August 7

Births

1931: Herb Reed (The Platters)

1939: Ron Holden (Pop Singer)

1942: B.J. Thomas (Pop Singer)

1943: Lana Cantrell (Singer)

1945: Kerry Chater (Bass for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap)

1950: Rodney Crowell (Country Guitarist & Singer / Songwriter)

1951: Pete Way (Bass for Fastway, UFO & Ozzy Osbourne)

1958: Bruce Dickinson (Vocals for Iron Maiden)

1960: Jacquie O'Sullivan (Singer for Bananarama)

1964: Ian Dench (Guitar for EMF)

1966: Kristin Hersh (Singer & Guitar for Throwing Muses & Solo)

Events

1954: Johnny Cash married Vivian Liberto at St Ann’s Catholic Church in Memphis. Cash had plans of becoming a Memphis appliance salesman, he instead formed a band with Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant, and was signed to Sun Records a year later.

1957: The Quarrymen (minus new member Paul McCartney, away at Scout camp!) make their debut at Liverpool's Cavern Club. Manager Alan Sytner instructs them not to play rock and roll, but midway through their skiffle performance, John lights into a version of Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel," which the crowd loves.

1957: Paul Anka makes his US television debut, singing "Diana" on ABC's American Bandstand.

1963: The first of the Frankie Avalon / Annette Funicello "beach movies," Beach Party, opens in American theaters, featuring music by surf legend Dick Dale. Exactly 24 years later on this day, the reunion movie Back To The Beach opens, with Frankie and Annette cast as parents with wild and crazy teens of their own, and featuring music by Fishbone and Pee-Wee Herman.

1965: Mike Smith (Singer for Dave Clark Five) had two ribs broken when he was pulled off the stage by a fan in Chicago.

1970: Christine Perfect, now married to bass player John McVie, joins her husband's band, Fleetwood Mac, as its first female member.

1971: The Bee Gees started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart'. It was the group's tenth US hit and first No.1.

1974: J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf marries movie star Faye Dunaway in a Beverly Hills courtroom. They would divorce in 1979.

1982: Dexy's Midnight Runners were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Come On Eileen' their second and last No.1. It was the Best-selling single of 1982 and the song won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards.

1991: Paul Simon gives a free concert in Central Park, much as he had in 1981 with partner Art Garfunkel. The performance eventually became the album Paul Simon's Concert In The Park.

1995: LL Cool J and Simone Johnson were married.

1996: A federal appeals court overturns the ruling that original Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers members Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago co-wrote the group's biggest hit, 1955's "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," ruling that copyright claims must be filed within three years of the song's publication.

1997: Garth Brooks played to the largest crowd ever in New York's Central Park. An estimated 1 million people attended the live concert with an additional 14.6 million viewing live on HBO.

1999: Violence erupted outside a Dave Matthews Band concert in Hartford, CT. 55 arrests were made in the parking lot of the Meadows Music Theater.

2000: Having recently won back merchandising rights for their son's famous name, the family of Jimi Hendrix succeeds in shutting down the faux-official website www.jimihendrix.com.

2002: Three members of Oasis were injured when the taxi they were travelling in was involved in a crash during a US tour in Indianapolis. Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell and Jay Darlington were all taken to hospital and treated for cuts and bruises.

2003: The Osmonds are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

2006: Barry Manilow cancels some dates at the Las Vegas Hilton while doctors attempt to repair torn cartilage in his hip.

2007: The Isley Brothers' Ron Isley begins serving a 27-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Terre Haute, IN for income tax evasion.

2007: Lily Allen had her US work visa cancelled after arriving at Los Angeles airport. The 22-year-old, who was due to tour America in September, had flown in for the MTV Video Music Awards launch. She was held at the airport for five hours in connection with an arrest for an alleged assault in London in June.

2007: Pete Doherty was warned by a judge that he could face jail or a community order over drugs offences. In July, the 28-year-old Babyshambles frontman pleaded guilty to driving illegally while in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis. The judge said: "What I have in mind is a community order or prison... if he does not show his motivation, it's prison - it's as simple as that." The singer volunteered to show the position of an implant in his stomach designed to help him give up drugs.

