13 AUGUST
In Music History
1968 Soul singer Joe Hinton dies of skin cancer at age 38 in Boston, Massachusetts. Known for the popular cover "Funny How Time Flies Slips Away," written by Willie Nelson.
1967 A planned Joan Baez concert at Washington DC's Constitution Hall is canceled after the Daughters of the American Revolution protest her recent anti-war remarks concerning Vietnam.
1966 With some members of the media turning on The Beatles after John Lennon's comments that they are "more popular than Jesus" are published, the Texas radio station KLUE-AM holds the first "Beatles Bonfire," where people can burn their Beatles albums.
1966 Napoleon XIV's goofy breakup song "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa" peaks at #3 on the Hot 100. It quickly drops to the bottom of the Top 40, however, as several radio stations ban the tune, fearing its lyrics might be interpreted as being insensitive to the mentally ill.
1965 Jefferson Airplane make their stage debut at San Francisco's new club The Matrix (3138 Fillmore). The group gets a record deal after receiving a positive review in the San Francisco Chronicle.
1965 The Beatles release the album Help! in the US. Along with the title track, it includes the hit "Ticket To Ride."
1964 The Supremes record "Baby Love" at Motown studios. The song is inspired by a girl who had the heart of Lamont Dozier, who wrote the song with Eddie and Brian Holland. This team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote most of the hits for the group.
1963 The Four Seasons sue their struggling first label, Vee Jay, for non payment of royalties and move to Mercury/Philips Records. This would be the first of a long line of incidents that would doom the label.
1963 Elvis Presley's Girls! Girls! Girls! album is certified Gold.
1959 Danny Bonaduce (of The Partridge Family) is born in Broomall, Pennsylvania.
1959 In Nashville, Brenda Lee records "Sweet Nothin's," a song about young love, appropriate as she's just 15.
1952 Guitarist/vocalist Hughie Thomasson (of Outlaws and Lynyrd Skynyrd) is born in Tampa, Florida.
1952 Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton records the original version of "Hound Dog," later popularized by Elvis Presley.
1951 Dan Fogelberg is born in Peoria, Illinois.
1949 Cliff Fish (bass guitarist for Paper Lace) is born in Ripley, Derbyshire, England.
Björk Dresses To Impress In Athens
2004At the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Björk wears a dress that unfurls about 10,000 feet of fabric, which is stretched to cover the viewing area where a world map is then projected. All of this takes place while she sings "Oceania."
Read more13 AUGUST
Featured Events
1993 Steely Dan, who broke up in 1981, re-form and begin a US tour at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Walter Becker explains: "We spent all the money from the last tour. We made $800 each and it's all gone now."
1990 While warming up for an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Curtis Mayfield is paralyzed when a lighting tower falls from the stage and onto his back. He remains a quadriplegic for the next nine years until his death in 1999.
1975 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play the first of five sold-out shows at The Bottom Line in New York City. The shows help establish Springsteen as a great live performer and draw national attention.
1973 Lynyrd Skynyrd release their debut album, Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd. It's an impressive set, containing the Skynyrd classics "Tuesday's Gone," "Simple Man" and "Free Bird."More
1966 The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer In The City" hits #1 for the first of three weeks, becoming the first chart-topper with street sounds in the mix.
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