Beware the 8th of August, Richard Nixon!

August 8, 1968 – Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. Later that day, Nixon chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew to be his running mate. (Read on, if you dare.) August 8, 1973 –VP Spiro T Agnew branded as “damned lies” reports he took kickbacks fromContinue reading “Beware the 8th of August, Richard Nixon!”

Straight Outta Compton dropped

August 8, 1988 –N.W.A released their debut album Straight Outta Compton on this date, which has been certified triple platinum and became the first rap album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Not merely depicting Compton’s street violence, the track F#*% tha Police drew an FBI agent’s warning letter, which aided N.W.A’s notoriety, withContinue reading “Straight Outta Compton dropped”

Crazy Rich Asians premiered

August 7, 2018 –Jon M Chu’s suprprise mega-hit romantic comedy (with all-Asian cast,) Crazy Rich Asians, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh, opened in Los Angeles on this date. Jon M. Chu revealed that Michelle Yeoh was dissatisfied with the mock-up ring that her character, Eleanor,Continue reading “Crazy Rich Asians premiered”

If it was your kid, what would you do?

August 7, 1982 –After a screaming foul ball critically injured 4-year-old Jonathan Keane in Fenway Park on this date, Boston Red Sox player Jim Rice sprinted out of the dugout, scooped him up, and rushed him into the baseball clubhouse “saving the boy’s life” with medical care that was provided in just seconds. Team physicianContinue reading “If it was your kid, what would you do?”

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart topped the charts

August 7, 1971 –The Bee Gees early hit How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. It became their first US #1 hit. This was written during the same afternoon as The Bee Gees‘ previous American hit, Lonely Days in Barry Gibb’s basement flat atContinue reading “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart topped the charts”

The Twist becomes a dance craze

August 6, 1960 –Chubby Checker performs his version of The Twist on American Bandstand starting a worldwide dance craze. The song soon reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart—and then, again, for a second time in 1962, making it the only song to hit No. 1 twice. This started a dance craze that gotContinue reading “The Twist becomes a dance craze”

Pink Floyd The Wall premiered

August 6, 1982 –Alan Parker’s rock-musical interpretation of the classical album, Pink Floyd The Wall, opened in NYC on this date. Many of the extras in the Run Like Hell and Waiting for the Worms sequences were actual neo-Nazis cast for realism. Gerald Scarfe became frightened that things were getting out of control when, onContinue reading “Pink Floyd The Wall premiered”