October 1st

Musical birthdays today include Julie Andrews (81), Cajun accordion master Marc Savoy (76), Herb Fame [of Peaches & Herb] (74), ex-Sly & the Family Stone saxophonist Jerry Martini (73), former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner (69), April Wine guitarist Brian Greenway (65), OMD keyboardist Martin Cooper (58), Youssou N'Dour (57), Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin (48), Suede guitarist Richard Oakes (40), and rapper Dizzee Rascal [né Dylan Mills] (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Vladimir Horowitz, born on this date in 1903... for pioneering doo-wop singer Grady Chapman and for country singer Bonnie Owens, both of whom would have been 87... for bluesman Albert Collins, who would have been 84... for Brownsville Station frontman Cub Koda, who would have been 68... for Booker T & the M.G.s drummer Al Jackson, Jr., who was murdered in a home robbery today in 1975 at the age of 40... and for former Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 1: John Phillip Sousa is appointed conductor of the US Marine Band (1880)... The Curtis Institute of Music opens in Philadelphia with a $12 million endowment from Mary-Louise Curtis Bok, heiress to the Saturday Evening Post publishing fortune (1924)... Following an overwhelmingly negative reaction from screening audiences to Elvis Presley's death at the end of the film Love Me Tender, the King is called back to re-shoot the scene. In the new ending, the hero lives (1956)... Shostakovich's Symphony № 12 in D Minor, subtitled The Year of 1917, premieres in Leningrad (1961)... Brian Epstein signs a 15-year management contract with the Beatles (1962)... Bob Dylan plays his first electric show at Carnegie Hall, backed by Levon & the Hawks... At Camelot Sound Studios in Lynwood, WA, John Coltrane and sidemen record the album Om, which will be released posthumously. Controversy persists to this day as to whether or not Coltrane and fellow saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders were under the influence of LSD at the time (1965)... Jimi Hendrix plays live in the UK for the first time when he is invited onstage by Cream to jam with them at a gig at London Polytechnic (1966)... Pink Floyd arrive at JFK airport to begin their first US tour (1967)... Jimi Hendrix is laid to rest in the Greenwood Cemetery, over the road from the Dunlop Baptist Church in Seattle. Among the graveside mourners are Miles Davis, Eric Burdon and Johnny Winter (1970)... The Pretenders are forced to cancel the remaining shows on their current US tour after drummer Martin Chambers punches out a windowpane, severing tendons and nicking an artery in the process (1981)... Sony unveils the CDP-101, the world's first commercially released Compact Disc Player. The system retails for 168,000 yen, or c. $1,730 in today's dollars (1982)... Robert Plant wraps up his first solo North American tour at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, BC (1983)... British tabloid The Daily Mirror publishes a cover photo of Michael Jackson in a scoutmaster's uniform along with 5 young scouts. A spokesman for the Boy Scouts makes a statement the next day that the singer has no association with the organization (1994)... The surviving members of Nirvana release From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, a compilation of live recordings made between 1989 and 1994 (1996)... The № 1 album in America today is Madonna's latest release, Music (2000)... The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia officially unveils the street sign for the newly named AC/DC Way. The local council ordered two dozen of the signs in anticipation of future thefts... As part of the John Kerry campaign in swing states, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes kick off the Vote for Change tour in Philadelphia (2004)... The Spice Girls London reunion concert sells out in 38 seconds after fans are informed that tickets have gone on sale. More than one million people in the UK had pre-registered for notification. The show is scheduled for December 15 at the O2 Arena (2007).  

September 30th

Musical birthdays today include soul singer Cissy Houston (83), 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn McCoo (73), Québecoise pop singer Diane Dufresne (72), 10,000 Maniacs founding member John Lombardo (64), Gov't Mule drummer Matt Abts (63), singer & multi-instrumentalist Patrice Rushen (62), country singer Marty Stuart (58), Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio (52), Goo Goo Dolls original lead singer Robby Takacs (52), ex-Sugababes vocalist Keisha Buchanan (32), and rapper T-Pain [né Faheem Rasheed Najm](31).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Buddy Rich, born on this day in 1917... for English songwriter & pianist Donald Swann [of Flanders & Swann], born in 1923... for Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin, who would have been 76... for Frankie Lymon, who would have been 74... for Marc Bolan, who would have been 69... for Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Nick Curran, who would have been 39... for Mary Ford, who died on this date in 1977... for American composer Virgil Thomson, who passed away in 1989... and for songwriter [and sometime Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn collaborator] Jacques Levy, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on September 30: Mozart's final opera Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] has its premiere in Vienna (1791)... Donovan makes his US television debut on ABC's Shindig! (1965)... The UK's first national pop radio station, BBC Radio 1, is launched to take over from the pirate radio stations, which had been shut down by the Home Office. The first record played by former pirate DJ Tony Blackburn is The Move's 'Flowers in the Rain' (1967)... David Crosby's girlfriend Christine Hinton is killed in a head-on collision just north of San Francisco (1969)... In Reading, Yes begin their first UK tour with Rick Wakeman at the keyboards (1971)... Foghat play a benefit concert at the Palladium to help the NY Public Library buy a collection of rare blues records for its archives (1977)... Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic (1983)... Steve Earle is arrested in Nashville for failing to report for jury duty (1992)... Kate Pierson of the B-52's is charged with criminal mischief and trespassing after being arrested during an anti-fur demonstration outside Vogue Magazine's New York offices (1993)... Mariah Carey becomes the first female act to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at № 1 with her latest single 'Fantasy' (1995)... Chris De Burgh's website is closed down after its guestbook is flooded with obscene messages. One of the posts consisted of two four-letter words repeated 3500 times (1999)... Dido releases Life for Rent, her follow-up to her multi-million selling debut album No Angel (2003)... George Strait breaks Conway Twitty's record by scoring his 41st № 1 hit on the Billboard Country chart with 'Give It Away' (2006).

