What Happened Today In Music

August 6th

1960 - Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker appeared on US TV show American Bandstand and performed 'The Twist.' The song went to No.1 on the US chart and again 18 months later in 1962. It is the only song to go to the top of the charts on two separate occasions.

1963 - Bob Dylan

In the evening at Studio A of the Columbia Recording Studio, New York City, Bob Dylan recorded the first session produced by Tom Wilson for the album The Times They Are A-Changin'. Dylan's third studio album was the first collection to feature only original compositions, the title track being one of Dylan's most famous. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely-arranged story songs concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change.

1963 - The Beatles

The Beatles arrived in Jersey in the Channel Islands, where they spent the day go-carting and relaxing by the pool at The Revere Hotel before playing the first of four nights at the Springfield Ballroom. Some fans had found out where they were staying, but they were happy to chat and be photographed with them.

1964 - Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart made his TV debut on the BBC show The Beat Room as a member of The Hoochie Coochie Men. The tapes of all but one of the programmes were later destroyed. The only remaining programme (originally broadcast on 5 October 1964) featured Tom Jones, Julie Rogers, The Kinks, John Lee Hooker, and The Syndicats. The show also featured a sextet of female dancers, the Beat Girls formed from an existing group, the Katy-Dids.

1965 - The Beatles

The Beatles released their fifth album and soundtrack to their second film Help! which included the title track, ‘The Night Before’, ‘You've Got to Hide Your Love Away’, ‘You're Going to Lose That Girl’, ‘Ticket to Ride’ and 'Yesterday'.

1965 - Small Faces

Decca records released the Small Faces debut single 'Whatcha Gonna Do About It' which peaked at No.14 on the UK chart. Years later, their manager Don Arden admitted to spending £12,000 on chart fixing to ensure the band's debut song would be a hit. 

1970 - The Concert For Peace

Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Poco and Johnny Winter all appeared at the Concert For Peace at New York's Shea Stadium. The concert date coincided with the 25th anniversary of dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

1970 - The National Jazz, Blues and Pop Festival

The 10th National Jazz, Blues and Pop four day Festival was held at Plumpton Racecourse in Sussex, England. Featuring, Family, Groundhogs, Cat Stevens, Deep Purple, Fat Mattress, Yes, Caravan, The Strawbs, Black Sabbath, Wild Angles, Wishbone Ash and Daddy Longlegs.

1973 - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder was seriously injured when the car he was riding in crashed into a truck on I-85 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina leaving him in a coma for four days. The accident also left him without any sense of smell.

1974 - ABBA

ABBA scored their first US top 10 hit when 'Waterloo' went to No.6. 'Waterloo' was written specifically to be entered into the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, after the group finished third with 'Ring Ring' the previous year in the Swedish pre-selection contest. The original title of the song was 'Honey Pie'.

1977 - The Police

The Police appeared at The Red Cow, Hammersmith Road in London, admission was 60p.

1977 - Donna Summer

This week's UK Top 5 singles: No.5 'Fanfare For The Common Man', ELP. No.4, 'Pretty Vacant', the Sex Pistols. No.3, 'Angelo' Brotherhood Of Man'. No.2, 'Ma Baker', Boney M and No.1, 'I Feel Love' Donna Summer.

1981 - Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks released her first solo album Bella Donna which contained four top 40 US hits. ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, (with Tom Petty), ‘Leather and Lace’, (with Don Henley), ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘After the Glitter Fades.’

1982 - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd's The Wall starring Bob Geldof opened in movie theatres in New York. The film was conceived alongside the double album by Pink Floyd's, Roger Waters.

1983 - Klaus Nomi

Avant-garde musician and former backing singer with David Bowie Klaus Nomi died at the age of 39 of Aids in New York City aged 38. Nomi was one of the first celebrities to contract AIDS.

1988 - Guns N' Roses

Appetite For Destruction Guns N' Roses debut album went to No.1 in the US, after spending 57 weeks on the chart and selling over 5 million copies. Singles from the album, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City’ were all US top 10 hits. Worldwide sales now stand in excess of 28 million and the album is the best-selling debut album of all-time in the US, beating Boston's debut album Boston, which has gone 17x platinum.

1988 - Yazz

Yazz and the Plastic Population started a five week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Only Way Is Up'. The song was originally released as the title track to the 1982 album by soul singer Otis Clay.

1989 - Adam Clayton

Adam Clayton of U2 was arrested in The Blue Light Inn car park in Dublin for marijuana possession and intent to supply the drug to another person. His conviction was waived in exchange for paying £25,000 to the Dublin Woman's Aid Centre.

1994 - Lisa Loeb

Lisa Loeb started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Stay (I Missed You), a No.6 hit in the UK. Actor and friend Ethan Hawke had asked her to provide a song for the upcoming movie Reality Bites and 'Stay' was featured in the film.

