September 1st

Musical birthdays today include ex-Sly and the Family Stone drummer Greg Errico (80), Barry Gibb (80), drummer Russ Kunkel (78), former Jam bassist Bruce Foxton (71), Gloria Estefan (69), Toto lead singer Joseph Williams (66), Franco-Tunisian pop singer Lââm (55), Scissor Sisters multi-instrumentalist Scott 'Babydaddy' Hoffman (50), Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman (42), and Tokio Hotel's Bill and Tom Kaulitz (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Johann Pachelbel [of Canon in D fame], born on this date in 1653... for composer Engelbert Humperdinck, born in 1854... for jazz great Art Pepper, born today in 1925... for Conway Twitty, born in 1933... for former Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa, born in 1935... for jazz-funk keyboardist Don Blackman, who would have been 73... for French horn virtuoso Dennis Brain, killed in a one-car crash today in 1957 at the age of 36... for Delta bluesman R.L. Burnside, who died on this day in 2005... for former Echo & the Bunnymen keyboardist Jake Brockman, killed in a motorcycle accident today in 2009... and for lyricist Hal David, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on September 1st: Atlantic Records buy Ray Charles' contract from the Swingtime label, where the pianist had been recording in the mellower style of Nat King Cole (1952)... An aspiring 19-year-old singer/pianist named Jerry Lee Lewis arrives at the Sun Studios in Memphis to ask for an audition. Told that owner Sam Phillips is on vacation in Florida, Lewis records some demos that Phillips will hear when he returns (1956)... James Brown makes his debut appearance on the popular ABC-TV music program Shindig! Booker T and the MGs are also on the bill (1965)... The Byrds open an 11-night run at L.A.'s Whiskey-A-Go-Go (1966)... The Beatles hold a meeting at Paul McCartney's house in London to decide upon a course of action following the death of manager Brian Epstein. They decide to postpone a planned trip to India to begin work on the Magical Mystery Tour film for TV (1967)... Blondie sign their first major label contract, with Chrysalis Records... Bob Dylan takes a 5-year lease on a rehearsal space in Santa Monica, CA that he subsequently christens Rundown Studio. It will be an important centre for much of Dylan's late '70s and early '80s musical activity (1977)... U2 release their very first record, an EP entitled U2-3. With an initial run of 1,ooo individually numbered copies, it will be available only in Ireland (1979)... Fleetwood Mac wrap up a 9-month world tour with a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. After the final encore, Lindsay Buckingham tells the crowd "This is our last show for a long, long time" (1980)... Mick Jones is sacked by the Clash, whose other three members accuse him of 'drifting away from the original concept of the group' (1983)... Tina Turner has her first solo US № 1 single with What's Love Got to Do with It. The song was originally written in the late '70s, and was passed on by Cliff Richard and Donna Summer before finding a home with Turner (1984)... Louis Armstrong is honoured on a US postage stamp. Wynton Marsalis and sideman perform at the official launch in New Orleans (1995)... The № 1 single in the UK is Atomic Kitten's cover of the 1980 Blondie hit The Tide Is High (2002).

August 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Van Morrison (81) violinist Yitzhak Perlman (81), Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker (78), violist Kim Kashkashian (74), Waterboys multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaite (71), Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock (69), Squeeze lead singer Glenn Tilbrook (69), Debbie Gibson (56), and Biffy Clyro guitarist Simon Neil (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for songwriter and Broadway composer Alan Jay Lerner, born on this day in 1918... for Crickets drummer Jerry Allison, who would have been 87... for composer and guitarist Robbie Basho, and for studio musician and Jazz Crusaders founding member Wilton Felder, both of whom would have been 86.. for one-time Fleetwood Mac member and solo artist Bob Welch, who would have been 81... for singer-songwriter and session guitarist Chris Whitley, who would have been 66... and for jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, who left us today in 2002. 

