October 9th

 

Musical birthdays today include Nona Hendryx (82), Indian sarod master Amjad Ali Khan (81) Jackson Browne (78), ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton (74), Pogues accordionist James Fearnley (72), Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen (68), P.J. Harvey (57), Sean Lennon (51), and ex-Westlife vocalist Nicky Byrne (48). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Camille Saint-Saëns, born on this date in 1835... for John Lennon, who would have been 86 today... for John Entwistle, who would have been 82... for France Gall, who would have been 78... for Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel, who died on this date in 1978... for Modern Jazz Quartet vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who passed away in 1999... and for Marilyn Manson collaborator Brad 'Gidget Gein' Stewart, who left us today in 2009.

Also on October 9: 12-year-old Clara Wieck [the future Mrs. Robert Schumann] plays for Goethe, who places a pillow on the piano stool so that she can sit higher (1831)... Thelonious Monk and sidemen enter the studio to record what will become the album Brilliant Corners. It is the pianist's first album for Riverside to contain his own compositions, the difficulty of which will lead to tempestuous and problem-plagued sessions (1956)... Eddie Cochran records 'C'mon Everybody' (1958)... Ray Charles hits № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Hit the Road, Jack' (1961)... The № 1 single in the US today is the Beatles' 'Yesterday' (1965)... For the first time in the history of the show, the producers of the BBC's Top of the Pops refuse to air the № 1 song in Britain, as 'Je t'aime, moi non plus' by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin is rejected. The song has been so widely castigated as obscene that Fontana, the label on which the single was originally released, have already disavowed it... The Carpenters release their debut album Ticket to Ride (1969)... The Who play a show at the University of Surrey in Guildford, with John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful joining in on 'Magic Bus' on harmonica. It was the only time that an outside musician has jammed with the band in front of an audience. Backstage after the show, there is a party for John Entwistle's 27th birthday (1971)... The Sex Pistols sign with EMI Records for £40,000. The label will drop them three months later and delete the single 'Anarchy in the UK' from its catalogue after a series of controversies and public incidents... One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band have the top single in the US today with 'A Fifth of Beethoven' (1976)... Prince opens for the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on the Tattoo You tour. Wearing only leopard-print bikini briefs and a trench coat, the diminutive guitarist runs off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing him and pelting him with beer cans and other objects (1981)... Marking what would have been her late husband's 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opens the 3 1/2 acre garden at the Strawberry Field site in New York's Central Park. The area is planted with trees, shrubs and flowers from around the world, and is endowed with a $1 million donation from Yoko (1985)... The Phantom of the Opera has its world premiere at her majesty's Theatre in London's West End (1986)... Nirvana's In Utero, the group's third and final studio album, enters the US charts at № 1. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to call the collection I Hate Myself and I Want to Die (1993)... Barry White shares lessons from several decades of lovemaking with the students of Oxford University when he addresses their debating union (2000)... Michael Stipe, Bono and Moby make surprise appearances at the second of two anti-violence benefit concerts in NYC organized by The Beastie Boys (2001)... For the first time in the history of the Billboard singles chart, all of the top 10 places are occupied by black artists; at № 1 are Beyoncé and Sean Paul with 'Baby Boy' (2003)... Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, is reported as having been furious upon learning that a Liverpool branch of McDonald's is displaying pictures of him in its windows, supposedly to attract customers. Sir Paul is quoted as saying "What sort of morons do McDonald's suppose Beatles fans are?" (2008).

October 8th

 Musical birthdays today include Impressions vocalist Fred Cash (86), country singer Susan Raye (82), ex-Average White Band guitarist & songwriter Hamish Stuart (77), Kool & the Gang frontman Robert 'Kool' Bell (76), former Lounge Lizards trumpeter Steven Bernstein (65), gospel singer CeCe Winans (62), Chris 'C.J. Ramone' Ward (61), Prodigy keyboardist Leroy Thornhill (58), Evanescence guitarist Terry Balsamo (54), Modest Mouse lead guitarist Jim Fairchild (53), Shiny Toy Guns guitarist & singer Gregori Chad Petree (47), and Bruno Mars (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for proto-country and bluegrass guitarist Dick Burnett, born on this date in 1883... for Johnny Ramone, who would have been 78 today... for bluesman Lonnie Pitchford, who would have been 71.. and for Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson, who left us today in 1990 at the age of 43 after a long illness. 