2008: Elvis Presley's peacock jumpsuit, was sold at auction for $300,000, making it the most expensive piece of Elvis memorabilia ever sold at an auction. The white outfit with a plunging V-neck and high collar featured a blue-and-gold peacock design, hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the pant legs.

August 6

Births

1921: Buddy Collette (Tenor Sax)

1928: Andy Warhol (Artist)

1929: Mike Elliot (Sax for The Foundations)

1948: Allan Holdsworth (Guitar for Soft Machine)

1952: Vinnie Vincent (Guitar for Kiss & Vinnie Vincent’s Invation)

1969: Elliot Smith (Singer / Songwriter)

1972: Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) (Vocals for The Spice Girls)

Events

1956: The Alan Freed movie Rock! Rock! Rock! goes into production, featuring Tuesday Weld (her singing vocals dubbed by Connie Francis), Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and LaVern Baker.

1960: Looking for a drummer for a series of dates in Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles visit Liverpool's Casbah club to invite Pete Best, then of the Black Jacks, to join the group.

1960: On ABC-TV's American Bandstand, Chubby Checker demonstrates The Twist for the first time, kicking off a dance craze craze that would last the better part of two years.

1964: Rod Stewart makes his TV debut on BBC-TV's The Beat Room, singing as a member of his group, The Hoochie Coochie Men.

1966: As the Fleet Street press in London reports on the "bigger than Jesus" controversy in America, Beatles manager Brian Epstein cuts his vacation short and flies to New York City for a televised press conference where he defends John Lennon's remarks, stating "The quote which John Lennon made to a London columnist has been quoted and misrepresented entirely out of context of the article, which was in fact highly complimentary to Lennon as a person... Lennon didn't mean to boast about the Beatles' fame. He meant to point out that the Beatles' effect appeared to be a more immediate one upon, certainly, the younger generation. John is deeply concerned and regrets that people with certain religious beliefs should have been offended."

1970: Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Poco and Johnny Winter all appeared at the Concert For Peace at New York's Shea Stadium. The concert date coincided with the 25th anniversary of dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

1973: A log from a passing lumber truck crushes Stevie Wonder's car as it speeds near Winston-Salem NC, leaving him in a coma for four days and causing him to permanently lose his sense of smell. Miraculously, he fully recovers and is back in the studio within weeks.

1974: Abba scored their first US top 10 hit when ‘Waterloo’ went to No.6. The Swedish group were also on their first American tour.

1981: Stevie Nicks released her first solo album Bella Donna which contained four top 40 US hits. ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, (with Tom Petty), ‘Leather and Lace’, (with Don Henley), ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘After the Glitter Fades.’

1982: Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ starring Bob Geldof opened in movie theatres in New York. The film was conceived alongside the double album by Pink Floyd’s, Roger Waters.

1983: Avant-garde musician and former backing singer with David Bowie Klaus Nomi died at the age of 39 of Aids in New York City aged 38. Nomi was one of the first celebrities to contract AIDS.

1987: The Beastie Boys sued the city of Jacksonville, FL for including the phrase "mature audience" on their concert tickets and ads.

1988: 'Appetite For Destruction' Guns N' Roses debut album went to No.1 in the US, after spending 57 weeks on the chart and selling over 5 million copies. Singles from the album, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City’ were all US top 10 hits. Worldwide sales now stand in excess of 28 million and the album is the best-selling debut album of all-time in the US, beating Boston's debut album Boston, which has gone 17x platinum.

1989: Adam Clayton of U2 was arrested in The Blue Light Inn car park in Dublin for marijuana possession and intent to supply the drug to another person. His conviction was waived in exchange for paying $50,000 to the Dublin Woman's Aid Centre.

1994: Lisa Loeb started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Stay (I Missed You).  Actor and friend Ethan Hawke had asked her to provide a song for the upcoming movie Reality Bites and 'Stay' was featured in the film.  She did not have a record label distributor at the time.