1994 - Richey Edwards

Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards booked into a private clinic to be treated for nervous exhaustion.

1999 - Dick Latvala

Dick Latvala died aged 56 after being in a coma caused by a heart attack. Latvala had worked with the Grateful Dead since the early 80s looking after their archives of live performances which became a series of 'Dick's Picks' albums.

2001 - Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston became one of the highest-paid musicians in the world after signing a new deal with Arista records, said to be worth more than $100m.

2004 - Rick James

Rick James was found dead at his Los Angeles home. Known as 'The King of Punk-Funk' James scored the 1981 US No.3 album ‘Street Songs’ and 1981 US No.16 single ‘Super Freak part 1’. In the late 60s James worked as a songwriter and producer for Motown, working with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Addicted to cocaine, he once admitted to spending $7,000 a week on drugs for five years.

2007 - Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson was being sued by a former band member who said he was owed $20m (£9.8m) in shared profits. Stephen Bier, who played keyboards under the stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy, claimed he was not paid properly over a period of almost two decades. In legal papers filed in Los Angeles, Bier claimed Manson falsely told him the band was not making much money and used band money to buy a $2m (£980,000) home and collect Nazi memorabilia, including coat hangers used by Adolf Hitler.

2009 - Willy DeVille

Willy DeVille died at the age of 58 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The band he formed, Mink Deville, appeared at the legendary CBGB club in New York in the 1970s and scored the 1977 hit 'Spanish Stroll.' Doctors discovered he had cancer earlier this year as he was preparing to undergo treatment for hepatitis C.

2012 - Beyoncé

Forbes declared Beyoncé and Jay-Z the highest-paid celebrity couple, with earnings of $78 million ($40 million for her, $38 for him).

2016 - The Girl From Ipanema

Swedish music streaming service Spotify reported that 'The Girl From Ipanema' was streamed more than 40,000 times after it was played while supermodel Gisele Bundchen walked onstage during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The song first became a hit for Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz in 1964 when it peaked at No.5 on the US chart.

2019 - Led Zeppelin

Members of Korn, Tool, Judas Priest, Linkin Park and several other bands signed a brief in support of Led Zeppelin, whose years-long copyright case over the opening guitar riff of 'Stairway To Heaven' was set to return to court. In response to the court order, 123 music-makers filed an amicus brief, aiming to “elucidate the effect of the panel’s decision… on all songwriters, composers, musicians and producers in the United States and around the world”. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2014 by the estate of the late Randy California, the singer/guitarist of Spirit and the composer of ‘Taurus’.

Born Today In Music

August 6th

1928 - Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, pop artist and producer, the founder of the Pop Art movement. Produced and managed The Velvet Underground, designed the 1967 Velvet Underground and Nico, 'peeled banana' album cover and The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album cover. Warhol died on 22nd February 1987 after a gall bladder operation.

1929 - Mike Elliott

Mike Elliott, saxophonist from British soul band The Foundations who scored the 1967 UK No.1 single 'Baby Now That I've Found You' and the 1969 US No.3 single 'Build Me Up A Buttercup'. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a No.1 hit in the UK in the 1960s.

1948 - Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth, British guitarist and composer who was a member of Soft Machine, and played a variety of musical styles in a career spanning more than four decades, but is best known for his work in jazz fusion. Holdsworth died on 15 April 2017 at his home in Vista, California, at the age of 70.

1952 - Pat McDonald

American musician and songwriter Pat McDonald from Timbuk 3, who had the 1987 UK No.21 single 'The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades'). He formed the duo with his wife, Barbara K. MacDonald. He has co-written songs recorded by Aerosmith, Cher, Jools Holland, Billy Ray Cyrus, Zucchero, Keith Urban, Imogen Heap, Stewart Copeland and Peter Frampton. 

1958 - Randy Debarge

Randy DeBarge singer from American family group DeBarge who had the 1983 US No.17 single 'All This Love', and the 1985 UK No.4 single 'Rhythm Of The Night'.

1963 - Jamie Kensit

Jamie Kensit, from English group Eighth Wonder, (the brother of singer, actress Patsy Kensit), who had the 1988 UK No.7 single and European hit 'I'm Not Scared', which was co-produced and written by the Pet Shop Boys. 

1969 - Elliot Smith

Elliot Smith, US singer songwriter, 1997 album 'Either/Or'. His song 'Miss Misery' saw him nominated for an Academy Award in 1997. Smith committed suicide on 22nd October 2003 aged 34.

1972 - Geri Halliwell

Geri Halliwell, (Ginger Spice), vocals, the Spice Girls who scored the 1996 UK No.1 & 1997 US No.1 single 'Wannabe', plus seven other No.1 singles. She left the group on 7th June 1998 and her first UK solo No.1 single was 1999 'Mi Chico Latino'. Halliwell has scored more UK No.1's than any other female artist.