Eagle Classic Hitstory August 8 on birminghamseagle.com

On This Day in Eagle Classic Hitstory...

sponsored by:

August 8

yesterday
more dates
tomorrow

1952
Journeyman drummer Anton Fig (Frehley’s Comet, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper) is born in Cape Town, South Africa.

1957
Fats Domino releases his debut album, This Is Fats.
Fats Domino "Ain't That A Shame"

1958
Madness guitarist Chris Foreman is born.

1959
Poison drummer Rikki Rocket is born in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

1960
Chubby Checker’s "The Twist" enters the top 40. Fueled by the dance craze, the song will later go to No. 1. A year later, it goes to No. 1 again, being the only record other than Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas" to pull off that feat. "Where Are They Now?" candidate Checker goes on to have a staggering 21 more top 40 hits.

1960
Billboard reports Decca Records dumped 25,000 copies of Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Lover Her." They felt the song, which recounts the last thoughts of a teenager dying from a car accident, is too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.

1961
The Edge (David Evans), guitar player for U2 is born in East London as mere Dave Evans.

1963
The Oregon band the Kingsmen release "Louie Louie." Many radio stations ban the song when they decide the indecipherable lyrics must be obscene.

1964
The Rolling Stones have another riot at one of their concerts. This one is in the Hague, Netherlands. Stones bassist, Bill Wyman said of the event, "The same thing (that happened in Blackpool) happened in this beautiful old opera house in the Hague. They just ripped the place to pieces. We were on stage for 7 minutes. One number at full volume, and two with no electricity. All the power got switched off by the cops. We tried to carry on with maracas and tambourines but we just had to give up. The police made us leave and then the audience destroyed the place, pulled the tapestries off the walls, ripped the fitted chairs out and threw them into the chandeliers. It was really awful."

1964
Eric Burdon tells Billboard the origin of the Animals namesake. He explains it was the group's followers which called them "The Animals" when they were known as the Alan Price Combo. Burdon explains, "(it) was probably an association with the kind of music that we play, earthy and gutty. It's sort of an animal sound, and on stage we can be pretty wild." Also it was on this date that the group's tune "House of the Rising Sun" is released.

1964
Bob Dylan releases his album Another Side of Bob Dylan.

1966
Jackie Wilson records “Whispers (Getting Louder),” which later goes to No. 11.

1968
Guitarist Ian Moore is born in Berkeley, Calif.

1969
The Beatles shoot the cover for their Abbey Road album outside Abbey Road studios in London.

1970
Thousands of Americans are denied entry into Canada for the Strawberry Fields Rock Festival in Mosport, Ontario. Officials denied the concert goers-to-be on the grounds that they "failed to produce adequate monies to support themselves." 8,000 Americans made it there.

1970
Singer Bessie Smith finally gets a marker for her grave in Philadelphia, 33 years after her death. Janis Joplin purchased the marker for the grave, stating that Smith was one of her influences.

1970
CCR's "Looking Out My Back Door" is released.
CCR "Looking Out My Back Door"

1974
Eric Clapton receives a gold record for 461 Ocean Boulevard. It's his comeback album and contains his Number One version of "I Shot the Sheriff." The album reaches the top of the charts.

1975
The Rolling Stones end their U.S. tour before a crowd of 80,000 in Buffalo.

1976
Epic Records releases Boston’s self-titled first album. The album becomes the fastest-selling debut ever.

1980
The Greater London Council orders a halt to the plans of American heavy metal, punk-destructo band the Plasmatics to blow up a car onstage tonight. It's at the Hammersmith Odeon center, the group's first performance in the U.K.

1981
MTV makes its first live concert stereo broadcast. The lucky band is REO Speedwagon.
MTV Promo for REO Speedwagon in Concert 1981

1981
The Pretenders begin their second U.S. tour. It's an eleven week stint that begins in Fort Pierce, Florida. The tour is in support of their new album, Pretenders II.

1982
Jefferson Starship singer Mickey Thomas marries Sara Kendrick in San Francisco.
Jefferson Starship "Sara"

1985
Keith Richards guests on Phantom, Rocker & Slick’s "My Mistake." He accepts a leopard-skin coat as payment.
Phantom, Rocker, & Slick "Men Without Shame" 11-2-85

1986
David Crosby is released from prison after serving a sentence for drug and weapons possession.

1986
Bob Dylan releases Knocked Out Loaded.

1987
U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" hits #1 on the Billboard chart.

1991
Rock organist Billy Preston (”Nothing From Nothing”) is charged with exhibiting pornography to a minor.

1992
Metallica singer James Hetfield was injured by a stage explosion at a concert in Montreal. At the same show, Guns 'n' Roses lead singer Axl Rose lost his voice and cut short their set. Fans weren't too pleased and rioted.

1998
The Rolling Stones perform their first concert in Russia, playing through a driving rain before an appreciative crowd estimated at 70,000.

2000
James Brown’s head of security is arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed Brown’s Augusta, Ga., offices. Brown is also sued for sexual harassment again - this time by a former backing singer.