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Events for this day
- Baroque composer Nicola Antonio Porpora was born.
- 138 singing teachers traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the first music convention.
- Austrian musicologist Leopold Nowak was born.
- American trumpeter, bandleader and arranger Larry Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York.
- The historical events surrounding Leo Frank, who was abducted from prison and subsequently lynched, later inspired the creation of the musical Parade.
- The Original Dixieland Jass Band, shortly after changing the name “Jass” to “Jazz”, made the first recording of the song “Tiger Rag”.
- Jazz singer Frieda Lipschitz, known professionally as Georgia Gibbs, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She became famous for hits such as “Kiss of Fire”, “Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower)” and “If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake”.
- Jazz saxophonist Irv Williams was born.
- American saxophonist, studio musician and bandleader Floyd Newman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was closely associated with Stax Records and the groups The Mar-Keys and Memphis Horns and also worked with B. B. King.
- Pop singer Max Dinning, known professionally as Mark Dinning, was born in Manchester, Oklahoma. He became famous for the hit “Teen Angel”, which reached No. 1 on the chart.
- Blues legend Robert Johnson, whose recordings had a major influence on artists including Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton, died at the age of 27, probably from poisoning.
- The film The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York. Judy Garland became famous through the film, notably for the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
- American musician and drummer John Seiter was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He became known as a member of Spanky and Our Gang and The Turtles.
- American guitarist, singer and songwriter Gary Talley was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He became known as a founding member and lead guitarist of The Box Tops and also performed with Big Star.
- Drummer Thomas “Sib” Hashian was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became known as a member of the rock band Boston.
- The Weavers reached No. 1 on the chart with the song “Goodnight Irene”.
- Nat King Cole recorded the original mono version of the song “Unforgettable” at Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood. He re-recorded it in stereo in 1961, and this version was used in 1991 for an electronic duet with his daughter Natalie Cole.
- British singer, musician, co-founder and frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners Kevin Rowland was born in Wednesfield, England.
- English multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Colin Moulding was born in Swindon. He became known as a member of XTC.
- Elvis Presley released the single “I Forgot to Remember to Forget / Mystery Train”, which later became his first No. 1 hit. It remained at the top of the country chart for five weeks.
- Debbie Reynolds reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart with the song “Tammy” from the film Tammy and the Bachelor. The song received a gold record and became the year's best-selling single. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to “All the Way” from The Joker Is Wild.
- Belinda Carlisle, co-founder and lead singer of The Go-Go's, was born in Los Angeles, California. She also became famous for solo hits such as “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”.
- Elvis Presley was given leave in Memphis during his military service and visited his mother's grave.
- Elvis Presley had the song “A Big Hunk O’ Love” at No. 1 on the chart for a second consecutive week, bringing his career total to 60 weeks at the top.
- Miles Davis released the album Kind of Blue, one of the most influential jazz albums in history. John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley also participated in the recording, and the album had a major influence on the subsequent development of jazz.
- The Beatles performed under this name for the first time at the Indra Club on Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg. It was the first of a total of 48 nights during their first Hamburg engagement. Club owner Bruno Koschmider demanded “Mach Shau”, meaning a proper show, which led to their wild stage performances.
- American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Gilbert “Gilby” Clarke was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is best known for his three-year stint as rhythm guitarist with Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin from 1991 to 1993.
- Andy Williams became the first artist to reach No. 1 on the newly created US Billboard 200, doing so with his eleventh studio album, Days of Wine and Roses.
- The song “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Peter, Paul & Mary remained at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week.
- Elvis Presley had a private meeting with Colonel Parker concerning Larry Geller.
- Singer and songwriter Maria McKee was born in Los Angeles, California. She became known as a member of Lone Justice and later pursued a solo career.
- Drummer Steve Gorman, a founding member of The Black Crowes, was born in Muskegon, Michigan. His time with the group ended in 2015, and in 2019 he published his autobiography, Hard to Handle.
- The Byrds cancelled their concert at the Guildhall in Portsmouth after only 250 of 4,000 tickets were sold. Their British tour was plagued by problems, including a legal dispute with the British group The Birds over the name.
- Singer and bassist Jill Cunniff, a member of the alternative group Luscious Jackson, was born in New York.
