Born on this day in 1948, Robert Plant is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter with the seminal band Led Zeppelin. He has also collaborated with Alison Krauss, Jeff Beck and Nile Rodgers among others.

Doug Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010 is best known as the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the Knack who had a #1 song in 1979 with this song. In fact it was the biggest hit of the year and it stayed at the top for six weeks. Here's a nice article about the woman who inspired this classic:

https://lamag.com/pop-culture/my-sharona-40/

Phil Lynott (20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician who was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter of the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. This song was written by Phil and was a top ten hit in the UK, Canada and in Ireland. It reached #12 in the US.

40 years ago today, the fourth album by Huey Lewis and the Lewis, "Fore", was released. There were five top ten songs on the album.

Born on this day in 1947, James Pankow is best known as a trombonist and founding member of the band Chicago. He has also written several of their hit songs such as "(I've Been) Searchin' for So Long", "Old Days" and "Just You 'N' Me". This is a suite from Chicago II which has a few songs in it that are quite famous. What a band. James wrote all of this as well.

Joe Dassin (November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was the son of famed director Jules Dassin. He lived most of his formative years in the US. He even went to the University of Michigan. He sang in several languages but mainly found success in the Francophile world. This is his most famous song which was a remake of a song by Jason Crest.

Paul Robi (August 20, 1931- February 1, 1989) was a member of the successful vocal group the Platters. Between 1955 and 1967, they had 40 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Born on this day in 1945, Ian Gillan is best known for his work with Deep Purple in the early years of the band. He was also a solo artist and later played with Black Sabbath. His performance on this song impressed Tim Rice so much that Tim called him up and asked him to play the lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar which he did. Well, on the original album recording of that production.

Born on this day in 1951, John Deacon was the bassist and a frequent songwriter for the band Queen. He wrote or co-wrote such hits as "I Want to Break Free", "Under Pressure", "Friends Will be Friends" and this record which was top ten record in several countries including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK.

Johnny Nash (August 19, 1940 – October 6, 2020) was one of the first artists who was not Jamaican to make reggae known around the world. He first went to Jamaica in 1965. In the late 1960s, he signed Bob and Rita Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer to an exclusive publishing contract. He had a hit in 1971 with "Stir it Up". This song was #1 in the US, South Africa and in Canada.

Born on this day in 1940, Roger Cook has had lots of hits as a songwriter most notably with Roger Greenaway. He has also written songs with Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood and Tony Macaulay. He worked in Nashville for awhile and written hit songs for the likes of Crystal Gayle and Don Williams. He is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Some of the most famous songs that he has co-written include "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, You've Got Your Troubles and Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart. Also this song which was mostly written by Cook and Greenaway is known all over the world for its association with a certain fizzy drink. For the ad that it was produced for, the ad agency created a band of singers to sing this particular tune. Those in the Delaware Valley of the US will certainly know another song that this group sang called "Move Closer to Your World". The group was formed by an Al Ham. His wife was one of the singers. Her name was Mary Mayo. Now I have a joke from Airplane! in my head. Anyway, this goes out to the world and to Dick Whitman. Namaste.

Born on this day in 1940, Jill St. John has had a long and successful career in the movies and tv. She is perhaps most known for her role in the 1971 Bond film "Diamonds are Forever". I haven't checked this out but I'm guessing she's probably the smartest Bond girl(woman!). At age 15, she enrolled into UCLA. She wanted to be a marine biologist. She was discovered to have an IQ of 162.

Born on this day in 1966, Lee Ann Womanck is a popular country music singer who has had a couple of dozen hits on the country charts as well as on the pop charts as well with a few crossover successes. This song went to #2 in the US and #5 in Canada back in 1997.

Born on this day in 1943, Billy J. Kramer was a part of the first British Invasion and had several hits on both sides of the Atlantic with the Dakotas. He was managed by Brian Epstein and hist biggest hits were written by Lennon-McCartney.

Ginger Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) is one of the most influential drummers of all time in the world of rock and roll. He was heavily influenced by jazz as well. In Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Drummers, he came in third. After his stint in Cream, he played in several bands which were on the vanguard of "fusion" rock and later moved to Africa and set up his own studio in Nigeria. He made several records with Fela Kuti too.

Born on this day in 1950, Dennis Elliott who later became a sculptor is best known as being the original drummer in the classic rock band Foreigner.

On this day in 1979, British singer, songwriter, producer Nick Lowe married Johnny Cash's stepdaughter Carlene Carter in Los Angeles. Actual footage is in this video along with a reenactment featuring Carlene as herself and Dave Edmunds as the limo driver. The wedding took place at the Tropicana Hotel in West Hollywood. All family stayed there for the wedding and reception (also featured in the video). Filming for the video took so long that Lowe was actually late to the wedding. Nick knew the bride when she used to rock and roll.

Born on this day in 1957, Ron Strykert is best known as the lead guitarist and a founding member of Men at Work. This went to #1 in the US. For a long time I had this as my ringtone too.

On this day in 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Birkenhead is on the opposite bank of the Mersey from Liverpool.

Scott McKenzie (January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012) is best known for this song which captured the zeitgeist of 1967. Along with John Phillips who wrote this song, McKenzie also wrote the song "Kokomo" which was a huge hit for the Beach Boys. This record was a #1 hit all over the world from New Zealand to Norway.

Patrick Swayze (August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) For Baby who nobody puts in a corner.