'Please Mr. Postman', which will become the label's first № 1 single (1961)... 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)... During today's Beatles concert in Las Vegas, the band stop the show twice to plead with the fans to stop pelting the stage with jellybeans. This has become a regular occurrence at the group's gigs ever since they revealed that the spherical snacks are among their favourite treats (1964)... 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 play at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. They then fly to St. Louis 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)... The Doors go into the studio in Los Angeles to begin recording their second album (1967)... Linda Ronstadt makes her Broadway debut in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Pirates of Penzance' (1980)... 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)... In Columbus, OH, Bob Dylan plays the 600th show on his so-called 'Never-ending Tour' (1994)... David Byrne's lawyers file for an injunction to keep the other members of the band from touring as The Heads. The lawsuit will be settled out of court (1996)... 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 20th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Milford Graves (85), Hawkwind guitarist Dave Brock (85), Kraftwerk founder and leader Ralf Hütter (80), Chicago [the group, that is] trombonist and horn arranger James Pankow (79), Robert Plant (78), John Hiatt (74), Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst (56), singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum (47), and Demi Lovato (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Jack Teagarden, born on this day in 1905... for country singer Jim Reeves, born in 1923... for original Flying Burrito Brother and country rock pioneer Sneaky Pete Kleinow, born in 1934... for The Seeds frontman Sky Saxon, who would have been 88... for Isaac Hayes, who would have been 84... for Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, who would have been 77... for The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger, who would have been 74... 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: Tchaikovsky conducts the orchestra in the premiere performance of his 1812 Overture in Moscow (1882)... 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... 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 guinea pigs 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)... Frank Zappa announces that he has disbanded The Mothers of Invention. he will form a new lineup the following year... 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 also marks the last time all four Beatles are together in the Abbey Road studio (1969)... The Stones release the single 'Angie' (1973)... 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)... Dylan releases Slow Train Coming, his first album following his conversion to Christianity (1979)... 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 19th

 

Musical birthdays today Billy J. Kramer (83), country singer Eddy Raven (82), Ian Gillan (81), Queen bassist John Deacon (75), Europe lead singer Joey Tempest [né Rolf Larsson (63), country singer Lee Ann Womack (59), rapper Fat Joe [né Joseph Cartagena] (56), stage musical singer Darius Campbell (45), and rapper Romeo Miller [AKA Romeo] (37).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist & longtime Billie Holiday accompanist Jimmy Rowles, born on this day in 1918... for Ginger Baker, who would have been 86 today... for Johnny Nash, who would have been 86... for rapper Nate Dogg [né Nathaniel Hale], who would have been 57... for Blind Willie McTell, who died on this date in 1959... for rockabilly pioneer Dorsey Burnette, who passed away in 1979... for soul singer Betty Everett, who died in 2001... and for R&B singer Donna Hightower and jazz pianist & Art Blakey sideman Cedar Walton, both of whom left us today in 2014.
 

Also on August 19: Monteverdi becomes musical director of St. Mark's in Venice (1613)... In Washington, D.C., West Side Story premieres in its pre-Broadway run (1957)... The Beatles kick off their latest North American tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco with the Righteous Brothers, the Exciters and Jackie DeShannon as opening acts (1964)... 'All You Need is Love' goes to the top of the US charts, giving the Beatles their 14th stateside № 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... 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 № 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)... On the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the first jukebox, Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' and Elvis Presley's 'Hound Dog' are announced by the Record Industry of America as the most selected songs of the 20th century (1988)... At the Tanglewood Festival, Leonard Bernstein makes his final concert appearance, conducting the Boston Symphony in a performance of Beethoven's 7th (1990)... James Brown, a man with a history of domestic violence, offers to turn over all of the proceeds from a Montauk, NY concert to a local shelter for battered women, but his contribution is refused (1996)... The Fleetwood Mac reunion album The Dance is released (1997)... A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott is unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin. The ceremony is attended by the singer/guitarist's former Thin Lizzy bandmates Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham (2005).

August 18th

 

Musical birthdays today include Hugues Aufray [known in France for his translations and performances of Bob Dylan's songs] (97), 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] (90), Barbara Harris, formerly of The Toys (81), Split Enz bassist Nigel Griggs (77), ex-Foreigner drummer Dennis Elliott (76), Men at Work lead guitarist Ron Strykert (69), House of Pain frontman Erik 'Everlast' Schrody (57) and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Régine Chassagne (49). 

