1957

August 26
The theme from the movie Tammy and the Bachelor, called simply "Tammy" by Debbie Reynolds sat at the top of both the Billboard record chart and Cashbox Magazine's best sellers list. Debbie was accompanied by only a piano on the single release, but the movie version included a full orchestra.

1958

August 25
A Staten Island, New York doo wop group called The Elegants saw their re-worked version of the Mozart lullaby, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" hit the top of the US record charts as the re-titled "Little Star". The group spent the following 18 months milking the song for all it was worth with TV appearances and live shows, but follow up records, "Please Believe Me", "True Love Affair" and "Little Boy Blue" could not match the success of "Little Star". Although The Elegants would be around in one form or another until the 1980s, they never had another hit record.

August 29
Alan Freed's Big Beat Show opens at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn. Those performing included Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, Chuck Berry, Bobby Freeman, Bill Haley and his Comets and The Elegants.

1959

August 24
The Browns, who were Jim Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, had the top tune in the US with "The Three Bells". The record is an English version of a French song originally titled "Les Trois Cloches", written in 1945.

August 24
A headline in Billboard reads, "Rock and Roll Ain't Ready For The Ol' Rockin' Chair Yet." The story says that Rock 'n' Roll was losing popularity a year ago, but the record buyers now like Elvis Presley, Lloyd Price and Fats Domino along with newcomers, The Everly Brothers, The Drifters and Ricky Nelson.

August 29
The Quarrymen perform for about 300 teenagers at the opening of The Casbah Coffee Club, located in the basement of a family home owned by Pete Best's mother, Mona. The group consists of John, Paul, George and guitarist Ken Brown. Still without a drummer, the band shared one microphone connected to the house P.A. system and would return for six more Saturday night engagements for 15 shillings each per night.

August 30
Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" debuts on Billboard's Pop chart. The song, taken from the Three Penny Opera, will be Darin's biggest hit.

1960

August 28
Barry White leaves prison after serving three months for stealing 300 car tires.

1961

August 28
Tamla Records releases the Marvelettes first single, "Please Mr. Postman". The song will sell over a million copies and become the group's biggest hit, reaching the top of both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts.

August 30
24 year old Gene Chandler records "Duke Of Earl" for Vee Jay Records. It will become the label's first number one and first million seller next February.

1962

August 25
The Four Seasons' "Sherry" enters the Hot 100 at #91. The song will ascend the charts quickly and top both Billboard and The Cash Box Best Sellers list within a month.

August 25
After Cameo Records producers passed on the opportunity to have Dee Dee Sharp record a Gerry Goffin / Carole King song called "The Loco-Motion", Don Kirshner at Dimension Records decided to take a chance on it. He liked the demo record's singer, Eva Boyd, who was Goffin and King's babysitter, and had her re-record it. The result was a US number one hit, this week in 1962.

1963

August 24
Stevie Wonder became the first artist ever to score a US #1 album and single in the same week. Wonder was at the top of the album chart with "Little Stevie Wonder / The 12 Year Old Genius" and had the #1 single with "Fingertips part 2", which was also the first ever live recording to lead the hit parade.

August 24
After a couple of flop singles for smaller record companies, The Ronettes scored their only Top Ten hit with their first effort for Phil Spector, "Be My Baby". None of their other records, including "Baby I Love You", "The Best Part of Breaking Up", "Walking In the Rain" and "Is This What I Get for Loving You?" could crack the US Top 20.

August 24
Darlene Love's biggest solo hit, "Wait Til' My Bobby Gets Home" enters the Billboard chart, where it will top out at #26. She had greater success when she sang for The Crystals, The Blossoms and Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans.

August 25
Paul McCartney is fined 31 pounds and given a 1 year license suspension for speeding.

1964

August 29
Billboard Magazine reports that guitar sales in both the US and the UK, have skyrocketed in the wake of the British Invasion.

August 29
Rob Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" is released. It will reach Billboard's top spot just four weeks later and enjoy a three week stay.

