thebuzzr Independent Music Coverage

#SARS #therollingstones #theguesswho #rush #theisleybrothers #theflaminglips #justintimberlake #theeagles #MTV #edsheeran #wings #paulmccartney #BillboardTop100 #therunaways #joanjett #RIP #MarvinHamlisch #carlolittle #rickjames

July 30, 2003 

When the disease SARS spreads to Toronto, it scares a lot of people away. To get visitors back, the city puts on a huge open-air concert featuring The Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, Rush, The Isley Brothers, The Flaming Lips and Justin Timberlake (who is jeered and has muffins thrown at him). About 450,000 people attend.

July 31, 1980 

The Eagles split up after Glenn Frey and Don Felder go at it on stage.

August 1, 1981 

MTV goes on the air, bringing music videos to the masses – at least the ones with cable.

August 2, 2019 

With a show in Hannover, Germany on the 246th date of his ÷ (Divide) tour, Ed Sheeran breaks the record for highest-grossing tour, surpassing the $735.3 million U2 earned on their 2009-2011 360 tour (they did it in just 110 shows). Sheeran finishes the tour August 26 with a final tally of $775.6 million.

August 3, 1971 

Paul McCartney puts Wings in flight, announcing the formation of his first post-Beatles band. Members are Paul, his wife Linda, former Moody Blues singer Denny Laine on guitar, and Denny Seiwell on drums.

August 4, 1958 

Billboard combines its unwieldy system of five separate sales, jukebox, and DJ charts to make one master chart, the Billboard Hot 100. The first #1 is Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”

August 5, 1975 

The first all-female hard-rock band is formed when producer Kim Fowley puts together The Runaways, featuring Joan Jett, future Bangle Michael Steele, and Lita Ford.

August 6, 2012

Composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch dies from complications after a kidney transplant at age 68 in Los Angeles, California. He wrote the music for “The Way We Were.”

2005

Carlo Little (The Rolling Stones’ original drummer) dies of lung cancer at age 66 in Cleadon, Tyne and Wear, England.

2004

R&B superstar Rick James dies from a culmination of health problems – including heart issues, diabetes and stroke – at age 56 in Los Angeles, California.