Also on October 8: Gustav Mahler is named director of the Vienna Opera by Emperor Karl Joseph I (1897)... Ringo Starr passes his driving test, Afterwards, he joins his fellow Beatles at Abbey Road to record their new single 'She's a Woman' in seven takes plus five overdubs (1964)... Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapses backstage at a gig at Sussex University after playing  25-minute solo. He later recovers at a local hospital (1966)... Led Zeppelin II enjoys its 100th week in the UK album charts (1971)... In a meeting with journalists at the Swan Song label offices, Jimmy Page derides rumours that Zeppelin are going to split. He also ridicules reports that he has been dabbling in black magic (1977)... Talking Heads release Remain in Light (1980)... Cats opens on Broadway (1982)... The three members of ZZ Top make advance bookings for seats on the first commercial flight to the Moon. To date, they are still waiting for confirmation... Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The documentary about his life and career Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll! also premieres (1987)... U2 score their first UK № 1  single with 'Desire' from the Rattle & Hum soundtrack... Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon finally leaves the Top 200 Billboard album chart after a record-setting 741 weeks (1988)... An environmental benefit concert in Jacksonville, OR featuring Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne turns ugly when protesters supporting the local logging industry and the  harvesting of old growth redwoods begin revving chainsaws and throwing firecrackers. No one is seriously injured (1996)... Radiohead's Kid A becomes the group's first album to debut at № 1 in the US (2000)... Britney Spears announces that she has decided not to renew her contract with manager Larry Rudolph, who has been guiding her career since she was 13... After nearly 60 years of recordings, Ray Charles posthumously earns his first platinum record, for the single 'Genius Loves Company' (2004)... Bill Berry reunites with his former R.E.M. bandmates to play an 8-song set at the wedding reception for one of the group's roadies at Kingpins Bowl & Brew in Atlanta, GA (2005)... A Weezer anti-fan launches an online campaign to stop the band from releasing another album. James Burns of Seattle says that he is hoping to raise $10 million as an inducement to the band to cease and desist from making music. Burns claims that he was inspired by friends who are fans of the 'Buddy Holly' rockers but who have been disappointed by the group's recent offerings, which he says have not come close to living up to the standard set by their 1996 hit album Pinkerton (2010).

October 7th

 

Musical birthdays today include former 10cc drummer Kevin Godley (81), original Kansas bassist Dave Hope (77), John Cougar Mellencamp (75), Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres (73), cellist Yo-Yo Ma (71), Simon Cowell (67), Toni Braxton (59), ex-Auteurs frontman Luke Haines (59), Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke (58), OK Go frontman Damian Kulash (50), Deerhunter multi-instrumentalist Lockett Punkt (43), and Chvrches lead singer Lauren Mayberry (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz trumpeter & singer Vaughn Monroe, born on this date in 1911... for Dino Valenti [founding member of the Quicksilver Messenger Service and writer of the '60s classic 'Get Together'), who would have been 87 today... for Judee Sill, who would have been 81... for Sir Hubert Parry [composer of the hymn 'Jerusalem'] who died on this date in 1918... for Mario Lanza, who passed away today in 1959... and for early British rocker Johnny Kidd (UK no. 1 in 1960 with 'Shakin' All over'] killed in a car crash on his way to a gig today in 1966.

