This Date in Rock Music History: August 20

1955:  A new singer debuted on the chart for the first time on this date.  "Maybellene" was his first hit and the man's name was Chuck Berry.
1960:  Connie Francis began her first movie Where the Boys Are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
1964:  Shirley Bassey recorded "Goldfinger" at CTS Studios in London for an upcoming James Bond movie of the same name.
1966:  "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations was #1 for the eighth week on the R&B chart.








1966:  The Supremes had a winner with "You Can't Hurry Love", which moved from #66 to #28 on this date.
1967:  A new noise reduction system for recording of both albums and tapes was developed by R. and D.W. Dolby, a modified version of the process already in use in recording studios.
1968:  Bobby Darin sold his music publishing company, TM Music, for a million dollars.
1969:  Frank Zappa disbanded the group Mothers of Invention following eight days of touring in Canada.  Apparently Zappa and his fans in Canada didn't see eye to eye for Zappa said he was ending the group because he was "tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons."  Canada, you've got your heads on straight, it's Zappa that's the goofball.

1969:  All four members of the Beatles were together in the studio for the final time as they finished recording of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".
1977:  Barbra Streisand topped the Easy Listening chart for a fourth week with "My Heart Belongs To Me".









1977:  The Emotions scored a #1 song with "Best Of My Love".  That ended three weeks at the top for Andy Gibb's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything".  Rita Coolidge was up with "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher" but Peter Frampton slipped after peaking at #2 with "I'm In You".  The Commodores were up to #5 with their great song "Easy" and Pablo Cruise came in sixth with "Whatcha' Gonna' Do?".  The rest of the Top 10:  Peter McCann with "Do You Wanna' Make Love", Crosby, Stills & Nash had their first Top 10 hit with "Just A Song Before I Go", Alice Cooper's "You And Me" sat at #9 and the Bay City Rollers remained at 10 with "You Made Me Believe In Magic".










1979:  Bob Dylan released one of the best albums of his career--Slow Train Coming on Columbia Records.
1979:  Vikki Carr married Michael Nilsson.










1979:  Donna Summer released the single "Dim All The Lights".












1983:  The Police continued to own the #1 position for the seventh week with "Every Breath You Take".  The Eurythmics remained at 2 for the third week with their biggest career hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)".  Donna Summer ("She Works Hard For The Money") and Michael Sembello ("Maniac") maintained at 3 and 4, respectively while Stevie Nicks edged up with "Stand Back".  The rest of the Top 10:  Men At Work with "It's A Mistake", Duran Duran fell with "Is There Something I Should Know", the Human League was at #8--"(Keep Feeling) Fascination", Taco reached #9 with "Puttin On The Ritz" and Culture Club had another Top 10 with "I'll Tumble 4 (sic) Ya".
1986:  Huey Lewis & the News released the album Fore!
1988:  Elton John took a turn at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with his eighth #1 AC hit--"I Don't Wanna' Go On With You Like That".








1988:  Steve Winwood continued to set the pace for the fourth week with "Roll With It", but George Michael's "Monkey' made an 8-2 move.  Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine had song #3--"1-2-3" and Elton John's 47th hit and 23rd Top 10--"I Don't Wanna' Go On With You Like That" was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Chicago scored their 43rd hit and 17th Top 10 with "I Don't Wanna' Live Without Your Love", Breathe tumbled with their former #2 "Hands To Heaven", Terence Trent D'Arby was in the eighth position with "Sign Your Name" and two outstanding songs--"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses and Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" moved into the Top 10. 
1992:  Sting married Trudi Styler.
1993:  Bob Dylan opened for Santana at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.








1994:  "I'll Make Love To You" by Boyz II Men took over the #1 slot on the R&B chart.