1965

August 27
Elvis Presley plays host to The Beatles at his rented home in Perugia Way, Bel Air. The get-together, which included an un-recorded jam session, lasted four hours. While their clients got to know each other, managers Col. Tom Parker and Brian Epstein played pool in the next room.

August 28
The Rolling Stones announce that Allen Klein, who they met three days ago, will co-manage the group along with Andrew Long Oldham. At the same time, they sign a five year recording deal with Decca Records.

August 28
The Beach Boys' "California Girls" peaks at #3 on the Billboard chart. In the UK, it reached #26.

August 28
In the UK, Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" replaced The Beatles' "Help" at the top of the charts. In the US, The Beatles song took over from Sonny and Cher on the Cashbox Best Sellers list.

1966

August 24
The Youngbloods record "Get Together". The single, which would be included on their self-titled album released in 1967, stalled at number 62 at the time, but would be re-issued in 1969 and made the US top 5 the second time around. The record flopped in Great Britain, but The Dave Clark Five would record a cover version that made it to the UK top 10 in 1970.

August 27
The Association's "Cherish" is released in the US, where it will reach #1 a month later.

August 29
Seven years to the day since John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison first performed together at Liverpool's Casbah Coffee Club, The Beatles play their last paid, public concert in front of 25,000 fans at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The band did 11 songs in just over a half an hour, opening with "Rock & Roll Music" and closing with "Long Tall Sally". The show is filmed by Beatles press officer Tony Barrow, but that film has never been released.

1967

August 26
Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" is released. Although it is now considered a Rock 'n' Roll classic, the single only reached #65 on the Billboard chart.

August 26
Bobbi Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe" claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The record would also become an international hit and later win three Grammy Awards. In 1976, the song was adapted into a motion picture which showed Billie Joe and his girlfriend throwing a rag doll off the Tallahatchie Bridge, although Bobbie Gentry has never revealed what she had in mind when she wrote the song.

August 27
Beatles manager Brian Epstein is found dead of an apparent drug overdose at his home in Belgravia, London, just a few weeks shy of his 33rd birthday. The Fab Four were in Bangor, North Wales at the time, attending a conference by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The death is ruled accidental and the Maharishi tells the Beatles that Epstein's death, being in the realm of the physical world, is "not important." The group would eventually renounce their association with the Maharishi.

August 28
The Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company play at the wake of a Hell's Angels member who was struck by a car in San Francisco.

August 29
Brian Epstein's funeral is held in Liverpool. The affair is not attended by The Beatles, who wished to give his family privacy by not attracting the media and fans.

1968

August 24
The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, drives a Lincoln into the pool of a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan.

August 26
Apple Corps releases five single records, including the Beatles' "Hey Jude" backed by "Revolution". It becomes the band's biggest hit.

August 26
Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." is certified gold.

August 28
The Doors are awarded a gold record for "Hello, I Love You".

August 30
John and Yoko Lennon hosted the One on One concert in New York's Madison Square Garden, where they raised over $250,000 to aid mentally retarded children. Among the music greats appearing were Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack.

1969

August 24
Arlo Guthrie's movie, Alice's Restaurant opens in New York and Los Angeles.

August 24
John Lennon writes "Cold Turkey", a song about kicking his heroin addiction. He rehearsed the song all afternoon and recorded it that evening with the help of Ringo Starr and Klaus Voorman. When it was released, critics hated it and the BBC refused to play it, yet somehow it still made the UK Top 20 and the US Top 30.

August 28
Paul and Linda McCartney become parents to a daughter they name Mary, after Paul's mother.

August 30
The 3-day Texas International Pop Festival opens at the Dallas International Motor Speedway. Performers included Chicago Transit Authority, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Santana.

1970

August 25
Emerson, Lake and Palmer made their world debut at Plymouth Guild Hall in Plymouth, England.

August 26
Jimi Hendrix made his last live appearance in the UK at the Isle of Wight festival. On September 18th, he would die from an overdose of sleeping pills.

