Music History

Rosetta Hightower, singer with The Orlons, died on August 2, 2014, at the age of 70. The group had five U.S. Top 20 hits in the 1960s.

“Weird Al” Yankovic’s album “Mandatory Fun” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first album to top the chart.

Billy Joel zazpíval „Uptown Girl“ své bývalé manželce Christie Brinkley během koncertu v Madison Square Garden v New Yorku.

Ed Sheeran byl na prvním místě britského albového žebříčku se svým druhým studiovým albem „X“. Album získalo ve Velké Británii deset platinových certifikací a prodalo se ho více než 3 miliony kopií.

5 Seconds of Summer reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with their debut studio album, “5 Seconds of Summer.” The album was an international hit and reached No. 1 in fourteen countries.

5 Seconds of Summer reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with their debut studio album. The Australian rock band achieved the highest first-week sales for a debut album by a group since Daughtry in 2006 and became the first Australian group to reach No. 1 in the US with a debut.

Lauren Bacall died at the age of 89; the source describes her as the last surviving film star mentioned in Madonna's song “Vogue.”

Their debut single “Rude” reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song became an international hit and reached the Top 10 in a dozen countries.

Police raided his estate in Berkshire, England, searching for evidence of an alleged sexual assault dating from 1985. He was in Portugal at the time, while the BBC received a tip and had reporters and a helicopter at the scene. He was later cleared of the allegations and sued the BBC for invasion of privacy.

Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with "Am I Wrong".

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers reached No. 1 on the US album chart with their final studio album, Hypnotic Eye.

Ed Sheeran's album X spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the UK chart and became, jointly with another album, the longest-running No. 1 album by a solo male artist. The last man to achieve this was James Blunt with Back to Bedlam in 2005.

Kate Bush asked fans not to photograph or record her upcoming series of 22 concerts in London using mobile devices. The 56-year-old singer said she very much wanted to connect with the audience rather than with iPhones, iPads or cameras, and admitted that it was a big request.

Sir Paul McCartney was ranked No. 1 on therichest.com's list of the world's richest bass players, with an estimated fortune of $1.2 billion. Sting and Gene Simmons were tied for second place, each with a fortune of $300 million, followed by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, U2's Adam Clayton and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

John Lennon's murderer, 59-year-old Mark David Chapman, was denied parole for the eighth time by New York State authorities. The parole board stated that his release would be incompatible with public safety and would diminish the seriousness of his crime to such an extent that it would undermine respect for the law.

Beyoncé won four awards at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year for “Wrecking Ball”.

The soundtrack to the superhero film “Guardians of the Galaxy”, assembled from prominent hits of the 1970s, reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and remained there for two weeks. It featured songs by various artists, including Blue Swede, David Bowie, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and The Runaways.

Marion „Suge“ Knight, founder of Death Row Records, was shot at a party hosted by Chris Brown in Los Angeles. Two other people, a man and a woman, were also injured, and all three were treated at hospitals.

Doo-wop singer Tommy Gough of The Crests died at the age of 74 from throat cancer at his home in Flint, Michigan.

BBC Radio 2 listeners voted Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love” the greatest guitar riff of all time. It beat, among others, “Sweet Child O' Mine” by Guns N' Roses, “Back In Black” by AC/DC, “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple and “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos.

Taylor Swift released the single “Shake It Off”, which launched its dominance of the global charts.

Kate Bush returned to the stage after 35 years with a concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The series of 22 sold-out concerts ran from August 26 to October 1, and tickets sold out in less than 15 minutes. The “Before The Dawn” production featured acting elements, puppeteers and an illusionist, and the concerts received enthusiastic reviews; the following week, eight of her albums returned to the UK Top 40.

Glenn Cornick, the original bassist and a founding member of Jethro Tull, died at the age of 67 from heart failure. He was with the group from its formation in late 1967 until 1970.

Belgian music promoter Gustav De Ridder died at the age of 78.

Smokey Robinson achieved his highest position on the album chart with his album "Smokey And Friends".

After returning to the stage, Kate Bush became the first woman to have eight albums in the UK chart simultaneously. Two of her albums were in the Top 10 and eight albums in total were in the Top 40. This happened after she returned to performing and played her first live concerts in 35 years. Before her, only Elvis Presley, who had twelve albums in the Top 40 after his death in 1977, and The Beatles, who had eleven in 2009, had placed more albums in the Top 40.

Jimi Jamison, lead singer of Survivor, died at the age of 63 from a heart attack. He joined the group in 1984 and sang on "The Moment of Truth", "High on You", "I Can't Hold Back", "The Search Is Over", "Burning Heart" and "Is This Love". Together with other writers, he also wrote and sang the theme song "I'm Always Here" for the television series "Baywatch".

The Raskins, who had paid $1 million for the opportunity to accompany Mötley Crüe on tour, were attacked during their performance at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center by members of the headliner's crew, who came onto the stage and poured urine on them. The group subsequently filed a lawsuit.