November 3rd

 

Musical birthdays today include Lulu [née Marie Lawrie] (77), Chrome frontman Helios Creed (72), Adam Ant [né Stuart Goddard] (71), Porcupine Tree multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson (58), Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz [né Kirk Jones] (54), Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson (52), and Rise Again lead singer Tim McIlrath (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for film score composer John Barry, born on this day in 1934... for singer-songwriter Bert Jansch, who would have been 81... for R&B singer Chris Bender, shot to death in Brooklyn at the age of 19 today in 1991... for Leon Theremin, inventor of the instrument that bears his name, who died in 1993... for Lonnie Donegan MBE, the 'King of Skiffle', who passed away in 2002... and for former April Wine bassist Jim Clench, who left us today in 2010.

Also on November 3: Mozart completes his 'Linz Symphony' [№ 36 in C Major] less than 24 hours before its first performance in the Austrian city (1783)... The Chicago Grand Opera gives its inaugural performance, a production of Aida (1910)... Sun Records releases 'Great Balls of Fire' by Jerry Lee Lewis (1957)... Elvis Presley goes on field maneuvers for the first time with the US Army's 32nd Armored Regiment, near the German-Czech border (1958)... Elvis tops the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with 'It's Now or Never', his first post-army № 1 (1960)... During the Rolling Stones' North American tour, a 17 year-old fan falls from the balcony during a gig in Cleveland, Ohio. Mayor Ralph S. Locher bans all future pop concerts, saying: "Such groups do not add to the community's culture or entertainment" (1964)... The Beatles record 'Michelle' (1965)... Filming for The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour is completed, ending with a sequence at Ringo's country house in Weybridge, Surrey. BBC television buy the rights to broadcast the film twice; the first broadcast, in black-and-white, is scheduled for December 26, 1967. The second showing, on the colour channel BBC2 [which is not yet available to all Britons] is scheduled for January 5, 1968 (1967)... James Taylor and Carly Simon are married in a civil ceremony at the latter's Manhattan apartment (1972)... David Bowie's Pinups is the № 1 album in the UK (1973)... Following a concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, Elton John announces his retirement from live performance... A Santa Monica, CA Superior Court judge orders Bob Dylan to return his children to his estranged wife Sara. He was granted temporary custody while his soon to be ex set up housekeeping in Hawaii (1977)... The Jam release All Mod Cons (1978)... One-hit wonder M tops the Billboard singles chart with 'Pop Music' (1979)... Devo open their latest tour by bringing their video-synchronized concert experience to Minneapolis. The show involves the band performing in front of a giant screen on which are projected films and lyrics. The robotic band also interact with the clips (1982)... 'Ice Ice Baby', by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the US singles chart, [and later also a UK No. 1 as well] (1990)... Rage against the Machine release their eponymous debut album (1992)... Metallica reach an out of court settlement with a fan who claims he lost his sense of smell after being dropped on his head by fans at one of their shows four years earlier (1997)... EMI Records announce that they have dropped Simple Minds. The Scottish band sold over 30 million albums during the 1980's (2000)... P Diddy runs in the New York City Marathon, finishing the race in 4 hours and 18 minutes and raising $2,000,000 for the public education system of New York (2003)... A man who had been stalking Hilary Duff is arrested for threatening to kill her. According to the court papers, Maksim Miakovsky of St. Petersburg, Russia went to the U.S. 'for the sole purpose of meeting and becoming romantically involved with Ms. Duff'. He will later be sentenced to 4 months in jail and 5 years probation after pleading no contest to the charges (2006). 

November 2nd

 

Musical birthdays today include Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch OBE (84), ex-Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull bassist Dave Pegg (78), former Go-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison (74), Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford (68), k.d. lang (64), Poison bassist Bobby Dall (62), Korn bassist Reginald Arvizu (56), Nelly (51), Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla (50), and Big Time Rush singer Kendall Schmidt (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for swing trumpeter Bunny Berigan, born on this date in 1908... for Blue Note Records producer & engineer Rudy van Gelder [worked on Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme, among many other classics], born in 1924... for jazzman Phil Woods, born today in 1931... for Cadillacs lead singer Earl Carroll, who would have been 88 today... for Jay and the Americans lead singer Jay Black, who would have been 87... for J.D. Souther, who would have been 80...for  Keith Emerson, who would have been 81... for legendary soprano Jenny 'The Swedish Nightingale' Lind, who died on this date in 1887... for bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, who passed away in 1966... and for singer Eva Cassidy, who left us at the age of 33 today in 1996.