- American DJ, radio host and music producer Calvin LeBrun, known as Mister Cee, was born. He worked as an associate and executive producer on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album Ready to Die.
- The Beatles played two concerts at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto during their final concert tour. The afternoon performance was attended by 15,000 people and the evening performance by 17,000. The opening acts were The McCoys, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle and The Ronettes.
- At a press conference in Toronto, The Beatles supported Americans refusing military service who were moving to Canada and expressed their opposition to war and killing for any reason.
- The Monkees released their debut single “Last Train to Clarksville”, which soon became a major summer hit.
- Gary Puckett and the Union Gap recorded the song “Woman, Woman” at Columbia Studios in Hollywood. It later reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Cashbox chart and earned a gold record for sales of one million copies.
- Herman's Hermits, Neil Diamond and The Who performed at Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- The Who's manager Kit Lambert was at Columbia Recording Studios in Hollywood mixing mono versions of “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand”, “Summertime Blues”, “Someone’s Coming” and “Relax”.
- Cream's album Wheels of Fire remained at No. 1 on the US album chart for a second week.
- Deep Purple's song “Hush” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 83. It was recorded in just two takes and climbed to No. 4 five weeks later, becoming the group's first of eight hits on the chart.
- Simon & Garfunkel reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their fourth studio album, Bookends. The album also reached No. 1 in the United States.
- The Doors achieved significant chart success: their album Waiting for the Sun began a four-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, while the song “Hello, I Love You” was named America's best-selling single by Cashbox. After allegations of plagiarism, British courts ruled that the song had been taken from The Kinks' “All Day and All of the Night”, and the British songwriting royalties went to Ray Davies.
- The Rascals reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with the song “People Got to Be Free”, beginning a five-week run at the top. The song later received a gold record and sold more than four million copies. It was inspired by the group's unpleasant experience with Florida racists who threatened them because of their long hair.
- The third and final day of the Woodstock music festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Among the performers were Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Johnny Winter and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the fences and barriers were breached, the organizers announced that the concert would be free.
- Singer, songwriter, rapper and producer Donald “Donnie” Wahlberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became known as a founding member of New Kids on the Block.
- Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in the evening Dinner Show at 8:15 p.m., followed by the Midnight Show. Both performances were attended by approximately 2,200 people.
- Elvis Presley's television special was rebroadcast on NBC-TV. The song “Blue Christmas” was cut and replaced with “Tiger Man”.
- Rapper and producer Kelvin Mercer, also known as Posdnuos or Pos, was born in New York. He is a co-founder of the hip-hop trio De La Soul.
- Led Zeppelin performed at the Oakland Musical Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut, during their North American tour.
- During The Who's performance at Woodstock, Pete Townshend pushed activist Abbie Hoffman off the stage after he attempted to make a political statement. Townshend later said that at the time he did not know it was Hoffman.
- Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in the evening Dinner Show, followed by the Midnight Show, as part of his Vegas Season 3 engagement. Both performances were attended by approximately 2,200 people.
- Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac as the group's first female member.
- Led Zeppelin performed at Hampton Roads Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The concert had originally been scheduled for August 10.
- Simon & Garfunkel's album Bridge Over Troubled Water was at No. 1 on the UK chart. It spent a total of 33 weeks at the top and won six Grammy Awards.
- The Band released their third album, Stage Fright. The songs reflected the pressure that began to affect the group following the success of their previous two albums. The title track, sung by Rick Danko, was inspired by Robbie Robertson's experiences with stage fright during the band's early days of performing.
- Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in the evening Dinner Show, followed by the Midnight Show. Both performances were attended by approximately 2,200 people.
- The Allman Brothers Band performed at Boston Common in Boston. Duane Allman played slide guitar on “Soul Serenade” as a tribute to King Curtis, who had died four days earlier. J. Geils joined them for “Stormy Monday”, and Wet Willie performed as the opening act.
- Deep Purple played the last of three concerts at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Recordings from these performances were used on the live album Made in Japan.
- Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in the evening Dinner Show, followed by the Midnight Show. Both performances were attended by approximately 2,200 people.
- Gladys Knight was a contestant on the television show The Dating Game.
- Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in the evening Dinner Show, followed by the Midnight Show. Both performances were attended by approximately 2,200 people.
- KISS performed at The Daisy club in Amityville, New York.
- The Temptations singer and choreographer Paul Williams died at the age of 34 from a gunshot wound that was officially ruled a suicide, although his relatives disputed the circumstances. Health problems had forced him to leave the group in 1971, but he continued to oversee its choreography.
- Aerosmith performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.
- Eric Clapton reached No. 1 on the US album chart for the first time as a solo artist with the album “461 Ocean Boulevard”, which began a four-week run at the top. The album also reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom, while the single “I Shot the Sheriff” reached the Top 10 in nine countries and became Clapton's only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Paper Lace reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with the song “The Night Chicago Died”, where it remained for one week. The song also reached No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand and reached the Top 3 in the United Kingdom and Canada. The band's manager subsequently contacted Chicago mayor Richard Daley seeking a ceremonial reception but received a very dismissive response.
- The Three Degrees began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with the song “When Will I See You Again”. The group initially did not particularly like the song, but changed their minds after its international success.
- Keyboardist Patrick Moraz was hired as a replacement for Rick Wakeman in Yes. He remained for three years and appeared only on the album Relayer before Wakeman returned for the album Going for the One.
- Blue Öyster Cult performed at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
- Peter Gabriel left Genesis to pursue a solo career.
- The Stylistics reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)” and No. 1 on the UK album chart with the compilation The Best of The Stylistics.
- Cliff Richard became one of the first Western artists to perform behind the Iron Curtain when he gave a concert in Leningrad in what was then the Soviet Union.
- The British punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue was published for the first time. The first issues had a circulation of approximately 50 copies, which later grew to 15,000. Publisher Mark Perry ended the magazine in September 1977 out of concern that it would be absorbed by the mainstream music press.
- Yes performed at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
- Singer Claire Richards, a member of the British dance-pop group Steps, was born.
- Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock 'n' Roll”, died at the age of 42 in Memphis.
- Rush headlined at the RKO Orpheum Theatre in Davenport, Iowa.
- Finnish singer Tarja Turunen was born.
- The Police played their first concert without original guitarist Henri Padovani at Rebecca's Club in Birmingham.
- The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg, Keith Richards' partner, was linked to an alleged group of witches in South Salem, New York, where Richards owned a house. The police officer investigating the case said he was attacked by a group of people in black cloaks who tried to lure him into taking part in a ritual and sexual orgies. Local residents also claimed that ritual objects and small animals believed to have been sacrificed during ceremonies had been found near the house.
- John Lennon and Bob Dylan were associated with the documentary Eat the Document, which was broadcast on PBS. The film contained footage from Dylan's 1966 British tour.
- Grateful Dead performed at the Municipal Auditorium Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
- At the Toledo Speedway Jam II concert in Toledo, Ohio, ZZ Top were the headliners, while AC/DC, Sammy Hagar and Humble Pie were among the other performers. For AC/DC, it was their final appearance as an opening act until 2003, when they opened for The Rolling Stones.
- ZZ Top performed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
- David Bowie performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona.
- American composer and lyricist Ira Gershwin died.
- Prince released the song “Delirious”.
- Bruce Springsteen performed at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
- During the opening night of his Breaking Hearts tour, Elton John announced that he was retiring from touring.
- Mötley Crüe performed at the Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donington, England, for the first time.
- On the US album chart, Bryan Adams' Reckless led Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears and Phil Collins' No Jacket Required. Sting and Bruce Springsteen were also in the Top 5.
- The song “Shout” by Tears for Fears remained at No. 1 on the US singles chart for a third week.
- Madonna's album True Blue and the single “Papa Don't Preach” reached No. 1 on the US charts, reinforcing her status as a pop icon.
- Drummer Rick Allen played his first concert with Def Leppard after returning to the band following the car accident in which he lost his left arm.
- Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. concluded their Together Forever tour with a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Run-D.M.C. urged fans to stay in school and avoid drugs, while Beastie Boys performed with dancers in cages and beer.