September 29th

Musical birthdays today include Jerry Lee Lewis (81), bluegrass flatpicker Dan Crary (77), jazz-rock violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (74), television theme composer Mike Post [best remembered for 'The Rockford Files' and 'Law & Order'] (72), ex-Grand Funk Railroad frontman Mark Farner (68), Suzzy Roche (60), record label owner & impresario Alan McGee [manager of Oasis and The Jesus and Mary Chain, among others] (56), Primus lead singer & bassist Les Claypool (53), Suede lead singer Brett Anderson (49), jazz and metal guitarist Alex Skolnick (48), rapper AMG [né Jason Lewis] (46), and former Much the Same frontman Chris 'Gunner' McGrath (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Gene Autry, born on this date in 1907... for Czech conductor and violinist Václav Neumann, born in 1920... for Tommy Boyce [of the songwriting duo Boyce & Hart), who would have been 77 today... for session drummer and former King Crimson member Ian Wallace, who would have been 70... and for songwriter Paul Jabara [Donna Summer's 'Last Dance' and 'It's Raining Men' for the Weather Girls), who left us today in 1992.  

Also on September 29: Handel finished his Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, no. 1 (1739)... Gustav Holst's The Planets has its premiere at Queen's Hall, London. It was noted that during rehearsals, custodians would stop work and listen in awe to the work that would bring Holst lasting fame (1918)... Berry Gordy's new label Motown Records releases its first single, 'Bad Girl' by The Miracles (1959)... Robert Shelton's glowing review of Bob Dylan's support slot at Gerde's Folk City is published in the New York Times. On the same day, Dylan has his first audition with legendary CBS Records scout John Hammond (1961)... At Abbey Road Studios, the Beatles do the final mix of 'I Am the Walrus', which includes the sound of a radio being tuned through numerous stations and coming to rest on a BBC production of King Lear. John Lennon composed the song by combining three separate fragments that he had been working on, and reportedly made the words as nonsensical as possible when he learnt that a former English teacher of his was giving students Beatles lyrics to analyse... The Rolling Stones officially part ways with their manager Andrew Loog Oldham (1967)... Capitol Records releases Merle Haggard's 'Okie from Muskogee' (1969)... Led Zeppelin close their triumphant first Japanese tour with a show at Osaka's Festival Hall (1971)... Celebrating his birthday somewhat excessively, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname of 'the Killer' when he accidentally shoots his bass player Norman Owens in the chest. The piano-pounder was using an office door for target practice. Owens survives, but sues his boss (1976)... Prince has his second US № 1 with 'Let's Go Crazy' (1984)... The Smiths release Strangeways, Here We Come, their final studio album (1987)... While travelling cross country on his motorbike from Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen calls in at Matt's Saloon in Prescott, AZ and jams with the house band. He also writes a cheque for $10,000 to pay the medical expenses of one of the barmaids who has just returned to work after a long stay in hospital (1989)... Keith Moon's five-piece drum kit, custom made for him in 1968, sells for £125,000 at auction in London to an American collector (1992)... Alanis Morissette plays the final show of her first US tour in Houston, TX (1996)... Ozzy Osbourne announces that he is writing a Broadway musical based on the life of Rasputin (2003).

September 28th

Musical birthdays today include guitarist Emmett Chapman [inventor of the Chapman Stick] (80), original Steppenwolf bassist Nick St. Nicolas (73), pop singer Helen Shapiro (70), guitarist George Lynch (62), Jennifer Rush (56), Moon Zappa (49), singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur (45), A.J. Croce (45), Pussycat Dolls vocalist Melody Thornton (32), Hilary Duff (29), and classical violinist Chloë Hanslip (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for variety show host Ed Sullivan, born on this date in 1901... for Fugs co-founder Naphtali 'Tuli' Kupferberg, born in 1923... for bluesman Koko Taylor, who would have been 87... for Johnny Mathis, who would have been 82... for Ben E. King, who would have been 78... for Temptations vocalist Elbridge Bryant, who would have been 77... for harmonica virtuoso Phillip 'Norton Buffalo' Jackson, who would have been 65... for jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland, who would have been 61... for Miles Davis, who left us today in 1991... and for Lucy Vodden, the childhood friend of Julian Lennon who was the subject of his drawing that inspired one of his father to write 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', and who lost a long battle with lupus today in 2009 at the age of 46. 

Also on September 28: The British national anthem God Save the Queen is performed for the first time at the Drury Lane Theatre in London (1745)... Placido Domingo makes his American debut at the Met in NYC, performing in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur... The Beatles start a 9-week run at no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Hey Jude' (1968)... David Bowie sells out his first performance in NYC at Carnegie Hall (1972)... Bad Company's eponymous debut is the № 1 album in the US (1974)... A&M Records sue George Harrison for $6 million for being two months late in delivering a new album... Stevie Wonder releases Songs in the Key of Life (1976)... U2 play the first of two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden on the Joshua Tree tour... Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson are guests on the game show 'The $10,000 Pyramid' (1987)... The 103rd convention of the Audio Engineering Society [AES], feturing the official US debut of the DVD audio format, opens in NYC (1997)... Tina Turner's hometown, made famous in her song 'Nutbush City Limits', names a section of Tennessee State Highway 19 the Tina Turner Highway. Turner was born in Nutbush, a small town some 50 miles northeast of Memphis, and lived there until she was 17 (2002)... In an editorial published in the Los Angeles Times, Yusuf islam blasts the U.S. government's policy of screening airline passenger manifests for potential terrorists as 'indiscriminate and unjust'. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens was barred from entering the country last week because his name appeared on a Homeland Security watch list (2004)... The first John Lennon Northern Lights Festival is held in Durness, Scotland, one of the most northwesterly and remote villages in mainland Britain. Lennon spent his childhood holidays between the ages of 9 in 13 in the village, and also returned there in 1969 with Yoko and Julian (2007).

