4 AUGUST
In Music History
2021 Forbes declares Rihanna the richest female musician - by far. Her $1.7 billion fortune is roughly double that of Madonna, who is #2 on the list. Most of Rihanna's earnings are from her Fenty Beauty line. In 2024, Taylor Swift passes her on the list thanks to her highly lucrative Eras Tour.
2016 Nationwide insurance announces a new ad campaign with Brad Paisley and Rachel Platten.More
2012 Electric blues guitarist Johnnie Bassett dies of cancer at age 76.
2011 Rapper Big Sean is arrested in Lewiston, New York, after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a Wiz Khalifa concert, where he was performing. He is eventually fined $750 for second degree unlawful imprisonment.
2007 Lee Hazlewood, who wrote Nancy Sinatra's hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," dies of renal cancer at age 78.
2006 John Locke (keyboardist for Nazareth, Spirit) dies of cancer at age 62.
2005 James "Little Milton" Campbell, known for blues hits such as 1969's "Grits Ain't Groceries," dies of complications following a stroke at age 70.
2000 Coyote Ugly, about an aspiring singer-songwriter (Piper Perabo) who takes a job at a bawdy bar, opens in theaters. LeAnn Rimes, who appears in the film, anchors the soundtrack with four new songs, including the theme, "Can't Fight The Moonlight." It's one of the best-selling soundtracks of the '00s.More
1994 The Notorious B.I.G. marries R&B singer Faith Evans.
1992 Thanks to controversy generated from the song "Cop Killer," the self-titled album by Ice-T's hardcore metal group Body Count is certified Gold for sales of 500,000 in the US.
1991 Jeri Southern, a singer whose popular songs include "An Occasional Man" and "Fire Down Below," dies of pneumonia at age 64.
1981 Marques Houston (of the R&B group Immature) is born in Los Angeles, California. As an actor, he's known for his role as Roger Evans on the '90s sitcom Sister, Sister.
1979 Led Zeppelin headline the Knebworth Festival in the UK, one of just four concerts they play in 1979. They play a second show at Knebworth a week later to meet the unprecedented demand.
1973 Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After (The Song From The Poseidon Adventure)" hits #1 in the US for the first of two weeks.
1971 The rapper Yo-Yo (Yolanda Whitaker) is born in Los Angeles. Teaming with Ice Cube, she has a hit in 1991 with "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo."
Curtis Mayfield Gets Superfly
1972The movie Super Fly is released, along with a soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield that becomes a soul music landmark, taking on the drug culture portrayed in the film with vivid commentary.
Read more4 AUGUST
Featured Events
2017 "Despacito" becomes the most-watched YouTube video ever, passing the Wiz Khalifa/Charlie Puth collaboration "See You Again" with nearly 3 billion views in just seven months. The mark holds until 2020, when "Baby Shark" overtakes it.
1990 Mariah Carey lands her first #1 Hot 100 hit when her debut single, "Vision Of Love," goes to the top. It's the first of her 14 chart-toppers... in the '90s!
1984 The Prince album Purple Rain, which also serves as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, hits #1 in the US, where it stays for an amazing 22 weeks.
1975 While vacationing on the Greek Island of Rhodes, Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant and his family are badly injured in a car accident, forcing the cancellation of an upcoming US tour. Doctors tell Plant he may never walk again, but he makes a full recovery.
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."
1958 Bobby Darin has his first hit as "Splish Splash" reaches #3 in America. The song is later used on Sesame Street as a way to encourage kids to get in the tub.
1901 Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He becomes a formative figure in the world of jazz, popularizing solo improvisations and scat singing. His best-known song, "What A Wonderful World," is recorded in 1967 when he's 66.
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