August 29

Births

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

1924: Dinah Washington (Blues & Jazz Singer)

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

1955: Diamanda Galas (Performance Artist)

1956: GG Allin (Punk Rocker)

1958: Michael Jackson (Singer)

1958: Elizabeth Fraser (Vocals for Cocteau Twins)

1960: Tony MacAlpine (Guitarist)

1968: Me'Shell NdegéOcello (Singer & Rapper)

1975: Kyle Cook (Guitarist for Matchbox 20)

1980: David Desrosiers (Bass for Simple Plan)

1986: Lea Michele (Glee Singer)

Events

1958: The first of Alan Freed's Big Beat revues is held at Brooklyn, New York's Fox Theatre, featuring Chuck Berry, Billy Haley and his Comets, Frankie Avalon, The Elegants, Bobby Freeman, and Jimmy Clanton.

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. Afterwards 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 28

Births

1942: Sterling Morrison (Guitar for The Velvet Underground)

1943: David Soul (Hutch & Singer)

1948: Danny Seraphine (Drummer for Chicago)

1949: Martin Lamble (Drummer for Fairport Convention)

1951: Dave Hlubek (Guitar for Molly Hatchet)

1965: Shania Twain (Eileen Edwards) (Country Artist)

1969: Jack Black (Guitar for Tenacious D and Actor)

1974: Peter Turner (Bass for Elbow)

1981: Jake Owen (Country Singer)

1982: LeAnn Rimes (Country Singer)

1986: Florence Welch (Singer for Florence & The Machine)

Events

1960: A 17-year-old Barry White completes his four-month prison term for stealing 300 tires from a Cadillac dealership. Having heard Elvis sing "It's Now Or Never" in prison, he leaves determined to make music his life.

1961: Tamla Records released the Marvelettes first single, 'Please Mr. Postman'. The song went on to sell over a million copies and become the group's biggest hit, reaching the top of both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. The song is notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.

1963: Just before Dr. Martin Luther King gives his famous "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, Peter, Paul and Mary serenade the crowd with their hit version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind."

1965: The Rolling Stones sign with Decca records and ink a management contract with the soon-to-be-notorious Allen Klein.

1967: In San Francisco, The Grateful Dead, along with Janis Joplin's group Big Brother and the Holding Company, play the funeral of a Hell's Angel killed after being hit by a car.

1969: Paul and Linda McCartney become the proud parents of their first child, a daughter they name Mary after Paul's dear departed mother.

1984: With over one million ticket sales in only two months, the Jacksons' reunion tour, entitled Victory, becomes the most successful concert tour of all time.

1986: Tina Turner receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2005: For the second time in two years, Art Garfunkel is arrested for marijuana possession.

2005: Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was admitted to hospital after being shot in the leg at a party hosted by hip hop star Kanye West. The party was held at a club in Miami, Florida, to celebrate this year's MTV Video Music Awards.

August 27

Births

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

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: 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)

1961: Yolanda Adams (Gospel Singer)

1967: Bob Nastanovich (Drums for Pavement & Silver Jews)

1970: Tony Kanal (Bass for No Doubt)

1977: Mase (Mason Betha) (Rapper)

1979: Sarah Neufeld (Violinist for Arcade Fire)

1979: Jon Siebles (Guitar for Eve 6)

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.

1991: Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten. The group’s most commercially successful album, which has sold over 13 million copies, produced three hit singles: Alive, Even Flow, and Jeremy.

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 this 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".