This Month in Music History – August

August 1
1981: MTV is seen in 2.1 million homes during its first day on the air
1942: Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead is born Jerome John Garcia
August 3
1968: Over 100,000 people attend the first Newport Pop Festival in Costa Mesa, California
August 4
1958: Billboard magazine debuts its “Hot 100” record list
August 6
1973: Stevie Wonder’s car collides with a logging truck in North Carolina. (Wonder was not driving.) Wonder slips into a four-day coma and permanently loses his sense of smell.
August 7
1987: Ozzy Osbourne is found “not responsible” for the suicide death of a fan whose parents filed suit against the rocker blaming his song “Suicide Solution” for coercing the teen to take his own life
August 8
1992: Metallica’s James Hetfield is seriously burned onstage by a pyrotechnics machine
August 9
1995: Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead dies of a heart attack while in a rehabilitation center
August 11
1966: John Lennon apologizes for his statement that “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus”
August 12
1994: Over 350,000 people attend Woodstock II in Saugerties, New York
1983: While drunk, Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil is involved in a serious car accident which kills Nicholas Dingley of Hanoi Rocks
August 15
1969: The Woodstock Music and Peace Festival, which attracts over 450,000 people, opens on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York
August 16
1977: Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tennessee mansion
1974: The Ramones play their first show at CBGB’s
1962: Pete Best is replaced by Ringo Starr as the drummer for The Beatles
August 23
1980: AC/DC releases their LP Back in Black with new lead singer Brian Johnson replacing the deceased Bon Scott
August 26
1970: Jimi Hendrix makes his final public appearance at The Isle of Wight Festival in England
August 27
1990: Stevie Ray Vaughn dies in a helicopter crash near Alpine Valley, Wisconsin
August 28
1965: The crowd boos Bob Dylan for plugging in during a concert in Forest Hills, New York