August 31

Births

1918: Alan Jay Lerner (Lyricist & Composer)

1938: Jerry Allison (Drummer for The Crickets)

1945: Van Morrison (Singer / Songwriter)

1945: Itzhak Perlman (Violinist)

1948: Rudolf Schenker (Guitar for The Scorpions)

1949: Rick Roberts (Singer for Firefall)

1955: Anthony Thistlethwaite (Multi-Instrumentalist for The Waterboys)

1957: Gina Schock (Drums for The Go-Go's)

1957: Glenn Tilbrook (Guitar & Vocals for Squeeze)

1960: Tony DeFranco (Singer for The DeFranco Family)

1961: David Chastain (Heavy Metal Guitarist)

1963: Reb Beach (Guitar for Winger & Whitesnake)

1967: Gerard Love (Bass for Teenage Fanclub)

1970: Debbie Gibson (Singer)

1977: Craig Nicholls (Singer / Songwriter & Guitarist for The Vines)

1977: Del Marquis (Derek Gruen) (Guitar for Scissor Sisters)

Events

1955: London resident Sidney Turner is brought before the court and fined three pounds for attempting to drive his neighbors "mad" (his words) by playing Bill Haley's version of "Shake, Rattle And Roll" all night long.

1956: Rock and roll's dominance of the UK is complete: for the first time, all of the Top Ten singles are those of American artists (although not quite all are rock).

1958: Ricky Nelson takes the stage for the first time as a solo rock star, performing at Atlantic City's famous Steel Pier for two dates and selling a record 44,000 tickets.

1961: Bob Wooler's piece about the Beatles in today's edition of Mersey Beat is the first ink given to the still-unknown group.

1968: The Beatles' new single, "Hey Jude," debuts at #10, a record for Billboard at the time.

1969: After spending three years supposedly recuperating from a motorcycle accident that happily derailed his stardom, Bob Dylan reappears on stage for the first time since 1966, playing the Isle of Wight festival in England with backing by a group known simply as The Band.

1971: A security guard was stabbed to death at a Who concert in Forest Hills, NY.

1974: The final episode of The Partridge Family airs on ABC-TV.

1974: During his deportation battle, John Lennon testifies in court that President Nixon had started the proceedings in order to silence the ex-Beatle for his anti-Vietnam War stance.

1976: Though no one ever claims George Harrison stole the song intentionally, the ex-Beatle is nonetheless found guilty of "subconsciously" lifting several key melodic elements from the Chiffons' 1963 smash "He's So Fine" for his 1970 smash "My Sweet Lord." Harrison, who always maintained he was really trying to write something like the Edwin Hawkins Singers' hit "Oh Happy Day," would appeal for five years but eventually be ordered to pay the publisher $587,000. The Chiffons, who never saw royalties from their original hit, head back into the studio to cut a version of... "My Sweet Lord."

1980: In Beverly Hills, Karen Carpenter marries her first and only husband, real estate developer Thomas Burris.

1985: 'Brothers In Arms' by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell over 20 million worldwide.

1986: After living together for 10 years Bob Geldof married TV presenter Paula Yates in Las Vegas with Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon as the best man. Yates died of a drug overdose on 17th September 2000.

1987: The largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson's ‘Bad’ album were shipped to record stores in the US. The LP followed the Jackson album, ‘Thriller’, the biggest Jackson-seller of all time (over 35 million copies sold). ‘Bad’ went on to sell over 13 million copies.

1990: Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder sang ‘Amazing Grace’ at a memorial service held for guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan who had been killed in a helicopter crash 4 days earlier.

1991: Metallica started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, 'Metallica'. The album featured ‘Enter Sandman’ ‘Sad But True’, ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’ went on to sell over 10 million copies in the US alone.

1998: Noreaga, Vincent Santiago, of the musical group Capone-N-Noreaga was charged with assault of an unhappy fan in Harrisburg, PA.

2002: NASA announced that Lance Bass, singer with *NSYNC, was to become the first celebrity astronaut. His $23.8 million, place on a Russian Soyuz module would make him the youngest person at 23 years of age to go into orbit. Bass ended up not taking part in the flight after failing to pay for his $20 million ticket on the craft.

2006: The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing.

