12 AUGUST
In Music History
1958 On "compassionate leave" from the Army, Elvis Presley travels to Memphis' Baptist Memorial hospital to be by the side of his mother, Gladys, who is quickly deteriorating from acute hepatitis.
1958 The Crests record "Sixteen Candles."
1957 Encouraged by Roulette exec George Goldner and his recent success in England, Frankie Lymon officially leaves his group to pursue a solo career.
1957 Johnny Mathis releases his first #1 hit single, "Chances Are."
1954 Jazz guitarist/composer Pat Metheny (of the Pat Metheny Group) is born in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
1953 The Four Lads record "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)."
1950 August "Kid Creole" Darnell (of Kid Creole & the Coconuts) is born in The Bronx, New York.
1941 Pop singer Craig Douglas is born Terence Perkins in Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Known for his popular cover of Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen."
1940 Country/Rockabilly singer Rod Bernard is born in Opelousas, Louisiana.
1940 Will Bradley records "Down The Road a Piece."
1929 Country singer-songwriter Buck Owens is born Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. in Sherman, Texas.
1927 Porter Wagoner is born in West Plains, Missouri. He becomes famous as a country singer and host of The Porter Wagoner Show, where he introduces Dolly Parton.
1926 R&B singer-songwriter Joe Jones is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Known for the 1960 hit "You Talk Too Much."
1913 The Irving Berlin song "That International Rag" is copyrighted.
Woodstock: The Sequel
1994Woodstock 2 - officially "Woodstock '94" - begins in Saugerties, New York, with Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and Violent Femmes performing. The festival is a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.
Read more12 AUGUST
Featured Events
2015 Elvis Presley is granted the honor of a second postage stamp bearing his likeness (the first was introduced in 1993). This one features a black-and-white photograph by William Speer of Elvis in 1955 and is part of the Music Icon series that began in 2013.More
1999 The Kiss-produced movie Detroit Rock City, the story of fans on their way to a Kiss concert, opens nationwide.
1991 Metallica release their fifth album, which is self-titled but commonly known as The Black Album. It goes to #1 in eight countries, including America, where it sells 16 million copies. Songs include "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters."
1982 The "Performance Video" exhibition opens at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The exhibition, which explores how musicians present their work in "the shallow focal area directly in front of the video camera," includes the music videos for "Mickey" by Toni Basil and "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads.
1978 After years on the road and substantial chart success, The Commodores finally get their first #1 hit with the Lionel Richie-penned ballad "Three Times a Lady," which is taken from their album Natural High. The single stays at #1 for two weeks.
1970 At Harvard, Janis Joplin performs what will be her final concert, ending with a version of Gershwin's "Summertime." She dies less than two months later at age 27 after overdosing on heroin.
1949 Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler is born in Glasgow, Scotland. The group earns a huge following in the '80s with hits like "Money For Nothing" and "Walk Of Life," but Knopfler puts them out to pasture in the '90s, preferring a less hectic lifestyle that includes scoring films like Wag The Dog and playing on albums for the likes of Nanci Griffith and Bryan Ferry.
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