7 AUGUST
In Music History
1996 A federal appeals court overturns the ruling that original Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers members Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago co-wrote the group's biggest hit, 1955's "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," ruling that copyright claims must be filed within three years of the song's publication.
1993 Led by the single "Insane In The Brain," the West Coast rap trio Cypress Hill debut at #1 with their second album, Black Sunday. Along with Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg, it's one of just two rap albums to top the chart in 1993.
1987 At a Fleetwood Mac band meeting, Lindsey Buckingham blows up at his bandmates and quits the group, forcing them to tour without him in support of their latest album, Tango In The Night. He doesn't re-join until 1997.
1984 R&B singer Esther Phillips dies of drug-induced liver and kidney failure at age 48 in Carson, California. Known for comeback country tune "Release Me."
1981 It's "Wolverton Mountain Day" in Arkansas in honor of the Claude King song "Wolverton Mountain," which is named after a real mountain in the state.
1979 Led Zeppelin make their last live performance in the UK.
1976 Elton John & Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" hits #1 in America for the first of four weeks.
1974 J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf marries movie star Faye Dunaway in a Beverly Hills courtroom. The couple divorce in 1979.
1971 The Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" hits #1 in America for the first of four weeks.
1970 Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention release Just Another Band From L.A.
1967 Following two albums recorded as a member of the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa releases his debut solo album, Lumpy Gravy, in which he conducts an orchestra but doesn't actually play any instruments himself in order to get around some contractual issues that cause the album to be withdrawn a few days later. It's released with numerous changes on May 13, 1968.
1966 Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses is born in Atlanta, Georgia. After suffering a brain injury from a bike accident at 16, she starts hearing noises in her head and develops a split personality she calls Rat Girl, who emerges when she writers and performs.
1965 The Turtles release "It Ain't Me Babe."
1964 EMF songwriter/guitarist Ian Dench is born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
1960 Jacquie O'Sullivan of Bananarama is born in Hendon, London, England.
Heavy Metal Hits Theaters
1981The animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal is released. Although it shares its name with the hard-rock genre, the film isn't intended to have anything to do with music, but instead is an anthology of various stories from the comic magazine Heavy Metal. Almost as an afterthought, an all-star soundtrack is added, featuring songs by Sammy Hagar, Devo, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Journey, and Black Sabbath, to name a few.
Read more7 AUGUST
Featured Events
2008 The Police wrap up their reunion tour at New York's Madison Square Garden. Their first tour since 1986, it lasts 151 shows and finishes as the third highest-grossing of all time.
1997 Garth Brooks plays a free show in New York's Central Park. It's the last Central Park show to benefit from highly inflated crowd estimates, which are stated at over 100,000. Hand counts at future shows prove that crowds at these concerts usually top out at 50,000.
1973 The film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar is released, based on the 1971 Broadway rock opera of the same name. Jesus is apparently a tenor.
1965 Herman's Hermits knock "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" from the top spot in America with "I'm Henry The VIII, I Am," a "second verse, same as the first" cover of a music hall song from 1910.
1963 Beach Party, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, opens in theaters. It's the first of many movies with a beach theme, and it features music by the surf-rock pioneer Dick Dale. Twenty-four years later, Frankie and Annette appear in Back To The Beach, where they are now parents of crazy teenagers.
1957 The Quarrymen (minus new member Paul McCartney, away at Scout camp) make their debut at Liverpool's Cavern Club. Manager Alan Sytner instructs them not to play Rock and Roll, but midway through their skiffle performance, John lights into a version of Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel," which the crowd loves. The group, of course, becomes The Beatles.
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