2007: Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and The Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for 'country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandisers', was originally launched to showcase country music.

2009: Patti Labelle is ordered by the IRS to pay $330,000 in back taxes.

August 30

Births

1919: Kitty Wells (Ellen Muriel Deason ) (Country Singer)

1939: John Peel (DJ & Producer)

1935: "Papa" John Phillips (Guitar & Singer / Songwriter for The Mamas and the Papas)

1941: John McNally (Guitar & Vocals for The Searchers)

1950: Micky Moody (Guitar for Whitesnake)

1954: Ronald Beitle (Drums for Wild Cherry)

1958: Martin Jackson (Drums for Magazine & Swing Out Sister)

1963: Paul Oakenfold (Producer, remixer & DJ)

1964: Robert Clivilles  (Producer and DJ with C&C Music Factory)

1974: Rich Cronin (Singer in LFO)

1986: George Ryan Ross III (Lead Guitarist & Singer for Panic at the Disco)

Events

1959: Brill Building songwriter Carole King, already two months pregnant, marries her writing partner Gerry Goffin in New York City. The marriage lasts nine years.

1963: Jerry Lee Lewis welcomes his second child with wife (and cousin) Myra Gale Brown, a daughter named Phoebe, who would later become the Killer's manager.

1963: The Beatles are filmed for a English documentary on the "Mersey Beat" scene; some of this footage ends up being broadcast on NBC-TV's Jack Parr Show, which represents America's first broadcast of the group performing.

1963: ABC-TV's American Bandstand airs its final weekday show, becoming a weekly, rather than daily, show and moving to Saturdays for the rest of its run.

1969: The second annual Isle of Wight Festival takes place in England just two weeks after the triumphant Woodstock concert, featuring Bob Dylan, The Who, The Band, Joe Cocker, Free, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle and The Pretty Things.

1972: The "One on One" benefit concert for mentally disabled children, instituted by John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the behest of friend Geraldo Rivera, takes place in New York City's Madison Square Garden, featuring performances by Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Sha Na Na, and the duo themselves, who played many of their new "protest" songs at the event (later issued on the LP Live In New York City). The show raises somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter million dollars for Willowbrook Handicapped Children's Home.

1973: After two years and two unsuccessful albums without deceased former frontman Jim Morrison, the Doors officially break up.

1975: Free's guitarist, Paul Kossoff, goes into a drug-induced coma and is legally dead for over 35 minutes, supposedly revived only after stirring at the morgue. (Kossoff died on 19th March 1976 of heart failure after a history of drug abuse).

1975, KC and the Sunshine Band went to No.1 on the singles chart with, 'Get Down Tonight', the group's first of five No.1's.

1988: Brenda Lee sues MCA for back royalties totaling over $20 million, but the suit is eventually settled out of court for an unknown amount.

1988: Papa Dee Allen from War died after suffering a massive heart attack while performing on stage at a gig in Solano County, California.

1988: After tabloids publish photos of Bruce Springsteen, already married to actress Julianne Phillips, frolicking with back up singer Patti Scialfa, Phillips files for divorce. (Springsteen married Scialfa two years later.)

1989: Billy Joel fires Frank Weber as his manager after discovering an alleged $90 million Weber had embezzled from his savings. Weber was the brother of Joel's ex-wife and former business manager Elizabeth Weber Small.

1989: Izzy Stradlin from Guns N' Roses was arrested for making a public disturbance on a US air flight. Stradlin had urinated on the floor, verbally abused a stewardess and smoked in the non-smoking section of the aircraft.

1990: Canadian-born singer Paul Anka finally becomes a US citizen in Las Vegas, but finds his car has been towed away during the naturalization service.

1991: Jan Berry of Jan and Dean marries his second wife, Gertie Filip, onstage during a concert at Las Vegas' Stardust Hotel.

1991: In a rush to make her performance at the Grand Ole Opry, country legend Dottie West is critically injured in a car crash near the Opry itself and dies five days later.

1993: Billy Joel appears as the first musical guest on David Letterman's new talk show, CBS-TV's Late Show With David Letterman.

1994: Usher's first studio album, "Usher", was released.

1994: Oasis' first studio album, "Definitely Maybe", was released.

1995: Sterling Morrison (Guitar for The Velvet Underground) died from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, two days after his 53rd birthday.

1995: James Taylor and ex-wife Carly Simon reunite onstage for the first time in 16 years for a benefit concert in Martha's Vineyard, MA.

1997: Members from The Wu-Tang Clan were arrested after the alleged assault on a record promotions manager after a show in Chicago.

1997: Kenny Chesney picks up his first #1 single in Billboard: "She's Got It All".

2002: Bjork's west London flat was burglarized while she slept. Valuable recording equipment had been stolen.

2007: Rap star Lil Wayne was sued by a woman for $1m who claimed she was crushed at one of his concerts after a large amount of cash was thrown into the audience. Tyrique Layne, then 17, said she lost consciousness after being trampled by the crowd at a gig in Maryland in October 2006, and had suffered memory loss and severe headaches.

August 29

Births

1920: Charlie "Bird" Parker (Jazz Sax Player)

1924: Dinah Washington (Blues & Jazz Singer)

1943: Dick Halligan (Trombone & Piano for Blood, Sweat and Tears)

1945: Chris Copping (Bass for Procol Harum)

1953: Rick Downey (Drummer & Vocalist for Blue Oyster Cult)

1955: Diamanda Galas (Performance Artist)

1958: Michael Jackson (Singer)

1958: Elizabeth Fraser (Vocals for Cocteau Twins)

1961: Tony MacAlpine (Guitarist)

1975: Kyle Cook (Guitarist for Matchbox 20)

1986: Lea Michele (Glee Singer)

Events

1959: When the Les Stewart Quartet breaks up just before its opening-night gig at the new Liverpool hotspot the Casbah, Quartet guitarist George Harrison recommends local skiffle group the Quarrymen, on the verge of breaking up and down to two members: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Harrison joins the group, which still has no drummer, that night.

1962: Elvis' tenth movie, Kid Galahad, opens in US theaters, featuring the King as an amateur boxer. Charles Bronson also stars.

1964: In a clear case of rock and roll being saved by the British Invasion, Billboard magazine notes that guitar sales are the highest they've been since the advent of Elvis Presley.

1966: The last episode of ABC-TV's musical variety show Hullabaloo airs, featuring guest stars Lesley Gore, Paul Anka, Peter and Gordon, and The Cyrkle.

1966: The Beatles play the last live gig for a paying audience, winding up their last world tour at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The show, which ends with a cover of Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally," is filmed by Beatles press officer Tony Barrow. Afterwardsm George Harrison is heard half-joking, "Well, that's it. I'm not a Beatle anymore."

1969: Bob Seger divorces his first wife after only ten months of marriage.

1976: Jimmy Reed died in San Francisco following an epileptic seizure just before his 51st birthday. Reed was a major influence on The Rolling Stones, he had the 1957 hit ‘Honest I Do’ in 1957 and ‘Baby What You Want Me To Do’ in 1960.

1977: Three men are arrested in Memphis after attempting to steal Elvis Presley's recently-deceased body from a Memphis mausoleum, causing the Presley family to move his body to its present location in the "meditation garden" at Graceland.

1986: The American Bandstand studio located at 4548 Market Street in Philadelphia, PA is entered into the US National Register of Historic Places.

1987: Rick Astley's debut hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up', started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart. It became the biggest selling single of 1987 and the song won Best British Single at the 1988 Brit Awards.

1990: Elton John enters rehab in Chicago to combat his bulimia and his various drug and alcohol addictions.

1992: U2 became only the second act ever (Billy Joel was the first) to play at The Yankee Stadium in New York City, during their sold out Zoo TV tour.

1995: The US Internal Revenue Service places a lien on Aretha Franklin's home for $600,000 in back taxes.

1995: K.T. Oslin undergoes quadruple-bypass heart surgery at Nashville's St. Thomas Hospital.

2002: Alan Jackson collects a whopping 10 nominations for the 36th annual Country Music Association awards, breaking a 32-year-old record held by Merle Haggard.

1996: Isaac Hayes, who co-wrote the Stax classic "Soul Man," sent a protest letter to presidential candidate Bob Dole requesting Dole to stop using his song, which his supporters had changed to "I'm A Dole Man."