- One of the busiest studio drummers of the 20th century, Gary Chester died of cancer at the age of 62. During his career, he took part in more than 15,000 studio recording sessions and played on thousands of recordings, including with The Coasters and The Monkees and on songs such as “Sixteen Candles”, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Under the Boardwalk”, “Walk On By” and “It's My Party”.
- Tom Waits released the album Franks Wild Years on Island Records. The album reached No. 115 in the United States and No. 14 in Switzerland.
- Rapper Joyner Lucas, whose real name is Gary Maurice Lucas Jr., was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.
- Eagles drummer Don Henley expressed his dissatisfaction with Joe Walsh playing the song “Life in the Fast Lane” during his tour with Ringo Starr. Henley stated that Walsh had written only a short guitar riff at the beginning of the song.
- Singer and actress Pearl Bailey died in Philadelphia at the age of 72 from arteriosclerotic coronary artery disease. In 1952, she had a Top 10 hit with the song “Takes Two to Tango”.
- The film Wild at Heart was released in North America. Nicolas Cage portrayed a character who was partly inspired by Elvis Presley.
- Nirvana filmed the music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at GMT Studios in Culver City, California. The video was conceived as a chaotic school rally at “Anarchy High School” and featured real Nirvana fans recruited at a concert two days earlier. The filming cost less than $50,000, and the video became a major MTV hit that helped Nirvana break into the mainstream.
- Exodus released their fifth studio album, Force of Habit.
- Wayne Newton filed for bankruptcy, stating that he owed approximately $20 million. Much of the debt was related to his lawsuit against NBC for defamation. By 1999, he had recovered financially.
- Jeff Buckley performed at the Sin-é café in New York. Several months later, recordings from this performance became his first released material in the form of the EP Live at Sin-é.
- Los Angeles police began investigating allegations of child abuse made against Michael Jackson. No criminal charges were ultimately filed, and the civil lawsuit was settled out of court in January 1994.
- Type O Negative released their fifth studio album, Bloody Kisses, one of the few gothic metal albums to receive platinum certification.
- Singer and songwriter Phoebe Bridgers was born in Pasadena, California. Before beginning her solo career and forming the group boygenius with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, she appeared in television commercials.
- Security staff carried Courtney Love off the stage during the final concert of the Lollapalooza tour in Mountain View, California, after she began arguing with fans of Hole because she felt they were not showing enough support.
- Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode attempted suicide in Los Angeles. He was hospitalized and recovered.
- Microsoft purchased the rights to The Rolling Stones' 1981 song “Start Me Up” to use it as the theme song for an advertising campaign marking the launch of Windows 95.
- Hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest reached No. 1 on the US album chart with their fourth studio album, Beats, Rhymes and Life.
- On the US album chart, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill was at No. 2, Celine Dion's Falling Into You was at No. 2, Metallica's Load was at No. 8, and No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom was at No. 9.
- The ENIT festival, organized by Perry Farrell after his split from Lollapalooza, began in Holmdel, New Jersey, with Porno For Pyros as the headliners. The festival was among the first events to sell tickets online, but only four concerts took place because of poor organization.
- On the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, fans gathered in Memphis for a ten-minute vigil at his gravesite.
- A pair of Elvis Presley's black underwear was stolen from the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Los Angeles. The thief reportedly reached the exhibit through the plexiglass barrier or with the aid of a tool during opening hours.
- The Hank Snow Country Music Centre, dedicated to local country music legend Hank Snow, opened in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
- Will Smith began a four-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Men in Black”, the title song from the film Men in Black.
- Former Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir appeared in court in Edinburgh on charges of possessing child pornography and drugs. He denied the charges and was later sentenced to 300 hours of community service.
- Irish rock musician Elijah Hewson, son of U2 singer Bono, was born in Dublin. He later founded the band Inhaler.
- Led Zeppelin topped the chart of British artists with the largest number of bootleg recordings. The British Phonographic Industry recorded 384 bootleg titles featuring their performances. The Beatles were second with 320 titles.
- Alan Caddy, guitarist with The Tornados, who had the 1962 hit “Telstar”, died. He also contributed to early British rock arrangements.
- Alanis Morissette, Nickelback, Elvis Costello, Rihanna and The Chemical Brothers were among the main acts at V Festival 2002 in England.