September 27th

Musical birthdays today include Austrian balladeer Freddy Quinn (85), Stax session player Don Nix (75), Randy Bachman (73), Meat Loaf [né Marvin Lee Aday] (69), classical guitarist David Starobin (65), session bassist Robbie Shakespeare (63), Shaun Cassidy (58), Third Eye Blind lead singer Stephan Jenkins (52), Wild Flag guitarist & singer Carrie Brownstein (42), rapper Lil Wayne [né Dwayne Carter, Jr.] (34), Avril Lavigne (32), and Of Mice & Men lead singer Austin Carlile (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist Bud Powell, born on this day in 1924... for bop trumpeter Red Rodney, who would have been 89... for Soul Train host and producer Don Cornelius, who would have been 80... for Men at Work multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham, who would have been 63... for former Wings guitarist Jimmy McCullough, who died of a drug overdose on this date in 1979 at the age of 26... for Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in an accident involving the band's tour bus in 1986... and for Johnny Mathis, who left us five years ago today. 

Also on September 27: Dvořák arrives in NYC to take up the position of director of the National Conservatory (1892)... The Beach Boys make their debut appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, performing 'I Get around' and 'Wendy' (1964)... Bob Dylan is among the guests at a party at Miles Davis' home in Manhattan given for Robert Kennedy, candidate for the US Senate from NY (1964)... The Beatles complete work on 'Fool on the Hill' and begin recording 'I Am the Walrus' (1967)... Pink Floyd appear at Queen's Hall on the Isle of Dunoon in Scotland. All regularly scheduled ferry services to the island having been cancelled because of bad weather, the group hire a small boat on their own and risk the rough seas to make the crossing. They eventually appear in front of 400 fans (1968)... Creedence Clearwater Revival are among the guests on Johhn Cash's ABC-TV weekly variety show (1969)... Carlos Santana announces that he has become a disciple of Sri Chinmoy and that he has legally added the middle name 'Devadip' [meaning 'the Light of the Lamp Supreme'] to his own (1973)... Blondie release the album Eat to the Beat, while Regatta de Blanc by The Police also appears in shops (1979)...  The № 1 album in Britain today is David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)... R.E.M. release Monster (1994)... Bob Dylan performs before Pope John Paul II at the World Eucharistic Conference in Bologna, Italy. The two chat briefly after the singer's concluding number, 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' (1997)... In NYC, Placido Domingo breaks Enrico Caruso's record when he headlines his 18th season opening performance at the Met (1999)... U2 play a show from the rooftop of Dublin's Clarence Hotel [which they own] to more than 4,000 listeners in the streets below (2000)... Phil Spector is formally charged with murder in the February 3, 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson (2004)... Metallica have the № 1 album in the US with Death Magnetic, the group's ninth studio release (2008)... At the age of 85, Tony Bennett becomes the oldest living person to top the US album chart, with Duets II. Featuring collaborations with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, among others, it is also the singer's first US № 1 (2011).

September 26th

Musical birthdays today include R&B singer and keyboardist Georgie Fame (73), Brian Ferry (71), country singer Lynn Anderson (69), Olivia Newton-John (68), ex-10cc drummer Stuart Tosh (65), ex-Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico (62), Carlene Carter (61), former Everything But the Girl lead singer Tracey Thorn (54), heavy metal guitarist Al Pitrelli (54), Boyz II Men vocalist Shawn Stockman (44), Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth (40), and British composer & clarinet virtuoso Mark Simpson (28). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for George Gershwin, born on this day in 1898... for country singer Marty Robbins, born in 1925... for cabaret singer Julie London, who would have been 90... for punk rocker Darby Crash [né Jan Beahm], who would have been 58... for former Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon, who would have been 49... for Bessie Smith, who died in an auto accident on this date in 1937 at the age of 43... and for Robert Palmer, who left us today in 2003. 

Also on September 26: Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor premieres at La Scala (1835)... West Side Story premieres on Broadway (1957)... The Greenbriar Boys begin  2 week residency at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village. Their opening act, Bob Dylan, receives a rave review from New York Times music critic Robert Shelton ~ the piece will be instrumental in bringing the virtually unknown Dylan to prominence on the Village scene (1961)... Buckingham palace announces that The Beatles are to receive the OBE (1965)... Pink Floyd play their first live show in the US, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco (1967)... The Beatles release Abbey Road (1969)... John Lennon begins the recording sessions for what will become the Plastic Ono Band album (1970)... Paul McCartney, wife Linda and Denny Laine return to London from Nigeria, where they recorded Band on the Run (1973)...  The Clash release their first American single, their version of 'I Fought the Law' ~ it fails to chart (1979)... The Go-Gos have the № 1 album in the US today with Beauty and the Beat (1981)... Michael Jackson's Bad tops the American album chart. It will eventually yield five Stateside № 1 singles, the first album ever to do so (1987)... Paul McCartney kicks off his first major tour in 10 years in Drammen, Norway. The world tour that follows will also include the former Beatle's first US dates since 1976 (1989)... The initial 300,000 unit shipment of Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind 1997' single to Japan sells out within 90 minutes of its delivery to shops throughout the country (1997)... MTV Russia launches at midnight with a broadcast of 'Prodigy Live in Moscow', which was taped the previous year (1998)... Green Day's American Idiot is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic (2004).

