On This Day In Music History 16 August

Here are the key events in Music on August 16:

Watch the Noise11.com interview with Stan Lynch of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:

1938: Blues legend Robert Johnson, whose haunting recordings deeply influenced artists from Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton, died, likely poisoned, at age 27.
1962: Ringo Starr officially joined The Beatles, replacing Pete Best as their drummer.
1966: The Monkees released their debut single, “Last Train to Clarksville”, which soon became a summer hit.
1969: The Woodstock Festival’s second day showcased iconic acts—Santana, Janis Joplin, CCR, The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and more. On stage, Carlos Santana famously played his set under the influence of mescaline.
1975: Peter Gabriel departed from Genesis to pursue his solo career.
Additionally, The Stylistics reached No. 1 in the UK with both their compilation album The Best of The Stylistics and the single “Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)”
1976: Cliff Richard became one of the first Western artists to perform behind the Iron Curtain, with a concert in Leningrad, USSR.
1977: The music world was struck by tragedy—Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” died at 42 in Memphis.
1985–1986: Madonna’s album True Blue and single “Papa Don’t Preach” both soared to No. 1 in the U.S., cementing her pop icon status.
1997: Will Smith launched a four-week UK No. 1 run with “Men in Black” (the movie’s theme). Meanwhile, fans gathered in Memphis for a 10-minute vigil around Elvis’s grave on the 20th anniversary of his death.
2000: Alan Caddy, guitarist of The Tornados (“Telstar”) passed away—he was instrumental in the 1962 hit and early British rock arrangements.
2008: Katy Perry launched her debut single “I Kissed a Girl” to a five-week UK No. 1 streak. In the same year, Sugarland’s album Love on the Inside topped the U.S. charts
2014: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hit No. 1 in the U.S. with their final studio album Hypnotic Eye.
2018: The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, passed away at 76—a devastating loss to music and cultural history.

Watch the Noise11 interview with Mike Campbell from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:

Notable Birthdays on August 16

Madonna – born 1958.
Vanessa Carlton – Singer-songwriter known for “A Thousand Miles”, born 1980.
Young Thug – Rapper, born 1991.

Other notable births include:
Robert “Squirrel” Lester (The Chi-Lites) – 1942.
Tim Farriss (INXS) – 1957.
Emily Robison (The Chicks) – 1972.
Jazz greats born on this day include:
Bill Evans – influential post-bop pianist (born 1929).
Eydie Gormé – pop and Latin singer (born 1931).

Plus numerous others like Al Hibbler, Ernie Freeman, Eddie Kirkland—all born August 16 across the 1910s–20s.

Watch the Noise11 interview with Belmont Tench of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:

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Tagged as: music history, On this day, Tom Petty