August 8 Born –
Bennett "Benny" Carter (1907) – Jazz multi-instrumentalist.
Jimmy Witherspoon (1920) – Blues singer (“Ain’t Nobody’s Business”).
Webb Pierce (1921) – Country music singer.
Urbie Green (1926) – Jazz trombonist with Woody Herman and Gene Krupa.
Mel Tillis (aka Lonnie Tillis, 1932) – Country music artist.
Joe Tex (aka Joseph Arrington, Jr., 1933) – Soul singer/songwriter ("I
Gotcha").
Connie Stevens (aka Concetta Ingoglia, 1938) – actress/singer
(“Sixteen Reasons”).
Don Jacobucci (1938) – The Regents.
Phil Balsley (1939) – The Statler Brothers.
John "Jay" David (1942) – drummer for Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show.
Michael Johnson (1944) – singer/songwriter/guitarist ("Bluer Than
Blue").
Airrion Love (1949) – The Sylistics.
Keith Carradine (1949) – actor/singer/songwriter (“I’m Easy”).
Alister "Ali" Score (1952) – drummer for A Flock Of Seagulls.
Chris Foreman (1956) – guitarist for Madness.
David Grant (1956) – singer for Linx.
Dennis Drew (1957) – keyboardist for 10,000 Maniacs.
Rikki Rocket (aka Richard Ream, 1961) – drummer for Poison.
The Edge (aka David Howell, 1961) – guitarist for U2.
Kool Moe Dee (aka Mohandas Dewese, 1962) – hip hop MC.
Scott Stapp (aka Anthony Flippen, 1973) – singer for Creed.
August 8 R.I.P. –
Cannonball Adderley (1975) – stroke. Age 46. Saxophonist ("Mercy Mercy
Mercy").
Ted Kowalski (2010) – heart disease. Age 79. The Diamonds.
Jack Parnell (2010) – cancer. Age 87. British session drummer, band
conductor on The Muppet Show.
August 8 album releases –
Bob Dylan – Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964)
The Beatles – Revolver (1966) U.S.
Billy Joel – An Innocent Man (1983)
The Robert Cray Band – Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (1988)
August 8 events –
1923 – 14-year old Benny Goodman lands his first professional gig
onboard a Lake Michigan cruise ship.
1934 – Bing Crosby records “I Love You Truly,” becoming the first
singer to record for the newly formed U.S. branch of Decca Records.
1958 – Johnny Cash records several songs under his new Columbia
Records contract.
1958 – The Kingston Trio release their single, “Tom Dooley” b/w “Ruby
Red” on Capitol.
1960 – In England, Decca Records refuses to release (and destroys
25,000 singles) of Ray Peterson’s “Tell Laura I Love Her,” deeming the
lyrics “too tasteless and vulgar.”
1960 – Roy Orbison records “Blue Angel” with Bob Moore’s Orchestra and
Chorus in Nashville.
1960 – The Ventures record “Perfidia.”
1961 – Elvis Presley releases his single, “(Marie’s The Name) His
Latest Flame” b/w “Little Sister.”
1964 – The Animals release their single, “House Of The Rising Sun” b/w
“Talkin’ ‘Bout You” in the U.S.
1964 – The Young World Singers release their single, “Ringo For
President” in the U.S.
1964 – The Osbourne Brothers join the Grand Ole Opry.
1966 – Jackie Wilson records “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” in Chicago.
1969 – The Beatles gather at EMI Studios for the photo shoot for their
next album. Photographer Iain MacMillan takes six photographs of The
Beatles walking across Abbey Road.
1969 – Led Zeppelin appears at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino,
with opening act Jethro Tull.
1970 – Janis Joplin helps pay for a headstone for the unmarked grave
of Bessie Smith at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia.
1971 – Tim Buckley and opening act Tom Waits play the last of five
nights at the In The Alley Folk Theatre in Escondido, California.
1975 – While climbing Ajax Peak in Montana, Hank Williams, Jr. falls
500 feet onto solid rock, splitting his face and skull open from chin
to scalp, exposing his brains. Reconstructive surgery takes two years,
and Williams incorporates a beard, sunglasses and cowboy hat to help
hide the disfigurement and scars.
1980 – The Greater London Council bans The Plasmatics from blowing up
a car on stage during their UK live debut at London's Hammersmith
Odeon.
1981 – MTV broadcasts its first stereo concert with REO Speedwagon in
Denver, Colorado.
1983 – Harold Melvin and three other members of The Blue Notes are
arrested for cocaine possession in Atlantic City.
1986 – David Crosby is released from prison in Huntsville, Texas,
after serving only eight months of a five-year sentence for drugs and
firearms possession.
1991 – Carlos Santana pleads no contest to marijuana possession
charges in Houston, Texas.
1992 – A riot breaks out at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium during a Guns
‘N Roses and Metallica concert. Early in the show, Metallica’s James
Hetfield is injured by pyrotechnics, so they cut their set short.
After only a few songs into Guns ‘N Roses’ set, Axl Rose complains of
a sore throat, and they leave the stage. The riot ensues.
1996 – At a KISS concert at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, a fan
throws his prosthetic leg on stage. The band members all sign the leg
and hand it back, then continue with the show.
2004 – The driver of The Dave Matthews Band’s tour bus dumps 800 lbs.
of human waste through a grate on a Chicago bridge onto passengers
aboard a sightseeing boat below. Criminal charges and lawsuits are
pressed.
2005 – On NBC’s The Today Show, two jurors from Michael Jackson’s
molestation case express regret with the “not guilty” verdict.
2006 – After losing 60 lbs., Janet Jackson appears in only bikini
bottoms on the cover of Vibe magazine