Also on August 31: In Paris, Rossini's opera William Tell has its premiere (1829)... In Berlin, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera is performed for the first time (1928)... Elvis Presley plays for the last time outside of the US, at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, BC. Some 26,000 are in attendance (1957)... The Ronettes' 'Be My Baby', which will be the group's only stateside top 10 hit, enters the US charts. Lead singer Veronica Bennett will soon shorten her first name to Ronnie, and change her last name to Spector (1963)... After two previous LPs which attracted minimal notice, Dionne Warwick releases Make Way for Dionne Warwick, which will live up to its name by becoming her first album to hit the Billboard chart (1964)... Four days after the death of their manager Brian Epstein, The Beatles convene a press conference in London to announce that henceforth they shall be conducting their own financial affairs (1967)... Decca Records release what has often been called the Rolling Stones' most political song, Street Fighting Man, written after Mick Jagger attended a March, 1968 anti-war demonstration outside the US embassy in London, during which mounted police repeatedly charged the crowd of 25,000. The single will fail to crack the US top 40, as many radio stations will refuse to play it for its 'subversive content' (1969)... Neil Young releases After the Gold Rush (1970)... John Lennon testifies before an INS investigative committee that former president Richard Nixon initiated steps to have him deported for leading protests outside the Republic National Convention in Miami in 1972... Traffic play their last live show, at England's annual Reading Festival (1974)... George Harrison is found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack Song 'He's So Fine' when writing 'My Sweet Lord'. After earnings from the song have been paid to Mack's estate, the Chiffons reunite to record their own version of Harrison's 1970 worldwide hit (1976)... Prince's film Purple Rain opens nationwide in the UK (1984)... The № 1 album in the US is Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms (1985)... The largest pre-order of albums in the history of Columbia Records occurs when 2.5 million advance copies of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' are shipped to record shops across the US. The album will go on to sell over 13 million copies (1987)... Oasis are at № 1 on the UK charts with their third release, Be Here Now. The album sold 1.2 million copies on its first day of release (1997)... Dixie Chicks release the album Fly, which debuts at № 1 on the Billboard chart. It will go on to sell some 12 million copies, making the Chicks the only country band to date, and the only all-female group in any genre, to have back-to-back RIAA-certified Diamond albums (1999)... The British medical magazine Thorax issues a warning to music fans saying that playing loud music in the car can induce a collapsed lung in the listener.  A 19-year-old had been treated in Bristol for the condition after repeatedly subjecting himself to the 1,000-watt bass box in his Fiat Panda (2004)... Blondie and Public Enemy perform at a rally in front of CBGB to save the landmark club, whose lease expires today (2005)... The New York Times runs a story about the contractual demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists that there a be an eye, ear, nose & throat doctor on call at every venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meatloaf a mask and an oxygen tank. David Bowie requires that the temperature of his dressing room be between 14º  and 18º C at all times, and Paul McCartney must have arrangements of white Casablanca lilies. Mick Jagger has to have an onstage auto-cue with the lyrics to all the songs, and a reminder of the name of the city in which he is performing (2006)... The Verve hit № 1 in the UK with their final album, entitled Forth (2008).

August 30th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Jewel Brown (89), Specials bassist Horace Panter (73), ex-Swing Out Sister and Magazine drummer Martin Jackson (68), classical pianist Dimitris Sgouros (557, Rancid frontman Lars Frederiksen (55), Edguy lead guitarist Jen Ludwig (49), former Panic! at the Disco lead guitarist Ryan Ross (40), and classical pianist Emily Bear (25).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country music legend Kitty Wells [née Ellen Deason] born on this day in 1919... for bebop trumpeter Kenny Dorham, born in 1926... for John Phillips, who would have been 90... for British DJ John Peel, who would have been 86... and for the Velvet Underground's Sterling Morrison, who left us today in 1995 two days after his 48th birthday.

