This Date in Rock Music History: August 12

1956:  Elvis Presley received the key to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
1956:  The Platters performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1957:  Frankie Lymon left his group the Teenagers for a solo career.
1957:  Buddy Holly & the Crickets debuted on the Singles chart with their first hit record--"That'll Be The Day".
1958:  The Crests recorded "16 Candles".
1960:  Pete Best became the new drummer for the Silver Beatles.

1963:  The Ronettes released the single "Be My Baby".

1966:  John Lennon held a press conference at the Astor Tower Hotel in Chicago, Illinois to apologize for his recent remark that "the Beatles were more popular than Jesus."
1966:  The Beatles, Ronettes and Bobby Hebb performed at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois.  It was the beginning of what would turn out to be the final U.S. tour for the Beatles.  
1967:  Ten Years After, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the Nice, Amen Corner, Zoot Money, Paul Jones, and Aynsley Dunbar performed on the second day of the National Jazz & Blues Festival in Windsor, Great Britain.  Pink Floyd was scheduled to perform, but had to cancel due  to the unreliability of lead singer Syd Barrett. 
1967:  Jimmy Hendrix performed at the Ambassador Theater in Washington, D.C. for the fourth of five shows.
1967:  The Supremes sang "Reflections" on American Bandstand.







1967:  "Reflections was the highest-debuting song of the week, giving the Supremes their 21st career hit.
1967:  Bobbie Gentry moved from #71 to #21 on this date with "Ode To Billie Joe".









                                                                                   Procol Harum's best--...

1967:  The Doors spent a third week at #1 with "Light My Fire".  The Beatles challenged with "All You Need Is Love" but Stevie Wonder was on his way down with "I Was Made To Love Her".  The Monkees had another big hit--"Pleasant Valley Sunday", which climbed from #9 to #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by the Buckinghams, Frankie Valli remained at 6 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", Procol Harum fell with "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", the Association was still in the Top 10 after 12 weeks with "Windy", the Hollies scored their third Top 10 with "Carrie-Anne" and the Young Rascals climbed in with "A Girl Like You".












1967:  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles had only been out eight weeks, but seven of those were at #1 on the Album chart.  Headquarters from the Monkees remained at 2 while Flowers by the Rolling Stones locked up position #3.
1968:  The four members of Led Zeppelin played together for the first time at a studio rehearsal on Gerrard Street in London's West End.  The quartet's first song was "Train Kept-A-Rollin'".
1968:  Big Brother & the Holding Company released their one and only big album, Cheap Thrills.

1970:  A promising new singer released his first single on this date--it was called "Fire And Rain" and the artist was James Taylor.  (Note:  some websites falsely say the single was released in February.  It was Taylor's album that was released in February.  The single "Fire And Rain" was released on August 12, according to the book 'Long Ago And Far Away:  James Taylor - His Life And Music' by Timothy White.  The book "Fire and Rain:  The James Taylor Story' by Ian Halperin and Taylor's official website also confirm that the song was released in August.)

1970:  Neil Diamond released the single "Cracklin' Rosie".  (Note:  one website falsely reports that the song entered the 'Billboard' chart on August 16.  The correct date is August 31, according to 'Billboard' itself.)
1970:  Derek & the Dominoes played at the Speakeasy in London.
1970:  Janis Joplin performed for the final time at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts before she died from drugs less than two months later.
1970:  The trial of Jim Morrison of the Doors for indecent exposure onstage began in Miami, Florida.  (Note:  some websites claim the trial began on August 10.  It was originally scheduled to begin that day, but the judge in the case had another trial that took precedence, and the Morrison trial began August 12th, confirmed by the newspaper 'The Examiner'.)












1971:  The Carpenters released the single "Superstar".1972:  Jim Croce appeared on American Bandstand.
1972:  The Festival of Hope, at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York, with Jefferson Airplane and James Brown performing, became the first rock festival to raise funds for an established charity.

1972:  ELO, Faces, and Focus were among the acts to perform on the second day of the National Jazz, Blues, Folk & Rock Festival in Reading, England.
1972:  Alice Cooper had the #1 U.K. song with "School's Out".
1972:  The great Al Green landed himself a #1 R&B song with "I'm Still In Love With You".

