16 AUGUST
In Music History
1953 Singer James "J.T." Taylor is born in Laurens, South Carolina. He joins Kool & the Gang in 1979, leading them into a new era with hits like "Celebration" and "Cherish." He leaves for a solo career in 1988.
1949 Scott Asheton (drummer for The Stooges) is born in Washington, D.C.
1948 Barry Hay (frontman for Golden Earring) is born in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
1946 Gordon Fleet (drummer for The Easybeats) is born in Merseyside, England.
1945 Gary Loizzo (frontman for The American Breed) is born in Chicago, Illinois.
1944 Kevin Ayers (frontman for Soft Machine) is born in Herne Bay, Kent, England.
1942 R&B singer/songwriter Barbara George is born in Smithridge, Louisiana. Known for "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" (1961).
1940 Frankie Masters records "Marching Along Together."
1938 R&B/Pop singer and actress Ketty Lester is born Revoyda Frierson in Hope, Arkansas. Known for her 1962 hit "Love Letters."
1938 Blues legend Robert Johnson dies after being poisoned by a jealous man. Like many famous musicians who died young, he was 27 when he passed.
1931 Traditional Pop/Swing singer Eydie Gorme is born in The Bronx, New York.
1922 Bandleader/pianist Ernie Freeman is born in Cleveland, Ohio. Also a session musician, he worked on hits like Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody" and Frank Sinatra's "That's Life."
1915 Al Hibbler (former singer for Duke Ellington's orchestra) is born in Tyro, Mississippi.
The King Is Dead
1977The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.
Read more16 AUGUST
Featured Events
2018 Aretha Franklin dies after a long battle with pancreatic cancer at age 76.More
1986 At a soggy Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen gets a huge ovation when he takes the stage with the band. Twenty months earlier, Allen's left arm was severed in a car accident, and after extensive rehab and some warm-up gigs, he makes a triumphant return at the festival, playing barefoot behind a drum kit modified with electronic pedals. Scorpions and Motörhead are also on the bill, which is headlined by Ozzy Osbourne.
1969 It's Day 2 of Woodstock, featuring performances by the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin and Santana. One memorable moment comes during The Who's set, when the activist Abbie Hoffman interrupts their set and grabs the microphone. After saying a few words about fellow activist John Sinclair, Pete Townshend hits him with his guitar.
1969 Eric Clapton's supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album. On the cover is a photo of a naked 11-year-old girl holding a model spacecraft.More
1967 After playing a midnight show at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Louis Armstrong heads to United Recording Studios, where he records "What a Wonderful World" in a session that ends around 6 a.m.
1962 Stevie Wonder's first single is released: "I Call It Pretty Music (But Old People Call It The Blues)." Motown newbie Marvin Gaye plays drums on the track.
1962 Pete Best is fired as drummer for The Beatles, replaced by Ringo Starr. The group's manager Brian Epstein does the firing by calling Best into his record shop and giving him the bad news.
1958 Madonna Louise Ciccone is born in Bay City, Michigan. Shortening her name to a mononym, she becomes the best-selling female singer of all time.More
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