September 25th

Musical birthdays today include folksinger Ian Tyson (83), ex-Iron Butterfly bassist Jerry Penrod (70), Siouxie and the Banshees bassist Steven Severin (61), heavy metal guitarist Chris Impellitteri (52), Commitments singer Maria Doyle Kennedy (52), Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal (47), singer-songwriter Douglas September (43), Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler (42) and Dolour founder Shane Tutmarc (35).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Jean-Philippe Rameau, born on this day in 1683... for Dmitri Shostakovich, born in 1906... for classical pianist Glenn Gould, who would have been 84 today... for Cecil Womack, who would have been 69... for Johann Strauss the Elder [composer of 'The Radetzky March'], who died today in 1809... for Bela Bartok, who died in 1945... for John 'Bonzo' Bonham, who left us today in 1980... and for Andy Williams, who passed away two years ago today. 

Also on September 25: Elvis releases his second single on Sun Records, 'Good Rockin' Tonight' (1954)... The Temptations go into the studio to record 'My Girl' (1964)... The Beatles cartoon series premieres on the ABC Network. The first adventure is entitled 'I Want to Hold Your Hands', and has the group in a diving bell exploring the ocean floor, where they meet a lovesick octopus (1965)... The Beatles begin recording Paul's new song 'Fool on the Hill' (1967)... Welsh singer Mary Hopkin is at № 1 on the UK charts with 
'Those Were the Days'. Hopkin was one of the first acts signed by The Beatles to their new Apple label (1968)... John Lennon records 'Cold Turkey' with Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Ringo. Paul vetoed the tune as a potential Beatles track, and John's name alone will be listed as writer on the single, the first time that either of the duo takes sole credit for authorship of a song (1969)... The Partridge Family premieres on ABC (1970)... Larry Mullen Jr., a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive in Dublin, posts a note on the school's notice board announcing that he is searching for musicians to form a new band. Three of the six students who turn up for the audition ~ Paul Hewson, David Evans, and Adam Clayton ~ will become long-term members of the group, who initially call themselves Feedback. It will not be until March 1978 that they settle on the name U2 (1976)... Queen perform 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'Under Pressure' on Saturday night Live (1982)... Dave Grohl auditions for Nirvana and is offered the drummer's chair on the spot (1990)... Courtney Love is sentenced to a year in prison with two years suspended and ordered to take an anger management course as  result of her assault on Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna (1995)... Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman is the first major artist to release an album on his own personalised digital MP3 player. The matchbox-sized device with no moving parts is one of the smallest of its kind in the world, and has encryption software designed to prevent piracy (1999)... Ozzy Osbourne formally requests that Black Sabbath be removed from the nomination list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, calling the inclusion "meaningless" (2000)... The New York Post reports that Sly Stone is living in a van parked the notorious South Central L.A. district of Crenshaw. "I like my small camper. I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving", the singer is quoted as saying (2011). 

September 24th

Musical birthdays today include jazz percussionist Jack Costanzo (97), Gerry & the Pacemakers frontman Gerry Marsden (74), choral composer John Rutter (71), ex-Fairport Convention guitarist Jerry Donahue (70), jazz guitarist Bill Connors (67), Dokken bassist Sean McNabb (51), former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss (51), Slipknot percussionist Shawn 'Clown' Crahan (47), Verve drummer Peter Salisbury (45), singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Liam Finn (33), and Foxy Shazam drummer Joseph Allen Halberstadt (28). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Blind Lemon Jefferson, born on this date in 1893... for songwriter and film score composer Ben Oakland, born in 1907... for jazz singer Herb Jeffries, born in 1913... for jazz trumpeter Fats Navarro, born in 1923... for Ventures drummer Mel Taylor, who would have been 83 today... for L.A. session saxophonist Steve Douglas [played on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Bob Dylan's Street Legal, among many other albums], who would have been 78... for Crusaders trombonist Wayne Henderson, who would have been 77... for Linda McCartney, who would have been 74... and for singer-songwriter Matthew Jay [collaborated with The Doves, The Stereophonics and Dido] who fell to his death from a 7th storey window in London at the age of 24 today in 2003. 

Also on September 24: Elvis Presley releases 'Jailhouse Rock' (1957)... Elvis receives an invitation to appear at the Royal Variety Command Performance in London, but Colonel Tom Parker graciously declines, citing motion picture commitments. The real reason for his refusal, however, is that the Colonel is a Dutch immigrant residing in the US illegally, and fears that he might not be allowed to return if he leaves the country (1962)... Jimi Hendrix arrives in England for the first time with manager Chas Chandler. The guitarist has with him only the clothes he is wearing, having sold all of his other belongings to pay his hotel bill in New York. One of the first things he does in London is to legally change his name from James to Jimi... The № 1 single in the US is 'Cherish' by The Association (1966)... Traffic make their live debut at the Saville Theatre in London... Filming of the Magical Mystery Tour continues, in a hangar at the RAF West Malling Air Station in Maidstone, Kent. The cavernous indoor space is needed to shoot the 'Your Mother Should Know' ballroom finale. With the Beatles dressed in white suits and shoes, they glide down a glittery staircase as 160 members of the Peggy Spencer Dance Company swirl round about (1967)... John and Yoko move the mixing of the Double Fantasy album from the Hit Factory in NYC to the Record Plant. After the session, Lennon gives one of his final recorded interviews, to Lisa Robinson of 97-FM in Buffalo, NY (1980)... Culture Club score their second UK chart-topping hit with 'Karma Chameleon', the biggest selling single of the year (1983)... Bobby McFerrin's 'Don't Worry' Be Happy' becomes the first № 1 a capella song to reach  on the Billboard Hot 100 (1988)... Nirvana's album Nevermind is released in the US, entering the chart at № 144 (1991)... Eric Clapton is the musical guest on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live (1994)... Hank Williams is the subject of the first ever country music symposium at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC (1999)... The Dave Matthews Band play a free concert for over 100,000 in NYC's Central park (2003).