1972:  Gilbert O'Sullivan remained on top for a third week with "Alone Again (Naturally)".  Looking Glass held steady at #2 for the third week with "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)".
1973:  What an incredible show this was.  The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young in the same night at the Corral Club in Topanga, California.












1974:  A new British band released its first single on this date--Bad Company sent "Can't Get Enough" to radio stations.











1978:  Toby Beau reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "My Angel Baby".
1978:  The Little River Band had the fastest-rising song as "Reminiscing" moved from 56 to 34.
1978:  "Three Times A Lady" was the new #1 on the R&B chart for the Commodores.










1978:  The Commodores registered their first #1 song with "Three Times A Lady".  "Grease" by Frankie Valli and "Last Dance" from Donna Summer each moved up one to fill the void left when "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones dropped to #4.  Foreigner was up to 5 with "Hot Blooded".  The rest of the Top 10:  A Taste of Honey raced up from #17 with "Boogie Oogie Oogie", Pablo Cruise had song #7--"Love Will Find A Way", Barry Manilow enjoyed his 12th hit and 8th Top 10 song with "Copacabana (At The Copa)", Walter Egan reached the Top 10 with "Magnet And Steel" and Andy Gibb climbed from 16-10 with "An Everlasting Love".








1981:  Christopher Cross released the single "Arthur's Theme".











1981:  Dan Fogelberg released the single "Hard To Say".
1982:  Joe Tex ("I Gotcha'" from 1972) died of a heart attack at the age of 49 in Navasota, Texas.  (Note:  some websites report he died on August 13.  He died prior to midnight on August 12, according to his official death certificate and the website 'Texasescapes.com'.)
1984:  Lionel Richie closed the Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games by singing "All Night Long".
1985:  Syu Sakamoto was killed in a plane crash when his flight, JAL #123 (a 747 jet), crashed on a mountain about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo.  Sakamoto was the first Japanese artist to reach #1 in the United States with "Sukiyaki".  He was 43.
1986:  Paul Simon released his amazing album Graceland.  (Some websites claim Paul Simon released the album August 25.  According to Paul's official website, he released the LP August 12.)








1987:  Heart released the single "Who Will You Run To".  (Note:  some websites report the song was released August 15.  "Who Will You Run To" debuted on the Singles chart on August 17.  For that to occur, it had to be released before the reporting deadline of August 14 in order to make the chart that week.)

1987:  John Mellencamp released the single "Paper In Fire".  (Note:  some websites report the song was released August 15.  "Paper In Fire" debuted on the Singles chart on August 17.  For that to occur, it had to be released before the reporting deadline of August 14 in order to make the chart that week.)
1989:  The Rolling Stones played a secret club concert at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut.
1989:  Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne and Skid Row performed at the two-day Moscow Music Peace Festival at Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia.  This was the first concert in which the audience was allowed to stand up and dance.  This wasn't 800 years B.C., but it really happened in Russia in 1989.  And if Putin had his way, he'd stop you Russians from dancing today.
1989:  Prince owned the top R&B song with "Batdance".








1989:  Richard Marx stepped up to #1 with "Right Here Waiting".
1991:  Bryan Adams had a firm hold on #1 in the U.K. with "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You".






1992:  Don Henley & Patty Smyth released the single "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough".
1992:  The Grateful Dead canceled five shows so Jerry Garcia could recover from exhaustion.
1993:  Jesse Tobias replaced guitarist Arik Marshall in the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1995:  Michael Stipe of R.E.M. had an operation for a hernia.










1995:  A mass wake was held for Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California.
1995:  TLC dominated again with "Waterfalls" at #1 for the sixth week.  Seal was going to make it interesting, though, with his new song "Kiss From A Rose", which was up to #2.
1996:  Alanis Morissette was in concert at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York.  Radiohead opened for her.
1996:  The Spice Girls mined gold when their first release "Wannabe" reached #1.
1998:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots pleaded guilty to felony heroin possession.
2000:  Robbie Williams scored a #1 song in the U.K. with "Rock DJ".
2001:  Alicia Keys had the #1 song with the great "Fallin'".
2006:  LeToya had the #1 album with LeToya.
2007:  Cary, North Carolina proclaimed the date "Chicago Day" in honor of the great group from the windy city.
2010:  Carl Perkins was inducted into the Memphis Beale Street Walk of Fame posthumously.