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). 

August 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include Box Tops guitarist Gary Talley (79), Dexys Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland (73), Belinda Carlisle (68), ex-Lone Justice lead singer Maria McKee (62), Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman (60), jazz singer Maysa Leak (58), Donnie Wahlberg (56), and Cage the Elephant lead singer Matthew Shultz (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz and popular singer Georgia Gibbs, born on this day in 1919... for bossa nova pianist & composer João Donato, born in 1934... for Native American activist and country singer Floyd Red Crow Westerman, and Bahamian calypso singer Ronnie Butler, both of whom would have been 90 today... for guitarist and longtime Howlin' Wolf sideman Luther Allison, who would have been 86... for Boston drummer Sib Hashian, who would have been 77... for lyricist Ira Gershwin, who died on this date in 1983... and for Pearl Bailey, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on August 17: The London newspaper The General Advertiser reports that Handel is now blind (1752)... In Bayreuth, the first complete performance of Wagner's Ring concludes with Die Götterdämmerung [Twilight of the Gods] (1876)...  Elvis Presley releases his first № 1 hit, 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget', with a version of Mystery Train on the B side (1955)... Columbia releases Miles Davis' 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 № 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)... Eric Clapton starts a four week-run at № 1 on the US album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard. The house featured on the album cover is 461 Ocean Blvd. in the Miami, FL suburb of Golden Beach, where Clapton lived while making the record (1974)... 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 he imagines God, replying "How come no one ever asks Kris Kristofferson questions like that?" (1976)... A Run DMC concert in Long Beach, CA becomes a battleground for two rival gangs, with 42 injuries resulting (1986)... 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)... Three members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot are sentenced to two years' imprisonment after they staged a performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a protest directed at the open support of the Orthodox Church patriarchate for Vladimir Putin during his recent election campaign (2012).  

August 16th

 

Musical birthdays today include outlaw country singer Billy Joe Shaver (88), Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay (79), Stooges drummer Scott 'Rock Action' Asheton (77), Tubes founding member Bill Spooner (77), INXS guitarist Tim Farriss (69), Madonna (68), The Chicks multi-instrumentalist Emily Strayer (54), and singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton (46).

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 jazz pianist Bill Evans, born in 1930... for Soft Machine guitarist Kevin Ayers, who would have been 82... for bluesman Robert Johnson, who died today in 1938 at the age of 28... for Elvis Presley, who died 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... and for Aretha Franklin, who left us four years ago today.

Also on August 16: Beethoven completes his Piano sonata in e minor, op. 90 (1814)... At the Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, NJ, John Coltrane and sideman record the tracks that the Prestige label will release as the album Lush Life after the saxophonist's departure for Atlantic in 1961 (1957)...  12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder releases his first Motown single, entitled 'I Call It Pretty Music (But the Old People Call It the Blues)'. The session musicians include Marvin Gaye on drums... 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 Byrds play the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco for the first time... The Monkees release their first single, 'Last Train to Clarksville' (1966)... The Jackson Five make their debut before the general public, opening for The Supremes at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles... The Beatles spend most of the day in the studio working on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', going through 14 takes... 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)... On day two of Woodstock, Hippie leader Abbie Hoffmann is bodily thrown offstage by Pete Townshend during The Who's set. Townshend will later say that he didn't recognize the activist at the time (1969)... 'Lola' by The Kinks reaches № 2 on the UK singles chart, its peak position. It is kept out of the top spot only by Elvis Presley's 'The Wonder of You', the singer 16th British № 1 (1970)...  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)... The Knack's 'My Sharona' is awarded a gold record (1979)... Paul Simon marries Carrie Fisher (1983)... Madonna marries Sean Penn (1985)... 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)... Madonna's 47th birthday turns less than happy when the singer suffers three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a fractured hand in a horse-riding accident on her country estate in Wiltshire. The singer is treated at hospital in Salisbury (2005).  

 

August 15th

 

Musical birthdays today include ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Pete York (84), Sylvie Vartan (82), songwriter Jimmy Webb [who gave us 'Up, up and away' and 'MacArthur Park' among many others] (80), former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning (57), and Jonas Brother Joe (37). 

