Media events
- Billboard magazine zveřejnil článek o Elvisu Presleym, v němž ho označil za nového zpěváka schopného rockovat skladby pro country i R&B publikum.
- 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.”
- Billboard published the headline „Rock and Roll Ain't Ready For The Ol' Rockin' Chair Yet“ and reported that after an earlier decline in popularity, rock'n'roll was once again gaining listeners' interest thanks to Elvis Presley, Lloyd Price, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, The Drifters and Ricky Nelson.
- Elvis Presley was photographed by Don Cravens at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for Life magazine.
- Aretha Franklin made her first appearance on the television program “American Bandstand” on August 2, 1962, performing “Don't Cry Baby” and “Try a Little Tenderness.”
- The BBC broadcast the documentary “Follow the Beatles,” which featured the group during the filming of “A Hard Day's Night.”
- The Beatles arrived in San Francisco to begin their first US tour and were welcomed by 9,000 fans. Because of the crowd, they were taken into a protected area so photographers could photograph them; however, fans pushed against the barrier and The Beatles narrowly escaped before it collapsed.
- The Beatles appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine.
- Billboard reported that guitar sales in the US and UK had risen sharply as a result of the British Invasion. Sales during the first half of the year were 40% higher than during the same period in 1963, while sales of more expensive models increased by more than 80%. The magazine also reported that guitar sales had reached their highest level since the rise of Elvis Presley.
- The controversy over John Lennon’s remark that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus Christ” spread throughout the United States. Several radio stations began boycotting the group’s music, followed by protests and record burnings.
- The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein interrupted his vacation and flew to New York for a television press conference defending John Lennon over his remark that The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.” He said Lennon's comment had been taken out of context and that Lennon had not intended to boast about the band's fame.
- In response to John Lennon's remark that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ, the South African Broadcasting Corporation banned all Beatles recordings from radio broadcasts. Sales of their records in stores remained permitted, and the ban lasted nearly five years.
- John Lennon apologized at a press conference at the Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago for his remark that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” The remark was originally published by the London Evening Standard. Lennon explained that he was talking about the intense obsession of fans with the group and that he could have mentioned television, cinema or automobiles instead—anything popular. His remark sparked protests, bans and Beatles record burnings in the US, especially among some Christian communities.
- At a press conference in Chicago, John Lennon explained his controversial remark that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and clarified that he had intended to describe the group’s influence on young people in England at the time.
- KLUE-AM radio station in Longview, Texas, held a “Beatles Bonfire” event at which Beatles records and other items were destroyed in response to John Lennon's controversial statement that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus Christ”. The following morning, lightning struck the station's transmission tower, interrupting the broadcast and knocking the news director unconscious.
- The London Catholic newspaper The Catholic Herald published an editorial calling John Lennon's recent statement that the group was “bigger than Jesus” generally accurate but “arrogant”. Meanwhile, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano accepted Lennon's public apology.
- The Beatles took the photograph for the “Abbey Road” album cover at the crossing outside the Abbey Road studios in London. Photographer Iain MacMillan took six shots, and the entire photo session lasted less than ten minutes. The photograph later became one of the most famous images in music history and also fueled speculation about Paul McCartney's alleged death.
- Charles Manson later cited The Beatles as an inspiration for his murder spree, which became one of the darkest chapters associated with the band’s history.
- The Beatles had their final professional group photo session at John Lennon's Tittenhurst Park estate.
- Janis Joplin made her final television appearance.
- New Musical Express published Roger Daltrey’s response to Pete Townshend’s interview of May 31. Daltrey responded sharply to Townshend’s comments about The Who and their performances.
- The Eagles, Jim Croce, and Ike & Tina Turner appeared on ABC’s “In Concert” at UCLA in Westwood, California.
- Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones was quoted as saying that he had stopped using drugs after a doctor told him he had six months to live.
- The Sex Pistols se poprvé objevili na titulní straně britského hudebního týdeníku Melody Maker.
- The Beach Boys became the first rock group to appear on the cover of People magazine. The photograph showed the five original members with beards and was accompanied by the headline “Still Riding The Crest, 15 Hairy Years Later.” Solo artists had appeared on the magazine's cover before.
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The photograph was taken by Annie Leibovitz, who found him tired and exhausted after only two hours of sleep. She arrived at his hotel at six in the morning to take the photograph.
