November 9th

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November 8th

 Musical birthdays today include Delaney & Bonnie vocalist Bonnie Bramlett (82), ELO multi-instrumentalist & songwriter Roy Wood (80), Bonnie Raitt (77), Rickie Lee Jones (72) jazz singer Patricia Barber (71), ex-Cure guitarist Porl Thompson (69), Leif Garrett (65), rapper Tech N9ne [né Aaron Yates] (55), Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace (46), and singer-songwriter & Glee cast member Riker Lynch (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Patti Page, born on this day in 1927... for Minnie Riperton, who would have been 79... for composer César Franck, who died on this date in 1890... for blues pianist Ivory Joe Hunter, who died in 1974... for New Orleans R&B pianist James Booker ~ once described by Dr. John as "the best gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced" ~ who passed away today in 1983 at the age of 43... and for film score composer Basil Poledouris, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on November 8: Accompanied by virtuoso Joseph Joachim, Brahms is at the piano for the premiere of his Violin Concerto № 1 in G, Op. 78 in Bonn (1879)... George & Ira Gershwin's musical Oh, Kay! opens on Broadway (1926)... The first ever pop chart in Britain is published by the New Musical Express after staff asked 53 record shops to disclose their sales returns. ‘Here In My Heart’ by Al Martino was the first № 1. The song will stay at the top of the chart for 9 weeks (1952)... Dusty Springfield sets out on her first solo tour, hitting the road in the UK with The Searchers, Freddie & The Dreamers and Brian Poole & The Tremeloes sharing the bill. The first show is in Halifax (1963)... The Beatles spend the afternoon working on George's new song ‘Think For Yourself’ at Abbey Road for the forthcoming Rubber Soul album. After  the rehearsals, they record the basic instrumental track in one take (1965)... 'Something', the first Beatles A-side written by George, enters the UK singles chart, where it will peak at № 4; it goes on to be a № 1 in the US (1969)... Led Zeppelin release their fourth album. With no title printed on the cover, and referred to most commonly as either Led Zeppelin IV, 'the Runes Album' or 'Zoso' [from the names of the runes], it will go to sell over 37 million copies worldwide. The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased by Robert Plant from an antique shop in Reading, Berks. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold LP cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, W. Midlands (1971)... David Bowie makes his US TV debut, performing 'Fame' on Cher's CBS variety show (1975)... Berlin are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Take My Breath away' from the Top Gun soundtrack (1986)... Michael Jackson joins forces with Sony to form ATV, the world's third largest musical publishers. Worth approximately $300 million, the company owns the rights to the Beatles catalogue, among some 100,000 other titles (1995)... During a party to launch their new album Forever, Spice Girl Mel C goes off on a tirade against Westlife, calling them "a useless bunch of talentless tossers" and "hyped-up shite", among other things (2000)... Morrissey stops a concert on a solo tour halfway through his second song after being struck by a projectile. The 50-year-old singer, who was hit in the eye by a plastic bottle of beer, says goodnight to the 8,000 strong crowd in Liverpool before walking off (2009).

November 7th

 

Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones (90), rocker Johnny Rivers (84), Joni Mitchell (83), John 'Jellybean' Benitez (69), Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer (66), former Salt-N-Pepa rapper Sandra Denton (62), Hothouse Flowers keyboardist Liam Ó Maonlai (62), Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri (59), classical pianist Hélène Grimaud (57), Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck (55), Hellogoodbye lead singer Forrest Kline (43), Pussy Riot performance artist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (37), and Ella Yelich-O'Connor AKA Lorde (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter Al Hirt, born on this day in 1922... for operatic soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, born in 1926... for soul singer Dee Clark, who would have been 88... for country singer-songwriter Stephen Bruton, who would have been 75... and for R&B singer Carter Cornelius, who left us today in 1991. 