Also on November 2: The work of Shostakovich is heard in the US for the first time, as Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Symphony in a performance of the Russian composer's 1st Symphony (1928)... John Coltrane and sidemen record the first of the two shows that will become the Live at the Village Vanguard album (1961)... Peter, Paul & Mary hit № 1 on the US singles chart with their cover of 'Blowin' in the Wind'... The Konrads, featuring a young lead singer named David Jones making his public debut ~ he will soon rechristen himself David Bowie ~ appear at Shirley Parish Hall, in Croydon, Surrey (1963)... The Beatles complete recording their next single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at Abbey Road studios with a second Paul McCartney bass line. The McCartney song had been selected for the A-side for The Beatles next single, the flip side to be John Lennon’s ‘I Am the Walrus'... Cream release Disraeli Gears (1967)... Ringo Starr releases his star-studded solo album Ringo. Among the many supporting musicians were the three other former Beatles, though all four were never in the studio at the same time (1973)... George Harrison became the first Beatle to undertake a solo world tour, kicking off a 30-night outing with a show in Vancouver (1974)... The Rev Marvin Gaye Sr. is sentenced to five years in prison on a charge of manslaughter in the death of his son (1984)... Bob Dylan is sued for 'palimony' by actress Laura Tyrangiel, who appeared in the singer's 1977 film Renaldo and Clara. Tyrangiel claims that she lived with Dylan from 1974 to 1993, that she is the co-author of many of his songs from that period, and that he promised to marry her (1994)... Foo Fighters release their third studio album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose; the album marks the first appearance of drummer Taylor Hawkins (1999)... Eric Clapton collects his CBE from Buckingham Palace for his services to music (2004)... Led Zeppelin's eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London is postponed for two weeks after guitarist Jimmy Page breaks a finger (2007).

November 1st

 

Musical birthdays today include Kinky Friedman (81), Kool & the Gang saxophonist Ronald Bell (74), Lyle Lovett (68), Manfred Mann's Earth Band lead singer Robert Hart (67), Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis (63), A-ha keyboardist Magne Furuholmen (63), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (62), Geto Boys rapper Willie D [né William Dennis] (59),  singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins (57), and ex-Destiny's Child vocalist LaTavia Robertson (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for saxophonist and former Thelonious Monk sideman Lou Donaldson, born on this day in 1926, and who left us last year at the age of 98... for Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler [of 'Ballad of the Green Berets' fame] who would have been 84 today... for Family and Blind Faith bassist Ric Grech, who would have been 79... for America multi-instrumentalist Dan Peek, who would have been 75... for Stereolab guitarist Mary Hansen, who would have been 59... for rapper Ma Dre [né Andre Hicks], who was shot to death at age 34 on this day in 2004... and for session drummer Jimmy Carl Black, who left us today in 2008.

Also on November 1: Handel finishes his oratorio Israel in Egypt (1738)... Chopin leaves his native city of Warsaw for the last time, destination Vienna (1830)...R&B group The Famous Flames, led by singer James Brown, cut their first demo ‘Please, Please, Please’ at a radio station in Macon, Georgia. It will lead to their signing with King Records (1955)... Elvis Presley buys a new Harley Davidson, and spends the day riding around Memphis on his acquisition with actress Natalie Wood (1956)... George Harrison releases his first solo album, Wonderwall Music, on the Apple label. The songs, which are mostly Harrison instrumentals, feature Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and an uncredited banjo contribution by Peter Tork of The Monkees (1968)... Elvis hits № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Suspicious Minds'. On the album rankings, the Beatles score their 13th US  № 1  with Abbey Road (1969)... The Grateful Dead release American Beauty (1970)... Paul McCartney & Wings kick off their first Australian tour with a show at the Entertainment Centre in Perth (1975)... Bruce Springsteen tops the Billboard album chart for the first time with The River (1980)... Whilst shooting the film Hearts of Fire in Canada, Bob Dylan jams with local outfit The Paul James Band in a bar in Markham, Ontario (1986)... Flavor Flav of Public Enemy is arrested and charged with the attempted murder of his neighbour. Flav claims that the man had had sex with his (Flav's) girlfriend (1993)... Danish dance-pop act Aqua are at № 1 on the UK charts with 'Barbie Girl'. The single will sell over 8 million copies worldwide (1997)... Organizers of the MTV Europe Awards recruit 500 'screamers' to attend this year's event. The music lovers are selected at an audition held in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens. About 1,500 pop-mad teenagers and adults scream themselves hoarse in a bid to get their hands on a ticket to the exclusive event (2003)... Metal Hammer magazine publishes a list of the 'Top ten rock and heavy metal moustaches…Ever'. The list, which includes moustaches worn by the likes of Frank Zappa, all the members of Black Sabbath, (except Ozzy Osbourne), James Hetfield and Lemmy, places Freddie Mercury at the top (2012).