Born This Day:
1918:  Sid Bernstein, producer and promoter who brought the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues, Herman's Hermits and the Kinks to the United States, and organized concerts for Sly & the Family Stone, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Branigan, Lenny Kravitz and Melanie, among others, was born in New York City; died August 20, 2013 in Manhattan.  (Note:  some websites claim Sid died August 21, but according to the newspaper 'The New York Times', he died August 20.)
1926:  Joe Jones ("You Talk Too Much" from 1960) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; died after quadruple bypass surgery in Los Angeles on November 27, 2005.

1949:  Mark Knopfler, guitarist, singer and founder of Dire Straits, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1950:  Kid Creole (Thomas August Darnell Browder) was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  (Note:  some websites insist Browder was born in the Bronx, New York, but according to 'Billboard' magazine, Thomas was born in Montreal, then raised in the Bronx.)
1953:  Jerry Speiser, a founding member and drummer of Men at Work
1958:  Jurgen Dehmel, bassist and songwriter of Nena ("99 Luftballoons") was born in Berlin, West Germany.
1961:  Roy Hay, guitarist and keyboardist of Culture Club, was born in Southend, Essex,  England.
1963:  Sir Mix-A-Lot was born in Seattle, Washington

This Date in Rock Music History: August 11

1957:  Jerry Lee Lewis performed on The Steve Allen Show on NBC-TV.  (Note:  some websites claim Lewis was on 'The Big Beat Show' on ABC-TV.  He performed on that show on August 2--on August 11, he was on 'The Steve Allen Show', according to 'Spin' magazine and 'TV.com'.  'The Big Beat Show" only lasted four episodes, with the last one being on August 2, the date that Lewis performed.)
1958:  "Patricia" by Perez Prado was #1 on the R&B chart.
1958:  In Billboard's second chart, Ricky Nelson remained at #1 ("Poor Little Fool") but Domenico Modugno rose from 54 to 2 with "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)".
1962:  Kid Galahad starring Elvis Presley premiered in theaters.  (Note:  there are websites which report the film's release as July 25 (one quotes a 'Variety' magazine article about the movie premiere from July 25, 1962 which we cannot find.  The official Graceland website reports that the film opened nationally in theaters on August 28 (some websites say August 29).  Unfortunately, there are no sources which definitively decide the correct date for the premiere, but our best research indicates that the film premiered on August 11.)




1962:  "Green Onions" became the first hit for Booker T. & the MG's on this date.
1962:  An all-female singing group debuted on the chart with their first single on this date--The Supremes with "Your Heart Belongs To Me".
1962:  Neil Sedaka enjoyed his first #1 song with "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".  He would have to wait 12 years for another one.
1963:  The Rolling Stones and Long John Baldry performed at the National Jazz and Blues Festival, on the Richmond Athletic Grounds in Richmond, Surrey, England.  The Stones were paid all of £30.








1963:  The Kingston Trio were the mystery guests on the television show What's My Line?
1964:  The Beatles began recording their album Beatles For Sale at EMI Studios in London.
1965:  Sonny Bono performed "Laugh At Me" on the television show Shindig on ABC.  The Rolling Stones, Donovan, the Ronettes and Bobby Goldsboro also performed.
1965:  The Beatles' movie Help! premiered in the United States in New York City.  The world premiere was at the Pavilion Theatre in London on July 6.
1966:  The Beatles arrived at O'Hare Airport in Chicago for their final tour of the United States.

1967:  Small Faces, the Move, Tomorrow, and Marmalade performed on the opening night of the seventh annual Jazz & Blues Festival at the Windsor Royal Racecourse in Windsor, England. 
1968:  It was an amazing conclusion to the 8th annual National Jazz & Blues Festival, which had moved to the Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.  Jethro Tull, the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Al Stewart, John Mayall, the Incredible String Band, and Chicken Shack (with Christine McVie) all performed.
1968:  The Beatles announced the formation of Apple Records.
1969:  Diana Ross invited 350 friends to a club in Beverly Hills, California to see a brand new act called the Jackson 5.
1972:  The mayor of San Antonio, Texas declared it Cheech & Chong Day.

1972:  The annual U.K. Festival, which began in 1961 as the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, had undergone several changes.  The location had moved, first to Windsor, then to Sunbury, then to Sussex, before settling on Reading, now the permanent home of the event.  It was now called the National Jazz, Blues, Folk & Rock Festival.  Genesis, Nazareth and Mungo Jerry were among the acts on the opening day. 
1973:  Bill Aucoin offered to become the manager of KISS after seeing them play at the Crystal Ballroom of Hotel Diplomat in New York City the night before.










1973: Elton John was up big (74-34) with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting".











                                                                          Charlie Daniels and "Uneasy Rider"...

1973:  Maureen McGovern enjoyed a fast climb up the charts (20-9-1) and she remained at #1 with "The Morning After".  Wings closed to #2 with "Live And Let Die" while the Stories were up from 8-3 with "Brother Louie".  Diana Ross was at position #4 with her second big solo hit "Touch Me In The Morning" and Jim Croce's former #1 "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Deep Purple with "Smoke On The Water", Marvin Gaye was up from 17-7 with "Let's Get It On", the Carpenters were on the way down with "Yesterday Once More", Charlie Daniels came in ninth with "Uneasy Rider" and Bobby "Boris" Pickett entered the Top 10 with "Monster Mash".
1976:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, collapsed and was hospitalized in Miami, Florida.
1979:  Led Zeppelin played their final concert in the U.K. at the Knebworth Festival at Knebworth Park, in Knebworth, England.
1979:  Chic owned the top R&B song for the third week with "Good Times".










1979:  ELO had a huge hit on their hands as "Don't Bring Me Down" motored up from #41 to #18.













1980:  Queen released the single "Another One Bites The Dust".  (Note:  some websites naively say the single was released August 22.  "Another One Bites The Dust" debuted on the Singles chart on August 16, 1980.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)
1982: The Police performed at Stade Percival-Molson Stadium on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.1982:  Donna Summer and husband Buce Sudano celebrated the birth of daughter Amada Grace Sudano.
1984:  Lionel Richie had his second #1 on the AC chart from his great album Can't Slow Down as "Stuck On You" was #1 for a second week.









1984:  Ray Parker, Jr. had his biggest career hit as "Ghostbusters" reached #1.  That ended Prince's hold on the top spot with his great song "When Doves Cry".
1984:  Purple Rain was in its fifth week of release with two at #1 on the Album chart.  Sports by Huey Lewis & the News was now moving up after 45 weeks while Born in the U.S.A. fell to #3 after 8 weeks.  The Jacksons had #4 with Victory and the Cars were back with another great album--Heartbeat City.  The rest of the Top 10:  Lionel Richie was still hanging around with Can't Slow Down after 40 weeks, Ratt couldn't climb with Out of the Cellar, the Soundtrack to "Ghostbusters", Tina Turner had a Top 10 album with Private Dancer and Billy Idol closed out the group with Rebel Yell.
1984:  Prince made it seven weeks in a row with one of the top R&B songs of the 1980's--"When Doves Cry".
1985:  Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran had a scare after his yacht capsized off of the English coast during a race.  The Royal Navy rescued him after LeBon was trapped for 40 minutes under the hull in an underwater air pocket.
1986:  The first four albums by the Monkees amazingly re-entered the Top 200 albums chart.








1990:  Mariah Cary reached #1 on the R&B chart with her first single "Vision Of Love".
1992:  Ray Charles sang "America The Beautiful" at the opening of the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.












1995:  The funeral of Jerry Garcia was held in Belvedere, California.
1996:  Mel Taylor, famous drummer of the Ventures ("Hawai'i Five-O" and "Walk Don't Run"), died of lung cancer at the age of 62.  (Note:  some websites claim he was 63 when he died, but Mel was 62.  Although some articles report he was 63, all sources agree that he was born September 24, 1933, which made him 62 at the date of his death.  Some sites say he died in Los Angeles, but he died at the Tarzana Medical Center, which is in Tarzana, California, not Los Angeles, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1999:  KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 
2003:  Kelly Rowland and Nelly had the #1 song with "Dilemma".
2003:  S.W.A.T. starring LL Cool J was the #1 movie of the week.