1996: Vince Neil attempted to play a show at an Indiana club. The show, starting more than four hours late, ended after only three songs. Neil claimed that he wasn't feeling well, and that the audience of "rednecks" didn't appreciate his talent.

1996: Eddie Vedder videotaped the Ramones placing their hands in cement on the Hollywood Rock Walk prior to a Ramones show at The Palace. The Ramones claimed that it was their last show ever.

1999: Dick Latvala died aged 56 after being in a coma caused by a heart attack. Latvala worked with The Grateful Dead since the early 80’s looking after their archives of live performances which became a series of 'Dick’s Picks' albums.

2001: Whitney Houston became one of the highest-paid musicians in the world after signing a new deal with Arista records, said to be worth more than $100m.

2004: Rick James died from pulmonary failure and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, a pacemaker, and a heart attack at age 56.

2007: Marilyn Manson was being sued by a former band member who said he was owed $20m in shared profits. Stephen Bier, who played keyboards under the stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy, claimed he was not paid properly over a period of almost two decades. In legal papers filed in Los Angeles, Bier claimed Manson falsely told him the band was not making much money and used band money to buy a $2m home and collect Nazi memorabilia, including coat hangers used by Adolf Hitler.

2009: Steven Tyler was airlifted to hospital after falling off stage during a gig at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The 61-year-old Aerosmith singer fell from a catwalk onto a couple of fans, he suffered neck and shoulder injuries. About 30 minutes after the accident, guitarist Joe Perry came out to tell the crowd that the remainder of the show had been cancelled.

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.

August 4

Births

1901: Louis Armstrong (Trumpet Player & Singer)

1921: Herb Ellis (Jazz Guitarist)

1936: Elsberry Hobbs (The Drifters)

1939: Frankie Ford (Pop Singer)

1940: Larry Knechtel (Guitar & Keyboards for Bread)

1941: Timi Yuro (R&B Singer)

1947: Paul Layton (Bassist & Vocals for The New Seekers)

1947: Klaus Schulze (Tangerine Dream)

1955: Billy Bob Thornton (Actor & Singer / Songwriter)

1960: Graham Massey (Keyboards for 808 State)

1960: Robbin Crosby (Guitar for RATT)

1961: Barack Obama (President)

1962: Paul Reynolds (Lead Guitar for A Flock Of Seagulls)

1963: Sam Yaffa (Bass Guitar for Hanoi Rocks)

1968: Rob Cieka (Drums for The Boo Radleys)

1969: Max Cavalera (Massimiliano Antonio Cavalera) (Guitar & Vocals for Sepultura)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley released the single "Hound Dog" b/w "Don't Be Cruel"

1957: The Everly Brothers cause a sensation by performing their upcoming single, "Wake Up Little Susie," on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. The song, a lighthearted tale of two chaste lovers who accidentally fall asleep on a date and are then assumed to have "spent the night together," will be banned in some markets.

1958: Billboard combines its unwieldy system of five separate sales, jukebox, and DJ charts to make one master chart, the "Billboard Hot 100" we know today. The first #1 listed on it is Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool."

1963: The Beatles make their first inroad to the American charts when their latest British single, "From Me To You," debuts at #116 in Billboard. Unfortunately, it stays there, due to problems with its American label (Vee Jay) and a cover version by Del Shannon that got the jump on it. It would take a massive promotional blitz by Capitol over the next five months to ensure a Beatles hit in America with the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There".

1966: South Africa bans all Beatles music as a result of John Lennon's recent "bigger than Jesus" comments.

1967: While on tour in Minneapolis, MN, a sixteen-year-old female fan stows away on the Monkees' plane en route to St. Louis, MO, opening the band up to charges from the girl's father of transporting a minor across state lines.

1970: Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson marries his second wife, Barbara Charren, in Los Angeles. The couple would divorce just four years later.

1970: The Doors' Jim Morrison is arrested in Los Angeles for public drunkenness after being found lying unconscious on a resident's doorstep.

1972: The "blaxploitation" movie Superfly, featuring an acclaimed (and ironic) score from the Impressions' Curtis Mayfield, opens in the US.