Also on October 7: Utopia, Limited or the Flowers of Progress, Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate operetta, premieres at London's Savoy Theatre (1893)... The Rolling Stones record the Lennon & McCartney song 'I Wanna Be Your Man' at De Lane Lea studios in London... The Beach Boys release their fourth album, Little Deuce Coupe (1963)... Bob Dylan meets a group of itinerant Indian minstrels called the Benghal Bauls, who are staying in a converted barn on the estate of his manager Albert Grossman in Woodstock, NY. A black & white photo of Dylan with troupe members Purna and Lakhsman Das will grace the cover of the album John Wesley Harding (1967)... After years of travails with the US government, John Lennon is awarded his green card (1975)... Dire Straits release their eponymous debut album (1978)... Jimmy Page is sentenced to 1 year's probation after being found guilty by a London court of cocaine possession (1982)... Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl finally hits № 1 on the Billboard album chart, after spending 164 weeks in the Top 200, setting a record for longest ascension to the top spot (1989)... The № 1 album in America today in Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, which still holds the US record for biggest selling record by a female solo artist... David Bowie releases Outside, his first album with Brian Eno producing since their collaborations in Berlin in the late '70s (1995)... Michael Jackson performs before an audience of 60,000 at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis, his first ever show in Africa (1996)... Continuing a verbal sparring match which began earlier in the month, Elton John replies to Keith Richards' charge that the pianist's only claim to fame is "writing ditties for dead blondes" by saying "Keith, he's so pathetic, poor thing. He's like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young" (1997)... Mick Jagger donates £100,000 to his boyhood grammar school in Dartford, Kent, to help pay to hire a director of musical studies and to buy instruments (2002)... Bruce Springsteen's latest release Magic is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic (2007).

October 6th

 

Musical birthdays today include composer and guitarist Glenn Branca (78), Commodores lead guitarist Thomas McClary (77), REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin (75), Los Lobos guitarist & singer David Hidalgo (72), ex-Skids lead singer Richard Jobson (66), guitarist Matthew Sweet (62), Anathema guitarist Danny Cavanagh (54), and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist William Butler (44).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for soprano Jenny 'The Swedish Nightingale' Lind, born on this day in 1820... for band leader Nelson Riddle, who died today in 1985... and for Ginger Baker, who left us today in 2019. 

Also on October 6: Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, premieres in Florence. This is often considered the beginning of the Baroque period in classical music (1600)... Beethoven files his will, the Heiligenstadt Testament, to be opened after his death (1802)... Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony № 1 has its first performance in Leeds (1910)... The Jazz Singer, the first film with a musical soundtrack, premieres in NYC (1927)... The Beatles record 'Eight Days a Week' in the afternoon, then spend the evening partying with the Ronettes and Mick Jagger at London's Ad Lib Club (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience record a session for the BBC Radio show 'Top Gear'. Stevie Wonder, also appearing on the program, jams with the group afterwards... Pink Floyd play at the Miss Teenage Brighton beauty pageant, providing the musical interlude during the contest... The SFPD raid the Matrix Club in Haight-Ashbury while Big Brother & the Holding Company are on stage (1967)... George Harrison gets his first A side single, as the Beatles release 'Something' (1969)... The Buzzcocks open for Joy Division at the Odeon Theatre in Edinburgh ~ admission is £2.50... Bob Dylan has his 12th US top 40 hit, as 'Gotta Serve Somebody' enters the chart. Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin's In through the Out Door is the № 1 album (1979)... Michael Jackson gives away the bride at Elizabeth Taylor's seventh wedding, to construction worker Larry Fortensky. The nuptials are held at the singer's Never Neverland Ranch (1991)... 'Grind', the first single from Alice in Chains' eponymous debut album, is released to radio via satellite uplink to stem the proliferation of taped copies of the song (1995)... The Jack Black comedy School of Rock goes on general release in US cinemas (2003)... Bruce Springsteen is served with notice that he is being sued for $850,000 by a man who claims he backed out of a contract to buy a horse. Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa are both named in legal documents filed in Florida by Todd Minikus. He claims that the singer and his wife reneged on a $650,000 deal to buy a horse of his named Pavarotti (2007)... A set of John Lennon's fingerprints are seized by the FBI from a NYC memorabilia dealer who intended to auction them off for a $100,000 minimum bid. The prints were taken at a NYPD precinct in 1976 when the former Beatle applied for permanent US residence. The Bureau states that they believe the card is still US government property, and are investigating how it ended up in private hands (2009)... Rolling Stone Magazine publishes the results of its poll of readers and critics to determine the worst song of the 1980s. Rounding out the top 5 are: 1) 'We Built this City' ~ Starship. 2) 'The Final Countdown' ~ Europe. 3) 'Lady in Red' ~ Chris de Burgh. 4) 'Wake Me up (before You Go Go)' ~ Wham! 5) 'The Safety Dance' ~ Men without Hats (2011).

