Music History

Elton John performed the first of three nights at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. The concerts were intended to raise $150,000 for the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.

Glen Campbell was at No. 1 on the US country chart with “Rhinestone Cowboy”. The song was one of six songs released in 1975 that reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Singles.

Australian singer, songwriter and actress Natalie Imbruglia was born.

The Four Seasons released the single “Who Loves You”, which became their first Top 10 song in eight years.

Eric Clapton performed at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.

American rapper Mason Durell Betha, known as Mase, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He became known for the songs “Feel So Good” and “Lookin' at Me” from his solo debut “Harlem World” in 1997. In 1998, he had the UK hit “Top Of The World” with Brandy and also worked with Puff Daddy, Blackstreet and The Notorious B.I.G.

Aerosmith performed at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.

“Walk This Way” was released as the second single from Aerosmith’s album “Toys in the Attic”. The song originated during a soundcheck in Honolulu, where Steven Tyler, Joey Kramer, and Joe Perry worked on a groove influenced by funk and James Brown. It initially failed to make an impact on the charts, but after being reissued the following year it reached No. 10 and became one of Aerosmith’s most important songs.

Guitarist and singer Kyle Cook, known as a member of the rock band Matchbox Twenty, was born in Frankfort, Indiana. The band achieved international success with its 1996 debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You", which received twelve-times-platinum certification in the US and multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

ZZ Top performed at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Casey Johnson, bassist with American Hi-Fi, was born.

Elton John’s ninth studio album “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” returned to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 after a six-week break. That same year, it also topped the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Eric Clapton performed at the Scope arena in Norfolk, Virginia.

KC and the Sunshine Band reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Get Down Tonight”. It was the first of five of their singles to reach No. 1, and the song reached No. 21 in the UK. It later received a platinum certification for sales of one million copies in the US and reached No. 1 in Canada.

Orleans first entered the Billboard Top 40 with “Dance With Me”, which later climbed to No. 6. The following year, they returned to the chart with “Still The One”, which reached No. 5, and in 1979 with “Love Takes Time”, which reached No. 11.

Paul Kossoff, guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler, was taken to hospital after a sudden deterioration in his health, where he was considered dead for 35 minutes. Kossoff died on March 19, 1976, from heart failure following long-term problems with drug use.

Rod Stewart reached No. 1 on the UK albums chart with “Atlantic Crossing”, which began a five-week run at the top.

Rod Stewart and the Faces, Loggins & Messina, Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California.

Australian singer, actress and television personality Natalie Bassingthwaighte of Rogue Traders was born.

The J. Geils Band performed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario.

American heavy metal singer Jill Janus was born in New York. She became best known as the frontwoman of Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls.

Actor and singer Nate Richert was born.

Singer Tony Thompson of Hi-Five was born in Waco, Texas. He grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1991, the group had the US number-one hit “I Like The Way, The Kissing Game”, which reached number 43 in the UK.

DJ Redfoo, whose real name is Stefan Kendal Gordy and a member of the duo LMFAO, was born. He is the son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.

The star-studded improvised group Trading Faces was formed at actor Peter Sellers’ 50th birthday celebration in Los Angeles. The lineup consisted of Bill Wyman, Ronnie Wood, Jesse Ed Davis, Danny Kortchmar, Keith Moon, Joe Cocker, Nigel Olsson, David Bowie and Bobby Keys.

Hawkwind performed at the Olympen venue in Lund, Sweden.

British-American DJ, music producer and songwriter Mark Ronson was born in London, England. In 2007, his album Version reached number two in the UK, and he produced recordings for Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Miley Cyrus. In 2014, his single “Uptown Funk,” featuring Bruno Mars, spent 14 weeks at number one in the US and seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK singles chart.

The Eagles performed at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Black Sabbath performed at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California.

Jethro Tull released the album Minstrel in the Gallery, featuring arrangements by David Palmer's string quartet.

The Carpenters reached number one on the Easy Listening chart with their version of Neil Sedaka's “Solitaire.”

Glen Campbell began a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Rhinestone Cowboy". It was his first chart-topper after 13 Top 40 hits. The recording became a million-selling hit, received three Grammy nominations and was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1976. It reached No. 4 in the UK.

Glen Campbell released the single "Rhinestone Cowboy", which reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart.

Jefferson Starship earned their first No. 1 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 with their second studio album, "Red Octopus".

Rod Stewart took his version of "Sailing" by the Sutherland Brothers to No. 1 on the UK singles chart. The song was originally released by the Scottish folk-rock duo Sutherland Brothers in June 1972. Stewart's version also reached No. 1 in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway that year and was featured in a BBC television series about HMS Ark Royal.

Steve Anderson set a record for guitar playing. At the age of 22, he played for 114 hours and 7 minutes, beating the previous record by more than four hours.

The Eagles released the single “Lyin’ Eyes”.

The Guess Who played their final concert at the Montreal Forum. In 1987, they temporarily reunited for The Guess Who Juno Special. Later, a dispute arose among the original members because Jim Kale and Garry Peterson continued using the band's name with new musicians. In 2023, Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman regained the right to use the name The Guess Who, and in 2026 they began touring again.

Peter “Puddy” Watts, road manager for Pink Floyd, died of a heroin overdose. His manic laughter was used on the album The Dark Side of the Moon.

Elvis Presley performed a three-night concert run at the Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville, North Carolina, from August 3 to August 5, 1976.

Grateful Dead performed at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey.

NBC aired the special “The Beach Boys: It's O.K.” to mark the group's 15th anniversary. The program featured interviews, comedy sketches and concert footage, with appearances by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

During a performance in Birmingham, England, Eric Clapton publicly expressed support for the right-wing National Front and made racist remarks.

Robin Trower performed at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Earth, Wind & Fire byli se skladbou „Getaway“ na prvním místě R&B žebříčku.

Elton John byl hlavní hvězdou každoročního festivalu Summerfest na Rich Stadium v Buffalu v New Yorku. Jako předskokani vystoupili John Miles a Boz Scaggs.

Elton John a Kiki Dee se skladbou „Don't Go Breaking My Heart“ dosáhli prvního místa amerického singlového žebříčku, kde zůstali čtyři týdny. Pro Eltona Johna šlo o jeho šestý americký hit číslo jedna. Skladba se dostala na první místo v celkem devíti zemích včetně Velké Británie, Austrálie a Kanady. Autory byli Elton John a Bernie Taupin, kteří skladbu vydali pod pseudonymy Ann Orson a Carte Blanche.

The Sex Pistols se poprvé objevili na titulní straně britského hudebního týdeníku Melody Maker.

American singer and actor Drew Lachey was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He became known as a member of the pop and R&B group 98 Degrees.