Music History on August 8

  • 1948 "Hold It!" opens at National Theater NYC for 46 performances
  • 1960 "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" hits #1
  • 1963 Kingsmen release "Louie, Louie", radio stations label it obscene
  • 1964 1st Rolling Stones concert in Netherlands at The Kurhaus of Scheveningen, in The Hague
  • 1964 Dutch Opera forms in Amsterdam
  • 1964 N. Richard Nash, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones' musical "110 in the Shade", based on Nash's drama "The Rainmaker", closes at Broadhurst Theater, NYC after, 330 performances

South Africa Bans the Beatles

1966 South African Broadcasting bans the playing of all Beatles songs due to John Lennon's remark that the band was "more popular than Jesus"

  • 1969 The Beatles are photographed by Iain MacMillan crossing the street as they walk away from EMI Recording Studios, for the cover of their "Abbey Road" album [1]

Music History

1975 Hank Williams Jr. falls off the side of Ajax Peak in Montana

An Innocent Man

1983 Columbia Records releases "An Innocent Man", singer-songwriter Billy Joel's ninth studio album; it featured three Billboard Top 10 hit singles: "Tell Her About It", "Uptown Girl". and the title track

Music History

1984 John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical "The Rink", based on Terrence McNally's novel, and starring Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, closes at Martin Beck Theater, NYC, after 204 performances and a Tony Award for Rivera,

  • 1986 Texas paroles American rock singer David Crosby from state prison, 5 months into his 5 year prison sentence for drug and weapons convictions; he credits the respite with helping him to break his cocaine addiction

Straight Outta Compton

1988 Rap group N.W.A. release their debut studio album "Straight Outta Compton"

Music History

1991 Rock guitar hero Carlos Santana pleads no contest to marijuana possession charge in Houston, Texas

Music History

1991 Singer-keyboardist Billy Preston charged with exhibiting pornography to a minor

Music History

1992 Metallica singer and guitarist James Hetfield suffers second and third-degree burns during a pyrotechnics explosion on stage at Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Gangster's Paradise

1995 "Gangster's Paradise" single released by Coolio (Billboard Song of the Year, 1995)

  • 1996 American jazz artist Mel Tormé (70), suffers a stroke, ending his 65-year singing career

Music History

2016 K-pop girl group Blackpink debuts with the song Whistle

Simon Cowell's Horror Bike Accident

2020 British music mogul and television personality Simon Cowell breaks his back riding an electric exercise bike

Break My Soul Hits #1

2022 Beyoncé’s single "Break My Soul" is her first solo #1 on Billboard's Top 100 in 14 years, the same week her "Renaissance" album reaches No. 1 on Billboard's 200 chart [1]

Tory Lanez Sentenced

2023 Canadian rapper Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot several times during an argument [1]