September 23rd

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Norma Winstone (75), Julio Iglesias (73), Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy (71), original Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith (69), Bruce Springsteen (67), former Lemon Kitten and experimental musician Danielle Dax (58), session bassist and songwriter Martin Page (56), industrial metal rocker Lucia Cifarelli (46), Ani DiFranco (46), rapper Layzie Bone [né Steven Howse] (41), and Cascada lead singer Natalie Horler (35).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for folk song collector and ethnomusicologist John Lomax, born on this day in 1870... for early R&B singer Tiny Bradshaw, born on this day in 1907... for John Coltrane, who would have been 90 today... for bluesman Mighty Joe Young, who would have been 89... for Ray Charles, who would have been 86...  for choreographer Bob Fosse, who died on this date in 1987... and for blueswoman Etta Baker, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on September 23: Wagner's opera Das Rheingold has its world premiere in Frankfurt (1869)... Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys make their first recordings in Dallas (1935)... Buddy Holly & the Crickets hit № 1 in the US with 'That'll Be the Day' (1957)... The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens in NYC (1962)... The Beatles record 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' at Abbey Road. John Lennon took the title for the song from an advertisement in an American gun magazine that George Martin had showed him. Jim Morrison drops by the studio and watches the Fab Four at work for just over an hour (1968)... Mick Jagger meets Bianca Macias for the first time, backstage after a Stones concert at L'Olympia in Paris (1970)... Blondie release their commercial breakthrough album Parallel Lines (1978)... Against his doctors' advice, Bob Marley goes ahead with a scheduled concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh two days after collapsing in Central Park in NYC. The singer passes out in mid-performance and is rushed to the University of Pittsburgh Hospital. It is Marley's last public show before his death from cancer the following May... David Bowie makes his Broadway debut in the title role of 'The Elephant Man' (1980)... James Browne, Melba Moore, and Freddie Jackson headline an anti-crack benefit concert in the ballroom at the Plaza Hotel in NYC (1986)... The first Lilith Fair concert outside of N. America takes place at the Royal Albert Hall (1998)... CBS is fined $550,000 by the FCC for airing Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year (2004)... Neil Young is named artist of the year at the annual Americana Honors and Awards in Nashville (2006)... Grand Canyon State natives Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks and Buck Owens are inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (2007).

September 22nd

Musical birthdays today include cabaret singer Joni James (86), jazz singer Marlena Shaw (74), Lighthouse co-founder Paul Hoffert (73), King Sunny Adé (73), David Coverdale (65), Right Said Fred frontmen Fred & Richard Fairbrass (63), Debby Boone (60), Nickn Cave (59), Joan Jett (58), ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp (47), Rilo Kiley lead guitarist Blake Sennett (40), violinist Emilie Autumn (37), Cribs drummer Ross Jarman (32), and Canadian singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate [née Béatrice Martin] (27). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for American composer and bandleader Arthur Pryor, born on this date in 1870... for songwriter Harry Warren ['That's Amore', 'Chatanooga Choo Choo'], who died on this date in 1981... for Irving Berlin, who passed away in 1989 at the age of 101... and for violin virtuoso Isaac Stern, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on September 22: Webern's String Quartet, op. 28 is given its first performance at the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival in Pittsfield, MA. The work was commissioned by American philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1938)... Elvis Presley gives a final press conference at the Military Ocean Terminal in Brooklyn, NY before shipping out to Germany with the US 3rd Armored Division on the USS General Randall (1958)... Bob Dylan is on the bill at Carnegie Hall as part of an all-star hootenanny. Dylan performs 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown' for the first time in public (1962)... Herman's Hermits have their first and only UK № 1 with 'I'm into Something Good'... Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway (1964)... San Francisco band The Great Society, with then husband and wife Jerry and Grace Slick on drums and lead vocals, respectively, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery in North Beach... The Who kick off their first Scandinavian tour with a gig in Copenhagen. Roger Daltrey is nearly fired from the band for punching Keith Moon in the jaw just before they go on (1965)... The Doors perform 'Light My Fire' and 'People Are Strange' on The Murray the K Show on WPIX-TV in New York (1967)... The Band release their eponymous second album, which will yield the hit singles 'Up on on Cripple Creek', 'Rag Mama Rag' and 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' (1969)... David Bowie kicks off the North American leg of the Ziggy Stardust world tour at The Music Hall in Cleveland, OH (1972)... The Rolling Stones have the № 1 album in Britain today with Goats Head Soup (1973)... Def Leppard receive their first major press notice when Melody Maker reviews a gig the band recently played in Wolverhampton (1979)... David Geffen incorporates his latest musical venture, the Geffen Records label. His first act signed is John Lennon, who is looking for a home for his just completed album Double Fantasy (1980)... The re-formed King Crimson release Discipline, the band's first album of new material in 7 years (1981)... Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell and Tom Petty headline the first Farm Aid concert at the stadium of the University of Illinois-Champaign  (1985)... Bob Dylan releases Oh Mercy (1989)... Nirvana play their largest gig to date, at Seattle's Motor Sports International Garage. Dave Grohl, who will audition for the band two days from now, is in the audience of 15,000 (1990)... Bryan Adams makes British chart history when '(Everything I Do) I Do It for You' comes in at № 1 for the 12th consecutive week (1991)... Bruce Springsteen's MTV Unplugged session loses the Un- after the Boss turns up with an electric ensemble for a rare live performance with musicians other than the E Street Band (1992)... Diana Ross is arrested on the Concorde after an incident at Heathrow Airport. The singer claims that a female security guard fondled her breasts when frisking her; Ross retaliated by grabbing the guard's genital area... Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon are all seen in the same room at the same time for the first time in 15 years, as the former bandmates attend the London premiere of the Clash documentary Westway to the World   (1999)... 'A Tribute to Heroes' is aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money for 9/11 charities. Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, U2, Billy Joel, Pearl Jam and Limp Bizkit all perform (2001)... Jimmy Page is made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro for his work raising money to help the city's street children (2005)... Research conducted by UK car maker SEAT shows that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the song most likely to be found on British iPods, with 40% of owners of the device having the Queen hit on their playlists (2011).