October 5th

 Musical birthdays today include bluesman Roy Book Binder (83), Steve Miller (83), Henry Cow saxophonist Geoff Leigh (81), former AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson (79), original Funkadelic rhythm guitarist Lucius 'Tawl' Ross (78), Bob Geldof (75), Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson (69), Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy (52), Maroon 5 lead guitarist James Valentine (48), Good Charlotte bassist Paul Thomas (46), and Girls Aloud vocalist Nicola Roberts (41).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Glynis Johns, born on this day in 1923... for R&B singer Billy Scott, and for Temptations vocalist Richard Street, both of whom would have been 84 today... for Sweet lead singer Brian Connolly, who would have been 81... for opera composer Jacques Offenbach, who died on this date in 1880... for Temptations founding member Eddie Kendricks, who passed away in 1992... for Bert Jansch, who died in 2011... and for Eddie van Halen, who left us today in 2020.

Also on October 5: The New York Philharmonic begins its series of Sunday afternoon radio broadcasts from Carnegie Hall (1930)... A year after launching the cool jazz movement with Birth of the Cool, Miles Davis turns away from the sound, going into Apex Studios in NYC with Sonny Rollins to record the post-bop album Dig (1951)... Cliff Richard and the Shadows play their first live show, at the Victoria Hall in Hanley, Staffs. (1958)... The Beatles release their first single in the UK, 'Love Me Do' (1962)... Johnny Cash is arrested in El Paso, TX as he attempts to return to the United States from Mexico with a guitar case full of pills. He receives  a suspended sentence and is fined $1,000 (1965)... Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell have their first rehearsal together and form the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966)... The Who, Small Faces, Joe Cocker and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown launch a package tour of the UK in London (1968)... Violinist Papa John Creach officially joins Jefferson Airplane... Atlantic Records release Led Zeppelin III (1970)... The № 1 song in the UK today is Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells [Theme from the Exorcist]'. Across the Atlantic, Olivia Newton-John is atop the American charts with 'I Honestly Love You'... Randy Newman plays  show at Atlanta Symphony Hall backed by an 87-piece orchestra conducted by his uncle Emil (1974)... Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original Wailers, perform together for the last time, at a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. Also joining the trio on stage is Stevie Wonder... Willie Nelson has his first № 1 hit on the Billboard Country chart with 'Blue Eyes Crying the Rain' (1975)... Defying an international artists' boycott, Queen open a 10-day residency at Sun City, South Africa (1984)... Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr begins rehearsals with the Pretenders as they prepare to open for U2 on the N. American leg of the Joshua Tree tour (1987)... Roger Daltrey announces that the Who are reforming, and that their first show, which will also be broadcast live on the Internet, will be in Las Vegas on the 29th of this month (1999)... Madonna visits an orphanage in Malawi. Her publicist denies rumours that the star is planning to adopt a local child (2006).

October 4th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Leroy van Dyke (97), jazz bassist Steve Swallow (86), Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon (84), singer-songwriter Bridget St John (80), French chansonnier Julien Clerc (79), Blood, Sweat & Tears bassist Jim Fielder (79), Triumph drummer Gil Moore (75), harpist Andreas Vollenweider (73), Def Jam record label founder Russell Simmons (69), Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe (67), and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for  Janis Joplin, who died of a drug overdose today in 1970 at the age of 27... for classical pianist Glenn Gould, who passed away in 1982... and for Argentine diva Mercedes Sosa, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on October 4: Aaron Copland's orchestral suite from the ballet Appalachian Spring has its premiere at Carnegie Hall (1945)... The Tornadoes become the first British band to score a № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with the instrumental 'Telstar' (1962)... The Beatles make their first appearance on the UK ITV pop show Ready, Steady, Go! (1963)... Creedence Clearwater Revival have their first US № 1 album with Green River (1969)... John Lennon releases the album Walls and Bridges (1974)... Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic. For the album's cover shot, two stuntmen were used, one of whom was dressed in a fire retardant costume underneath a business suit (1975)... Tammy Wynette is abducted, beaten, and held in her car for two hours by a kidnapper wearing a ski mask. She is forced to drive 90 miles from Nashville before she is released ~ her abductor will never be caught (1978)... Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood present the USC Trojans marching band with a platinum record for their contribution to Fleetwood Mac's hit single 'Tusk' (1980)... Miles Davis concludes a world tour, his first in 5 years, in Tokyo. The show is recorded for inclusion in the live album We Want Miles (1981)... The Smiths play their first live gig, as the opening act for Blue Rondo a la Turk at the Ritz in Manchester... Philip Glass' score for Koyaanisqatsi is heard publicly for the first time when the film premieres at Radio City Music Hall in NYC (1982)... Ringo Starr and wife Barbara Bach fly together to Tucson, AZ to enter alcohol rehab (1988)... Van Halen announce that former Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone has replaced Sammy Hagar as the group's frontman (1996)... Barbra Streisand's tour-opening performance at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA becomes the highest grossing event in the venue's history (2006).

