Elvis! Prince! Van! Don't need much else, really...

10th Anniversary Essence Music Festival - Day 1
Prince at the Superdome in New Orleans; July 2004. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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8/31/1957 (59 years ago today) - It was only the third time Elvis had performed outside the United States: 26,000 fans attend the show at The Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada, and tickets go for $1.50, $2.50 and $3.50.  It's still ridiculously early in his career, yet this concert turns out to be the very last time Elvis Presley performs NOT on American soil. Weird.

8/31/1984 (32 years ago today) - Prince's best film, the undisputed classic "Purple Rain", opens to extremely enthusiastic audiences in England; in fact, all of Europe in general goes wild for The Purple One, regarding him as the best/most talented American artist since...you know...The film generates over $80 million at the box office. Go back and re-check "Computer Blue" on here. Holy Mother!!!

8/31/1945 - Happy Birthday to the {truly} one and only Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison, 71 years old today. "Van The Man" started his career in the 1950's playing guitar, harmonica, saxophone and keyboards for a variety of Irish cover bands, but by the time the British Invasion kicked in, he was leading his own band, Them, and their classic "Gloria" (followed by his solo single "Brown Eyed Girl") catapulted Van into the major leagues with a reputation for nothing less than perfection from his musicians. The unbelievable-to-your-ears masterwork "Astral Weeks" (1968) is the definition of a must-have for your LP collection, along with 1974's breath-taking double-live "It's Too Late To Stop Now", often regarded as his pinnacle and one of rock's all time best live recordings. Occasionally considered...oh, kinda temperamental, there's no doubt about his talent. Van suffers no fools. You gotta love this guy.

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"Lay me down/In silence easy/To be born again...", xoxo!

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