ON THIS DAY AUGUST 9 2023

This Day in History: August 9

Featured Event

1995




American musician Jerry Garcia, who personified the hippie counterculture for three decades as the mellow leader of the rock band the Grateful Dead, died of a heart attack at age 53.



Grateful Dead, byname the Dead, American rock band that was the incarnation of the improvisational psychedelic music that flowered in and around San Francisco in the mid-1960s. Grateful Dead was one of the most successful touring bands in rock history despite having had virtually no radio hits. The original members were lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia (b. August 1, 1942, San Francisco, California, U.S.—d. August 9, 1995, Forest Knolls, California), guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir (b. October 16, 1947, San Francisco), keyboard player Ron (“Pigpen”) McKernan (b. September 8, 1945, San Bruno, California—d. March 8, 1973, San Francisco), bassist ...(100 of 890 words)



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Featured Biography

Whitney Houston
American singer and actress




Whitney Houston, (born August 9, 1963, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.—died February 11, 2012, Beverly Hills, California), American singer and actress who was one of the best-selling musical performers of the 1980s and ’90s.



Whitney Houston
The daughter of Emily (“Cissy”) Houston—whose vocal group, the Sweet Inspirations, sang backup for Aretha Franklin—and the cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston began singing in church as a child. While still in high school, she sang backup for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls and modeled for fashion magazines. At age 19 she signed with Arista Records, whose president, Clive Davis, groomed the gospel-based singer for crossover pop success. Her debut album, Whitney Houston (1985), yielded three number one singles in the United States: “Greatest Love of All,” which became her signature; “Saving All My Love for You”; and “How Will I Know.” Whitney (1987) delivered four more number ones and earned Houston a Grammy Award (for the single “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”).

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