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Events for this day
- Ray Bloch, arranger and orchestra conductor best known in part for his work on The Ed Sullivan Show, was born in Alsace-Lorraine.
- Greta Kraus, who later became a prominent Canadian harpsichordist, was born in Vienna.
- Canadian bassist Denis Harbour was born in Oka, Quebec.
- Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Les Elgart was born in New Haven, Connecticut.
- American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer Charlie Shavers was born in New York City. Early in his career, he gave 1917 as his birth year to circumvent child labor laws, which led to the incorrect year appearing in some older biographies.
- Richard Adler, Broadway lyricist and composer, was born in New York City.
- Hugh Gordon Stoker, singer with The Jordanaires, who among others backed Elvis Presley, was born in Gleason, Tennessee.
- Tony Bennett, born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, was born in Astoria, Queens, New York City.
- Arthur Wood, keyboardist for The Climax Blues Band, was born in Staffordshire, England.
- Emile Berliner, inventor of the lateral-cut gramophone record, died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78 from a heart attack.
- Kenny Hodges, bassist and singer with Spanky and Our Gang, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Jimmie Nicol, the English drummer best known for temporarily replacing Ringo Starr during The Beatles’ 1964 world tour, was born in London.
- Beverly Lee, a member of The Shirelles, was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
- John York Foley, bassist and guitarist known for his work with The Byrds, was born in White Plains, New York.
- Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, bassist for War, was born in Torrance, California.
- Johnny Graham, multi-instrumentalist with Earth, Wind & Fire, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Ian Bairnson, Scottish multi-instrumentalist and member of Pilot and The Alan Parsons Project, was born in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands.
- Randy Scruggs, American producer, songwriter, and guitarist and a four-time Grammy Award winner, was born in Nashville.
- Elvis Presley returned to the Tennessee Employment Security Office as a job seeker. He expressed an interest in work involving cleaning and was referred for several job interviews.
- Elvis Presley performed at Robinson Auditorium in Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the All-Star Jamboree tour.
- Bill Haley filed a lawsuit against Dave Miller, founder of Essex Records, over unpaid royalties from earlier recordings.
- Kirk Brandon, English singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for his work with Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny, was born in London.
- Elvis Presley performed at the Olympia Theater in Miami at 3:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. He gave a total of seven performances there over the two days.
- Elvis Presley reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart with “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear.”
- Martin Atkins, English drummer known for his work with Public Image Ltd, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails, was born in Coventry.
- The Kingston Trio appeared on the cover of Life magazine under the headline “Top Sellers in Albums.” At the time, they had three million-selling LPs: “The Kingston Trio,” “At Large,” and “...from the Hungry i.”
- “A Big Hunk O' Love” became Elvis Presley’s 14th consecutive gold record.
- Eden Kane, born Richard Graham Starstedt, reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Well I Ask You.”
- Lee Rocker, born Leon Drucker, bassist for The Stray Cats, was born on Long Island, New York.
- James Hetfield, co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of Metallica, was born in Downey, California.
- The Beatles made their first appearance on the U.S. Billboard charts when “From Me to You” debuted at No. 125 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.
- The Beatles played their final concert at Liverpool’s Cavern Club. They had previously performed at the club 292 times. Tickets sold out within 30 minutes, and manager Brian Epstein limited attendance to 500 for safety reasons.
- Elvis Presley was at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “(You're the) Devil in Disguise” during the week of August 1–7.
- Allan Sherman released the single “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp).”
- The Beach Boys released “Surfer Girl,” written and produced by Brian Wilson, who regarded it as his first original composition.
- The BBC broadcast the documentary “Follow the Beatles,” which featured the group during the filming of “A Hard Day's Night.”
- Canadian fiddler Ward Allen died in Hull, Quebec, at the age of 41.
- Comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce died at the age of 40 from a morphine overdose.
- The Rolling Stones began a nine-day recording session at RCA Studios in Hollywood for the album “Between the Buttons.” The session continued through August 11.
- Skin, born Deborah Ann Dyer, singer and frontwoman of Skunk Anansie, was born in Brixton, London.
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of five consecutive nights at the Salvation club in New York City.
- The Fifth Dimension performed at Steel Pier in Atlantic City for a fee of $11,000, with the then-unknown singer Helen Reddy as their opening act.
- The first Newport Pop Festival was held on August 3–4 in Costa Mesa, California. The two-day festival attracted more than 100,000 attendees.
- Yes played their first concert at East Mersey Youth Camp in East Mersey, England.
- “Lady Willpower” by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap was at No. 1 on the Cashbox Best Sellers chart for the week ending August 3.
- Creedence Clearwater Revival released their third studio album, “Green River,” which became their first No. 1 album in the United States.
- The three-day Atlantic City Pop Festival concluded at the Atlantic City Race Track. Performers included Three Dog Night, The Moody Blues, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Canned Heat, Little Richard, and the Mothers of Invention.
- Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas at 8:15 p.m. and at midnight. Each show had a capacity of 2,200.
- Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys was charged with failing to report for the civil service he was required to perform in lieu of two years of military service.
- Stephen Carpenter, co-founder and lead guitarist of Deftones, was born in Sacramento, California.
- The film “Performance,” starring Mick Jagger, premiered in New York City, United States.
- Janis Joplin made her final television appearance.
