This Day in Music
On August 6, 1965, The Beatles released their highly-anticipated fifth album, Help!, which also served as the soundtrack to their film of the same name. Half of the 14 songs on the LP appeared in the movie, including the title track, “Ticket to Ride,” and “You’re Going to Lose that Girl.” Side B, meanwhile, featured the ballad “Yesterday,” which became one of the most-covered songs ever in popular music history. Help! went on to top the charts in the US, UK, Australia, and Germany and became the first rock album to earn an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys.
On this day in 1960, Chubby Checker performed his enduring cover of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “The Twist,” on American Bandstand. Weeks later, the song went to No.1. The hit would return to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 nearly two years later, in January 1962, making it the first song to reach the position on two separate runs (Mariah Carey would break this record 50 years later with “All I Want for Christmas Is You”).
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In 1970, the Festival for Peace took place at New York City’s Shea Stadium, 25 years after the Hiroshima bombing in Japan. The star-studded concert raised funds for anti-war political candidates and included sets by Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dionne Warwick, Miles Davis, Steppenwolf, and Janis Joplin.
On August 6, 1981, Stevie Nicks released her solo debut, Bella Donna, while still a member of Fleetwood Mac. The album included such hit songs as “Edge of Seventeen,” “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty, and “Leather and Lace” with Don Henley.
In 1963, Bob Dylan entered Columbia Recording Studio to begin recording his legendary third album, The Times They Are A-Changin’ with producer Tom Wilson. The record would be Dylan’s first to be comprised of solely original compositions.
In 1982, Pink Floyd’s The Wall opened in New York. Adapted from the band’s 1979 album of the same name, the film starred Bob Geldof. While it was only available in one theater, initially, it grossed an astonishing $68,000 in its first weekend. It would later expand to hundreds of cinemas and gross $22 million over the next year.
And in 2004, Rick James was found dead in his Los Angeles home. The 56-year-old singer and songwriter was best-known for such hits as “Super Freak” and “Give It To Me Baby.”
1929: Andy Warhol
1939: Sonny Sanders (singer, songwriter, arranger, and founder of the first vocal group to sign to Motown Records, the Satintones)
1946: Allan Holdsworth (Guitarist and composer)
1958: Randy DeBarge (DeBarge)
1969: Elliot Smith