September 21st

Musical birthdays today include saxophonist and longtime Mingus sideman Shafi Hadi (87), Leonard Cohen (82), free jazz drummer Sunny Murray (80), rock guitarist Bobby Tench (72), Spinners lead singer G.C. Cameron (71), ex-Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder (69), former XTC lead guitarist Dave Gregory (64), former Motörhead drummer Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor (62), Swing Out Sister lead singer Corinne Drewery (57), Faith Hill (49), Barenaked Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart (49), De La Soul's David Jude Jolicoeur AKA Dave (48), Liam Gallagher (44), former Korn drummer David Silveria (44), Glasvegas frontman James Allan (37), and Horrors lead singer Faris Badwan (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Gustav Holst, born on this day in 1874... for classical pianist György Sándor, born in 1912... for jazz bassist Leroy 'Slam' Stewart, born in 1914... for jazz vocalist Ward Swingle, who would have been 89 today... for Liverpool band leader Rory Storm, who would have been 77... for John Stafford Smith [composer of the tune 'To Anacreon in Heaven', which was later adopted for The Star Spangled Banner], who died on this date in 1836... for jazz bassist Jaco Pastorious, who was killed in an altercation outside a bar today in 1987 at the age of 36... and for ex-King Crimson singer and Bad Company founding member Boz Burrell, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on September 21: Bessie Smith records 'Jailhouse Blues', her first side for Columbia Records (1923)... The № 1 song in the US today is Bobby Vinton's 'Blue Velvet' (1963)... Madame Tussaud's Waxworks gives the Beatles their fifth image change of clothes and hair in 4 years... Stravinsky visits Moscow for the first time since 1920 (1968)... The BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test premieres. In addition to live acts, clips of Jimi Hendrix performing at Monterey and Bob Dylan singing 'Maggie's Farm' at Newport in 1965 are show on television for the first time. According to presenter Bob Harris, the program [which will run until 1987] derived its name from an old Tin Pan Alley expression ~ when a music publishing company received the first test pressing of a record, they would play it for the people they called 'the old greys', i.e. uniformed doormen. The songs they could remember and whistle after the first hearing were said to have 'passed the old grey whistle test' (1971)... Barry White has his only US № 1 with 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby' (1974)... Art Pepper goes into the studio to record the album to which he will give the same title as his recently published autobiography, Straight Life (1979)... During a North American tour, Bob Marley collapses while jogging in NYC's Central Park. Hospital tests will show that the singer is suffering from cancer in an advanced stage (1980)...  The National Enquirer runs a cover photo of Michael Jackson in an oxygen chamber for a story claiming that the singer has a 'bizarre plan' to live until he is 150 years old (1986)... Status Quo put themselves in the Guinness Book of World Record by playing 4 gigs in 4 cities [Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and London] within a 12-hour period (1991)... Nirvana release their final studio album In Utero (1993)... The audience at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry witness an historic moment when Hank Williams III makes his debut at the venue. The third-generation country singer leads off his set with 'Lovesick Blues', which grandpa Hank also launched his first Opry performance with it 1949 (1996)... Yusuf Islam [the former Cat Stevens] is denied entry to the United States after his name turns up on an anti-terrorism watch list. The one-time folk singer denies all alleged ties to Hamas (2004)... A contract revealing that the Beatles refused to perform for a segregated audience at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on August 31, 1965 sells for $23,033 at an auction in L.A. (2011).