- The British music magazine Sounds published letters from readers reacting to Eric Clapton's racist statement during his concert in Birmingham earlier that month. One of the letters criticized Clapton for drawing much of his music from Black music and called him the biggest colonizer of rock music. The letter also called for support of the Rock Against Racism movement, which subsequently became a major movement and organized concerts and festivals in support of tolerance.
- Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon each arrived separately at Universal Studios in Hollywood for a press launch of the new album “Who Are You”. The party was held on the set of the television series “Battlestar Galactica”.
- Bruce Springsteen appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
- Bruce Springsteen appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
- The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened the Performance Video exhibition, which featured, among others, the music videos “Mickey” by Toni Basil and “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads.
- Approximately 250 Gary Numan fans protested outside BBC Radio 1 in London, demanding more airtime for their favorite artist.
- Nike placed a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times in response to the controversy surrounding the use of The Beatles' song “Revolution” in a commercial.
- Madonna vyvolala kontroverzi mezi obyvateli svého rodného města Bay City v Michiganu, když jej v pořadu Today označila za „smelly little town“.
- A Los Angeles radio station bypassed Epic Records' strict security measures concerning master tapes and broadcast a pirated sample of Michael Jackson's song “Bad” four days before its official release. The leak did not slow the album's expected success, as pre-orders had already exceeded 2.2 million copies.
- The Rolling Stones filmed the music video for “Mixed Emotions” at Wykeham Rise Girls School in Connecticut.
- Prince released the home video “3 Chains O' Gold”.
- Natalie Merchant, former singer of 10,000 Maniacs, became the first guest of a series of live chats on the Elektra Entertainment Group website.
- Liam Gallagher failed to show up for Oasis's MTV Unplugged recording at the Royal Festival Hall in London before an audience of 400. He later watched the concert from the audience while his brother Noel took over the vocals.
- Sonny West, Red West, Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker, four prominent members of Elvis's “Memphis Mafia,” recalled Elvis in a one-time online chat.
- Genesis’s first album in six years was presented live in a special edition of the radio program Album Network and simultaneously broadcast via webcasting on www.atlantic-records.com.
- The Microsoft Network broadcast a U2 concert in Dublin over the internet.
- Hudební videoklip ke skladbě „...Baby One More Time“ od Britney Spears byl natočen na Venice High School, stejné škole, která byla využita při natáčení filmu „Grease“. Skladba se dostala na vrchol žebříčků nejméně ve 23 zemích.
- Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats, known for Live Aid, began hosting a program on London's XFM radio and during his first broadcast incorrectly announced that Ian Dury had died.
- Music by Johann Sebastian Bach was discovered in Ukraine among the musical estate of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The material had been thought to have been destroyed for more than 50 years.
- Madonna’s “Music” music video premiered.
- Enrique Iglesias and tennis star Anna Kournikova made their first public appearance as a couple at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Eminem won the Video of the Year award for "Without Me".
- NASA announced that Lance Bass, singer with *NSYNC, was set to become the first celebrity in space. His seat aboard the Russian Soyuz module was expected to cost $23.8 million, and at age 23 he was set to become the youngest person in orbit. The flight ultimately did not take place because he failed to pay the required $20 million.
- The British medical journal Thorax warned music fans that listening to loud music in a car could cause a collapsed lung. A 19-year-old man was treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed while listening loudly to music from a 1,000-watt speaker in his Fiat Panda.
- Yahoo! launched a beta version of Yahoo! Audio Search, allowing users to search more than 50 million audio files, including music, podcasts, and spoken-word content.
- Bob Dylan's song “Like a Rolling Stone” won an Uncut magazine poll of the music, films, television shows and books that changed the world.
- A survey of 560 British funeral homes found that grieving families were increasingly favoring popular music over traditional religious hymns at funerals. Among the most requested songs were “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler, “Angels” by Robbie Williams, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston and “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John.
- Two jurors who voted to acquit Michael Jackson of charges involving child sexual abuse and other offenses later said on NBC's Today show that they regretted their decision.
- Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop world.
- The Gap company hired seven artists to sing their favorite songs in an advertisement for its new fall denim collection. The commercial aired during the MTV Video Music Awards. Alanis Morissette sang Seal’s “Crazy”, while Keith Urban, Joss Stone, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, Jason Mraz, John Legend, and Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd also took part.
- Janet Jackson appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine wearing only bikini bottoms and a necklace made of large shells. She had lost a significant amount of weight shortly beforehand.
