11 AUGUST
In Music History
1950 Eric Braunn (guitarist for Iron Butterfly) is born Rick Davis in Pekin, Illinois.
1949 Eric Carmen (of The Raspberries) is born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1948 Bill Hurd (pianist/organist for the Rubettes) is born in East Ham, East London, England.
1943 Songwriter Kenny Gamble is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Co-wrote a string of popular Soul hits with Leon Huff, including "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "Back Stabbers" and "Me and Mrs. Jones."
1943 Saxophonist Denis Payton (of The Dave Clark Five) is born in Walthamstow, North London, England.
1943 Jim Kale (bassist for The Guess Who) is born Michael James Kale in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1942 Guy Villari (of The Regents - the original "Barbara Ann" singers) is born in The Bronx, New York.
1942 Mike Hugg (of Manfred Mann) is born in Gosport, Hampshire, England.
1939 Rockabilly guitarist Ronnie Dawson is born in Dallas, Texas. He makes a name on the local scene in the '50s and '60s but becomes much more visible during the rockabilly resurgence of the '90s.
1937 Shel Talmy, who produces the first Who album and much of the early Kinks output, is born in Chicago, Illinois.
1925 Singer/talk show host Mike Douglas is born in Chicago, Illinois.
1922 Ron Grainer, composer of the "Doctor Who Theme," is born in Queensland, Australia.
Keith Moon Shows His Dark Side In A Moment Of Lunacy
1976Keith Moon trashes a hotel room - no surprise there. But this time The Who drummer is hospitalized after beating up his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami.
Read more11 AUGUST
Featured Events
1995 Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer as an inner-city schoolteacher, debuts in US theaters. The movie's soundtrack tops the Billboard albums chart thanks to its lead single, Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise."
1986 The Monkees, on a reunion tour, have an amazing six albums on the Billboard 200. The highest is The Monkees at #92.
1980 Johnny Cash sings a duet of "Jackson" with Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show. He also gets under the fur of Rowlf the dog with his song "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog."
1973 The first big oldies revival kicks off in earnest as George Lucas' new film, American Graffiti, opens in theaters. Set in 1962, the film creates a wave of nostalgia for songs from the '50s and early '60s.More
1973 At a dance party in the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc plays a set with lots of instrumental breaks that his friend MCs over, marking what many consider the beginning of hip-hop.More
1964 With Beatlemania at a fever pitch, the group's first movie, A Hard Day's Night, debuts in America.More
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC