Pick a Day

14 AUGUST

In Music History

1999 Former teen idol Leif Garrett pleads guilty to drug possession in Los Angeles and is ordered into rehab.

1998 The "A Day in the Garden" festival (which lasts three days) kicks off in Bethel, New York, where the original Woodstock took place 29 years earlier. A mix of rock legends (Pete Townshend, Stevie Nicks) and new bands (Third Eye Blind, The Goo Goo Dolls) play the event.More

1994 Clifton Clowers, the real-life Tennessee mountain man who was the subject of Claude King's 1964 country smash "Wolverton Mountain," dies at the ripe old age of 101, still on the mountain (which is actually spelled "Woolverton"). Clowers apparently couldn't keep suitors away from his daughters as well as the legend suggested, as he leaves behind 15 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

1992 Tony Williams (of The Platters) dies of emphysema at age 64 in Manhattan, New York.

1992 Wayne Newton, with debts of over $20 million, files for bankruptcy. Newton made millions entertaining in Las Vegas, but made some bad investments in the '80s that led to the filing.

1991 The Commitments opens in limited release in the US. The film features all four Corrs in small parts, including the youngest, Andrea, in a speaking role as Sharon Rabbitte. While auditioning for the film, The Corrs connect with future manager John Hughes who helps the group hone their sound and eventually sign a deal with Atlantic Records for their debut album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten.

1991 Tony Orlando and his wife Francine become the proud parents of their first child, Jenny Rose.

1988 Bluesman Roy Buchanan dies of an apparent suicide (though friends and family dispute this) at age 48 in Fairfax, Virginia.

1988 Robert Calvert (frontman for Hawkwind) dies of a heart attack at age 43 in Ramsgate, England.

1987 Guns N' Roses kick off their first North American tour at a show in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They're the opening act for The Cult.

1987 Rap trio the Fat Boys star in the movie Disorderlies, where they play caretakers hired for their incompetence.

1983 Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone fractures his skull in a fight with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction. The fight started when Ramone spotted Macklin with his girlfriend Roxy Whitney (she thinks they have an open relationship). Ramone is rushed to the hospital and undergoes brain surgery; Macklin is arrested and charged with assault.

1981 Four years after Elvis Presley's untimely death, a Memphis judge rules that his estate is no longer financially beholden to his manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker.

1976 Nick Lowe releases his debut solo single, "So It Goes."

1974 Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" is certified Gold.