2005: Fats Domino, now 77, is rescued from his Ninth Ward home in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

2008: US rapper DMX pleaded guilty to trying to buy cocaine and cannabis in Miami. The 37-year-old singer, real name Earl Simmons, entered the plea in a Florida court and was sentenced to time served. Simmons was still in custody awaiting extradition to the state of Arizona on outstanding drug and animal cruelty charges.

August 27

Births

1927: Jimmy C. Newman (Country Singer)

1937: Tommy Sands (Pop Singer & was married to Nancy Sinatra)

1937: Phil Shulman (Horns for Gentle Giant)

1942: Daryl Dragon (Keyboards for The Captain and Tennille)

1944: Cuba Gooding Sr. (Lead Singer for The Main Ingredient)

1944: Tim Bogert (Bass for Vanilla Fudge & Cactus)

1949: Jeff Cook (Country Guitar & Vocalist for Alabama)

1950: Philip Neil Murray (Bass for Whitesnake & Black Sabbath)

1952: Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) (Comedian & Actor)

1953: Alex Lifeson (Guitarist for Rush)

1956: Glen Matlock (Bassist for The Sex Pistols)

1970: Tony Kanal (Bass for No Doubt)

1977: Mase (Mason Betha) (Rapper)

1979: Sarah Neufeld (Violinist for Arcade Fire)

1986: Mario (Mario Dewar Barrett) (R&B Singer)

Events

1965: The Beatles meet Elvis Presley at his mansion in Beverly Hills where they play pool, have a short jam session and Paul give’s Elvis a lesson on the bass guitar.

1967: While studying with the Maharishi in Bangor, North Wales, the Beatles receive news that manager Brian Epstein (32) has been found dead in his Belgravia, London home (a death later attributed to an accidental overdose of the sleeping pill Carbitrol, taken with brandy). The Maharishi puzzles the Beatles somewhat by counseling them that Brian's death is cosmically unimportant; nevertheless, they immediately return to London. On the same day, London's Sunday Express newspaper reports that former band drummer Pete Best now works in a bakery, where he pulls down a weekly salary of eighteen pounds.

1977: Jimmy Buffett marries his second wife, Jane Slagsvol of Columbia, SC, who had co-written two of his songs, "Something So Feminine About A Mandolin" and "Kick It In Second Wind." They remain married today.

1990: Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed when the helicopter he was flying in, hit a man-made ski slope while trying to navigate through dense fog. Vaughn had played a show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin with Robert Cray & His Memphis Horns, and Eric Clapton. Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on a helicopter returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, it turned out there was only one seat left; Vaughan requested it from his brother, who obliged. Three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were also killed.

1992: John Lennon's original written lyrics for "A Day In The Life" fetch $87,000 at a Sotheby's auction.

1998: Phil Vassar's first daughter, Haley, is born. Her arrival is celebrated in the lyrics of his single "American Child".

2003: Janis Ian marries her girlfriend, Nashville defense lawyer Patricia Snyder, in Toronto, Canada; gay marriages are legal in the country.

2003: P Diddy was being sued for $5m (£3.20m) by a woman who claimed she was assaulted by a bouncer outside his New York restaurant. Stephanie Grieso, said she was arguing outside Justin's in August 2002 when a bouncer grabbed her by the neck and pushed her down on the pavement, causing leg injuries.

2007: Kevin Federline's lawyers asked Britney Spears to pay some of her former husband's legal expenses in their divorce case. His legal team said Federline had "no net income" after various expenses, and that Ms Spears was "clearly the monied party" in the dispute. According to legal documents filed in Los Angeles, the pop star's average monthly income was $737,868. The couple had married in October 2004 and filed for divorce in November 2006. 

August 26

Births

1938: Maurice Williams (R&B Singer)

1940: Nik Turner (Sax, Flute & Vocals for Hawkwind)

1942: Chris Curtis (Drums for The Searchers & Deep Purple)

1942: Maureen "Moe" Tucker (Drums for The Velvet Underground)

1948: Valerie Simpson (Vocals in Ashford and Simpson)

1948: Jet Black (Brian Duffy) (Drums for The Stranglers)

1960: Branford Marsalis (Jazz Sax player)

1965: Annie Holland (Bass for Elastica)

1966: Dan Vickrey (Lead Guitarist for Counting Crows)

1969: Adrian Young (Drummer for No Doubt)

1986: Cassie (Cassie Ventura) (R&B Singer)

Events

1967: The Beatles follow their favorite new lecturer, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, to University College in Bangor, North Wales, along with Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. After his lecture the group holds a press conference to announce that they've become his disciples in the "Spiritual Regeneration Movement" and officially renounced the use of all drugs.

