August 1980 in Music History

Events in Music

Double Fantasy

Aug 7 John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin recording sessions for their "Double Fantasy" album at the Hit Factory, NYC

One-Trick Pony

Aug 12 Warner Bros, Records releases "One-Trick Pony", the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon; it features the song "Late in the Evening" and was accompanied by a dramatic film of the same name, written by and starring Simon

Aug 16 British rock keyboardist Jools Holland quits band Squeeze to pursue a solo career
Aug 17 "Blackstone" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 104 performances
Aug 21 British drummer and band co-sounder Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath for the first time
Aug 24 Revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "Oklahoma!" closes at Palace Theater, NYC, after 293 performances

42nd Street

Aug 25 Stage adaptation of Harry Warren and Al Dubin's film musical "42nd Street", directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, with additional songs by Warren and Johnny Mercer, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 3486 performances and 2 Tony Award wins

Aug 26 Pete Comita replaces Tom Peterson as bassist of American rock band Cheap Trick

Birthdays in Music

Aug 2 Moto Boy [Oskar Humlebo], Swedish pop singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Beat Heart"), born in Färila, Sweden
Aug 3 Brandan Schieppati, American singer (Bleeding Through), born in Newport Beach, California
Aug 6 Wilber Pan, Taiwanese-American singer, rapper and actor, born in West Virgina
Aug 8 Mike Hindert, American musician
Aug 12 Jade Villalon, American singer-songwriter
Aug 12 Matt Thiessen, Canadian-American musician (Relient K)
Aug 14 Estrella Morente, Spanish flamenco singer, born in Las Gabias, Spain
Aug 16 Robert "Bob" Hardy, English musician (Franz Ferdinand), born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Aug 16 Vanessa Carlton, American singer-songwriter, born in Milford, Pennsylvania
Aug 17 Lene Marlin, Norwegian singer-songwriter, born in Tromsø, Norway
Aug 19 Darius Danesh, Scottish pop, opera and swing singer-songwriter and stage actor, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2022)
Aug 19 Jun Jin, Korean rapper (Shinhwa), born in Seoul, South Korea
Aug 19 Michael Todd, American rock bassist (Coheed and Cambria), born in Kingston, New York
Aug 27 Stephanie Michelle Steele, American country singer, born in Abilene, Texas
Aug 29 David Desrosiers, Canadian rock bassist (Simple Plan, 2000-20), born in Montreal, Quebec
Aug 29 Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer and actor, born in British Hong Kong
Aug 31 Joe Budden, American rapper (Pump It Up), born in New York, New York

Deaths in Music

Aug 18 Norman Cazden, American composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 65
Aug 20 Joe Dassin, French-American singer (Les Champs-Élysées), dies at 41
Aug 24 Frederick A. Fox, American classical composer (Nightscenes; Shaking The Pumpkin),and educator (Indiana University, 1974-94), dies at 80
Aug 26 Jimmy Forrest, American jazz saxophonist (Night Train), dies at 60