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 Rose Marie, born in 1923... for jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, born in 1925... for Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original Drifters, born on the same day... for Bobby Helms of 'Jingle Bell Rock' fame, born in 1934... for coloratura soprano Rita Shane, who would have been 90... for legendary producer Jerry Wexler, who died on this date in 2008... and for the great Brazilian choro flautist Altamiro Carrilho, who left us today in 2014.

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 № 1 with 'It's Now or Never' (1960)... The Kinks go to № 1 in the UK for the first time with 'You Really Got Me'; topping the US  chart is Dean Martin's 'Everybody Loves Somebody' (1964)... 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)... George Harrison publishes his first book, 'I Me Mine', a collection of song lyrics and spiritual reflections (1980)... Diana Ross & Lionel Richie begin a nine-week run at the top of the US singles chart with 'Endless Love' (1981)... Paul Simon plays a free concert in NYC's Central Park for an estimated audience of three-quarters of a million (1991)... Boyz II Men begin their record-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)... A memorial to John Lennon is unveiled in the remote Scottish village of Durness, where the future Beatle spent his summer holidays from the ages of 7 to 15. The lyrics to 'In My Life' are engraved on three stones (2002)... George Michael/Wham! superfan Brian Turner of Newcastle is ordered by a judge to pay a fine of £200 and further court costs of £215 for disturbing the peace. Neighbours brought the action against him, calling the police after Turner played 'Last Christmas' more than a hundred times in a row in the middle of the night at peak volume (2007)... 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 14th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Connie Smith (85), former Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham (80), ex-Steeleye Span lead singer Maddy Prior (79), Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap (75), Sarah Brightman (66), Charlatans guitarist Mark Collins (60), Scissor Sisters lead singer Ana Matronic (52), and rapper & producer Black Milk [né Curtis Cross] (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pioneering American jazz violinist Stuff Smith, born on this date in 1900...  for avant-garde composer & acoustician Pierre Schaeffer, born in 1910... for  jazz singer & pianist Buddy Greco, born in 1926... for David Crosby, who would have been 85 today... for Augustus Montague Toplady, composer of the hymn 'Rock of Ages', who died on this day in 1778... for bluesman 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 died in 1992... and for Lita Roza, the first woman to have a № 1 single in the UK [with a version of 'How Much Is That Doggie in the Window' in 1953] who left us today in 2009.

Also on August 14: The first performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle in its entirety in one location begins at the Bayreuth Festival (1876)... Unhappy with Pete Best's role in The Beatles, Brian Epstein and the other 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 public show, as lead singer of The Castiles 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 № 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 in Paris, and will not appear (1970)... In a peculiar case of life imitating art, a woman calling herself Billie jean Jackson files a $150 million paternity suit in a Los Angeles court, naming Michael Jackson (1987)... 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)... Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts announces that he is being treated for throat cancer (2004)... 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 13th

 

Musical birthdays today include R&B keyboardist Dave 'Baby' Cortez (88), operatic soprano Sheila Armstrong (84), Sha Na Na vocalist Scott Powell (78), former Undertones lead singer Feargal Sharkey (68), his bandmate, bassist Michael Bradley (67), Danny Bonaduce [of the Partridge Family] (67), Tal Bachman (58), The Bravery guitarist Sam Endicott (52), and singer-songwriter James Morrison (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer John Ireland, born on this date in 1879... 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 today in 1914... for British jazz pioneer George Shearing, born in 1919... for Don Ho, born in 1930... for Dan Fogelberg, who would have been 75... 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 today in 2009.

Also on August 13: Handel departs Dublin for England to organize the London premiere of The Messiah (1742)... 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 № 1 in the UK with 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy'. The song was originally recorded in 1963 by the American girl group The Exciters... The Supremes release 'Baby Love'. The song will go on to be the group's first UK № 1, and the second of five straight chart-toppers stateside [where it would be the № 1 song the day I was born - editor's note] (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... 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)... Buffalo Springfield release their final album, Last Time around (1968)... 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)... Two years after his death, Duke Ellington's bllet Three Black Kings has its premiere at Lincoln Center, with the Duke's son Mercer conducting the orchestra (1976)... Yes score their second UK № 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.. Bachman Turner Overdrive announce that they are disbanding (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 12th

 

Musical birthdays today include Mark Knopfler (77), August Darnell, AKA Kid Creole (76), Pat Metheny (72), Culture Club multi-instrumentalist Roy Hay (65), Felt and Go Kart Mozart frontman Lawrence Hawyward (64), Anthony 'Sir Mix-a-Lot' Ray (63), Tanita Tikaram (57), hip hop MC Del the Funky Homosapien [né Terence Delvon Jones] (54), ex-Murderdolls frontman Wednesday 13 [né Joseph Poole] (50), and former Sweetbox lead singer Jade Villalon (45). 