- DJ Spinderella, born Deidra Muriel Roper, a member of Salt-N-Pepa, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
- Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group. The lineup included his wife Linda McCartney, former Moody Blues member Denny Laine, and drummer Denny Seiwell. The group did not yet have a definitive name at the time; the name Wings was chosen later.
- Ringo Starr received a gold record for “It Don't Come Easy,” which reached No. 4 in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Tamla Records released Stevie Wonder’s sixteenth studio album, “Innervisions.” The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Soul LPs chart, and later won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
- The Eagles, Jim Croce, and Ike & Tina Turner appeared on ABC’s “In Concert” at UCLA in Westwood, California.
- Bad Company’s debut album “Bad Company” reached No. 3 on the UK album chart and also reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.
- Jeff “Skunk” Baxter left Steely Dan and joined The Doobie Brothers.
- Anne Murray headlined the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, New York City, while Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and Brewer & Shipley appeared as supporting acts.
- “Feel Like Makin' Love” by Roberta Flack was at No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart.
- Labelle released the single “Lady Marmalade.”
- Elvis Presley leased a private aircraft for one year. He paid a $26,000 deposit and a monthly rental fee of $13,000.
- Elvis Presley performed at the Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
- AC/DC released “Highway to Hell,” the band’s final studio album with singer Bon Scott.
- Talking Heads released their third studio album, “Fear of Music,” on Sire Records. The album was produced by Brian Eno.
- Holly Blake Arnstein, a member of the girl group Dream, was born in Tarzana, California.
- Madonna scored her first UK No. 1 hit with “Into the Groove.”
- “Freeway of Love” by Aretha Franklin was at No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart.
- Dire Straits were at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with “Brothers in Arms.”
- The Cars reissued “Drive” following its prominent use during the televised Live Aid broadcast.
- The News of the World published an interview with 16-year-old Mandy Smith in which she openly discussed her more-than-two-year relationship with Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, saying the relationship had begun when she was 13.
- Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, “Hysteria.”
- The Rolling Stones filmed the music video for “Mixed Emotions” at Wykeham Rise Girls School in Connecticut.
- Pearl Jam performed at the RKCNDY club in Seattle. The concert was filmed, and footage from the show was used to create the music video for “Alive.”
- “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams was at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
- “Summertime” by D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was at No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart.
- The Beach Boys released their 27th studio album, “Summer in Paradise,” the band’s only studio album without any involvement from Brian Wilson.
- PolyGram purchased Motown Records from investment company Boston Ventures for $301 million.
- Sheryl Crow released her debut album, “Tuesday Night Music Club,” on A&M Records.
- The Bayside Boys remix of Los del Río’s “Macarena” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for a total of 14 weeks.
- At NASA’s request, Diamond Rio hosted a celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center.
- Patsy Cline was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Maurice Kinn, founder and publisher of the British music magazine New Musical Express, died in London at the age of 76.
- Pearl Jam played the first show of the North American leg of their Binaural Tour in Virginia Beach.
- Ron Townson, co-founder of The 5th Dimension, died at the age of 68 from kidney failure.
- Whitney Houston signed a new recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $100 million.
- After a 37-year absence, Bob Dylan returned to the Newport Folk Festival, performing a two-hour, 19-song set.
- Robbie Williams performed at Knebworth and sang “Back for Good” with Mark Owen during the show.
- Roger Daltrey performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in a production of “My Fair Lady.”
- Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Roger Voudouris died at the age of 48 after a prolonged illness of the liver.
- The Coral earned their first UK No. 1 album with “Magic and Medicine.”
- Melissa Etheridge announced that she had been cancer-free for nine months.
- Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the psychedelic rock group Love, died in Memphis at the age of 61 after battling acute myeloid leukemia.
- DNA testing of people claiming to be James Brown’s children showed that at least two of them were indeed his children.
- Kid Rock was at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “All Summer Long” in the week beginning August 3.
- Erik Darling, a member of The Rooftop Singers and The Tarriers, died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 74 from Burkitt lymphoma.
- Rick Springfield received the key to the city of Crown Point, Indiana.
- A Los Angeles judge awarded Katherine Jackson permanent custody of Michael Jackson’s three children; Debbie Rowe was granted visitation rights.
- Bobby Hebb, singer and songwriter best known for “Sunny,” died in Nashville at the age of 72 from lung cancer.
- Madonna launched her “Material Girl” fashion brand through Macy’s, targeting teenage girls. Her daughter Lourdes also helped with the project.
- The documentary “Elvis on Tour” was released on DVD.
- Stevie Wonder filed for divorce from his second wife, Kai Millard Morris, after approximately ten years of marriage; irreconcilable differences were cited as the reason.
- Nat Weiss, a lawyer and manager associated, among other things, with Beatles merchandising in the United States, died in New York City.
- Jahmene Douglas reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with his debut album “Love Never Fails.”
- Gwen Stefani filed for divorce from Gavin Rossdale.
- Ricci Martin, musician and youngest son of Dean Martin, died at the age of 62 at his home in Utah.
- Lana Del Rey reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with “Lust for Life.”
- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Despacito.”
- Travis Scott released his third studio album, “Astroworld.”
- Henri Belolo, French music producer, co-founder of The Ritchie Family and The Village People, and co-writer of many of their hits, died at the age of 82.
- British rapper Dave was at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with “We're All Alone in This Together,” in the chart week beginning August 1.