August 29
Edwin Starr's "War" was the top tune on the Billboard singles chart. It would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

1971

August 28
Canada's Five Man Electrical Band saw their hit single "Signs" peak at #3 on the US Pop chart.

1972

August 26
A New York quartet called Looking Glass had the number one tune in the US with "Brandy". Despite the success of the song, the band could muster only one more chart hit, "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" the following year.

August 30
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were joined by Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack and Sha Na Na at a fund raising concert for the One To One charity at New York's Madison Square Gardens. Several of the performances were later included on Lennon's, "Live in New York City" album.

1973

August 25
Former Left Banke keyboard player Michael Brown lead his new group, Stories, back to the top of both the Cashbox Magazine best sellers chart and the Billboard Hot 100, with a song called "Brother Louie". The gritty lead vocal for the song was supplied by Ian Lloyd, who would later be heard on tracks by Billy Joel, Foreigner and Peter Frampton.

August 25
Bobby Darin performs his final concert, at the Las Vegas Hilton. He would die at the age of 37 on December 20th following his second open heart surgery.

August 28
Deep Purple received a gold record for "Smoke On the Water", which hit #5 in the US, on its way to selling over two million copies. It was the band's biggest success since "Hush" which also reached #5 in 1968.

August 30
The Doors officially disband, two years after Jim Morrison's death. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Kreiger attempted a reunion in 2002 that saw limited results.

1975

August 30
After charting twice in the UK, KC and the Sunshine Band finally scored a hit record in the US when "Get Down Tonight" topped the Billboard singles chart. It made #21 in the UK.

August 30
Orleans enters the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with "Dance With Me", which would climb to #6. They would return a year later with "Still The One" (#5) and again in 1979 with "Love Takes Time" (#11).

1976

August 25
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello premiere their 4 week Summer variety series on CBS-TV.

August 25
Boston releases its self-titled album, which becomes the best-selling, debut rock album of all time.

August 26
Donna Summer groans and sighs her way through her erotic Disco hit "Love To Love You Baby" on American Bandstand.

August 28
Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way" peaks at #12 on the US Pop singles chart.

August 29
Jimmy Reed, who reached the Billboard Pop chart with "Honest I Do" in 1957 and "Baby What You Want Me To Do" in 1960, died following an epileptic seizure on August 29th, just days shy of his 51st birthday.

1977

August 24
Waylon Jennings, the former member of Buddy Holly's backup band turned Country star, was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine. He had recently been named an honorary police chief.

August 25
Helen Reddy is appointed to the California State Parks Commission by Governor Jerry Brown.

August 29
Three people are arrested in Memphis after trying to steal Elvis' body. As a result, his remains would be moved to Graceland.

1978

August 26
Nearly sixteen years after he topped the US record charts with "Sherry", Frankie Valli had the number one song again, with the title track from the musical Grease. It went on to sell over 2 million in the States and was also a #3 hit in the UK.

August 26
A crowd of 80,000 people attended the first Canada Jam Festival held at Mosport Park, just north of Bowmanville Ontario. The show featured sets by the Doobie Brothers, The Commodores, Kansas, Dave Mason and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

1979

August 25
Nine weeks after being released, The Knack's infectious tune "My Sharona" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 where it would remain for six weeks. Billboard would later name the record as the number one single of 1979. In the UK, it reached number six. Lead singer / guitarist Doug Fieger would say he was inspired to write the tune by Sharrona Alperin, a 17 year old senior at Los Angeles' Fairfax High.

August 25
25 years after his first UK #1 single, Cliff Richard had his 10th chart topper with "We Don't Talk Anymore".

1980

August 30
"Sailing" by Christopher Cross was Billboard's top single. The record would sweep the Grammy Awards the next Spring when it won for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year.

1981

August 24
John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. The 25 year old coward had shot Lennon five times at close range on December 8th, 1980. Over the next few months, Chapman would claim many times to have been beaten by fellow inmates, some of whom allegedly tried to kill him. Chapman would be denied parole at his first five hearings in October 2000, October 2002, October 2004, October 2006 and August 2008.

August 26
67 year old Lee Hays, a co-founder of an influential American Folk music quartet The Weavers and co-writer of "If I Had A Hammer" suffered a fatal heart attack at his New York home.

1982

August 27
Led Zeppelin lead vocalist Robert Plant's solo L.P. "Pictures at Eleven", his first recorded work since the group disbanded in the wake of the death of drummer John Bonham, is awarded a gold record.

1983

August 24
On August 24th, Jerry Lee Lewis' fifth wife, Shawn Stevens, died of a methadone overdose at the couple's Mississippi home. The two had been married less than three months. "The Killer" had previously been wed to Dorothy Barton (1952), Jane Mitcham (1953), his second cousin Myra Brown (1957) and Jaren Pate (1971). He would marry again in 1984 to 22 year-old Kerrie McCarver, but is now split from her too.

1984

August 28
The Jacksons' Victory Tour broke the record for concert ticket sales as they surpassed the 1.1 million mark in only two months.

1986

August 28
Tina Turner is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

August 28
Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and Neil Young perform in a show that's billed as, Get Tough On Toxics, in Long Beach, California. The show also featured all of The Eagles except Glenn Frey, who was in the hospital with an intestinal disorder.

August 30
Former lead vocalist for The Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood had the number one record in the US with "Higher Love". It made #13 in the UK.

1987

August 24
Donny Osmond released "I'm In It For Love", his first single in 10 years. The record did not crack the Billboard Top 40, but Donny would be back with "Soldier Of Love", which reached #2 in 1989.

August 26
Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until age 53, announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. Sonny said he was frustrated over the red tape he faced for a remodeling project at his Italian restaurant. He would win the election in 1988 and serve until 1992. He failed in a Senate race later that year, but won a seat in Congress in 1996. Bono died in a skiing accident on January 6th, 1998, at the age of 62.

August 27
Four days before its official release date, Michael Jackson's new album, "Bad" is previewed by an L.A. radio station. Advance orders have already topped 2.2 million.

August 29
The East LA band, Los Lobos had the number one single on Billboard's Hot 100 this week with a remake of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba", from the movie of the same name. Singer Cesar Rosas said that the song itself is a traditional Mexican tune that means "wedding song".

1988

August 27
George Michael had his fourth consecutive number one single from the album "Faith", when "Monkey" climbed to the top of the Billboard Pop chart. It was his eighth US chart topper of the 1980s, a record topped only by Michael Jackson.

1989

August 24
The Who perform "Tommy" at the Universal Amphitheatre with special guests Steve Winwood, Elton John, Phil Collins, Patti LaBelle and Billy Idol.

August 25
John Mellencamp becomes a grandfather at age 38 when his daughter Michelle gives birth to daughter, Elexis Suzanne Peach.

August 26
Ringo Starr wins a court order to prevent a record producer from releasing material Starr considered to be of inferior quality due to the impaired state Starr was in when it was recorded.

August 26
Eagles' drummer Don Henley sees his solo effort, "The End of the Innocence" peak at #8 on the Pop singles chart.

August 30
Billy Joel fired his manager and former brother-in-law Frank Weber, after an audit revealed discrepancies. Joel later took him to court and sued for $90 million.

1990

August 27
Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin on August 27th, when the chopper hit a man-made ski slope while trying to navigate through dense fog. Three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were also killed.

August 29
Elton John checks into a rehab center in Chicago to get treatment for bulimia, alcoholism and drugs.

August 30
Paul Anka, who was born in Ottawa, Canada, is naturalized as an American citizen in Las Vegas. During the ceremony, his illegally parked car was towed away.

1992

August 27
John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day In The Life" sell at an auction for $87,000.

