Music History

Elvis Presley Enterprises announced plans for a major redevelopment of the Graceland complex, including a new visitor center, hotel, and modern multimedia exhibits.

Keith Richards signed a deal to write his autobiography, which was later published under the title Life.

Brian May submitted his doctoral thesis in astronomy to Imperial College London. The research focused on radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud. He completed the doctorate 36 years after putting his studies on hold to pursue his music career with Queen.

DNA testing of people claiming to be James Brown’s children showed that at least two of them were indeed his children.

Lee Hazlewood, American singer, songwriter, and producer known in part for his work with Nancy Sinatra, died at the age of 78 at his home near Las Vegas after a three-year battle with kidney cancer.

DNA testing of approximately a dozen people who claimed James Brown was their father showed that at least two of them were indeed his children.

Procter & Gamble secured a license to use The Beatles' song “All You Need Is Love” in a television advertisement for Luvs diapers.

Marilyn Manson was sued by former band member Stephen Bier, known as Madonna Wayne Gacy, who claimed that Manson owed him $20 million in profit shares. Bier also claimed that he had not been properly paid for nearly two decades with the band.

Lily Allen byla po příletu na letiště v Los Angeles zbavena amerického pracovního víza. Byla zadržena kvůli vyšetřování údajného napadení v Londýně.

Pete Doherty byl soudcem varován, že kvůli drogovým deliktům může čelit vězení nebo trestu obecně prospěšných prací.

Ron Isley ze skupiny The Isley Brothers začal vykonávat 37měsíční trest za daňové úniky. Soudce odmítl jeho žádost o zkrácení trestu kvůli zdravotním problémům a označil ho za opakovaného daňového delikventa.

Amy Winehouse overdosed on a mixture of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine after visiting several London pubs. Her hospitalization led to the cancellation of her first U.S. tour. The singer refused her record company's request that she enter rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, which inspired her hit "Rehab". She later did enter rehab, but never remained sober for long.

The American National Music Publishers' Association joined legal action against YouTube over claims that songwriters were not properly compensated for the use of their music on the platform.

Mark Marush, saxophonist with The Fabulous Wailers, died.

Amy Winehouse cancelled a series of European concerts after being admitted to University College London Hospital due to severe exhaustion. She was later discharged.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon proclaimed August 9 as the official Frank Zappa Day in the city, recognizing his musical achievements and his advocacy of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Jennifer Lopez won a lawsuit against her first husband, Ojani Noa, and was awarded $545,000. Lopez claimed that Noa had violated a previous legal agreement prohibiting him from disclosing private information about their relationship.

Jurors, lawyers and Phil Spector toured his California mansion to see for themselves the site where actress Lana Clarkson had died four years earlier. Spector was on trial for her murder. On September 26, Judge Larry Paul Fidler declared a mistrial after a deadlocked jury voted 10–2 for conviction. At the second trial, Spector was convicted on April 13, 2009, and sentenced to 19 years to life.

Anthony Wilson, the British music entrepreneur behind some of Manchester’s most successful bands, died of kidney cancer at the age of 57. He was a television presenter, co-owner of Factory Records, an artist manager, and the founder of the Haçienda and Dry Bar. In 2000, he also helped launch Music33, one of the first digital music stores.

Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls gave birth to a son, Beau, at the Portland Hospital private hospital in London. His father was her partner Jade Jones, a former member of the boy band Damage.

Laura Marling performed alongside Crystal Castles and Mystery Jets at the first Underage Festival in Victoria Park, London. The festival was open exclusively to attendees aged 13 to 17.

Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot, announced that the band had left Columbia Records. Switchfoot subsequently founded their own label, lowercase people records.

“Beautiful Girls,” the debut single by 17-year-old Sean Kingston, reached No. 1 in the US. According to the source, Kingston became the first artist born in the 1990s to have a No. 1 hit.

Amy Winehouse canceled two scheduled performances in Hamburg, where she was due to open for The Rolling Stones. She cited exhaustion as the reason; Starsailor replaced her.

The Recording Industry Association of America honored Fats Domino with the title “American Music Legend”.

The soundtrack to the film High School Musical 2 was released and reached number one on the US chart in its first week, selling approximately 615,000 copies. By the end of 2007, it became the second-best-selling album of the year, with nearly 3 million copies sold. Only Josh Groban's Christmas album Noël sold more.

Apple announced that John Lennon's complete catalog would be available on the iTunes Music Store.

At the age of 31, he released his debut album I'll Stay Me. Before that, he had found success as a songwriter in Nashville, writing songs including “Good Directions” for Billy Currington and “My Honky Tonk History” for Travis Tritt.

Sixteen of John Lennon's solo albums were made available for download through iTunes for the first time following an agreement approved by Yoko Ono. The agreement followed a long legal dispute between Apple Corps and Apple.

Rapper Common reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with his seventh studio album, Finding Forever.

Kate Nash reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with her debut studio album, Made of Bricks.

The collaboration between producer Kleerup and singer Robyn produced the single “With Every Heartbeat,” which reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.

Elvis Presley posthumously reached number one on the UK album chart with the album “The King”.

The funeral of music producer, Factory Records founder and radio presenter Tony Wilson was held at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Manchester. Peter Hook and Stephen Morris of Joy Division, the first group signed to Factory Records who later also performed in New Order, attended, along with Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder.

Brian May of Queen received a doctorate in astronomy, 36 years after beginning his doctoral work. He had put his musical career ahead of his studies but later completed his work. After a three-hour examination, he was awarded the degree, and his 48,000-word thesis was accepted.

Former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes was arrested on suspicion of racially assaulting an employee of a Thai restaurant in London’s Soho. He was released on bail pending further investigation.

Judge Rodney Melville ruled that the lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who died in a hospital after being moved to make room for Michael Jackson could not proceed in its original form. The lawsuit alleged that 73-year-old Manuela Gomez Ruiz did not receive the necessary intensive care after suffering a heart attack on the same day Jackson was admitted with flu-like symptoms during his child-abuse trial. Jackson was dismissed from the lawsuit in April 2008, and in September 2008 the family decided to voluntarily end the entire dispute with the hospital because of the stress of the lengthy legal proceedings.

Queen guitarist Brian May received a doctorate in astrophysics from London's Imperial College, 36 years after beginning his doctoral thesis. He had interrupted his studies to pursue a music career, later completing the 48,000-word thesis, which he submitted earlier in the month, and defending it during a three-hour examination.

Comedy writer Buddy Sheffield sued Disney, claiming that he had originally come up with the idea for the series “Hannah Montana” but was never paid for it. He claimed that in 2001 he had offered Disney Channel an idea for a series called “Rock and Roland” about a junior high school student who led a secret double life as a rock star.

During a routine medical examination in Gainesville, Florida, Bo Diddley complained of dizziness and nausea and was admitted to a local hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered a heart attack. He was in stable condition and was released on September 1 after recovering. Just several months earlier, he had suffered a stroke.

Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders opened Mark Lindsay's Rock And Roll Cafe in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. The restaurant closed the following year.

On the first day of the British Carling Weekend Reading Festival in Leeds and Reading, performers included Kings of Leon, Razorlight and Jimmy Eat World.

While singing his 1968 hit “Fire” on stage in Lewes, England, Arthur Brown caught fire after the characteristic foil cap he was wearing, with a small fire in the middle, ignited.

The compilation album “Elvis the King”, containing eighteen of Elvis Presley's greatest singles, reached number one on the UK chart.

Kanye West reached number one on the UK singles chart with the Grammy-winning song “Stronger”.