More About Music History On This Day
8 May 1984
Roger Waters released his first solo album The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. The concept album, as originally envisioned by Waters in 1977, rotated around a man's thoughts during a midlife crisis, and featured guest musicians Eric Clapton on guitar, David Sanborn on saxophone and Michael Kamen on piano.
8 May 1993
Aerosmith entered the US album chart at No.1 with 'Get A Grip'. The album went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide as well as winning the band two Grammy awards.
8 May 1996
A Los Angeles judge ruled against Tommy Lee and wife Pamela Anderson in their bid to keep Penthouse magazine from publishing still photos from an X-rated home movie that was stolen from their home.
8 May 2005
Bruce Springsteen was at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Devils and Dust' his 13th No.1 studio album.
8 May 2006
The Rolling Stones called off their forthcoming European tour after guitarist Keith Richards underwent emergency brain surgery. The 62-year-old guitarist suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree on holiday in Fiji.
8 May 2008
American audio engineer Larry Levine died of emphysema in Encino, California at the age of 80. He was known for his work with Phil Spector on the Wall of Sound recording technique. He worked on The Beach Boys influential 1966 album Pet Sounds and received the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording for 'A Taste of Honey' performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The recording also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1966.
8 May 2008
American Country artist Eddy Arnold died of natural causes, one week before his 90th birthday. He sold more than 85 million records and had 147 songs on the US charts, including 28 number one hits on Billboard's Country Singles chart. He was once managed by Colonel Tom Parker (who later managed Elvis Presley). Arnold had the 1965 US No.4 hit, ‘Make The World Go Away’.
8 May 2013
Ja Rule was released from prison after serving nearly two years on gun and tax evasion charges. The rapper was let out of a prison in Ray Brook, New York, but would remain under house arrest until 28 July. The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to not filing tax returns over a five-year period in 2011 and attempted criminal possession of a weapon the year before. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison after failing to pay $1.1m in taxes between 2004 and 2008. The rapper was also sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a semi-automatic handgun, which police found hidden in his car after a concert in New York in 2007.
8 May 2013
A painting by Fernand Leger owned by Madonna sold for $7.2 million in New York. The singer bought the 1921 Cubist work, Three Women at the Red Table, in 1990 for $3.4m. According to Sotheby's, proceeds from the sale "would benefit Madonna's Ray of Light Foundation, supporting girls' education projects in the Middle East and South Asia".
8 May 2014
Chuck Berry was named as one of the 2014 Polar Music Prize laureates. A spokesperson from the award committee said: "In the course of three minutes he conjures up an image of the everyday life and dreams of a teenager, often with the focus on cars. Chuck Berry, born in 1926, was the first to drive up onto the highway and announce that we are born to run."
8 May 2016
Following his unexpected death, Prince had the top two spots on the Billboard albums chart with The Very Best of Prince at No.1 and Purple Rain at No.2. With his music unavailable on most streaming services and download distributors, physical albums were in many cases the best way to get his music.
Roger Waters released his first solo album The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. The concept album, as originally envisioned by Waters in 1977, rotated around a man's thoughts during a midlife crisis, and featured guest musicians Eric Clapton on guitar, David Sanborn on saxophone and Michael Kamen on piano.
8 May 1993
Aerosmith entered the US album chart at No.1 with 'Get A Grip'. The album went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide as well as winning the band two Grammy awards.
8 May 1996
A Los Angeles judge ruled against Tommy Lee and wife Pamela Anderson in their bid to keep Penthouse magazine from publishing still photos from an X-rated home movie that was stolen from their home.
8 May 2005
Bruce Springsteen was at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Devils and Dust' his 13th No.1 studio album.
8 May 2006
The Rolling Stones called off their forthcoming European tour after guitarist Keith Richards underwent emergency brain surgery. The 62-year-old guitarist suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree on holiday in Fiji.
8 May 2008
American audio engineer Larry Levine died of emphysema in Encino, California at the age of 80. He was known for his work with Phil Spector on the Wall of Sound recording technique. He worked on The Beach Boys influential 1966 album Pet Sounds and received the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording for 'A Taste of Honey' performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The recording also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1966.
8 May 2008
American Country artist Eddy Arnold died of natural causes, one week before his 90th birthday. He sold more than 85 million records and had 147 songs on the US charts, including 28 number one hits on Billboard's Country Singles chart. He was once managed by Colonel Tom Parker (who later managed Elvis Presley). Arnold had the 1965 US No.4 hit, ‘Make The World Go Away’.
8 May 2013
Ja Rule was released from prison after serving nearly two years on gun and tax evasion charges. The rapper was let out of a prison in Ray Brook, New York, but would remain under house arrest until 28 July. The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to not filing tax returns over a five-year period in 2011 and attempted criminal possession of a weapon the year before. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison after failing to pay $1.1m in taxes between 2004 and 2008. The rapper was also sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a semi-automatic handgun, which police found hidden in his car after a concert in New York in 2007.
8 May 2013
A painting by Fernand Leger owned by Madonna sold for $7.2 million in New York. The singer bought the 1921 Cubist work, Three Women at the Red Table, in 1990 for $3.4m. According to Sotheby's, proceeds from the sale "would benefit Madonna's Ray of Light Foundation, supporting girls' education projects in the Middle East and South Asia".
8 May 2014
Chuck Berry was named as one of the 2014 Polar Music Prize laureates. A spokesperson from the award committee said: "In the course of three minutes he conjures up an image of the everyday life and dreams of a teenager, often with the focus on cars. Chuck Berry, born in 1926, was the first to drive up onto the highway and announce that we are born to run."
8 May 2016
Following his unexpected death, Prince had the top two spots on the Billboard albums chart with The Very Best of Prince at No.1 and Purple Rain at No.2. With his music unavailable on most streaming services and download distributors, physical albums were in many cases the best way to get his music.
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