September 20th

Musical birthdays today include Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo (68), jazzman Steve Coleman (60), Thompson Twins co-founder Alannah Currie (59), former Housemartins and Beautiful South lead singer Dave Hemingway (56), Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd (48), The Feeling frontman Dan Gillespie Sells (37), and Québécoise pop singer Marilou (26). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist John Collins, born today in 1914... for drummer & bandleader Chico Hamilton, born in 1921... for classical pianist William Kappell, born in 1922... for jazz singer & guitarist Jackie Paris and pop singer Gogi Grant, both born in 1924... for original Coasters member Bobby Nunn, born in 1925... for former Styx drummer John Panozzo, who would have been 68... for Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who died on this date in 1908... for singer-songwriter Jim Croce, who was killed in an airplane crash today in 1973 at the age of 30... and for Leonard Skinner, the high school gym teacher who was the namesake of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on September 20: Dimitri Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra premieres in Leningrad (1938)... With the Beatles on hiatus, George Harrison travels to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time (1966)... Led Zeppelin, still under the name The New Yardbirds, enter Olympic Studios in London to begin recording their first album. It will take only 36 hours to complete, at a reported cost of £1,780. Almost all of the tracks are recorded live off the floor with no overdubs (1968)... During a group meeting at Abbey Road Studios, John Lennon tells the other Beatles "I want a divorce" and announces that he is leaving the band (1969)... 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies starts a 4-week run at № 1 in the US. It's 8-week stay at the top in Britain will set a longevity record in the spot for a one-hit wonder (1969)... Jim Morrison is acquitted on charges of lewd and lascivious behaviour, but is found guilty of exposing himself during a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, FL 18 months earlier. After his trial at the Dade County Courthouse in Miami, Judge Henry Goodman sentences the Doors vocalist to six months plus sixty days hard labour for public self-exposure and profanity, and a $500 fine. The sentence will still be on appeal when Morrison dies in Paris the following summer (1970)... Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested for possession of cannabis for the second time this month, this time at their farmhouse in Campbeltown, Scotland (1972)... The Roxy in Los Angeles opens its doors. The first headliners are Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1973)... David Bowie has his first US № 1 single with 'Fame', which he co-wrote with John Lennon (1975)... The four former Beatles turn down a £230 million offer from promoter Sid Bernstein to do a one-off reunion concert for charity (1976)... AC/DC release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)... Kate Bush becomes the first female solo artist to have a № 1 album in Britain, with Never For Ever. Meanwhile, Queen score their only chart-topping LP in the US with The Game (1980)... Bruce Springsteen releases his first solo album Nebraska (1982)... Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton share a stage for the first time since the demise of Blind Faith when they appear at the ARMS [Artists for Research into Multiple Sclerosis] benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall (1983)... The musical Miss Saigon has its world premiere in London's West End (1989)... The Dave Matthews Band release the album Under the Table and Dreaming, which features their first widely heard singles including 'What Would You Say' and 'Ants Marching' (1994)... In New Orleans, ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour (1995)... Pearl Jam's video for 'Jeremy' is cited as one of the reasons that school shooter Barry Loukaitis snapped and killed his algebra teacher and two fellow students in Washington state. The defendant's attorneys take the unprecedented step of playing the video in the courtroom (1997)... The former north London home of the original members of Pink Floyd is bought by a Singaporean developer named Sham Masterman. The businessman, who admits that he is not a fan of the group, purchases the Highgate house and the one next door for £1.2 million. Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason all lived in the house in the late '60s. The previous owner, lighting technician Mike Leonard, was landlord and friend to the musicians, and even inspired their group's first name, 'Leonard's Lodgers' (2012).

September 19th

Musical birthdays today include Bill Medley (76), folk singer Sylvia Tyson (76), pop & Broadway musical singer Freda Payne (74), David Bromberg (71), ex-10cc lead singer Lol Creme (69), Daniel Lanois (65), free jazz guitarist Henry Kaiser (64), Nile Rogers (64), Rex Smith (61), former Runaways lead guitarist Lita Ford (58), Jarvis Cocker (53), Trisha Yearwood (52), heavy metal guitarist & drummer Jimmy Bower (48), rapper Amil (38), indie pop duo Tegan & Sara Quinn (36), and singer-songwriter Eamon (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Brian Epstein, who would have been 82 today... for former Chieftains fiddler Martin Fay, who would have been 80... for Cass Elliot, who would have been 75... for country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, who died today in 1973 at the age of 26... and for session drummer Earl Palmer [who played on the original studio recordings of 'Tutti Frutti', 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' and 'River Deep, Mountain High' among many others], who left us today in 2008. 

Also on September 19: Mahler conducts the premiere of his 7th Symphony at the National Theatre in Prague (1908)... 16-year-old English singer Cliff Richard joins his first band, The Dick Teague Skiffle Group (1957)... Chubby Checker hits № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'The Twist' (1960)... The Beatles begin recording 'Piggies' (1968)... Creedence Clearwater Revival score their only British № 1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' (1969)... The first Glastonbury Festival opens with T Rex and Jethro Tull among the headliners (1970)... Max Weinberg makes his live debut as the drummer in the E Street Band, at a gig at The Main Point in Philadelphia (1974)... The first of a five-night series of MUSE [Musicians United for Safe Energy] concerts takes place at Madison Square Garden ~ performing this evening are Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne and The Doobie Brothers (1979)...  The № 1 album in the US today is the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You ~ it will stay atop the charts for the next two months... Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in Central Park in NYC (1981)... Tipper Gore and other US political wives form the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center] as Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and other musicians testify at Congressional hearings on obscenity in popular music (1985)... Pearl Jam release their second album, Vs. It sets a record for most copies sold in its first week in shops that will stand for 5 years, despite the group's refusal to produce any videos for the album's singles (1993)... James Brown is sued by his own daughters for nearly one million dollars of song royalties they say they are owed. The suit brought by Deanna Brown Thomas and Dr. Yamma Brown Lummar, a Houston physician, alleges that Brown is withholding the money because of family grudges (2002)... Former Cream bassist Jack Bruce undergoes a successful liver transplant after being diagnosed with cancer (2003).

September 18th

Musical birthdays today include Frankie Avalon (76), singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan (71), former Kansas frontman Kerry Livgren (67), ex-Black Flag lead singer Keith Morris (61), Jayhawks frontman Mark Olson (55), Cutting Crew drummer Martin Beedle (55), Human League vocalist Joanne Catherall (54), musical trendsetter, ex-college DJ and all-around good egg Sharon 'Sherri' Wallach (48), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Darryl 'Cappadonna' Hill (47), operatic soprano Anna Netrebko (45), Mobb Deep rapper Albert 'Prodigy' Johnson (42), and pop and R&B singer Asher Monroe (28). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Dee Dee Ramone, who would have been 65 today... for jazz guitarist Emily Remler, who would have been 59... for bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, who died on this date in 1945... and for Jimi Hendrix, who left us today in 1970. 