Also on August 30: Handel completes his final oratorio Jephtha (1751)... Hank Williams goes into the studio in Cincinnati, OH to record 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry', a song about his troubled marriage (1949)... Bob Dylan releases Highway 61 Revisited (1965)... The Byrds release the pioneering country rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)... Two weeks after Woodstock ends, the second Isle of Wight festival begins. Bob Dylan, The Band, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues and The Who are the headliners playing for some 150,000 fans who have paid 25 shillings ($3) per ticket. Among those spotted in the crowd are John & Yoko, George, Ringo, Jane Fonda, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor... The Texas International Pop Festival opens in Lewisville, TX with Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Santana and Grand Funk Railroad headlining (1969)... Backed by Elephant's Memory, John & Yoko play Madison Square Garden to raise money for the One to One charity. The performance is recorded, and partially released on the Sometime in New York City album (1972)... The remaining Doors announce the official dissolution of the band, who have released two albums with dismal sales since the death of lead singer Jim Morrison in 1971 (1973)... The № 1 single in the US is Steve Winwood's 'Higher Love' (1986)... Bruce Springsteen's wife Julianne Phillips files for divorce after salacious pictures of her husband and his backup singer Patti Scialfa  are published worldwide (1988)... James Taylor and Carly Simon perform live together before a crowd of 10,000 at Martha's Vineyard. It is the first time the pair have appeared on the same stage since 1979. The former couple play their own solo sets before joining forces in the concert to raise money for the local agricultural society (1995)... Stella McCartney marries publisher Alasdhiar Willis on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Guests include dad Sir Paul, Madonna, Chrissie Hynde and Chris Martin (2003)... Kris Kristofferson is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN (2004)

August 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include Blood, Sweat & Tears multi-instrumentalist Dick Halligan (83), Radiators guitarist Dave Malone (74), Fairground Attraction singer & multi-instrumentalist Eddi Reader (67), Planet X guitarist Tony McAlpine (66), former Cocteau Twins lead singer Liz Fraser (63), Brian Jonestown Massacre founder Anton Newcombe (59), Ned's Atomic Dustbin bassist Alex Griffin (55), Simple Plan bassist David Desrosiers (55), and One Direction vocalist Liam Payne (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Charlie Parker, born on this day in 1920... for Dinah Washington, born in 1924... for punk rocker GG Allin, who would have been 69... for Michael Jackson, who would have been 68... for bluesman Jimmy Reed, died on this day in 1976... and for producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, who left us four years ago today.  

Also on August 29: Seated at a grand piano, John Cage gives the first public 'performance' of Four Minutes and Thirty Three Seconds of Silence for Any Instrument in Woodstock, NY (1952)... Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman' is released in the US. The lyric was inspired by a remark that Orbison's songwriting partner Bill Dees made when his [Orbison's] wife Claudette interrupted their conversation to say that she was going out. When Orbison asked if she was okay for money, Dees interjected "A pretty woman never needs any money" (1964)... The Beatles play their last scheduled concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA. They do not play any songs from Revolver, their most recent release, and close the show with 'Long Tall Sally' (1966)... Edwin Starr tops the US singles charts with 'War' (1970)...Paul and Linda McCartney are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'. Macca would later explain that the Uncle Albert in the title was his father's older brother, who would quote the Bible from memory every time he got drunk (1971)... Iggy Pop releases the album Lust for Life (1977)... The № 1 single in the UK today is Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You up' (1987)... U2 play the second rock concert in the history of Yankee Stadium [Billy Joel's in 1990 was the first] (1992)... Oasis release their debut album Definitely Maybe, which will become the fastest-selling debut of all time (1994)... Detroit police officials call for an indefinite ban on rap concerts in the city after numerous brawls broke out at a Master P and Scarface show over the weekend (1998)... During the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, Madonna stuns a packed house by passionately kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera while performing a racy version of 'Like a Virgin'... During an appearance as a guest DJ on the NYC radio station Q104.3, Mets catcher Mike Piazza plays 'IRS', a track that has been leaked from the forthcoming Guns N' Roses album Chinese democracy. The band's management immediately demands that the sound file be retrieved (2003)... 77-year-old Fats Domino is rescued by helicopter from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. He had earlier told his agent that he planned to remain in his home despite the order to evacuate (2005).