 

October 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Tom Paxton (88), Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg (76), Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard (68), singer-songwriter Kate Campbell (64), U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (64), Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee (62), Johnny Marr (62), My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (61), country singer Darryl Worley (61), Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz (59), ex-Bow Wow Wow lead singer Anabella Lwin (59), Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris (56), former Ace of Base lead singer Linn Berggren (55), Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Johnny Moeller (55), Blnd Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens (55), Less Than Jake bassist Roger Manganelli (51), and ex-My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singing cowgirl Dale Evans, born on this date in 1912... for longtime Shea Stadium organist Jane Jarvis, born in 1915... for pioneering R&B saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, born in 1922... for saxophonist and Mingus sideman Booker Ervin, born in 1930... for Ali Farka Touré, who would have been 86... and for producer and Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, who would have been 73.

Also on October 31: Steinway Hall opens at 4th Ave. & E. 14th St. in Manhattan. It will be home to the New York Philharmonic and the principal classical music venue in NYC until Carnegie Hall opens in 1891 (1866)... St. Louis-based pianist Johnnie Johnson hires a 26-year-old hairdresser named Chuck Berry as a guitarist in his band. While playing evening gigs in the area, Berry keeps his day job for the next three years (1955)...The Quarrymen decide to change their name to Johnny and the Moondogs. The band are in Liverpool auditioning for the Carrol Levis radio show (1959)... The Beatles return to London from Sweden and are greeted by hundreds of screaming fans as well as a mob of photographers and journalists. Ed Sullivan is at Heathrow waiting for a flight to New York as the Fab Four arrive, and is struck by the sight of Beatlemania in full swing; he makes a note to look into getting this group to appear on his television program (1963)... The Who make their first and only appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool (1965)... Led Zeppelin hold the UK launch for their new record label Swan Song at Chislehurst Caves, Surrey on Halloween night. Drinks are served by nuns in suspenders, a naked woman is lying in a coffin covered in jelly and naked male wrestlers cavort in recesses of the caves. Label mates Bad Company, The Pretty Things and Maggie Bell also attend. The launch also ties in with the releases of The Pretty Things new album Silk Torpedo. The label was named after an unreleased Zeppelin instrumental track (1974)... Roger Waters files an injunction to prevent David Gilmour and Nick Mason from using the name 'Pink Floyd' for future touring and recording (1986)... Teen idol Debbie Gibson reportedly holds a seance at her Merrick, NY home to raise the spirits of Liberace and Sid Vicious (1988)... The first MTV Unplugged show is recorded in New York, with guests Squeeze. The program will be aired on the 26th of November (1989)... During a gig in Seattle, Billy Idol dumps 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They respond by walking on stage naked during Idol's set (1990)... James Brown is arrested in Aiken, South Carolina for assaulting his 47 year old wife Adrienne, who alleges that her husband hit her with a mirror. The assault charges against Brown will be dropped when Adrienne dies in January, 1996 (1995)... Slash announces that he is leaving Guns N' Roses. The guitarist says that Axl Rose and he have only been civil to each other on two occasions since 1994 (1996)... Cher starts a seven week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Believe', taken from her twenty-third studio album. It makes the 52-year-old Cher the first female artist over the age of 50 to have a № 1 single. The song will top the charts in 23 countries (1998)... The white suit worn by John Lennon on the cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album sells for $118,000 (£66,385) at an auction in Las Vegas, while an Austin Princess hearse driven by the late star in the documentary Imagine sells for $150,000 (£84,388). A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the items goes to Amnesty International (2005).

