On This Day, August 23 in Music History
EVENTS ON AUGUST 23 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day August 23 in 1963 – The Beatles released ‘She Loves You’ in the United Kingdom. It became their best-selling single of all time in the UK and it topped the charts in several countries worldwide.
1969 – The Rolling Stones scored their second No.1 single in the US when ‘Honky Tonk Women’ started a four-week stint at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also topped the charts in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the UK that year.
1969 – With his second live album ‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin’, Johnny Cash started a four-week run at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 chart on this day August 23 in music history.
1975 – Soft rock trio Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds scored their first and only No.1 single in the US with ‘Fallin’ in Love’.
1980 – Rock band Roxy Music went to number one in the UK with their seventh studio album ‘Flesh and Blood’. The album became a chart-topper in New Zealand as well, and it reached the Top 10 in five other countries.
1980 – David Bowie scored his second number one single in the UK with ‘Ashes to Ashes’ on this day August 23 in music history. Interestingly, it cost over $250,000 to make the music video for the song, making it the most expensive music video at the time.
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1986 – With their fourth studio album ‘White on Blonde’, Scottish rock band Texas topped the UK Albums chart on this day August 23.
1986 – Reggae musician Boris Gardiner topped the UK Singles chart with his rendition of Ben Peter‘s country music song ‘I Wanna Wake Up with You’.
1990 – American songwriter, orchestra leader, pianist, composer, and arranger David Rose died at the age of 80. Best remembered for composing songs such as ‘Holiday for Strings’ and ‘The Stripper’.
1994 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley released his first and only studio album ‘Grace’ through Columbia Records. The LP went on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide.
1995 – Canadian electronic musician Dwayne Goettel died on this day August 23, aged 31 from a heroin overdose. Best remembered for his work with the industrial music group Skinny Puppy.
1997 – After a one week break from the top spot, Puff Daddy and the Family returned to No.1 on the US albums chart with ‘No Way Out’. The album also became a chart-topper in Austria, Canada, Switzerland, and the UK that year.
2003 – The compilation album ‘Songbird’ of live recordings and rehearsal tapes by the late Eva Cassidy was at number one in the United Kingdom.
2008 – With ‘Disturbia’, Rihanna went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on this day August 23 in music history. The song also topped the singles charts in Belgium and New Zealand.
2008 – Irish pop rock trio The Script went to number one in the UK with their self-titled debut studio album only a a week after its release.
2008 – The Mamma Mia! film cast topped the US Billboard 200 chart with ‘Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack’. It features performances by the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, and others.
2014 – The soundtrack album to the superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy took the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart. It features songs by various artists such as Blue Swede, David Bowie, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, The Runaways, etc.
2018 – Singer-songwriter George Ezra topped the UK Singles chart with ‘Shotgun’ on this day August 23 in music history. The song was an international hit and it also reached No.1 in Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
2019 – Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album ‘Lover’ through Republic Records. It reached number one in 20 countries around the world.
2021 – Founding member and keyboardist of Simply Red, Fritz McIntyre died on this day August 23 at the age of 62.
BORN ON AUGUST 23 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1913 – American jazz singer and bandleader Robert “Bob” Crosby was born on this day August 23 in Spokane, Washington. Best known as the founder of the group Bob-Cats. He’s also the younger brother of Bing Crosby.
1917 – American Western swing musician Sollie Paul “Tex” Williams was born in Ramsey, Illinois. Best known for his chart-topping novelty song ‘Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)’.
1936 – R&B singer Rudolph Harrell also known professionally as Rudy Lewis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He came to prominence as a member of The Drifters.
1938 – British singer-songwriter and record producer Roger Greenaway was born on this day August 23 in Bristol, England.
1940 – English pop and rock singer Vicki Brown was born in Liverpool. Best known as a member of the bands The Breakaways and The Vernon Girls.
1946 – English drummer Keith Moon was born in Wembley, London. He rose to fame as the drummer for the rock band The Who.
1947 – Folk rock singer Linda Thompson was born in London, England. Best known for her collaboration with guitarist Richard Thompson.
1949 – Australian-American musician and producer Richard Springthorpe also known professionally as Rick Springfield was born in Guildford, Australia. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Jessie’s Girl’, ‘Speak to the Sky’, ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’, etc.
1951 – American singer Jimi Jamison was born in Durant, Mississippi. Best known as the frontman of bands such as Survivor, Target, and Cobra.
1951 – Founding member of the sibling music trio Hudson Brothers, Mark Hudson was born on this day August 23 in Portland, Oregon.
1953 – English singer Robert Gubby also known professionally as Bobby G was born in Epsom, Surrey. He came to prominence as a member of the pop group Bucks Fizz.
1959 – Scottish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and record label owner Edwyn Collins, was born in Edinburgh. Best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the post-punk band Orange Juice.
1961 – Guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots, Dean DeLeo was born in Montclair, New Jersey.
1962 – Co-founder and lead singer of the rock band Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryden was born in Little Hulton, England.
1974 – Co-founder and frontman of the rap rock band Crazy Town, Seth Binzer also known as Shifty Shellshock was born in Los Angeles, California.
1978 -American singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas was born on this day August 23 in New York City. He rose to fame as the co-founder and frontman of the rock band The Strokes.
1986 – One half of the electronic dance music duo LMFAO, Skyler Gordy also known professionally as Sky Blue was born in Los Angeles, California.