- The Times published an article about rock stars' demands while on tour. Ozzy Osbourne required a doctor specializing in the eyes, ears, nose and throat at every venue. The Beach Boys required a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and a small oxygen tank, David Bowie a dressing-room temperature between 14 and 18°C, Paul McCartney a large arrangement of Casablanca white lilies, and Mick Jagger a reading device containing the lyrics to all the songs that also reminded him of the name of the city where they were performing.
- 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.
- In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Dave Coulier said that he was the man referred to in Alanis Morissette’s song “You Oughta Know.” Morissette neither confirmed nor denied his claim.
- During his weekly radio programme on 6 Music, Bob Dylan revealed that he was in talks with several car companies about possibly becoming the voice of their satellite navigation systems.
- Rolling Stone published a 1970 interview with John Lennon in which he discussed some of the reasons for The Beatles' breakup. Lennon said that his bandmates did not respect and insulted Yoko Ono, and he also criticized his former songwriting relationship with Paul McCartney.
- An unpublished series of photographs of The Beatles by Astrid Kirchherr was exhibited at the Victoria Gallery and Museum in Liverpool, documenting their early years, their stay in Tenerife and the filming of “A Hard Day’s Night” in Liverpool in 1964.
- Forbes named Beyoncé and Jay-Z the highest-paid celebrity couple, with combined earnings of $78 million, including $40 million for Beyoncé and $38 million for Jay-Z.
- Insane Clown Posse protested against the FBI's classification of their fans, collectively known as “Juggalos,” as a criminal gang in its “2011 National Gang Threat Assessment Report.” At the annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Illinois, they announced their intention to sue the FBI. Despite this, the FBI continued to classify Juggalos as an organized gang in later years.
- Miley Cyrus's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards prompted a complaint from the American organization Parents Television Council because of its sexually suggestive nature.
- In an interview with Esquire magazine, Keith Richards harshly criticized The Beatles' “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
- In an interview with The Daily Beast, Jimmy Page said he did not expect another Led Zeppelin reunion. The last performance by the three surviving members took place in 2007 at a one-off concert at London's O2 Arena, with Jason Bonham on drums in place of his father, John Bonham.
- The first presidential playlists were released. The selection included songs by Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and John Legend.
- Aretha Franklin told Billboard.com that there was a possibility her life story could appear on Broadway. She said she would like to see a dramatic musical and felt the timing was right, especially following the success of “Jersey Boys”. The Broadway project ultimately did not happen.
- Ultimate Classic Rock published the feature “This Day in Rock History: August 28”, which recalled Bob Dylan’s meeting with The Beatles in 1964, Dylan’s first performance with Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm in 1965, Bruce Dickinson’s final concert with Iron Maiden in 1993, and the release of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” in 1975.
- Spotify reported that “The Girl From Ipanema” had been streamed more than 40,000 times after it was played during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
- Chance the Rapper took part in the #SoGoneChallenge and posted a video in which he rapped about his pregnant girlfriend over the instrumental of Monica's 2003 hit “So Gone”. The video was quickly retweeted more than 250,000 times, and the challenge went viral.
- President Barack Obama released his summer music playlists on Spotify for the second year in a row. It was his final year in the presidency.
- Vědecký časopis Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society informoval o nově identifikovaném druhu pravěkého krokodýla pojmenovaném Lemmysuchus obtusidens na počest Lemmyho Kilmistera, frontmana skupiny Motörhead.
- The music video for Taylor Swift's “Look What You Made Me Do” premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The ceremony was hosted by Katy Perry and the viewership of 5.68 million was the lowest since 1994.
- After Jason Aldean's wife Brittany posted a makeup video on Instagram with a caption saying she wanted to thank her parents for not changing her gender during her “tomboy” phase, Maren Morris responded to her post on Twitter. The dispute increased tensions between more conservatively and progressively oriented members of the country music community.
- The Republican presidential debate opened with a sample of Oliver Anthony's song “Rich Men North Of Richmond”, which criticizes corrupt and incompetent politicians in Washington. The candidates were asked why the song had generated such a strong response across the country.
- Amy Winehouse's 2007 performance on Radio 1 Live Lounge, in which she sang a cover of “Valerie” by The Zutons, was voted the best performance on the programme during its first 25 years. Arctic Monkeys came second and third.
- Spotify announced that Dolly Parton's total streams worldwide had increased by more than 1,260% compared with the week before her death on August 25. Seven of her songs entered the service's daily most-streamed songs chart, with “Jolene” and “9 to 5” at No. 2 and No. 3, while “Islands in the Stream” with Kenny Rogers reached No. 8.