19 AUGUST
In Music History
1943 Rock 'n roller Billy J. Kramer (of Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas) is born William Howard Ashton in Bootle, Lancashire, England.
1940 Johnny Nash is born in Houston, Texas. As a teen, he performs regularly on Arthur Godfrey's variety show and lands a series of minor hits, but he makes his biggest mark in the '70s with the reggae hits "I Can See Clearly Now" and "Stir It Up" (written and later recorded by Bob Marley).
1940 Roger Cook (co-lead vocalist of Blue Mink) is born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
1939 Dick Jurgens records "Day Dreams Come True At Night."
1939 Ginger Baker (drummer for Cream) is born Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, South London, England.
1918 Songwriter Irving Berlin, still a Sergeant in the US Army, debuts his WWI-themed musical Yip Yip Yaphank, at New York's Century Theatre.
1911 Variety calls Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" the "song sensation of the century."
Rap Single Certified Gold For The First Time
1980"The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow becomes the first rap single certified Gold.
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Featured Events
2003 MTV debuts the reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, following the recent marriage of Jessica Simpson and 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey. The show is a hit thanks to Jessica's "dumb blonde" antics and lasts three seasons, after which the couple promptly divorce.
1973 They aren't quite the Sonny and Cher power couple, but Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge get married. They divorce in 1980.
1972 The Midnight Special debuts on NBC. At first just a one-off special presentation, the next year it is launched as a regular show, with Wolfman Jack serving as announcer. The first performance is "Slippin' Into Darkness" by War.
1969 Crosby, Stills and Nash appear on the Dick Cavett Show, giving a first-hand account of the Woodstock festival that took place over the weekend. Joni Mitchell, who skipped the festival to make sure she could keep her appearance on the show, performs a song she wrote about it called "Woodstock."
1957 In a "Special Music Report," Newsweek puts Pat Boone on the cover with the tagline, "His Refreshing Song Fills The Air."More
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