17 AUGUST
In Music History
1967 Gary Puckett and the Union Gap records "Woman, Woman."
1966 Vocalist/bassist Jill Cunniff (of Luscious Jackson) is born in New York City.
1965 Drummer Steve Gorman, a founding member of The Black Crowes, is born in Muskegon, Michigan. His time with the band ends in 2015; in 2019 he publishes a tell-all memoir called Hard To Handle. His pick for their best album: The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion from 1992.
1964 Alt rock/country singer Maria McKee is born in Los Angeles, California.
1960 The Beatles start their run at the Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany, honing their skills with four-hour sets where they play lots of R&B covers along with their original songs.
1958 Belinda Carlisle, lead vocalist for The Go-Go's, is born in Los Angeles, California.
1955 Colin Moulding (bassist for XTC) is born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
1950 The Weavers' "Goodnight Irene" hits #1.
1949 Sib Hashian (drummer for Boston) is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1947 Rock/soul musician Gary Talley (of The Box Tops and Big Star) is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
1944 Folk rocker John Seiter (of Spanky and Our Gang) is born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1933 Pop singer Mark Dinning is born in Manchester, Oklahoma.
1932 Jazz pianist/composer Duke Pearson is born in Atlanta, Georgia.
1919 Jazz singer Georgia Gibbs is born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Known for the 1950 hit "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake."
1917 The Original Dixieland Jass Band (shortly after changing "Jass" to "Jazz") makes the first recording of the standard "Tiger Rag."
Nirvana Shoot "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Video
1991Nirvana shoot their video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It is set to look like a deranged pep rally at "Anarchy High School," and features fans recruited at a concert two days earlier. The video is a huge hit on MTV and helps propel Nirvana into the mainstream.
Read more17 AUGUST
Featured Events
2011 "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry hits #1 on the Hot 100, making her just the second artist with five #1 singles from the same album (Teenage Dream). The other five-time chart topper: Michael Jackson's Bad.
2004 The venerable "Like A Rock" ad campaign comes to an end, as Chevy stops using the song and ends their association with Bob Seger. The 1986 song wasn't written for Chevy, but was used in the ads since 1989. Two years later, John Mellencamp's "Our Country" becomes the Silverado theme.
2002 Nelly becomes the fifth artist to replace himself at #1 on the Hot 100 when "Dilemma" takes the top spot from "Hot In Herre."
1980 At the Toledo Speedway Jam II in Toledo, Ohio, ZZ Top headline the show with AC/DC, Sammy Hagar and Humble Pie on the undercard. (Also advertised on the poster: 800 kegs of beer, drinking age 18 in Ohio!) It is the last time AC/DC is a support act until 2003, when they open for The Rolling Stones.
1977 It's the day after Elvis Presley is found dead, and throngs of fans come to Graceland to mourn. President Jimmy Carter releases a statement saying, in part, "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable."
1969 Woodstock moves into day three, with performances by Joe Cocker; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Blood, Sweat & Tears; and Country Joe & the Fish, who perform their famous "Fish Cheer."
1968 The Doors' third album, Waiting For The Sun, hits #1 in America thanks to the hit "Hello, I Love You." They recorded the song after scraping plans to put a Jim Morrison poetry piece called "Celebration of the Lizard" on the entire first side.
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC