What happened in Music on this day !?

August 12th

1967 

Scott McKenzie was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)’. Written by John Phillips, the song was produced and released to promote the Monterey Pop Festival held in June of this year.

August 13th

2014 

‘Rude’ the debut single by Canadian band Magic! was at No.1 on the US singles chart. It became the ninth best-selling song of 2014, with global sales of 8.6 million units, and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year.

August 14th

1968

'Fire' by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. As part of his act Brown would perform the song on stage with his hat set alight!

August 15th

1976 

ABBA released 'Dancing Queen' as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival. Dancing Queen' (which had the working title of 'Boogaloo') went on to top the charts in more than a dozen countries including the United States where it became ABBA's only No.1.

August 16th

2015 

One Direction were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Drag Me Down'. It was the band's first single since Zayn Malik's departure earlier in this year The track won the fan-voted 'Best Video Award' at the 2016 Brit Awards.

August 17th

2002 

Darius was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Colourblind'. The third "Pop Idol" finalist to get a number one. He'd originally lost out on "Popstars", failing to get a place in the group Hear'Say, and then came third in "Pop Idol".

August 18th

1966 

Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was climbing the US charts. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, ‘The Mighty Quinn,’ a song written by Bob Dylan.

August 19th

2005 

A life-size bronze statue designed by Paul Daly of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by his former Thin Lizzy band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. Lynott who died in 1986 aged 36 had a string of hits including 'Whiskey in the Jar', 'The Boys are Back in Town', 'Jailbreak' and 'Waiting for an Alibi'.

August 20th

2000 

Spiller went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Groovejet'. The Italian DJ and producer mixed the track based on an old 1970s hit 'Love Is You' by Carol Williams, with new vocals by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

August 21st

1997 

 Oasis third album 'Be Here Now', became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release. The cover image for Be Here Now was shot at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK.

August 22nd

1963 was born Tori Amos

American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos who had the 1994 UK No.4 single 'Cornflake Girl'. Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She was expelled at the age of 11 for "musical insubordination". Her 1996 hit 'Professional Widow' is widely rumoured to be about Courtney Love.

August 23rd

1986 

Jamaican singer Boris Gardiner started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Want to Wake Up with You'.

August 24th

1991 

Lenny Kravitz was at No.2 in the US singles chart with 'It Ain't Over Till It's Over', held off the No.1 position by Bryan Adams '(Everything I Do), I Do It for You'.

August 25th

2014 

Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' was voted the greatest guitar riff of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2 in the UK. The rock classic came out top from a list of 100 riffs drawn up by a panel of Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, critics and record producers. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns 'N' Roses was second in the poll, with Back In Black (AC/DC) and 'Smoke On The Water' (Deep Purple) the next most popular.

August 26th

1995 

Blur scored their first UK No.1 single with 'Country House' and won a media battle with Oasis for the No.1 position. Both acts released their new singles on the same day, 'Country House' topped the chart, selling 270,000 copies, compared to 'Roll with It' which sold 220,000, seeing Oasis entering the chart at No.2.

August 27th

2021

American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo was at No.1 on both the US and UK album charts with her debut studio album Sour. Originally planned as an EP, Sour was expanded into a full-length album following the viral success of her debut single, 'Drivers License'. 

August 28th

1965 was born Shania Twain

Shania Twain, Canadian singer, (Eilleen Regina Edwards). Her 1997 album 'Come On Over', became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time selling more than 40 million copies worldwide. Twain has won 5 Grammy Awards and 27 BMI Songwriter awards and is sometimes referred to as "The Queen of Country Pop", she is one of the most commercially successful artists of all time, having sold over 80 million albums.

August 29th

1958 was born Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson singer, songwriter, Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and solo. Jackson is recognised as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. The music videos for 'Beat It', 'Billie Jean', and 'Thriller' are credited with breaking down racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. His 1982 album Thriller, is the best-selling studio album of all time. Jackson died on 25th June 2009 at the age of 50, after suffering heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills.

August 30th

2024

Sabrina Carpenter became the first female artist (and third overall) to simultaneously hold the No.1 position on the UK albums and singles charts with the single ‘Taste' and the album Short ’n Sweet. When Taste, debuted at No.2 on the US Hot 100, it made Carpenter the first act since The Beatles to chart their first three top-five hits within a single week.

August 31st

2021 

Ed Sheeran was at No.1 on the UK singles charts with ' Bad Habits', the lead single from his fifth studio album, = ("Equals"). The song spent eleven consecutive weeks at the top of both the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart and also became the best-selling single of the year in both countries. In the US, the song peaked at No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

September 1st

2022 

The Metallica classic 'Enter Sandman' topped a list of songs with misheard lyrics, while Mick Jagger was named as the singer people struggle most to understand. A survey of 1,000 Americans by WordFinder also suggested that 65% of people, on discovering they’ve been wrong for years about a favorite song, decide they prefer the incorrect version. “Enter Sandman” came on top overall, with 70% of listeners believing the line “Exit light, enter night” was actually “Eggs and light end all nights.” 52% heard The Beatles sing “I get high, I get high, I get high” on I Want to Hold Your Hand rather than the real words “I can’t hide, I can’t hide, I can’t hide.” Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' came next: “With the lights out, it’s less dangerous / Here we are now, entertain us” heard as “With the lights out, it’s Las Vegas / Hear me all now, entertainers”.

September 2nd

2020 

Killers were at No.1 on the UK charts with their sixth studio Imploding the Mirage becoming the third fastest-selling album of the year so far. It was also the Killers' sixth consecutive UK chart-topper.

September 3rd

1966 

Donovan went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sunshine Superman', a No.2 hit in the UK. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. The song was written for Donovan's future wife Linda Lawrence.

September 4th

1990 was born James Bay

English singer-songwriter and guitarist James Bay. His 2015 album Chaos and the Calm went to No.1 on the UK album chart. In February 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award and at the 2016 Brit Awards he received the award for Best British Male Solo Artist.

September 5th

1946  was born Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury British singer, songwriter, record producer with Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Queen had had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Bohemian Rhapsody', plus over 40 other UK Top 40 singles. And the 1980 US No.1 single 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. As a solo artist he scored the 1987 UK No. 4 single 'The Great Pretender'. Mercury died of bronchio-pneumonia on November 24th 1991 aged 45, just one day after he publicly announced he was HIV positive.