August 29
Billy Joel's remake of Elvis' "All Shook Up" peaks at #92 on the US singles chart. The song was from the soundtrack of the film Honeymoon In Vegas.

1993

August 28
Billy Joel had the number 1 album in the US when "River of Dreams" reached the top on the strength of the title track and "All About Soul". The L.P. would go on to sell over 4 million copies in America, but the album cover, which was painted by Billy's then wife Christie Brinkley, was bashed by critics, some calling it the worst album cover of the year. The couple would divorce exactly one year later.

August 30
The Late Show with David Letterman premieres on CBS, with Billy Joel as the first musical guest.

1994

August 25
Jimmy Buffett's plane flips after taking off in Nantucket, Mass. He swims to safety.

August 25
A New York judge officially dissolves the nine year marriage between 45 year old Billy Joel and 40 year old Christie Brinkley.

August 25
Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reunited at LWT studios in London to tape a set for MTV's Unplugged series, set to air on October 12th. Drummer John Paul Jones was not included.

1995

August 24
Microsoft's Windows 95 was released using a commercial featuring The Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" (a reference to the Start button). Microsoft paid Mick Jagger and Keith Richards twelve million pounds for the use of the song, which Microsoft detractors were quick to point out, contains the lyrics "you make a grown man cry."

August 26
Ronnie White of The Miracles died of leukemia on August 26th. He was 56.

August 30
Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, for the first time since 1979. Their marriage had come to an end in 1983.

August 30
Sterling Morrison, a founding member of the Velvet Underground died of cancer at his home in New York, one day after his 53rd birthday.

1996

August 24
"Missing" by an English duo called Everything But The Girl, breaks the all-time chart stay record previously held by The Four Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)", when it appears on the Billboard chart for the 55th week.

August 28
Issac Hayes, who co-wrote Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man", sends a protest letter to presidential candidate Bob Dole, requesting Dole stop using his song, which supporters had changed to "I'm A Dole Man."

2002

August 26
Peter Noone, better known as "Herman" of Herman's Hermits, filed a federal lawsuit against what he said were bogus Hermits. He was seeking an injunction blocking Barry Whitwam, the group's original drummer, from performing with other musicians under the Herman's Hermits name. The suit was unsuccessful and Whitwam continued to tour.

2003

August 26
Rolling Stone Magazine named Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist in Rock history. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder also made the top 10.

August 27
Janis Ian, who scored her first hit, 1967's "Society's Child", when she was just sixteen years old, married her lesbian partner, Patricia Snyder in Toronto. It was the second marriage for both. Janis said she has no plans for a honeymoon since she's too busy working on two upcoming albums. Same sex marriages are now legal in Canada.

2004

August 24
Donovan released his first new album in eight years.

August 26
Pop star Laura Branigan died in her sleep on August 26th at her home in East Quogue, New York after suffering a brain aneurysm. She was 47 years old. Branigan was one of the world's biggest female Pop stars of the 80s with hits like "Gloria", "Self Control" and "Solitaire".

2005

August 28
Art Garfunkel, who pleaded guilty last year to pot possession in upstate New York, was charged again after a marijuana cigarette was allegedly found in the ashtray of his car.

August 29
77 year old Fats Domino was rescued from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. He had earlier told his agent that he planned to remain in his home despite the order to evacuate.

2006

August 24
60 year old Linda Ronstadt canceled tour dates for the rest of the year to recover from an undisclosed surgery.

August 27
Barry Manilow's TV special Barry Manilow: Music and Passion was presented with an Emmy Award for Best Individual Variety Performance. The following day Manilow underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips and faced a six week recovery.

August 27
The Rolling Stones played at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, England on their A Bigger Bang world tour.

2007

August 24
78 year old Bo Diddley was reported in stable condition at a Gainesville, Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. He had complained of dizziness and nausea during a routine medical checkup with his physician. The guitar legend topped the US R&B charts in 1955 with "Bo Diddley" and enjoyed more success with "Who Do You Love", "Before You Accuse Me", "Mona" and "I'm a Man".