2005:  The Eagles performed at Harrah's Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
2005:  Was there anything to challenge it?  "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey was #1 for an 11th week with not one song worthy of taking over #1.




Born This Day:
1942:  Michael Hugg, drummer and a founding member of Manfred Mann, was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England.  (Note:  some websites report Hugg was born in Andover, Hampshire, England.  According to the book Then, Now and Rare British Beat 1960-1969 by Terry Rawlings,  Michael was born in Gosport.)
1942:  Guy Villari, lead singer of the Regents, was born in the Bronx, New York.  (Note:  some websites say he was born in New York City, but according to 'Billboard' magazine, Guy was born in the Bronx.)

1943:  Kenny Gamble, who wrote so many great hits with Leon Huff, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1943:  Denis Payton, saxophone player of the Dave Clark Five, was born in Walthamstow, Essex, England; died December 17, 2006 of cancer in Bournemouth  Dorset, England.  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say that Payton was born in Walthamstow, London.  London did not become the county of Walthamstow until 1974, long after Payton's birth.  At the time Denis was born, Walthamstow was included in the county of Essex.)
1943:  Jim Kale, bass guitarist of the Guess Who, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1949:  Eric Carmen of the Raspberries and a great solo star, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1952:  Erik Braunn, guitarist of Iron Butterfly, was born in Pekin, Illinois; died July 25, 2003. (Note:  some websites claim Braunn died of a Myocardial infection, and some say he died July 26 or July 28.  He died on Friday, July 25, 2003 of cardiac arrest, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times')

1954:  Joe Jackson was born in Burton-on-Trent, England.
1954:  Bryan Bassett, guitarist of Foghat, Molly Hatchet and Wild Cherry, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1957:  Richie Ramone (real name Richard Reinhardt), drummer of the Ramones, was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
1968:  Charlie Sexton, singer, songwriter and guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band, a session musician for Don Henley and others and a solo performer ("Beats So Lonely"), was born in San Antonio, Texas.
1970:  Andy Bell, who joined Oasis in 1999, was born in Cardiff, Wales.
1976:  Ben Gibbard, singer for Death Cab for Cutie, was born in Bremerton, Washington.
1978:  Chris Kelly of Kriss Kross was born in Atlanta, Georgia; died May 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia from drugs.

This Date in Rock Music History: August 10

1954:  Elvis Presley sang his new song "That's Alright Mama" at Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee.




1959:  Brook Benton had the top R&B song with "Thank You Pretty Baby".
1959:  Elvis Presley moved to #1 with his 37th hit, "A Big Hunk O' Love".
1961:  14-year-old Helen Shapiro became the youngest person to reach #1 in the U.K. with "You Don't Know".
1963:  Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Searchers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes were on the 100th edition of Thank Your Lucky Stars on BBC-TV.
1963:  The Rolling Stones, Acker Bilk and Long John Baldry were all at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, Surrey, England.  Sounds like they couldn't find enough jazz artists to perform.








1963:  Peter, Paul & Mary were at #1 for a second week with "Blowin' In The Wind".
1967:  Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho performed before the largest crowd in the 115-year history of the Illinois State Fair (27,000).
1968:  The Dells rose to #1 on the R&B chart with "Stay In My Corner".

 

1968:  The annual National Jazz & Blues Festival had some snags after being held the previous two years in Windsor--among them, the Windsor Borough Council refused to grant a dancing license.  Finally, the Festival was moved to the  Kempton Park Race Course in Sunbury-On-Thames, England, and it was an amazing event.  Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, T. Rex, Ten Years After, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and the Nice performed on the second day.
1968:  Tom Jones rose to the top of the U.K. Album chart with Delilah.









1968:  "This Guy's In Love with You" by Herb Alpert remained #1 for a 10th week on the Easy Listening chart.
1969:  The three-day National Jazz and Blues Festival, this time held in Sussex, England, concluded with The Nice, Pentangle, and Long John Baldry among the performers.