 

October 30th

 Musical birthdays today include Motown songwriter Eddie Holland (86), Grace Slick (86), Temptations vocalist Otis Williams (84), Manfred Mann drummer Chris Slade (79), ex-Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit (78), Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale (60), Billy Talent guitarist Ian D'Sa (50), and Saturdays vocalist Vanessa White (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer Patsy Montana, born on this date in 1908... for jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, born in 1930... for Jam Master Jay, shot to death in a Jamaica, Queens recording studio today in 2002 at the age of 38... for longtime Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, who passed away in 2003... for cabaret singer Robert Goulet, who left us today in 2007... and for Linda Stein, former co-manager of the Ramones, who on the same day was found beaten to death in her Manhattan apartment. 

Also on October 30: Schubert begins work on his Symphony in B minor, which will become known as Unfinished, as the composer left it incomplete at his death 6 years later. The symphony as Schubert left it will have its premiere in Vienna in 1865 (1822)... In Washington DC, the Martha Graham Company perform Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring for the first time (1944)... Two days after Beatles fan Raymond Jones asked for The Beatles' German single ‘My Bonnie’ (recorded with Tony Sheridan) at Brian Epstein's NEMS record store in Liverpool, two girls request the same song. Epstein's has difficulty in locating the record because he is unaware that the record was released, not by the Beatles, but by Tony Sheridan and 'the Beat Brothers' ['Beatles' resembles an offensive slang word in German, so the Beatles' name was changed for this release] (1961)... Buffalo Springfield release their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)... Jim Morrison is fined and sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of exposing himself during a Doors gig in Miami (1970)... John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band go to № 1 on the UK album chart with Imagine. Meanwhile, in the US, Pink Floyd release their sixth studio album 'Meddle'. The album features 'One Of These Days', and the 23-minute track 'Echoes', which takes up all of side 2 on the vinyl record. The cover image was photographed by Bob Dowling. The image represents an ear underwater, collecting waves of sound represented by ripples (1971)... Allen Ginsberg visits Bob Dylan at his house in Malibu, CA; the pair record a lengthy interview together (1977)... Stevie Wonder releases Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979)... La Bohème opens at the Joseph Papp Theater in NYC with Linda Ronstadt in the role of Mimi. The production is a critical and commercial flop, however, and closes after only 5 nights (1984)... An up and coming local band called Nirvana provide the entertainment at a dorm party at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington (1988)... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces the induction of David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Pete Seeger, The Shirelles, and The Velvet Underground (1995)... All four original members of Black Sabbath reunite to play 'Paranoid' on Late Night with David Letterman (1998)... A new web site is launched to help teach young people basic physics. www.britneyspears.ac features the singer illustrating mathematical equations. Visitors could access physics theories generously interspersed with photos of Britney (2000)... Michael Jackson releases Invincible, his 10th and final studio album (2001).

October 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include Cuban jazz singer Omara Portuondo (95), ex-Wings guitarist Denny Laine (81), Melba Moore (80), former Alan Parsons Project guitarist David Paton (76), The Cure keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (70), Randy Jackson (64), ex-Sugarcubes trumpeter Einar Örn (63) and Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Zoot Sims, born on this date in 1925... for operatic tenor Jon Vickers, born in 1926... for Peter Green, who would have been 79 today... for Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, who would have been 70... for classical pianist William Kapell, who died in a commercial airliner crash on this day in 1953 at the age of 31... for jazz bassist and Louis Armstrong sideman George 'Pops' Foster, who passed away in 1969... and for Duane Allman, killed in a motorcycle accident today in 1971 at the age of 24. 