August 28th

 

Musical birthdays today include operatic bass Paul Plishka (85), former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine (78), ex-Stranglers lead guitarist Hugh Cornwell (77), Shania Twain (61), CKY drummer Jess Margera (48), country singer Jake Owen (45), LeAnn Rimes (44) and Florence + the Machine lead singer Florence Welch (40).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for song and dance man Donald O'Connor, born on this day in 1925... for Velvet Underground founding member Sterling Morrison, who would have been 84... for Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, who died on this day in 1959... and for Hilly Krystal, founder and owner of CBGB, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on August 28: Richard Wagner's Lohengrin has its premiere in Weimar (1850)... Bob Dylan is one of the performers at the Washington Civil Rights March. In addition to performing duets with Joan Baez and folk revivalist Len Chandler [with the latter on the traditional 'Hold On'], Dylan solos on Blowin' in the Wind and Only a Pawn in Their Game (1963)... After playing a show at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, NYC, the Beatles meet Bob Dylan for the first time, at the Delmonico Hotel in Manhattan. Dylan and mutual journalist friend Al Aronovitz introduce the Beatles to marijuana (1964)... Bob Dylan kicks off his now legendary 1965-66 world tour with a show at the Forest Hills Stadium. The format presented at this show is to remain constant throughout the next nine months on the road. The 45-minute opening set features Dylan solo, just guitar and harmonica, followed by a similar-length electric set with the band. A large contingent in the audience boo continually during the second half, something else that will be a constant throughout the tour (1965)... Nearing the end of their final American tour, the Beatles play Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles before a crowd of 45,000. The group's attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate is found to be locked. and the Beatles have to spend two hours in the back of the vehicle before they can leave (1966)... Merle Haggard releases the classic country album Branded Man (1967)... Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album Bookends is at the top of the LP charts on both sides of the Atlantic... Working at London's Trident Studios, the Beatles begin recording John's new song Dear Prudence. They build the song instrument by instrument using 8-track equipment more advanced than anything at Abbey Road. Paul plays drums in place of Ringo, who has been AWOL from the group since the 22nd (1968)... David Bowie and his Spiders from Mars make their Carnegie Hall debut. Bowie soldiers through with a well-received performance in spite of suffering from the flu (1972)... Devo release their debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo (1978)... Tina Turner is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1986)... Billy Joel is at № 1 on the US album charts with River of Dreams. According to the singer, he chose the title because most of the songs in the collection came to him in his sleep. Then-wife Christie Brinkley painted the cover, later voted worst album cover of the year by the readers of Rolling Stone (1993)... Isaac Hayes, co-author of the Sam & Dave classic 'Soul Man', writes a letter of protest to Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, demanding that the Senator stop using his song, which supporters had changed to 'I'm a Dole Man' (1996)... Noel Gallagher quits Oasis, saying that he can no longer work with his brother Liam (2009). 

August 27th

Musical birthdays today include Alabama founding member Jeff Cook (77), Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (73), original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock (70), Yolanda Adams (65), No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal (56), Bloodhound Gang guitarist Jimmy Pop (54) and Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz great Lester 'Pres' Young, born on this day in 1909... for Cajun singer Jimmy C. Newman, born in 1927... for Alice Coltrane, who would have been 89... for Daryl Dragon, who would have been 84... for Beatles discoverer and manager Brian Epstein, who died on this date in 1967 at age 32... for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who was killed in a helicopter crash today in 1990 at the age of 45... and for pioneering British rocker Vince Taylor, who left us today in 1991. 