1970:  Neil Diamond released the single "Cracklin' Rosie".













1970:  Elvis Presley began performing at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1970:  Simon & Garfunkel dominated the U.K. Album chart with Bridge Over Troubled Water.  The Beatles were at #2 with Let It Be while Bob Dylan had the #3 album Self Portrait.










1974:  Roberta Flack topped the Easy Listening chart with "Feel Like Makin' Love".










                                                                     Saluting Blue Magic's Top 10 hit...

1974:  Roberta Flack moved to #1 with "Feel Like Makin' Love", holding off Paper Lace and "The Night Chicago Died" for the moment.  John Denver's #1 "Annie's Song" was at #3 followed by Elton John with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dave Loggins with "Please Come To Boston", Chicago's "Call On Me", ABBA's first hit "Waterloo" entering the Top 10, Blue Magic with "Sideshow", Jim Stafford and "Wildwood Weed" and Rufus moving from 19 to 10 with "Tell Me Something Good".









1974:  John Denver took over from Elton John's Caribou with Back Home Again, the new #1 album.  Bob Dylan & the Band had Before the Flood, 461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton was #4 and Loggins & Messina had #5 with On Stage.  The rest of the Top 10:  Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, Journey to the Center of the Earth by Rick Wakeman, Tres Hombres by ZZ Top, Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic at #9 and Paul McCartney & Wings were at #10 after 34 weeks with Band on the Run.
1975:  Manhattan Transfer got their own summer variety show which debuted on CBS-TV.










1976:  Elton John sold out 10 concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and opened the first show on this date.  He grossed $1.25 million to break the previous record at the venue.
1979:  Michael Jackson released the album Off the Wall on Epic Records.
1982:  Frank Zappa and Moon Unit Zappa performed "Valley Girl" on Late Night with David Letterman.
1982:  Queen performed at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.
1983:  Kajagoogoo ("Too Shy" from 1983) fired lead singer Limahl, who began a solo career.
1985:  Michael Jackson took the advice of Paul McCartney and invested $47.5 million in the ATV catalog which contained 251 songs written by McCartney and John Lennon as well as songs by Pat Benatar, the Pretenders, and others.  Jackson made the purchase along with record company executive David Geffen, John Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine, and John Branca, who has handled the finances of scores of groups including the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys.  McCartney had advised him to invest in music publishing a few years earlier, not knowing that Jackson would end up owning the Beatles' songs.  McCartney and Lennon had lost the rights to their songs in 1968 through bad business dealings.  McCartney had considered buying the rights back but thought the asking price too much.  By the way, the ATV catalog, which Jackson sold back to Sony in 2008, is now worth over one billion dollars.  (Note:  some websites say Jackson acquired the rights on August 14, but the correct date is August 10, according to the book 'Michael Jackson in Memoriam' by Javier Fisac Seco.  Some websites say that Jackson outbid McCartney for the rights.  McCartney and Lennon lost the rights to the Northern Songs catalog after manager Brian Epstein died in 1967.  Dick James, the co-owner with Epstein, decided to sell his share in 1968.  Lennon and McCartney tried to buy the rights at that time but failed.  McCartney and Ono (Lennon's widow) had been offered the catalog in 1981 for $40 million, but Yoko thought the two could get the catalog for $20 million and thus McCartney let the bid fall through.  McCartney was not among the bidders in 1985 when Jackson won the rights, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.  Some websites also claim Jackson sold the rights to the Beatles' songs in 2008.  This isn't true either.  While the ATV catalog was merged with Sony in 2008, Jackson retained a one-half ownership in the ATV catalog in which his heirs still own, according to 'Forbes' magazine.)1985:  Paul Young led the way on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Everytime You Go Away".








