August 5

Births

1926: Jeri Southern (Jazz Pianist)

1934: Vern Gosdin (Country Singer)

1941: Airto Moreira (Drummer for Weather Report)

1942: Rick Huxley (Bass for The Dark Clark Five)

1943: Sammi Smith (Country Singer)

1947: Rick Derringer (Guitar for The McCoys & Solo)

1947: Greg Leskiw (Guitar for The Guess Who)

1953: Samantha Sang (70’s Singer)

1955: Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (Guitar for Twisted Sister)

1959: Pat Smear (Guitar for The Germs, Nirvana (fourth member) & Foo Fighters)

1959: Pete Burns (Singer for Dead Or Alive)

1964: MCA (Adam Nathaniel Yauch) (Rapper & Bass Guitar in The Beastie Boys)

1966: Jennifer Finch (Bass & Vocals for L7)

Events

1957: WFIL-TV in Philadelphia's popular afternoon dance show, Bandstand, goes national, broadcast on ABC as American Bandstand (though interrupted for half an hour in the middle by The Mickey Mouse Club). Host Dick Clark's first guest was the Chordettes; the first record danced to on the show was Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day." It would run for thirty years straight until MTV hastened its demise in 1987.

1957: Specialty Records hires a new A&R man named Sonny Bono.

1961: Themetta Suggs gives birth to Chuck Berry's second child, Chuck Berry Jr.

1962: Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home at age 36.

1965: Jan and Dean's upcoming debut movie, Easy Come, Easy Go, is canceled after an on-set railroad accident which injures seventeen crew members, along with breaking the leg of Jan Berry.

1967: Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper At the Gates of Dawn on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett. In subsequent years, the record has been recognised as one of the seminal psychedelic rock albums of the 1960s. When reviewed, by the two main UK music papers in the UK, Record Mirror and NME both gave the album four stars out of five. The album which was recorded at Abbey Road studios, London during the same time that The Beatles were recording Sgt Pepper peaked at #6 on the UK album chart and failed to chart in the US.

1968: Country guitarist Luther Perkins died at the age of 40 as a result of severe burns and smoke inhalation. Perkins fell asleep at home in his den with a cigarette in his hand. He was dragged from the fire unconscious with severe second and third degree burns. Perkins never regained consciousness. He worked with Johnny Cash and The Carter Family and featured on the live album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.

1972: Music mogul Clive Davis catches Aerosmith's act at Max's Kansas City in New York and immediately signs them for $125,000.

1972: One of the first "Fifties revival" shows, The London Rock & Roll Show, is held for teddy boys and greasers at London's Wembley Stadium, featuring Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley, Bo Diddley, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

1975: Stevie Wonder signs the largest contract for a single artist in history: $13 million over seven years for seven albums with Tamla/Motown.

1975: Kim Fowley forms the first all-female hard-rock band, The Runaways, featuring Joan Jett, future Bangle Michael Steele, and Lita Ford.

1976: NBC-TV airs the 15th anniversary Beach Boys special It's OK, featuring cameos by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

1978: Pete Meaden, the Who's first manager and a pivotal figure in London's mod scene of the Sixties, dies at his parents' home after an intentional overdose of barbituates.

1979: Def Leppard signed to Phonogram records with an advance of $180,000, giving them a 10% royalty on 100% of sales for the first two years.

1980: The Osmonds officially disband.

1981: Olivia Newton-John is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1983: After sleeping through much of his trial, David Crosby (The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, and Nash) is sentenced to eight years for cocaine and firearm possession. Within a year, however, his conviction will be overturned.

1986: Culture Club keyboard player Michael Rudetsky is found dead at Boy George’s London home in Hampstead.

1992: Jeff Porcaro drummer from Toto died age 38. His death has been the subject of controversy: some say the attack was caused by an allergic reaction to garden pesticide, while others say Porcaro's heart was weakened by smoking and cocaine use. Porcaro also worked with many other acts including Sonny and Cher, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan, Paul Simon and Boz Scaggs.

1994: Singer Billy Idol admitted to the hospital after drug overdose.

1996: Soul singer Wilson Pickett checks into a court-ordered rehab for cocaine addiction.

2000: Legendary glam rocker Gary Glitter, awaiting trial on child pornography charges, revisits England for business and is harassed by a large crowd outside his West London home, causing the police to investigate.

2007: DNA tests prove that at least two of the twelve claimants to the estate and fortune of recently deceased soul legend James Brown are found to be legitimate. His will had already named six known children.

2007: Proctor and Gamble, maker of Luvs brand diapers, upsets Beatles fans around the world with their licensing of the song "All You Need Is Love" for a new television ad.

2008: American singer, songwriter Robert Hazard died after surgery for pancreatic cancer. He wrote Cyndi Lauper's, ’Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, and fronted Robert Hazard and the Heroes in the 80’s.

2009: A 53-year-old who claimed he was secretly engaged to Miley Cyrus was charged with trying to stalk the US singer. Mark McLeod was arrested after trying to contact the Hannah Montana actress on a film set near Savannah, Georgia. McLeod claimed he had met Cyrus 18 months earlier and that she had accepted his marriage proposal. He told police that Cyrus' father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, approved of their relationship and that Cyrus had sent him "secret messages" through her TV show.