26 AUGUST
Featured Events
2007 The Rolling Stones wrap up their A Bigger Bang tour at the O2 Arena in London. The tour lasted two years and sets a new record with a gross of $558 million.
2006 Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud?" drops out of the Hot 100 after just eight weeks, establishing a new record for the shortest stay on the chart for a #1 hit. A little perspective: "London Bridge" by Fergie is the 2006 #1 with the next-fewest weeks on the chart, with 21.
1995 Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" hits #1 in the US after being used in the movie Batman Forever. "I owe my career to Joel Schumacher," Seal says, referring to the film's director.
1978 Frankie Valli's "Grease," the title track to the blockbuster film, hits #1 in America.
1976 Steven Tyler of Aerosmith appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Annie Leibovitz took the photo, which shows the frontman haggard and bleary after just two hours sleep. Leibovitz got the shot by showing up at his hotel at 6 a.m.
1970 The five-day Isle of Wight festival kicks off in England, boasting a very impressive lineup, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake And Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone, Free, and in his last concert appearance in England, Jimi Hendrix.More
1967 Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billy Joe" hits #1 in America for the first of four weeks. The song looks at how quickly we move on to the next thing, as Billie Joe's demise quickly becomes old news.
26 AUGUST
In Music History
2023 Sean "Diddy" Combs makes a $1 million donation to the Earn Your Leisure fund to help foster financial literacy, then in a show of support for HBCU's, gives the Jackson State University football team another million. Diddy's alma matter is the HBCU Howard University.
2022 After Jason Aldean's wife Brittany posts a makeup video on Instagram with the caption, "I'd really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase," Maren Morris, an advocate for transgender rights, flames her with a Tweet, writing, "Zip it, Insurrection Barbie." The feud raises tensions between conservative members of the country music community and those with more progressive views like Morris.
2020 Katy Perry welcomes her first child, daughter Daisy Dove Bloom. The father is her partner, actor Orlando Bloom.
2019 Ed Sheeran wraps up his ÷ (Divide) tour with a show at Chantry Park in Ipswich, England, near his hometown of Framlingham. The tour started on March 16, 2017 and set the record for highest-grossing tour, earning $775.6 million over 255 shows. After two-and-a-half years on the road, he's ready for a rest. "This is my last gig for probably 18 months," he tells the crowd.
2016 Ann Wilson's husband is arrested for assault after getting physical with Nancy Wilson's 16-year-old twin sons, causing a rift between the Heart sisters, who finish their tour using separate dressing rooms and avoiding contact.
2014 Kate Bush, who hasn't toured since 1979, returns to the stage for a series of 22 shows at the Eventim Apollo in London. Titled Before The Dawn, it's an elaborate production with acting, a puppeteer, and an illusionist. The shows earn rave reviews and, the next week, eight of her albums return to the Top 40 of the UK albums chart.
2009 Hit songwriter Ellie Greenwich dies from a heart attack at age 68 after a bout of pneumonia.
2005 A post office in Los Angeles is officially renamed after singer Ray Charles due to its close proximity to the studio where he recorded later in life.
2004 "Gloria" singer Laura Branigan dies from a cerebral aneurysm in East Quogue, New York, at age 52.
2002 Herman's Hermits original lead singer Peter Noone files an unsuccessful lawsuit against the group's drummer Barry Whitwam, attempting to block him from touring with new musicians under the group name.
2000 De La Soul's Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, their first album in four years, debuts at #9 on the Billboard 200 chart and #3 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
2000 Allen Woody (bass guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule) dies in Queens, New York, from an indeterminate cause at age 44.
1996 Delegates at the Democratic National Convention take a break to do the "Macarena," including First Lady Hillary Clinton, who's rocking the dance's hand motions from the crowd.
1995 Ronnie White (of The Miracles) dies after a battle with leukemia at age 56 in Detroit, Michigan. White had also lost his first-born daughter to the disease when she was 9 years old.
Unsigned Singer Debuts at #1 With Working-Class Anthem "Rich Men North Of Richmond"
2023Oliver Anthony becomes the first artist with no chart history to debut at #1 in America when "Rich Men North Of Richmond," recorded outdoors in one take with his dogs nearby, shoots to the top.
North of Richmond, Virginia, is Washington, D.C., America's capital. It's where, according to Oliver Anthony, corrupt politicians do their dirty work at the expense of hard-working Americans who get a raw deal. Anthony, from Farmville, Virginia, recorded the song outdoors with just a microphone, guitar, and three dogs lying nearby. He posted the impassioned performance to YouTube and streaming services on August 8, 2023, and it quickly went viral, shared by listeners who resonated with the message and were moved by the authentic passion for Anthony, who is truly independent, with no agent, publicist, or even website. He connects with fans through Facebook, where he explains: "There's nothing special about me. I'm not a good musician, I'm not a very good person. I've spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it's in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away." Knowing that download sales carry a lot of weight in Billboard's formula, enough fans with 99 cents to spare make the purchase, which sends the song to the top of the Hot 100, an unprecedented feat: No other artist who hasn't appeared on a chart has ever debuted at #1.
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