Music History

“Whenever I Call You Friend” became Kenny Loggins’ first solo Top 40 hit after his three Billboard Top 40 songs with Jim Messina in 1972 and 1973. The duet with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 15 weeks. Loggins later scored a total of 14 solo Top 40 hits.

Soul group The Commodores began a five-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Three Times a Lady”. The song also reached No. 1 in Ireland and Australia. Lionel Richie wrote it about his love for his wife, mother and grandmother, hence the title “Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady”.

AC/DC performed at the Paradise Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols made his final live stage appearance when he appeared together with Rat Scabies of The Damned, former Sex Pistols member Glen Matlock, and Nancy Spungen at London's Electric Ballroom. The audience included Elvis Costello, Blondie, Joan Jett, The Slits, and Captain Sensible.

Singer, songwriter and frontman of rock band The Strokes Julian Casablancas was born in New York. His father is business magnate John Casablancas, founder of Elite Model Management, and his mother is Danish model Jeanette Christiansen, who was crowned Miss Denmark in 1965. The Strokes had the 2001 UK hit “Last Nite” and the debut album “Is This It”, which changed the shape of guitar rock.

Louis Prima, who had the 1958 hit “That Old Black Magic” with his wife Keely Smith, died of pneumonia in New Orleans at the age of 67.

Comedian Steve Martin received a gold record for his novelty song “King Tut”, which reached number 17 on Billboard and had sold more than 500,000 copies when it received its gold certification. It later reached million-selling status in the US. Although it was credited to “Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons”, the backing band was actually The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

August 24, 1978 is the official publication date shown on the cover of Rolling Stone issue No. 272 featuring Bruce Springsteen.

American singer, trumpeter and bandleader Louis Prima died at the age of 67. He became known for leading and performing with several bands across various musical genres.

The first edition of the Canada Jam festival took place at Mosport Park north of Bowmanville in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. More than 110,000 people attended, and performers included The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, The Commodores, The Village People, Triumph, Kansas and The Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Fleetwood Mac, The Cars, Todd Rundgren, Bob Welch and Eddie Money performed at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Frankie Valli reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Grease”, written by Barry Gibb and featured in the film musical of the same name. Almost sixteen years after his first US No. 1 single, “Sherry”, he returned to the top with another song. “Grease” sold more than two million copies in the US, reached No. 3 in the UK and sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

Frankie Valli released the single “Grease”, which later reached No. 1 on the US chart.

Blue Öyster Cult performed at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Boston’s album “Don’t Look Back” was released.

Devo released the album “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo”.

Genesis performed at the Stadthalle concert hall in Vienna, Austria.

Patti Smith performed at The Odeon in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Grateful Dead performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

The Grateful Dead performed "Shakedown Street" live for the first time at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

Epic Records released Molly Hatchet's self-titled debut album. Although it reached No. 64 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, it later received RIAA platinum certification for sales of more than one million copies.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith married model Cyrinda Foxe, who was pregnant with their daughter Mia. They divorced in 1987.

George Harrison, 35, married Olivia Trinidad Arias, 30, a secretary at his record company Dark Horse, in a private ceremony. Their son Dhani was born on August 1. The couple remained together until Harrison’s death in 2001.

Teddy Pendergrass, former lead singer of Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, promoted the album “Life Is A Song Worth Singing” with a concert exclusively for women. The concept was highly successful, and further similarly themed performances sold out.

The Grateful Dead performed before an audience of 66,000 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

Frank Zappa, Scorpions, Brand X, John McLaughlin, Ten Years After, Joan Baez and Genesis appeared at Ludwigsparkstadion in Saarbrücken, Germany.

AC/DC performed at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

Electric Light Orchestra performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Joe Negroni, a founding member and singer with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, died in New York City from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 37, just four days before his 37th birthday. The group had a major 1956 hit with “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” which reached number one in the UK and number six in the US.

Producer Tom Wilson, known among other things for producing Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 47.

American rapper Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, known by her stage name Foxy Brown, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Johnny O'Keefe, an Australian rock'n'roll pioneer, died at the age of 43.

American record producer Thomas "Tom" Wilson died in Los Angeles at the age of 47 from a heart attack. He worked with Bob Dylan on the albums "The Times They Are a-Changin'", "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and "Bringing It All Back Home", with Frank Zappa on "Freak Out!", with Simon & Garfunkel on "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." and with The Velvet Underground on "White Light/White Heat". He also worked with The Mothers of Invention and other artists.

The Who drummer Keith Moon died in London on September 7, 1978, at the age of 32. He was born on August 23, 1946, at Central Middlesex Hospital in London. He died after overdosing on Heminevrin, a sedative prescribed to treat alcohol-related problems. Moon died in apartment No. 12 at 9 Curzon Place in London's Mayfair, which belonged to singer Harry Nilsson. Exactly four years earlier, Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas had died in the same bedroom. The post-mortem found 32 tablets in his body, 26 of which remained undissolved. The previous evening, Moon had attended a party hosted by Paul McCartney to mark the release of The Buddy Holly Story. Moon played on all of The Who's albums from their 1965 debut My Generation through Who Are You in 1978, which was released two weeks before his death. After his death, he was replaced in The Who by Kenney Jones of Faces.

Yes performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

AC/DC released “Highway to Hell,” the band’s final studio album with singer Bon Scott.

Talking Heads released their third studio album, “Fear of Music,” on Sire Records. The album was produced by Brian Eno.

Led Zeppelin headlined the festival at Knebworth Park in England in front of approximately 120,000 people. It was their first British concert in more than four years.

A benefit concert in support of the ailing Lowell George of Little Feat was held, featuring members of his band as well as Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt.

In honor of the late Lowell George and to help support his family, members of Little Feat organized a benefit concert at The Forum in Inglewood. Performers included Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and Nicolette Larson, while additional guests joined various artists throughout the evening. The nearly three-hour concert was held as a one-night-only event.

The film “Rock & Roll High School,” starring the Ramones, premiered in New York.

Def Leppard signed a contract with Phonogram Records with an initial advance of £120,000 ($180,000) and a 10 percent share of sales during the first two years.

Van Halen performed at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Americká rapperka Gangsta Boo, vlastním jménem Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, se narodila. Proslavila se jako členka skupiny Three 6 Mafia a později vydala několik sólových alb.

Chicago vystoupili v Hersheypark Arena v Hershey v Pensylvánii.

Led Zeppelin odehráli své poslední živé vystoupení ve Velké Británii.

Během koncertu Marshall Tucker Band v Long Beach v Kalifornii nespokojený divák ukradl automobil a projel s ním dvěma řadami kovových výjezdových dveří a betonovou zdí. Většina publika již prostor opustila a k vážným zraněním nedošlo.