- Bruce Springsteen reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with his twelfth studio album, The Rising. The album also reached No. 1 in eleven other countries, including the United Kingdom.
- Darius reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with the song “Colourblind”. He became the third finalist from Pop Idol to achieve a UK No. 1 single.
- Several hours before murdering his wife, Justin Barber downloaded the Guns N' Roses song “Used to Love Her”. The song was later used as evidence in court, and Barber was sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their eighth studio album, By the Way. The album reached No. 1 in a total of eighteen countries.
- Rapper The Kid Laroi, whose real name is Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, was born in Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia.
- After thirteen years, General Motors stopped using Bob Seger's song “Like A Rock” in advertisements for the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
- Dan Fogelberg announced that he had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, and cancelled 16 concerts on his tour because of treatment. The singer of “Longer” and “Leader of the Band” died in 2007.
- A report highlighted the growth of concert ticket scalpers on eBay. Examples included tickets for Madonna's concert at Wembley, whose price increased from £150 to £350, and two tickets for The White Stripes, whose original value of £90 increased to £130.
- Jerry Schilling published the book Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley about his lifelong friendship with Elvis Presley.
- Spiral Starecase keyboardist Harvey Kaye, who can be heard on their 1969 hit “More Today Than Yesterday”, died of a heart attack five days before his 70th birthday.
- Jackson Browne sued US presidential candidate John McCain over the unauthorized use of the song “Running on Empty” in a campaign advertisement. Browne claimed that the use of the song violated copyright and could create the impression that McCain supported him.
- Katy Perry began a five-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with her debut single “I Kissed a Girl”.
- Sugarland's album Love on the Inside reached No. 1 on the US album chart.
- An arrest warrant was issued for singer Bobby Brown after he failed to appear at a court hearing concerning child support. According to the court, he owed approximately $45,000.
- A thief in New Zealand reserved a copy of Pink Floyd's album The Wall at a record store in Christchurch, left his name and telephone number, and subsequently robbed the store.
- Katy Perry reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and became only the second female artist to have five No. 1 singles from the same album, Teenage Dream.
- The California Supreme Court unanimously declined to review music producer Phil Spector's murder conviction. Spector was serving a sentence of 19 years to life for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.
- Three members of the Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison for performing in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where they protested the support for Vladimir Putin by an Orthodox Church official.
- Slipknot organized the first Knotfest in Council Bluffs, Iowa, combining live music with amusement park attractions. Deftones and Lamb Of God were among the performers.
- The film Sparkle, in which Jordin Sparks portrayed an aspiring singer and Whitney Houston played her mother, was released in theaters. It was Whitney Houston's final film.
- Miley Cyrus reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with the song “We Can't Stop”.
- Robin Thicke reached No. 1 on the US album chart with his sixth studio album, Blurred Lines. The album also reached No. 1 in Canada, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers reached No. 1 on the US album chart with their final studio album, Hypnotic Eye.
- The television show Catfish: The TV Show featured Spencer Morrill, who claimed to have been in an online relationship with Katy Perry for six years and had even made a ring from a family heirloom.
- Paul McCartney signed a worldwide recording agreement with Capitol Records and returned his solo catalog of original master recordings to the label associated with the US releases of the Beatles' recordings.
- Calvin Harris' song “Feels”, featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean, reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.
- Ed Sheeran began a three-week run at No. 1 on the UK album chart with his third studio album, ÷ (Divide).
- Forty years after his death, Elvis Presley reached No. 2 on the UK Official Albums Chart with the album “50 Greatest Hits”. It was his 52nd album to reach the UK Top 10. Glenn Campbell's final studio album, “Adios”, was at No. 3.
- The 2017 Elvis Candlelight Vigil attracted an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people to Graceland.
- “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin died at the age of 76, representing a major loss to music and cultural history.
- Travis Scott was at No. 1 on the US chart with his fourth studio album, Utopia. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 and became his first album to top the UK chart.
- ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard died at the age of 77 at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, in the presence of his family. During his 56-year career, he appeared on all 15 of the band's studio albums, from ZZ Top's First Album in 1971 to La Futura in 2012. His death left Billy Gibbons as the last surviving member of ZZ Top's classic lineup.