1969: Although Elvis Presley has written a soprano part for backup singer Cissy Houston during "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" her actual live performance of it tonight at the International Hotel in Vegas strikes Elvis as amazingly funny for some reason, leading to a collector's classic: a performance where the King cannot stop laughing. "That's it, man, fourteen years right down the drain," he jokes as the song ends.

1969: Elvis Presley released the single "Suspicious Minds”.

1970: The famous three-day Isle of Wight rock festival begins in England, featuring Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Mungo Jerry, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone, Free, and, in what would be his last appearance on a British stage, Jimi Hendrix.

1970: After an all-night jam, the Allman Brothers' Duane Allman asks Eric Clapton if he can attend the recording sessions for his new group, Derek and the Dominoes. Clapton agrees, only on the condition that Allman also play on the sessions.

1973: 10cc makes its stage debut at the Palace Lido on England's Isle of Man.

1974: John Denver records "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles in his first night of concerts that become the album "An Evening With John Denver".

1977: The Pretenders played their first public gig, opening for Strangeways.

1980: Tom Peterson quit Cheap Trick due to the "personal and musical differences." He was replaced by Pete Comita. However, he returned to the group in 1988.

1981: The mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Marion Dewar, declares today "Paul Anka Day" in honor of its native son.

1983: The film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, opens in New York City.

1987: Sonny Bono of Sonny and Cher announces his intention to run for mayor of Palm Springs, CA, after frustration over his inability to get a new sign approved by the city council for his local restaurant, Bono's. He won and served one four-year term, and eventually became a Congressman for the district in 1994.

1990: Randy Newman wins an unlikely Emmy for his score to the legendary ABC-TV flop series Cop Rock.

1993: A recording of the Beatles playing "Kansas City" and "Some Other Guy" at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962 fetches a record of approximately $32,000 at Christie's auction house in London.

1995: Ronnie White (The Miracles) died after a battle with leukemia at age 56.

1997: Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was admitted to hospital after crashing on his motorbike while driving down Sunset Boulevard.

1997: Creed released their debut album "My Own Prison".

2000: Country singer Jamie O'Neal marries Rodney Good in Seaside, Florida, just weeks after she finishes recording her debut album.

2000: Country singer Pam Tillis joins the Grand Ole Opry, performing "All The Good Ones Are Gone" and "Maybe It Was Memphis," on the same evening that Darryl Worley makes his Opry debut.

2000: Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox and his wife, Tara, have their first daughter, Brittany Kay, in Nashville.

2000: Douglas Allen Woody former bass player with The Allman Brothers & Gov’t Mule was found dead in New York.

2002: Herman's Hermits leader and lead singer Peter Noone files an unsuccessful lawsuit against former Hermits drummer Barry Whitwam, attempting to block him from touring with new musicians under the group name.

2004: Singer Laura Branigan died of a brain aneurysm at age 47. She had had a 1982 US No.2 & UK No.6 single with ‘Gloria’ and a 1984 US No.4 & UK No.5 with ‘Self Control’. She had also played Janis Joplin in the US musical Love, Janis.

2005: A post office in Los Angeles is officially renamed after singer Ray Charles due to its close proximity to the studio where he recorded later in life.

2007: Police who raided the home of US rap star DMX, found 12 neglected pit bull terrier dogs and a number of guns. The bodies of three more dogs had been buried. No arrests were made and DMX told police he had not been at the property in Arizona for at least two months. The rapper who had launched his own range of dog clothing, including caps, scarves and raincoats for canines also featured on the cover of his latest album, Year of the Dog... Again, with a pit bull straining at the leash.

2007: Country singer Billy Currington travels to Hawaii to begin therapy for anger issues related to the abuse he suffered from a stepfather in childhood. The abuser was actually the subject of Currington's first hit, "Walk A Little Straighter".