Shoutouts to the Great Beyond for country legend Porter Waggoner, born on this day in 1928... for Buck Owens, born in 1930... for Czech composer Leoš Janáček, who died on this date in 1928... and for American avant-garde composer John Cage, who left us today in 1992.


Also on August 12: Thomas Edison receives the patent for the phonograph (1877)... A live concert is broadcast on radio for the first time, as WJZ in NYC transmits the New York Philharmonic playing a program of Mendelssohn, Brahms, Gluck and Saint-Saens from the Lewisohn Stadium as part of the orchestra's summer series (1922)... Art Kane photographs 57 notable jazz musicians in the black and white group portrait 'A Great Day in Harlem' in front of a brownstone at 17 E. 126th St. in Manhattan (1958)... 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)... A mass wake is held for Jerry Garcia in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park (1995)... Alanis Morissette plays the Darien Lake Performing Arts center in Buffalo, NY with Radiohead as her opening act (1996)... Members of the NY state chapter of the National Organization for Women demonstrate outside the office of Woodstock '99 promoter John Scher to protest the violence against women that allegedly occurred at the July 23-25 event. Several rapes and numerous incidents of sexual harassment and assault were reported after the event... A record-setting 15-night sold out stand by Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band at the Continental Airlines Arena in E. Rutherford, NJ comes to a close (1999)... eBay auctioneer Anthony DeFontes says that he will sell one of Elvis' teeth separately, after the molar combined with a lock of the King's hair fails to attract a high enough initial bid (2003). 

August 11th

 

Musical birthdays today include classical pianist Támas Vásáry (93), Manfred Mann drummer Mike Hugg (84), The Guess Who bassist Jim Kale (83), Eric Carmen (77), Devo lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh (74), Joe Jackson (72), original PiL bassist Jah Wobble [né John Wardle] (68), Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard (50), and singer-songwriter Sandi Thom (45).

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 rockabilly singer Ronnie Dawson, who would have been 87 today... for original Iron Butterfly lead guitarist Erik Brann, who would have been 76... and for Ventures drummer Mel Taylor, who left us today in 1996. 

Also on August 11: Hank Williams is fired by the Grand Ole Opry for habitual drunkenness. Since being shot in a hunting accident early this year, the singer has been ingesting opiates and drinking heavily to dull the ongoing pain (1952)... Elvis releases the Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog double A-side single. The 45 will reach № 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)... Neil Sedaka goes to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Breaking up Is Hard to Do' (1962)... 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)... The Beatles land at O'Hare Airport. 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)... The Small Faces, The Move, Marmalade, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, Donovan, Cream, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are all on the bill as the 3-day Reading Festival gets underway in England. During his performance, Arthur Brown's trademark flaming helmet burns out of control, and organiser Harold Pendleton's father-in-law has to douse the flames with a pitcher of beer (1967)... 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)... Ray Parker Jr. has the № 1 song in the US with the 'Theme from Ghostbusters'. On this day, Huey Lewis files suit against him, alleging that Parker plagiarised the melody from his [Lewis'] hit 'I Want a New Drug'. The two will settle out of court in 1985 (1984)... At Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, Madonna gives birth to a son, Rocco (2000)... Steve Earle marries Allison Moorer at the Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville, TN (2005).

 

August 10th

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).

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).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical violinist Camilla Wicks, born on this day in 1928... for Spinners vocalist Billy Henderson, who would have been 87 today... for Whitney Houston, who would have been 63... for Italian composer Ruggiero Leoncavallo, who died on this date in 1919... for Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who died in 1975... and for Grateful Dead patriarch Jerry Garcia, who left us today in 1995. 