Also on November 7:  The Stoughton Musical Society, the oldest choral society in the US, is founded in the Massachusetts town of the same name (1786)... Frank Sinatra marries his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. The couple will separate in 1953 and divorce in 1957 (1951)... Eddie Cochran enters the Top 40 in the US and Britain with 'Summertime Blues', his first hit (1958)... The Beatles travel to Ireland and make their only appearances ever in the country, playing two shows at the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin. The group also meet up with screenwriter Alun Owen, who has been appointed to write the screenplay for The Beatles' first (as yet untitled) motion picture. Owen will spend three days with The Beatles observing their hectic lifestyle (1963)... Reginald Dwight (AKA Elton John) and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin sign with DJM Music Publishers Their signatures have to be witnessed by their parents because they are both under 21 years of age. Taupin answered an advertisement for a lyric writer placed in the New Musical Express ~ the pair have since collaborated on over 30 albums (1967)... The Rolling Stones kick off their sixth North American tour at the University of Northern Colorado at Fort Collins, CO. Also on the bill are Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry and BB King (1969)... MCA Records president Mike Curb announces that the label is dropping 18 acts who purportedly 'exploit and promote hard drugs through music', including such notorious characters as The Cowsills and Connie Francis (1970)... Atlantic Records release Bette Midler's debut album The Divine Miss M (1972)... Billy Joel releases Piano Man, his first album on Columbia (1973)... Ted Nugent wins the US National Squirrel Shooting Contest, reportedly skewering one of the rodents at 150 yards according to an article in Rolling Stone (1974)... Hall and Oates are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Private Eyes' (1981)... John Fogerty is victorious in the case brought against him by Fantasy Records, the owners of the rights to the songs that he wrote while the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The label alleged that Fogerty plagiarised his own 'Run through the Jungle' for his 1985 hit 'The Old Man down the Road'... WB  Records release R.E.M.'s major label debut album Green (1988)... Guitarist Izzy Stradlin quits Guns N’ Roses and is replaced by Gilby Clarke. Stradlin cites as his reasons a combination of Axl Rose's personal behaviour and the difficulties of being around Slash, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan owing to his new-found sobriety (1991)... Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is invested with the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II (2003)... Eminem hits № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Just Lose It' (2004). 

November 6th

 Musical birthdays today include Jive Five vocalist Eugene Pitt (89), country singer Guy Clark (85), AC/DC producer & ex-Easybeats guitarist George Young (80), French chansonnier Florent Pagny (65), Bangles founding member Annette Zilinskas (64), Bad Religion lead singer Greg Graffin (62), BoomKAT singer-songwriter Taryn Manning (47), and Evermore guitarist Jon Hume (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Adolphe Sax [inventor of the saxophone], born on this day in 1814... for composer John Philip Sousa, born in 1854... for classical pianist Jan Paderewski, born in 1860... for bandleader Ray Conniff, born in 1918... for country singer Stonewall Jackson, born in 1932... for Tex-Mex singer-songwriter Doug Sahm, who would have been 82 today... for Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, who would have been 78... for Christian Death frontman Rozz Williams, who would have been 64... for avant-garde composer Edgard Varèse, who died on this date in 1965... and for country singer Hank Thompson, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on November 6th: Beethoven's String Quartet in A, op. 132 is performed in public for the first time in Vienna by the Schuppanzig Quartet (1825)... Shostakovich's 2nd Symphony, the October, premieres in Leningrad as part of a concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution (1927)... Charles Mingus and sidemen, including Roland Kirk, record the album Oh Yeah at Atlantic Studios in NYC. It is one of the few albums of Mingus' career on which he plays piano throughout (1961)... During their first promotional visit to the UK, The Beach Boys appear live on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!' [Ready Steady Go! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes which ran from August 1963 until December 1966] (1964)...  Working at Abbey Road studios, the Beatles do the final mix of ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘I Am the Walrus’. Because to the radio feed used in ‘I Am the Walrus’ was recorded in mono, the song changes from stereo to mono at the line 'Sitting in an English garden'... In one 3-hour session at Columbia Studios in Nashville, Bob Dylan cuts 'All along the Watchtower' and 'John Wesley Harding' (1967)... Joe Cocker is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with his version of 'With a Little Help from My Friends' (1968)... Aerosmith play their first ever live show when they perform at a dance at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, MA (1970)... The Stylistics release their eponymous debut album (1971)... Martin and Phil Kaufman are charged and fined $300 each for the theft of a coffin containing Gram Parsons' body. The two associates of the late singer argue to the court that they were merely carrying out Parson's wishes to be cremated in the Mojave desert (1973)... The Sex Pistols make their live debut at St Martin’s School Of Art in central London, supporting a band called Bazooka Joe, whose lead singer is Stuart Goddard, later to be known as Adam Ant. The Pistols’ 3-song performance lasts 10 minutes (1975)... The three remaining members of Led Zeppelin convene on the Channel island of Jersey to discuss the band's future after the death of John Bonham (1980)... Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' achieves the longest unbroken run on the UK singles charts ever when it logs its 43rd week in the Top 100 (1982)... Pearl Jam hit № 1 on the stateside charts with Vs, selling 950,378 copies for the highest one-week sales figure in US album history (1993)... Madonna plays her first live show in 8 years when she performs a brief [20-minute] set at New York's Roseland Ballroom. The diva wears a tight black vest bearing the sequinned name of 18 year-old Britney Spears (2000)... A number of streets in the German city Frankfurt are temporarily renamed after pop stars to mark the MTV Europe Music Awards. Madonna, Robbie Williams and Janet Jackson all have avenues named after them (2001). 