Also on August 27: The 9-year-old Metropolitan Opera House in NYC is gutted by fire. The 1892-93 season will be cancelled while the structure is rebuilt along its original lines (1892)... The final 'Louisiana Hayride' show is broadcast. What started as a radio program and later became a TV show made its debut in 1948, and was transmitted live from Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, helping to launch the careers of numerous legends in country and early rock and roll (1960)... On the last day of a 5-day break during their current American tour, the Beatles visit a Byrds recording session in L.A., then in the evening meet Elvis for the first time, at his mansion in Beverly Hills. The encounter is an awkward one, leading John Lennon to conclude that the King's personality is "unmagnetic". Asked what it was like meeting Elvis, Lennon replies "It was like meeting Engelbert Humperdinck" (1965)... The Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows' peaks at № 2 on the UK singles chart. In addition to being one of the first pop hits to use 'God' in its title, producer Brian Wilson used many unorthodox instruments, including the French horns used in the song's introduction. Paul McCartney later calls the tune 'the greatest pop song ever written' (1966)... In response to pressure from the British media, Bob Dylan agrees to a press conference at a hotel on the Isle of Wight in anticipation of his appearance at the festival three days hence. At one point, Dylan claims that his 1966 stage act "...was all for publicity. I don't do that kind of thing anymore". After the Q&A, which Dylan cuts short by standing up and announcing "I think I've answered enough questions", there is a brief photo session on the seafront before the singer is whisked back to his rehearsals with the Band (1969)... Louis Armstrong's ex-wife Lil, a pianist and bandleader in her own right, dies of a heart attack on stage whist performing 'St. Louis Blues' during a tribute concert in Chicago to her former husband (1971)... At Townhouse Studios in London, Bob Dylan finishes recording the soundtrack to 'Hearts of Fire', the upcoming film in which he plays his first dramatic role since Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1986)...  Pearl Jam release their debut album Ten (1991)... Singer-songwriter Janis Ian marries her partner Patricia Snyder in Toronto. It is the second marriage for both (2003). 

August 26th

Musical birthdays today include former Hawkwind sax & winds player Nik Turner (86), Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker (82), Valerie Simpson (80), film & TV score composer Mark  Snow (80), Branford Marsalis (66), Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson (60), The Donnas guitarist Allison Robertson (47), and rapper Big K.R.I.T. [né< Justin Scott] (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz vibraphonist Peter Appleyard, born on this day in 1929... for original Deep Purple drummer Chris Curtis, who would have been 87...for Leon Redbone, who would have been 77... for English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, who died on this date in 1958.... for operatic soprano Lotte Lehmann, who died in 1976... for Lee Hays of The Weavers, who passed away in 1981... and for Laura Branigan, who left us today in 2004 at the age of 47. 

Also on August 26: With the composer himself conducting, Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah is performed for the first time at the Birmingham Festival in England (1846)... At the Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, NJ [but with Bob Thiele in the producer's chair], the John Coltrane 'Classic Quartet' have their final session. The tracks will be shelved temporarily, but will be released after Coltrane's death as the album Sun Ship (1965)... The Beatles hold a press conference with the Maharishi Mashesh Yogi at University College in Bangor, north Wales. The Fab Four announce that they have become disciples of the guru and that they renounce the use of drugs. Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull, who have arrived to take part in the Maharishi's 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement', are also present (1967)... Bob Dylan and his wife Sara fly from New York to Heathrow Airport. Their ultimate destination is the second annual Isle of Wight festival, where the singer will arrive in the early hours of the next day to begin rehearsals with the Band (1969)... Glen Campbell has the № 1 song in America with 'Rhinestone Cowboy' (1975)... Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, Golden Earring, Aerosmith, The Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind and Graham Parker are among those scheduled to appear as the Reading Festival gets underway in Berks. A ticket for the full three days costs £7.95 (1977)... The Japanese prison camp drama 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' starring David Bowie and Japanese pop star Ryuichi Sakamoto, goes on general release in US cinemas (1983)... The Cure release the album The Head in the Door (1985)... Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until he was 53, announces that he is running for mayor of Palm Springs, CA. He will carry the election in 1988, and go on to win a seat in Congress in 1996 (1987)... Boyzone kick off an Indian and southeast Asian tour, the first of its kind by western act, in Bangalore (1997)... Rolling Stone Magazine names Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history (2003)... A plaque was unveiled by former Quarrymen John Duff Lowe and Colin Hantonat at the site where the band that was to become the Beatles made their first recordings. John, Paul and George recorded a version of Buddy Holly's That'll Be the Day and  Lennon-Harrison song called 'In Spite of All the Danger' at Liverpool's Percy Studio in 1958... A post office on the same street as the Los Angeles studio where Ray Charles recorded many of his classic sides is renamed after the R&B legend. A federal bill is signed by president George W. Bush to effect the name change (2005).