Music History on August 19

Yip Yip Yaphank

1918 Irving Berlin's military musical revue "Yip Yip Yaphank" opens at the Century Theater, later transferring to the Lexington, NYC

Radio History

1955 WINS radio (New York City), announces it will not play "copy" white cover versions of R&B records (DJ's play Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame," not Pat Boone's)

  • 1966 Beatles pelted with rotten fruit and firecrackers during concert at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee; Ku Klux Klan demonstrated outside the show and burned records
  • 1967 The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" single goes #1

Music History

1969 Film adaptation of Arlo Guthrie's song "Alice's Restaurant", directed by Arthur Penn, and starring Guthrie premieres

  • 1973 Pirate World Music Radio (Holland) closes down after 10 years

Pussy Cats

1974 RCA records releases "Pussy Cats", the tenth album by American singer Harry Nilsson in the US; album was produced by John Lennon and Nilsson worked through a serious vocal chord injury which diminished his vaunted range

  • 1979 "My Sharonna" by the Knack hits #1, stays at top for 6 weeks

The Fame

2008 Interscope Records releases "The Fame", the debut album by Lady Gaga (Grammy Award Album of the Year, Best Electronic/Dance Album 2009)

Music History

2016 City of San Francisco unveils a statue of singer Tony Bennett outside of the Fairmount Hotel, where he first performed his signature song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in 1961