November 5th

 

Musical birthdays today include Art Garfunkel (85), former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone (79), former Van der Graaf Generator frontman Peter Hammill (78), ex-Flock of Seagulls lead singer Mike Score (69), composer/producer Don Falcone (68), Bryan Adams (67), Tesla bassist Brian Wheat (63), music history blogger and all-around public nuisance Chris Morris (62), Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood (58), Ryan Adams (52), Steps vocalist Lisa Scott-Lee (47), Pendulum lead singer Rob Swire (43) and Kevin Jonas (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical pianist Paul Wittgenstein, born on this date in 1887... for singing cowboy Roy Rogers, born in 1911... for Ike Turner, born in 1931... for Gram Parsons, who would have been 79... for singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris, who would have been 76... for songwriter George M. Cohan, who died on this date in 1942... for Art Tatum, who passed away in 1956... for bandleader Guy Lombardo, who died in 1977... for Vladimir Horowitz, who died in 1989.... for former Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield, found dead in his hotel room on this day in 2003 half an hour before he was to perform at a show in Detroit. The cause of death was later determined to be a cocaine overdose... and for guitarist Link Wray, who left us today in 2005. In 1956, his song 'Rumble' had the unusual distinction of being banned for encouraging juvenile delinquency even though it was an instrumental.

Also on November 5: In Leipzig, J.S. Bach's sacred cantata № 115 Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit is performed for the first time (1724)...Richard Strauss' tone poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche [Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks] has its premiere in Cologne (1905)... After being destroyed in WWII, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera opens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio (1955)... The Nat 'King' Cole Show debuts on NBC-TV. It is the first television variety program in America with a black host (1956)... The Monkees are at the top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, the group’s first № 1. It was later revealed that due to filming commitments on their TV series, none of the group had played on this or most of the group’s early recordings (1966)... Bee Gee Robin Gibb is a passenger on a train which crashes in Hithering Green, S.E. London, killing 49 people and injuring 78. Robin is treated for shock after the accident (1967)... Elvis Presley kicks off a 15-date North American tour at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis. Announcer Al Dvorin utters the now famous phrase "Elvis has left the building" at the end of the show. He was asked to make the announcement in an effort to quiet the fans who continued to call for an encore (1971)... The manager of the Virgin record store in Nottingham, England is arrested for displaying a large poster advertising the new Sex Pistols album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. Many high street stores ban the album after police warn they could be fined under the 1898 indecent advertising act (1977)... Billy Joel is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Uptown Girl' (1983)... 'The Locomotion' becomes the first song to reach the US Top 5 in three different versions, when Kylie Minogue's arrives at № 3 on the Billboard chart. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song is also notable for appearing in the US Top 5 in 3 different decades, previously for Little Eva in 1962 and for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 (1988)... Queen release Made in Heaven, their first studio album since the death of Freddie Mercury. The collection includes the late lead singer's final vocal track, 'Mother Love'. Keith Richards' autobiography 'Life' is at No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller list. The book will go on to be a million seller... At the White House, Aretha Franklin is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with historian Robert Conquest and economist Alan Greenspan (2005).