Also on August 9: Berlioz's opera Béatrice et Bénédict has its world premiere in Baden-Baden, Germany with the composer himself conducting the orchestra (1862)... Soprano Birgit Nilsson makes her American debut at the Hollywood Bowl (1956)... 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)... Guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell announce that they are leaving Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)... Art Pepper enters a recording studio for the first time in 15 years to lay down the tracks that will become the album 'Living Legend'. The saxophonist spent most of the previous decade either in jail on drugs charges or in and out of rehab... The No. 1 single in the USA is the Bee Gees' Jive Talkin' (1975)... Muddy Waters performs at the White House at the invitation of President Jimmy Carter (1978)... 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)... His wish to die before he got old not having been granted, 59-year-old Roger Daltrey makes his US stage debut playing Professor Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady in Los Angeles (2003)... 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 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). 

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).

August 6th

Musical birthdays today include pop/soul session saxophonist Mike Elliott (97), former Chiffons vocalist Judy Craig (80), ex-Timbuk3 frontman Pat MacDonald (74), Randy Debarge (68) and Geri 'Ginger Spice' Haliwell (54).

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).

August 5th

Musical birthdays today include composer Betsy Jolas (100), producer Joe Boyd (84), Rick Derringer (79), former Guess Who guitarist Greg Leskiw (79), Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda (71), Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear [né Georg Ruthenberg] (67), Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin (61), former L7 bassist Jennifer Finch (60), Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws (59), rapper & DJ Funkmaster Flex [né Aston Taylor, Jr.] (58), Bloodhound Gang bassist Jared Hasselhoff (55), Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave (51), and Dawn Richard (43).

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.

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).

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).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Louis Armstrong, born in this day in 1901... for film score composer David Raksin, born in 1912... for guitarist & Oscar Peterson sideman Herb Ellis, born in 1921... for Bread bassist Larry Knechtel, who would have been 84 today... for Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby, who would have been 66... for country singer Lee Hazlewood, who died on this date in 2007... for bluesman Johnnie Bassett, who passed away in 2012... and for Pere Ubu bassist Tim Wright, who left us today in 2013.

Also on August 4th: Mozart marries Constanze Weber at St. Stephen's church in Vienna (1782)... Jimmie Rogers arrives in Bristol, TN and records two tracks ~ 'Sleep Baby Sleep' and 'The Soldier's Sweetheart' ~ in an afternoon session for Ralph Peer in a studio that the producer has set up in a furniture store at 408 State St. (1927)... Johnny Cash completes recording his debut album, Johnny Cash and His Hot & Blue Guitar. It will be the first LP released on Sun Records (1957)... Billboard Magazine expands its singles chart and calls it the 'Hot Hundred' ~ the first № 1 on the new listing is Ricky Nelson's 'Poor Little Fool' (1958)... The Rolling Stones play their first Saturday show at the Ealing Jazz Club in west London ~ it will be a regular gig for them for the next 22 weeks (1962)... The Beatles appear at the Queen's Theatre in Blackpool. Since the crowds around the theatre have blocked every entrance, The Beatles have to go through a construction area, up and cross some scaffolding to the roof of the building, and then be lowered through a trap door (1963)... Bob Dylan has his final recording session for Highway 61 Revisited, laying down satisfactory versions of 'Desolation Row' and 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues' (1965)... A female Monkees fan stows away on the band's plane as it takes them from Minneapolis to St. Louis. The girl's father threatens to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines (1967)... Robert Plant and his wife are both badly injured when the hire car that he is driving spins off the road and crashes on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant shatters both his left ankle and elbow, and will not be fully fit for the best part of two years. A forthcoming US tour has to be cancelled (1975)... A benefit concert is organised in Inglewood, CA by the remaining members of Little Feat to raise money for the family of their longtime leader Lowell George, who died in June. Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris also perform (1979)... John Lennon goes into the Record Plant in NYC to begin recording what will prove to be his final album, Double Fantasy (1980)... Prince goes to the top of the US album chart with Purple Rain ~ the record will remain at № 1 for the next six months (1984)... Janet Jackson collapses on stage during a concert in St. Louis, the result of an ear infection that has become septic... Mariah Carey's debut single 'Vision of Love' is the № 1 song in America (1990)... Much of Amsterdam is left saying 'I want my MTV' after the channel switches off its feed to some 500,000 homes in the Dutch city. The move is made after network provider A2000 demands that MTV share its previously separate channel with two other operators and pay for distribution (1998)... Ex-Eurythmic Dave Stewart marries fashion photographer Anouska Fisz on a private yacht off Sardinia. Guests include Mick Jagger, Elton John, the members of Oasis, and ex-musical partner Annie Lennox (2001)... Bruce Springsteen has the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic with The Rising (2002).

