Today in Oldies Music History: August 21

Today In Oldies Music History: August 21

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Births

1904: Count Basie
1928: Art Farmer
1938: Kenny Rogers
1939: Harold Reid (The Statler Brothers)
1941: Tom Coster (Santana)
1944: Jackie DeShannon
1947: Carl Giammarese (The Buckinghams)
1957: Kim Sledge (Sister Sledge)

Deaths

2005: Robert Moog

Events

1920: Elvis Presley makes his first public stage appearance outside of his home state when he appears at the Mint Club in Gladewater, TX.
1966: In an incident that cements the group's desire never to tour again, the Beatles are forced to play under a tarp at the Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, MI, due to heavy rains. (In addition, they'd already played an afternoon show and traveled some 400 miles to make this one.)
1968: Jerry Lee Lewis agrees to play Iago in a controversial (and ultimately disastrous) rock-opera version of Shakespeare's Othello entitled Catch My Soul, debuting in London.
1972: At a Jefferson Airplane show in Akron, OH, a fight breaks out on stage between the band and the local police -- present because of an earlier bomb threat -- after guitarist Paul Kantner refers to them as "pigs." During the brawl, lead singer Grace Slick is maced in the eyes, Kantner is injured after being thrown to the floor, and bassist Jack Casady is arrested. Spectators throw rocks at the police, who respond with tear gas.
1976: Worldwide sales of Elvis Presley records pass the four hundred million mark.
1980: Linda Ronstadt makes her Broadway debut in Joseph Papp's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, also starring Rex Smith and Kevin Kline.
1993: Following up the claims made by a child who'd recently spent time there, Los Angeles police conduct a raid on Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, searching for evidence of child pornography.
1993: Elton John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin marries his third wife, Stephanie Haymes.
1994: After he crashes his Porsche into a tree near his home in Aspen, CO, John Denver is charged with driving under the influence. It is his second such offense in two years.
1996: Having served two years of his original five year sentence for kidnapping and torturing a guest, Rick James is released from Folsom State Penitentiary in California.

Releases

1965: Barry McGuire, "Eve Of Destruction"
1965: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Do You Believe In Magic"

Recording

1938: Fats Waller, "Ain't Misbehavin'"
1958: Ricky Nelson, "Lonesome Town"
1961: Patsy Cline, "Crazy"
1968: The Beatles, "Sexy Sadie"

Charts

1961: Elvis Presley's LP Something For Everybody hits #1
1965: The Rolling Stones' LP Out Of Our Heads hits #1

Certifications

none