November 4th

 Musical birthdays today include bluesman Delbert McClinton (86), jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione (86), ex-Supremes vocalist Scherrie Payne (82), Throbbing Gristle multi-instrumentalist Cosey Fanni Tutti (75), Squeeze co-founder Chris Difford (72), Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess (70), Sean 'P Diddy ' Combs (57), and The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala (52). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for hymn writer Augustus Toplady [best remembered for 'Rock of Ages'], born on this date in 1740... for variety singer Dickie Valentine, born in 1929... for Irish folkie Tommy Makem, born in 1932... for Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who would have been 70... for No Use for a Name frontman Tony Sly, who would have been 56... for Felix Mendelssohn, who died on this date in 1847... for French composer Gabriel Fauré, who died in 1924... for Ink Spots founder member Ivory Watson, who passed away in 1969... and for MC5 guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith, who left us today in 1994. 

Also on November 4: Borodin's opera Prince Igor premieres in St. Petersburg (1890)... Bob Dylan makes his Carnegie Hall debut before an audience of 53 in the Chapter Hall rehearsal space (1961)... The Beatles top the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. With the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in the audience, John Lennon makes his famous quip "In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery". The show will be broadcast on UK television on the 10th (1963)... Grant Green and sidemen record the Blue Note classic idle Moments (1964)... The Rolling Stones are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Get offa My Cloud' (1965)... The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations' enters the British singles chart. It will go on to be a UK & US № 1 single.  As a child, Brian Wilson's mother told him that dogs could pick up 'vibrations' from people, so that the dog would bark at 'bad vibrations'. Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song (1966)... Pink Floyd record ‘Point Me at the Sky’ and ‘Careful with That Axe, Eugene’ at Abbey Road Studios (1968)... Johnny Nash goes to № 1 in the US with 'I Can See Clearly Now' (1972)... Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, his film of The Band's 1976 farewell concert, has its world premiere in NYC (1977)... Bob Marley is baptised at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica, converting to Christian Rastafarianism and taking on the new name Berhane Selassie (1980)... Prince plays the first of seven nights at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the start of his 87-date North American Purple Rain tour. The outing also marks the live debut of his new band The Revolution (1984)... The Clash release their final studio album Cut the Crap (1985)... Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Booker T. & The M.G.s, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Sam & Dave and The Yardbirds are all elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (1991)... An unusual benefit concert takes place at the Santa Monica airport when Don Henley, James Taylor, Elvis Costello and other perform their favourite one-hit wonder songs; the show closes with a group rendition of 'It Never Rains in Southern California'. Proceeds from the show to go the City of Hope charity (1998)... In a bizarre outburst of experimental rock violence, lead singer Jean-Herve Peron attacks British Sea Power bassist Neil Hamilton Wilkinson during an onstage jam in Hove, Sussex (2005)... 35 years after the release of their eponymous debut, The Eagles finally have the № 1 album in the UK with their reunion offering Long Road Out of Eden (2007).

November 3rd

 

Musical birthdays today include Lulu [née Marie Lawrie] (78), Chrome frontman Helios Creed (73), Adam Ant [né Stuart Goddard] (72), Porcupine Tree multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson (59), Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz [né Kirk Jones] (55), Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson (53), and Rise Again lead singer Tim McIlrath (48). 

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 82... 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).