October 3rd

 Musical birthdays today include composer Steve Reich (90), Chubby Checker (85), Lindsey Buckingham (77), bluesman Keb' Mo' (75), Tommy Lee (64), Gwen Stefani (57), Backstreet Boys vocalist Kevin Richardson (55), Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shears (48), Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (47), and Ashlee Simpson (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Eddie Cochran, who would have been 87 today... for Alan O'Day [of 'Undercover Angel' fame], who would have been 86... for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who would have been 72... for former Allman Brothers sideman Allen Woody, who would have been 70... for Woody Guthrie, who lost his long battle with Huntington's Disease today in 1967... for blues singer Victoria Spivey, who died on this date in 1976... for Benjamin Orr, lead singer of the Cars, who passed away in 2000... and for bluesman Skip James, who left us in 2002. 

Also on October 3: Beethoven finishes his final string quartet, op. 135 in F Major (1826)... Gilbert and Sullivan's Yeoman of the Guard premieres at London's Savoy Theatre (1888)... The New York City Opera is founded (1943)... A 10-year-old Elvis Presley makes his first recorded public appearance as a singer, performing 'Old Shep' at the talent contest of the Mississippi-Alabama Dairy Show. The future King comes in second (1945)... In Los Angeles, Frank Sinatra finishes recording his first album with the Count Basie Orchestra, An Historical Musical First (1962)... Working at London's Trident Studios, the Beatles lay down the basic tracks for George's 'Savoy Truffle'. The song was inspired by Eric Clapton's love of sweets, especially Mackintosh's Good News chocolates (1968)... Janis Joplin goes into a recording studio for the last time to listen to a playback of the instrumental track for 'Buried Alive in the Blues', which will be included on Pearl, the album on which she is currently working (1970)... George Harrison releases his final album on the Apple label, Extra Texture (Read All about It) (1975)... Aerosmith pay the bail for thirty of their fans who were busted for smoking marijuana at their concert in Fort Wayne, IN (1978)... Bruce Springsteen's tour in support of the album The River gets off to an inauspicious start in Ann Arbor, MI when the Boss forgets the words to 'Born to Run'. His memory is jogged when the audience sing the lyrics to him en masse (1980)... The documentary John Lennon: Imagine, compiled from more than 240 hours of unreleased footage, has its world premiere in Los Angeles (1988)... Texas governor Anne Richards proclaims this day 'Stevie Ray Vaughn Day', in honour of the Lone Star State native's 37th birthday (1991)... Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II during her appearance on Saturday Night Live as a protest over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The incident, which stuns the studio audience to silence and prompts the NBC network to go immediately to commercial, results in a $2.5 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission (1992)... Tom Jones is at № 1 on the UK album chart with Reload, making him at 59 the oldest artist to top the British chart with new material (1999)... Mark David Chapman is denied parole after having served 20 years of his life sentence for murdering John Lennon (2001)... Scientific researchers declare 'We Are the Champions' by Queen the catchiest song ever written. Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley of the University of London and her staff conducted research into what makes a song memorable, and compiled a list of the ten 'catchiest' songs of all time. They obtained the results by observing thousands of volunteers singing a list of selected tracks. They discovered that popular sing-along tunes contained four elements: long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch modulations in a  song's 'hook', male vocalists, and upper range male voices making a noticeable effort. Also on the list are 'YMCA' by the Village People, Sum 41's 'Fat Lip', and Europe's 'The Final Countdown' (2011).