Also on September 18: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden opens for the first time (1809)... Reggie Workman replaces Jimmy Garrison on bass for the second of the three sessions that it takes the John Coltrane Quartet to record the album Ballads (1962)... The Beatles continue work on the White Album, recording 'Birthday' today. Mal Evans, Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contribute backing vocals and handclaps (1968)... Black Sabbath release Paranoid, which will go on to become the group's only № 1 LP in their home country (1970)... The Who score their first and only UK № 1 album with Who's Next. The cover photo, taken at Easington Colliery in County Durham, shows the members of the band having apparently just relieved themselves on a large concrete piling. According to photographer Ethan Russell, only Pete Townshend was actually able to urinate on cue, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired affect... Pink Floyd become the first rock group to play the Montreux Classical Music Festival, performing the album Atom Heart Mother in its entirety (1971)... John Lennon sits in as all-night guest DJ on WNEW-FM in NYC (1974)... The № 1 single in the US today is 'Play That Funky Music' by one-hit wonders Wild Cherry (1976)... Gary Numan takes off on a round the world trip in a single-engine Cessna aircraft. The attempt ends after he is forced down by the Indian air force over Mumbai and arrested when he lands (1981)... Kiss appear for the first time in public without their famous make-up, in an interview with MTV to promote their latest album, Lick It Up (1983)... At Sotheby's of London, Julian Lennon is the top bidder for Paul McCartney's recording notes for 'Hey Jude', as well as for a copy of his father's handwritten lyrics to 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite'. The two purchases will cost the younger Lennon £21,000 and £57,500 respectively (1996)... Britney Spears marries Kevin Federline in a private ceremony in Los Angeles (2004)... 73-year-old Willie Nelson and four members of his band are charged with drug possession after cannabis and magic mushrooms are found by Louisiana state troopers after the singer's tour bus is pulled over outside Lafayette (2006)... The documentary 'It Might Get Loud' has its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (2008)... Leonard Cohen collapses on stage while singing his song 'Bird on a Wire' during a concert in Valencia, Spain and is taken to hospital. The 75-year-old tunesmith will be found to be suffering from food poisoning (2009).

September 17th

Musical birthdays today include Fifth Dimension founding member Lamonte McLemore (77), Five Man Electrical Band guitarist Les Emmerson (72), Tubes frontman Fee Waybill (66), Budgie drummer Steve Williams (63), Ned's Atomic Dustbin lead singer Jonn Penney (48), Prodigy singer Keith Flint (45), Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau (37), and ex-Panic! At the Disco bassist Jon Walker (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Hank Williams and for jazz pianist Ralph Sharon, both born on this day in 1923... for Jeanine Deckers, AKA the Singing Nun, who would have been 83 today... for original Steely Dan drummer Jim Hodder, who would have been 69... for pioneering boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey, who died on this day in 1951... for former MC5 lead singer Rob Tyner, who passed away in 1991 at the age of 47... and for British cabaret singer Frankie Vaughn, who left us in 1999. 

Also on September 17: Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries is performed in America for the first time at a free concert by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in NYC's Central Park (1872)... The first 33 1/3 RPM vinyl LP, a recording of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, is demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in NYC by RCA Victor. The venture proves impractical owing to the high cost of the record players ($95, or approximately $1150 in today's dollars). The project is shelved, and will not be revived until 1948 (1931)... The Beatles set a new American record for payment for a single show when they receive $150,000 to play Kansas City's Municipal Stadium... Roland Kirk changes labels, going into the studio to record his first album for Limelight. Kirk plays only flute, and records 'Serenade to a Cuckoo', one of his signature tunes, which will later be covered by Jethro Tull (1964)... The Doors are banned from the Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison breaks his promise to the producers to drop 'Girl, we couldn't get much higher' from 'Light My Fire' by singing the offending line anyway. The group also perform their new single 'People Are Strange' (1967)... Newspaper on both sides of the Atlantic run headline stories of Paul McCartney's reported demise. The Beatles bassist was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on the 9th of November, 1966, and a double has been taking his place for public appearances ever since. McCartney tells journalists "Believe me, if I were dead, I'd be the last to know" and that he and Jane Asher were in Kenya at the time of the alleged mishap (1969)... The Sex Pistols play a show for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex (1976)... The video for Queen's single 'Bicycle Race' is filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, London. It features 65 female models pedalling around the track in the nude on bicycles that were hired for the day. The rental company will reportedly demand payment for all the saddles when they learn how the cycles were used (1978)... The № 1 single in America today is John Waite's 'Missing You' (1984)... Over 4 million copies of the Guns N' Roses albums use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II are simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in US pop history... An inebriated 19-year-old man is taken off  plane in Denver, CO after harassing members of Hootie and the Blowfish, who are travelling in the first class section (1991)... The Fleetwood Mac reunion tour in support of the band's new album The Dance gets underway in Hartford, CT (1997)... Bono meets with President George W. Bush to discuss increasing US federal funding for AIDS initiatives. At a press conference after their talk, the U2 singer says "I'm not here to peddle a cause. Seven thousand people a day dying isn't a cause, it's an emergency" (2003)... Barry Manilow cancels his appearance on The View because he refuses to be interviewed by conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Manilow says that he will speak only to co-hosts Joy Behar, Barbara Walters or Whoopi Goldberg, a demand that the show's producers reject as 'completely disrespectful' (2007).