Today in Oldies Music History: August 4

Today In Oldies Music History: August 4

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Births

1901: Louis Armstrong
1921: Herb Ellis
1930: Bobby Day
1936: Elsbeary Hobbs (The Drifters)
1939: Frankie Ford
1939: Big Dee Irwin
1940: Larry Knechtel (Bread)
1941: Timi Yuro
1943: David Carr (The Fortunes)
1947: Paul Layton (The New Seekers)
1951: Roy Flowers (Sweet Sensation)

Deaths

2005: Little Milton
2007: Lee Hazlewood

Events

1957: The Everly Brothers cause a sensation by performing their upcoming single, "Wake Up Little Susie," on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. The song, a lighthearted tale of two chaste lovers who accidentally fall asleep on a date and are then assumed to have "spent the night together," will be banned in some markets.
1958: Billboard combines its unwieldy system of five separate sales, jukebox, and DJ charts to make one master chart, the "Billboard Hot 100" we know today. The first #1 listed on it is Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool."
1963: The Beatles make their first inroad to the American charts when their latest British single, "From Me To You," debuts at #116 in Billboard. Unfortunately, it stays there, due to problems with its American label (Vee Jay) and a cover version by Del Shannon that got the jump on it. It would take a massive promotional blitz by Capitol over the next five months to ensure a Beatles hit in America with the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There" (Capitol 5112).
1966: South Africa bans all Beatles music as a result of John Lennon's recent "bigger than Jesus" comments.
1967: While on tour in Minneapolis, MN, a sixteen-year-old female fan stows away on the Monkees' plane en route to St. Louis, MO, opening the band up to charges from the girl's father of transporting a minor across state lines.
1970: Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson marries his second wife, Barbara Charren, in Los Angeles. The couple would divorce just four years later.
1970: The Doors' Jim Morrison is arrested in Los Angeles for public drunkenness after being found lying unconscious on a resident's doorstep.
1972: The "blaxploitation" movie Superfly, featuring an acclaimed (and ironic) score from the Impressions' Curtis Mayfield, opens in the US.
1975: While vacationing on the isle of Rhodes in Greece, Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and his family are badly injured in a car accident, forcing the cancellation of an upcoming US tour. Doctors tell Plant he may never walk again.

Releases

1956: Elvis Presley, "Hound Dog" b/w "Don't Be Cruel"
1974: Paul Simon, "Love Me Like A Rock"

Recording

1927: Jimmie Rodgers: "Sleep, Baby, Sleep," "Soldier's Sweetheart"
1969: The Beatles, "Because"

Charts

1956: The Platters' "My Prayer" hits #1
1958: Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" hits #1
1973: Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After (The Song From The Poseidon Adventure)" hits #1

Certifications

none