August 21

Births

1904: Count Basie (Band Leader & Pianist)

1928: Art Farmer (Jazz Trumpeter)

1938: Kenny Rogers (Country Singer)

1947: Carl Giammarese (Lead Guitar & Vocals for The Buckinghams)

1951: Glenn Hughes (Bass & Vocals for Trapeze, Deep Purple & shortly for Black Sabbath)

1952: Joe Strummer (Singer & Guitarist for The Clash)

1954: Steve Smith (Drums for Journey)

1957: Budgie (Peter Edward Clarke) (Drummer for Siouxsie and the Banshees &The Creatures)

1961: David Morales (DJ & Producer)

1967: Serj Tankian (Singer for System of a Down)

1971: Liam Howlett (Keyboards for The Prodigy)

1979: Kelis Rogers (R&B Singer) Married to rapper Nas

Events

1961: Patsy Cline recorded the classic Willie Nelson song, ‘Crazy’. She was still on crutches after going through a car windshield in a head-on collision two months earlier.

1965: The Rolling Stones started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Out Of Our Heads' the group's first US No.1 album.

1966: In an incident that cements the group's desire never to tour again, the Beatles are forced to play under a tarp at the Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, MI, due to heavy rains. (In addition, they'd already played an afternoon show and traveled some 400 miles to make this one.)

1972: At a Jefferson Airplane show in Akron, OH, a fight breaks out on stage between the band and the local police -- present because of an earlier bomb threat -- after guitarist Paul Kantner refers to them as "pigs." During the brawl, lead singer Grace Slick is maced in the eyes, Kantner is injured after being thrown to the floor, and bassist Jack Casady is arrested. Spectators throw rocks at the police, who respond with tear gas.

1976: Worldwide sales of Elvis Presley records pass the four hundred million mark.

1979: "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" brings The Charlie Daniels Band the only gold single of its career

1980: Linda Ronstadt makes her Broadway debut in Joseph Papp's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, also starring Rex Smith and Kevin Kline.

1982: U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono's best man.

1983: Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight.

1993: Following up the claims made by a child who'd recently spent time there, Los Angeles police conduct a raid on Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, searching for evidence of child pornography.

1993: Elton John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin marries his third wife, Stephanie Haymes.

1994: After he crashes his Porsche into a tree near his home in Aspen, CO, John Denver is charged with driving under the influence. It is his second such offense in two years.

1996: Having served two years of his original five year sentence for kidnapping and torturing a guest, Rick James is released from Folsom State Penitentiary in California.

1996: Former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne sued to prevent the rest of the group from touring as "The Heads." The suit was settled out of court.

1997: Former Stone Roses drummer Alan Wren was jailed for seven days after being rude to a top Manchester Magistrate. He was before the court due to having no car insurance and lost his temper after being quizzed about his earnings.

1997: Oasis' third album 'Be Here Now', became one of the fastest selling albums ever in the UK, selling over a million copies on the first day of release.

2003: Johnny Cash holds his final session, recording "Engine One-Forty-Three" at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

2008: Paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter returned to Thailand after being refused entry to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities informed the UK Foreign Office they had barred Glitter from entry. He was earlier deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two 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.