Music Almanac: August 12

Birthdays

• 1907 - Gladys Bentley (d. 1960)
• 1912 - Rex Griffin (d. 1959)
• 1920 - Percy Mayfield (d. 1984)
• 1926 - Joe Jones (d. 2005)
• 1927 - Porter Wagoner (d. 2007)
• 1929 - Buck Owens (d. 2006)
• 1940 - Rod Bernard (72)
• 1941 - Craig Douglas (71)
• 1945 - Ron Mael (Sparks) (67)
• 1948 - Cliff Fish (Paper Lace) (64)
• 1949 - Mark Knopfler (63)
• 1950 - August Darnell (Kid Creole & the Coconuts) (62)
• 1953 - Jerry Speiser (Men at Work) (59)
• 1954 - Pat Metheny (58)
• 1955 - Heintje (57)
• 1956 - Danny Shirley (Confederate Railroad) (56)
• 1958 - Jürgen Dehmel (Nena) (54)
• 1961 - Roy Hay (Culture Club) (51)
• 1963 - Sir Mix-a-Lot (born Anthony Ray) (49)
• 1965 - Bon Harris (Nitzer Ebb) (47)
• 1968 - Paul Tucker (Lighthouse Family) (44)
• 1969 - Tanita Tikaram (43)
• 1972 - Del The Funky Homosapian (40)
• 1975 - Bill Uechi (Save Farris) (37)
• 1980 - Matt Thiessen (Reliant K) (32)

Deaths

• 1985 - Kyu Sakamoto - Plane crash (43)
• 1992 - John Cage - Stroke (79)
• 1997 - Luther Allison - Cancer (57)
• 2010 - Richie Hayward (Little Feat) - Liver cancer (64)

On This Day

• 1877 - The first sound recording (Mary Had a Little Lamb) is made by Thomas Edison.
• 1957 - Frankie Lymon left the Teenagers for a solo career.
• 1960 - Pete Best auditioned to become a member of the Silver Beatles.
• 1963 - Jim Ed Brown became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1964 - The Beatles' film A Hard Days Night opened in 500 American theaters.
• 1966 - The Beatles opened their final U.S. tour in Chicago.
• 1967 - Fleetwood Mac performs live for the first time at England's Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival.
• 1968 - The members of Led Zeppelin played together for the first time in a London studio.
• 1969 - Blind Faith made their live debut at Madison Square Garden in New York.
• 1970 - A tribute to Woody Guthrie was held at the Hollywood Bowl with artists including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
• 1977 - Original Police member Henri Padovani quit the group, leaving them with three members.
• 1984 - Lionel Richie performed All Night Long at the closing ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympics.
• 1989 - The Moscow Music Peace Festival opened with acts including Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Scorpions and Bon Jovi.
• 1993 - Paula Abdul won in a suit against her by one of her backup singers who claimed that she had done most of the vocals on the album Forever Your Girl.
• 1993 - Jesse Tobias became the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, replacing Arik Marshall.
• 1994 - Woodstock '94 started in Saugerties, NY.
• 1995 - A wake was held for Jerry Garcia in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
• 1998 - Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots plead guilty to heroin possession and is sent to a drug treatment facility for three months.
• 1999 - It was Porter Wagoner Day in Missouri.
• 1999 - Bruce Springsteen's record setting 15-show stand at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ came to an end.
• 2000 - .38 Special were almost seriously injured at a Mancos, CA outdoor show when a gust of wind brought ten tons of equipment down on them.

Marriages

• 1988 - John Denver and Cassandra Delaney

Released

• 1981 - Shot of Love - Bob Dylan

Broadcasts

• 1956 - Ed Sullivan Show - Platters
• 1967 - American Bandstand - Diana Ross & the Supremes
• 1972 - American Bandstand - Jim Croce
• 1997 - Fleetwood Mac Reunion Concert (MTV)

Number Ones – U.S. Singles

• 1978 - Three Times a Lady - Commodores (2 weeks)
• 1989 - Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx (3 weeks)
• 2000 - Incomplete - Sisqo (2 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Albums

• 1950 - South Pacific - Original Cast (2 weeks (52 previous weeks at number 1))
• 1995 - E. 1999 Eternal - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (2 weeks)
• 2006 - LeToya - LeToya (1 week)

Number Ones – U.S. R&B Singles

• 1972 - I'm Still in Love With You - Al Green (2 weeks)
• 1977 - Three Times a Lady - Commodores (2 weeks)
• 1989 - Batdance - Prince (1 week)
• 2006 - Shoulder Lean - Young Dro Featuring T.I. (3 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Country Singles

• 1972 - Bless Your Heart - Freddie Hart (2 weeks)
• 1978 - You Don't Love Me Anymore - Eddie Rabbitt (1 week)
• 1989 - Timber, I'm Falling in Love - Patty Loveless (1 week)
• 1995 - I Didn't Know My Own Strength - Lorrie Morgan (1 week)
• 2000 - What About Now - Lonestar (4 weeks)
• 2006 - If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows) - Rodney Atkins (4 weeks)

Number Ones – U.K. Singles

• 1972 - School's Out - Alice Cooper (3 weeks)
• 2001 - 21 Seconds - So Solid Crew (1 weeks)
• 2007 - With Every Heartbeat - Robyn with Kleerup (1 week)

Number Ones – U.K. Albums

• 1972 - 20 Fantastic Hits - Various Artists (5 weeks)
• 2001 - Right Now - Atomic Kitten (1 week)
• 2007 - Made of Bricks - Kate Nash (1 week)