1985:  After 38 weeks, Reckless by Bryan Adams reached #1 on the Album chart.  Tears for Fears were second with Songs from the Big Chair and Phil Collins held fast at #3 with No Jacket Required.  Sting had #4--The Dream of the Blue Turtles while Bruce Springsteen was #5 with Born in the U.S.A.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Power Station with their debut, Motley Crue with Theatre of Pain at #7, Prince & the Revolution had #8 with Around the World in a Day, Ratt was stuck at 9 with Invasion of Your Privacy and Dire Straits entered the Top 10 with Brothers in Arms.
1987:  Wilson Pickett was found guilty of possessing a shotgun with intent to endanger life in a New Jersey court.
1992:  Def Leppard began an extensive tour at Madison Square Garden.
1993:  The Dave Matthews Band played at The Flood Zone in Richmond, Virginia.  Two of the songs at the performance were included on the album Remember Two Things.
1994:  The Eagles were at the Great Woods Performing Arts Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts.  (Note:  some websites say the concert was in Boston, but the Performing Arts Center is located in Mansfield, about 35 miles from Boston.)






1995:  Van Halen appeared on Late Night with David Letterman.
1995:  Jimmy Buffett was the musical act for United States President Bill Clinton's birthday celebration at the White House.
1999:  Oasis announced that rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs was leaving the group.
2004:  Esquire Magazine named Andre 3000 of OutKast the Best Dressed Man.  (Note:  some websites report the news occurred on August 11, but the story first appeared in 'The Village Voice' on August 10.
2004:  Rick Fox of the Los Angeles Lakers filed for divorce from Vanessa Williams.
2006:  Barbara George "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" from 1961) died of a lung infection in Chauvin, Louisiana at the age of 63.
2008:  Isaac Hayes, singer-songwriter most noted for the #1 song "Theme From 'Shaft'" died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 65.








2010:  Olivia Newton-John was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia by the Governor-General in Canberra.




Born This Day:
1909:  Leo Fender, inventor of that great guitar, was born in Anaheim, California; died March 21, 1991 in Fullerton, California from complications of Parkinson's disease.





1928:  Jimmy Dean ("Big Bad John") was born in Olton, Texas; died of natural causes June 13, 2010 in Varina, Virginia.  (Note:  some websites claim Jimmy (real name:  Seth Ward) was born in Plain View, Texas, Plainview, Texas or Olton, Texas.  According to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', Jimmy was born in Olton and was raised in Plainview.  There is no such city as Plain View in Texas.)
1928:  Eddie Fisher was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died September 22, 2010 from complications of hip surgery in Berkeley, California.











1940:  Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; died November 5, 2003 of a heart attack brought on by cocaine.
1940:  Michael "Tunes" Antunes, saxophonist of John Cafferty's Beaver Brown Band
1940:  Daddy Dewdrop (real name Richard Monda), who gave us "Chick-A-Boom" in 1971, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.








1943:  Ronnie Spector was born in New York City.
1943:  James Griffin of Bread was born in Cincinnati, Ohio; died of cancer January 11, 2005 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee.  (Note:  the magazine 'Rolling Stone' reports he was born in Memphis, Tennessee.  According to the much more reliable 'Billboard', Griffin was born in Cincinnati and moved to Memphis.)
1945:  Larry Larden of Every Mother's Son
1947:  Ian Anderson, lead singer, songwriter and flautist of Jethro Tull, was born in Dunfermline, Fife, United Kingdom.  (Note:  some websites claim he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  According to the book 'Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play:  Inside Two Long Songs' by Tim Smolko, Anderson was born in Dunfermline, then lived in Edinburgh.)1948:  Patti Austin (The #1 song "Baby, Come To Me" with James Ingram) was born in New York City.
1949:  Andy Cresswell-Davis, singer, guitarist and keyboardist of the Korgis ("Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"), was born in Yatton, Somerset, England.
1959:  Mark Price, drummer for All About Eve who also worked with the Cure and Right Said Fred, was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England.
1961:  Jon Farriss, drummer of INXS, was born in Perth, Western Australia.
1962:  Julia Fordham, backing singer for Kim Wilde, was born in Portsmouth, England.
1967:  Lorraine Pearson of 5 Star was born in Romford, Essex, England.  (Note:  some websites report that Lorraine was born in Wembley, England.  According to the book 'The Encyclopedia of Popular Music' by Colin Larkin, Pearson was born in Romford.  The town is now included in the county of London, but that change did not occur until after Pearson was born.)
 1968:  Michael Bivins of New Edition and later Bell Biv Devoe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.