August 3rd

Musical birthdays today include drummer Jimmy Nicol (86), Shirelles vocalist Beverly Lee (84), ex-Byrds bassist John York (79), Alan Parson Project saxophonist Ian Bairnson (72), Spear of Destiny guitarist Kirk Brandon (69), session drummer Martin Atkins (66), Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker [né Leon Drucker] (64), Metallica lead singer James Hetfield (62), Deftones lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter (56), Salt-n-Pepa rapper DJ Spindarella [née Deidra Roper] (56), Bleeding Through lead singer Brandan Schiepatti (45), and Shiny Toy Guns vocalist Carah Faye Charnow (41).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter & bandleader Les Elgart, born on this day in 1917... for Tony Bennett, born in 1926... for Broadway musical lyricist & producer Richard Adler, born in 1921... for soul singer Syreeta Wright, who would have been 79 today... for South African reggae singer Lucky Dube, who would have been 61... and for Love frontman Arthur Lee and operatic soprano Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, both of whom left us today in 2006.

Also on August 3rd: The La Scala opera house in Milan is inaugurated with a performance of Antonio Salieri's Europa Riconosciuta [Europe Rewarded] (1778)... The French National Revolutionary Convention creates the Conservatoire de Paris (1795)... 23-year-old Maria Callas makes her debut in Ponchielli's La Gioconda at the Arena di Verona (1947)... The Beatles play their final show at the Cavern Club. Paid £5 for their first appearance at the venue in 1958, they receive £300 today... The Beach Boys release 'Surfer Girl', Brian Wilson's first song for the group as both writer and producer (1963)... The Rolling Stones go into RCA Studios in Los Angeles to begin nine days of sessions that will produce the Their Satanic Majesties Request album. Today's work will be devoted almost entirely to 'Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?'... The repercussions of John Lennon's 'bigger than Jesus' remark continue to spread, as the South African government ban the airplay of Beatles records (1966)... The two-day Newport Pop Festival in Costa Mesa, CA gets under way. Among the acts on the bill are Alice Cooper, Canned Heat, The Chambers Brothers, Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, and Tiny Tim. Over 100,000 fans attend (1968)... Carl Wilson is indicted in federal court in Los Angeles for taking an unauthorised leave of absence from his job as a hospital orderly, which the Beach Boy was doing as alternative civil service in order to avoid the military draft (1969)... Paul McCartney announces the formation of his new band Wings, which will include wife Linda on keyboards, and guitarist Denny Laine (1971)... In another unusual double bill, Bruce Springsteen opens for Anne Murray at the Schaefer Festival in NYC. It is also the final show that drummer Ernest 'Boom' Carter and pianist David Sancious play with the E Street Band... Bad Company go to № 1 on the US album chart with their self-titled debut. The band are made up of former members of Free [Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke], Mott the Hoople [Mick Ralphs], and King Crimson [Boz Burrell] (1974)... Madonna scores her first UK № 1 single with 'Into the Groove' from the soundtrack to the film 'Desperately Seeking Susan'... Topping the chart in the US are Tears for Fears with 'Shout' (1985)... The UK tabloid News of the World prints an exclusive interview with 16-year-old model Mandy Smith in which she reveals that she has been having an affair with Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman ~ now 52 ~ for the last two and a half years (1986)... To celebrate the release of their eponymous debut album, Metallica hold a playback party at Madison Square Garden. Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana are among those in attendance (1991)... Los Del Rio start a 14-week run at № 1 in the US with 'Macarena' (1996)... After an absence of 37 years, Bob Dylan returns to the Newport Folk Festival ~ now known as the 'Apple and Eve Newport Folk Festival' ~ where, after donning a wig and false beard, he plays a two-hour, 19-song set (2002)... Queen guitarist Brian May hands in his astronomy PhD thesis 36 years after abandoning it in order to join the band. Dr. May recently carried out observational research in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of 'zodiacal clouds' (2007).