Also on October 29: Mozart's opera Don Giovanni has its premiere in Prague (1787)... The Beach Boys release their debut album Surfin' Safari (1962)... The Who release the single 'My Generation' in the UK. The song came in at no. 11 when Rolling Stone magazine compiled their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and 13th on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll. It reached № 2 in the UK, the Who's highest charting single in their home country but only № 74 in America (1965)... The musical Hair opens off-Broadway at the Public Theater in the East Village (1967)... Joan Baez joins Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue (1975)... The Belgian National Tourist Board issue a summons against the Sex Pistols, claiming the sleeve to the band's single 'Holidays in The Sun' infringes copyright of one of its brochures (1977)... 'Islands in The Stream' gives Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers a № 1 on the US singles chart. The song was written by The Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry Gibb. Meanwhile, Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' marks its 491st week on the album chart, surpassing the previous record holder, 'Johnny's Greatest Hits' by Johnny Mathis (1983)... David Bowie played the first of the 15 dates on the Australia/New Zealand leg of his Glass Spider Tour at the Boondall Entertainment Centre in Brisbane (1987)... 
The Memphis, TN City Council name a section of the I-55 interstate running through town the B.B. King Freeway (1991)...  Manchester band The Stone Roses announce that they are splitting up. Singer Ian Brown says "Having spent the last ten years in the filthiest business in the universe, it's a pleasure to announce the end of The Stone Roses" (1996)... U2 perform for the first time on The Late Show with David Letterman (2001)... Research in the US finds that songs get stuck in our heads because they create a 'brain itch' that can only be scratched by repeating a tune over and over. Songs such as the Village People's 'YMCA' and the Baha Men's 'Who Let The Dogs Out' owe their success to their ability to create a 'cognitive itch', according to Professor James Kellaris, of the University of Cincinnati College of Behavioral Science (2003)... A set of waxwork heads of The Beatles from their Sgt. Pepper album cover sell for £81,500. The 'pepperheads' are auctioned off after recently being discovered in a back room at Madame Tussaud's. They were used in 1967 by artist Sir Peter Blake in the backdrop of the 'Lonely Hearts Club Band' album with the actual Beatles posing at the front (2005). 

October 28th

 Musical birthdays today includeR&a mp;B singer Curtis Lee (85), Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin (84), Wayne Fontana (80) ex-Tony Orlando & Dawn vocalist Telma Hopkins (76), Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris (67), Jesus & Mary Chain guitarist William Reid (67), alt-country fiddler Caitlin Cary (57), Ben Harper (56), country singer Brad Paisley (53), Joaquin Phoenix (51), and rapper Frank Ocean (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for avant-garde composer Gershon Kingsley, born on this day in 1922... for jazz & pop singer Dame Cleo Laine, born in 1927... for Cajun accordion virtuoso Iry Lejeune, born in 1929... for Charlie Daniels, who would have been 89... for ex-Soft Machine saxophonist Elton Dean, who would have been 79...  for big band leader Woody Herman, who died on this date in 1987... and for Porter Waggoner, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on October 28: Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 6 in B Minor, the Pathétique, receives its premiere performance in St. Petersburg only nine days before the composer's death (1893)... In Berlin, Richard Strauss conducts the first performance of his tone poem Eine Alpensinfonie (1915)... After a show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, police tell Elvis Presley that he is not allowed to wiggle his hips onstage. The local press also run editorials saying the King would have to clean up his act. The next night, the LAPD vice squad film his entire concert, in order to study his performance for illegalities (1957)... Buddy Holly makes his final US national TV appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, where he lip-synchs 'It's So Easy' and 'Heartbeat' (1958)...  A Liverpool electrician named Raymond Jones goes into the NEMS Record store trying to buy discs released in Germany by a local group called the Beatles who are currently residing in Hamburg. Shop manager Brian Epstein promises to investigate further (1961)... The Kinks release Face to Face, their first LP consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions (1966)... The № 1 album on the Billboard chart today is Diana Ross and the Supremes' Greatest Hits (1967)... Nick Gilder goes to № 1 in the US with 'Hot Child in the City'. When released in the singer's native Britain, the single failed to chart (1978)... The Jam announce that they are breaking up (1982)... Columbia Records releases the 3 LP Bob Dylan career retrospective Biograph (1985)... Sheena Easton guest stars on Miami Vice as Sonny Crockett's fiancée (1987)... R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces that he is  leaving the group after 17 years to become a farmer (1997)... A Kenny Rogers fan is injured at a concert in Dallas when the singer throws a frisbee into the crowd. Concertgoer Kevin O'Toole will later sue Rogers for $2 million, claiming that the accident left him impotent (1999)... Joseph 'Afroman' Foreman starts a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Because I Got High.' The song about how cannabis use was degrading his quality of life rose from obscurity after it went viral on the Internet (2001).