1994:  Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories had the #1 song "Stay (I Missed You)" for the third week but hot on their tails were Boyz II Men, who made an unbelievable jump from 31 to 2 with "I'll Make Love To You".
1996:  He didn't quite make the Inmates Run Rap Music episode today but perhaps he should have.  Snoop Doggy Dogg settled out of court with the Woldemariam family in a wrongful death suit brought against the rapper.  Their son, twenty-year-old Phillip, was shot and killed by Snoop Dogg's bodyguard from the back of a car that Snoop Dog was driving at the time.  The defendants claim it was in self-defense.
1999:  Bobby Sheehan, bass guitarist of Blues Traveler, was found dead in his apartment in New Orleans, Louisiana at age 31.
2001:  The Foo Fighters had to cancel the remaining three dates of a European tour when drummer Taylor Hawkins was hospitalized.
2003:  Olivia Newton-John postponed her tour to be with her dying 92-year-old mother in Australia.







2009:  Larry Knechtel, the talented keyboardist of Bread, died of a heart attack in Yakima, Washington at age 69.  Knechtel arranged the song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for Simon & Garfunkel and was in much demand as a session musician, playing for Neil Diamond, the Beach Boys, the Doors, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Randy Newman and the Dixie Chicks.








2010:  The Eagles released the single "How Long".
2010:  A section of Interstate Highway 40 outside Memphis, Tennessee was named the "Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway" by the state of Tennessee on what would have been his 68th birthday.
2011:  Ross Barbour, a founding member of the Four Freshmen, died of lung cancer in Simi Valley, California at the age of 82.
2012:  John Stockfish, bassist who worked with Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce and Dan Hill, died of natural causes at age 69 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Born This Day:
1923:  Jim Reeves ("Four Walls" and "He'll Have To Go") was born in Galloway, Texas; died July 31, 1964 in Davidson County, Tennessee when his single-engine plane (it's always those) crashed in thick fog.  (Note:  'Billboard', the Country Music Hall of Fame, and others incorrectly list Reeves birth year as 1924.  According to the official website operated by his son and the book 'The History of Texas Music' by Gary Hartman, Jim was born in 1923.)
1931:  Paul Robi of the great group the Platters was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; died of pancreatic cancer February 1, 1989 in Los Angeles.
1934:  Sneaky Pete Kleinow, pedal steel guitarist for the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Lemonheads and many others, was born in South Bend, Indiana; died January 6, 2007 in Petaluma, California after living with Alzheimer's disease since 2006.
1940:  Paul Lantree of the Honeycombs was born in Newbury, Berkshire, England.
1942:  Isaac Hayes ("Theme From 'Shaft'" from 1971) was born in Covington, Tennessee; died August 10, 2008 after collapsing in his home east of Memphis from a stroke.
1946:  Ralf Hutter of Krafwerk ("Autobahn" from 1975) was born in Krefeld, Germany.

1947:  James Pankow, famous trombonist of Chicago, was born in St. Louis, Missouri.











1948:  Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin, a member of the Honeydrippers, and a solo artist, was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say he was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England.  West Bromwich did not become a part of the county of West Midlands until 1974, 26 years after Plant was born.)
1949:  Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England; died January 4, 1986 of pneumonia and heart failure in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.
1952:  Doug Fieger, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Knack, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died of lung cancer February 14, 2010 in Woodland Hills, California.  (Note:  some websites say he was born in Oak Park, Michigan; he was born in Detroit and grew up in Oak Park, according to the newspaper 'The York Times'.)
1966:  Dimebag Darrell, one of the elite guitarists of the Rock Era who played with Pantera, was born in Arlington, Texas; died tragically on December 8, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus, Ohio when a man stormed the stage and began firing shots.  (Note:  'Billboard' states he was born in Dallas, but according to the book 'Handbook of Texas Music' by Laurie E. Jasinski, he was born in Arlington.)1970:  Fred Durst, lead singer of Limp Bizkit, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. (Note:  several websites report he was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.  According to 'TMZ', he was born in Jacksonville and grew up in Gastonia.)