1975: While vacationing on the isle of Rhodes in Greece, Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and his family are badly injured in a car accident, forcing the cancellation of an upcoming US tour. Doctors tell Plant he may never walk again.

1980: John Lennon began recording what would become his final album 'Double Fantasy' at The Hit Factory, New York.

1984: Prince started a 24 week run at the top of the US album charts with 'Purple Rain', it went on to sell over 10 million copies.

1984: Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman were married.

1990: During a New Kids On The Block concert in Montreal. Canada, three armed robbers stole souvenir sales proceeds valued at $260.000.

1990: During a US tour Janet Jackson collapsed on stage at a show in St Louis, suffering from an inner ear infection.

1990: Mariah Carey's started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Vision Of Love', her debut release. 

1996: Oasis played two sold out nights at Balloch Castle Country Park, Loch Lomand, Scotland to over 80,000 fans. Oasis roadie James Hunter was crushed to death between a forklift truck and a lorry during the bands two days shows.

2005: American blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died. Milton had suffered a brain aneurysm on 25th July 2005 and had lapsed into a coma. He signed to Sun records in 1953 and had the 1965 US No.25 single 'We're Gonna Make It'. He was 70 years old.

2007: US singer, songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer, in his home near Las Vegas aged 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, including “These Boots Were Made For Walkin'”, “Jackson” and “Did You Ever?” He also produced Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons and Something Stupid - the duet Nancy recorded with her father Frank in 1967.

2011: Marcus Mumford, lead singer of Mumford and Sons, is engaged to actress to Carey Mulligan after dating for five months. The pair were childhood pen pals who lost touch and reconnected after the Mumfords' debut disc, "Sigh No More," had gained international acclaim. 

August 3

Births

1926: Tony Bennett (Singing Legend)

1941: Beverly Lee (Singer in The Shirelles)

1946: John York (Bass for The Byrds)

1949: B.B. Dickerson (Bass for War)

1951: John Graham (Guitar for earth, Wind & Fire)

1959: Martin Atkins(Drummer for Public Image Ltd)

1961: Lee Rocker (Leon Drucker) (Bassist for The Stray Cats)

1964: Lucky Dube (Reggae Singer)

1963: James Hetfield (Guitar & Vocals for Metallica)

1966: Dean Sams (Keyboards for Lonestar)

1971: Spinderella (Deirdre Roper) (DJ for Salt-n-Pepa)

1973: Stephen Carpenter (Lead Guitar for The Deftones)

Events

1959: Folk group The Kingston Trio are featured on the cover of Life magazine.

1963: After nearly 300 shows over two years, the Beatles play their last headlining gig at Liverpool's Cavern Club.

1963: The Beach Boys released ‘Surfer Girl’, the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote and the first one he produced.

1971: Paul McCartney announces the formation of Wings, his first band since the breakup of the Beatles. It features ex-Moody Blues singer Denny Laine and Paul's wife Linda.

1974: Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter leaves Steely Dan to join the Doobie Brothers.

1974: Bad Company went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album.

1985: Madonna scored her first UK No.1 single with 'Into The Groove'. The track was taken from the movie 'Desperately Seeking Susan' which featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. 'Into The Groove' is Madonna's best selling single in the UK, having sold over 850,000 copies.

1986: The News Of The World in the UK printed an exclusive interview with 16 year old model Mandy Smith, who revealed she has been having an affair with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman for the past 2 and a half years.

1993: Boston Ventures, the group to whom Berry Gordy had sold Motown in 1988 for $61 million, sells the label and its holdings to Dutch conglomerate Polygram for #325 million.

1999: Country legend Patsy Cline is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2006: Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He called himself the "first black hippie" and formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965. Best known for the critically revered 1967 album, 'Forever Changes.'

2007: Usher married Tameka Foster, six days after calling off their first ceremony. Their original ceremony was cancelled hours before it was due to take place amid reports pregnant Foster was taken to hospital for stress.

2011: Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" becomes the first album in the almost 19-year history of Billboard's Pop Songs chart to generate five No. 1s, as "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" goes to #1.