August 16

Births

1928: Eydie Gorme (Singer)

1944: Kevin Ayers (Guitar for The Soft Machine)

1948: Barry Hay (Lead Vocals for Golden Earring)

1949: Scott Asheton (Drums for Iggy Pop and the Stooges)

1953: James "J.T." Taylor (Singer for Kool and the Gang)

1957: Tim Farriss (Guitar for INXS)

1958: Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) (Singer)

1964: Matt Lukin (Bass for Mudhoney & Melvins)

1972: Emily Erwin (Singer & Banjo for Dixie Chicks)

1980: Vanessa Carlton (Pop Singer & Pianist)

1980: Bob Hardy (Bass for Franz Ferdinand)

Events

1938: Blues legend Robert Johnson died (probably poisoned by a jealous husband) at the age of 27 at a country crossroads near Greenwood, Mississippi. His recordings from 1936–1937 have influenced generations of musicians including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton..

1957: Buddy Holly and The Crickets, still being billed by the band name only, begin a six-night engagement at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater, the first white rock act to play the venue. Although crowds boo a little at first -- many, including the venue, assumed they'd be seeing R&B vocal group The Crickets -- by the third night of the engagement Buddy's energy and songs have won them over.

1962: Detroit harmonica prodigy "Little" Stevie Wonder releases his first single, "(I Call It Pretty Music, But...) The Old People Call It The Blues," featuring another newcomer, Marvin Gaye, on drums. It fails to chart.

1965: David Jones' official stage name became David Bowie.

1968: The Jackson Five perform their first official live gig, opening for Diana Ross and the Supremes at the (Great Western) Forum in Los Angeles.

1969: During the Who's performance of their rock opera Tommy at Woodstock (specifically, during the instrumental "Underture") activist and hippie leader Abbie Hoffman leaps on stage, grabs the microphone, and yells "I think this is a pile of s**t, while John Sinclair rots in prison!" (Sinclair, a fellow activist, had been sentenced for ten years for two marijuana joints.) Pete Townshend, not knowing who Hoffman is, hits him over the head with his guitar and orders him to "**** off my ****ing stage!"

1974: The Ramones played their first concert at New York's CBGB’s.

1975: Peter Gabriel announced he was leaving Genesis to go solo. Phil Collins would be the new lead singer after the group auditioned more than 400 potential musicians.

1977: Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in Memphis. He died of coronary arrhythmia.

1977: Manchester punk band The Buzzcocks signed to EMI's United Artists label.

1980: Alabama registers its first #1 single in Billboard with "Tennessee River".

1983: Paul Simon marries Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher at his New York duplex. The couple would divorce just two years later.

1985: Madonna married Sean Penn in Malibu.  She would file for divorce the next year.

1995: Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys performs live for the first time with his daughters Carnie and Wendy, recently famous for their stint in the trio Wilson Phillips.

1995: R&B musician Robert "Robby" Debarge dies at 36 from complications from AIDS.

1997: Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died of cardiac arrest at age 48. He had recorded with Bruce Springsteen Eddie Vedder and Peter Gabriel.

2005: Madonna suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand in a horse-riding accident on her country estate. The accident happened when she fell off a new horse in the grounds of her Ashcombe House on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset on her 47th birthday. The singer was treated at hospital in Salisbury, 90 miles south-west of London.

2005: P Diddy appeared on the TV Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name again, dropping the "P." and referring to himself simply as "Diddy." The name change to Diddy upset Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, a London based DJ who took out court proceedings against P Diddy over the use of the name. He won when an out of court settlement of $200,000 was agreed and as a result, Combs is no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK.

2011: Rock veteran John Mellencamp and model Elaine Irwin officially divorced after an 18-year-marriage. The couple, which shares two teenage sons, separated in September of 2010 and filed for divorce on Jan. 14, 2011.