October 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Tom Paxton (89), Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg (77), Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard (69), singer-songwriter Kate Campbell (65), U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (65), Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee (63), Johnny Marr (63), My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (62), country singer Darryl Worley (62), Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz (60), ex-Bow Wow Wow lead singer Anabella Lwin (60), Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris (57), former Ace of Base lead singer Linn Berggren (56), Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Johnny Moeller (56), Blnd Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens (56), Less Than Jake bassist Roger Manganelli (52), and ex-My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero (45). 

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 87... and for producer and Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, who would have been 74.

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 (87), Grace Slick (87), Temptations vocalist Otis Williams (85), Manfred Mann drummer Chris Slade (80), ex-Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit (79), Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale (61), Billy Talent guitarist Ian D'Sa (51), and Saturdays vocalist Vanessa White (37). 

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 (96), ex-Wings guitarist Denny Laine (82), Melba Moore (81), former Alan Parsons Project guitarist David Paton (77), The Cure keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (71), Randy Jackson (65), ex-Sugarcubes trumpeter Einar Örn (64) and Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio (42). 

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 80 today... for Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, who would have been 71... 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 (86), Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin (85), Wayne Fontana (81) ex-Tony Orlando & Dawn vocalist Telma Hopkins (77), Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris (68), Jesus & Mary Chain guitarist William Reid (68), alt-country fiddler Caitlin Cary (58), Ben Harper (57), country singer Brad Paisley (54), Joaquin Phoenix (52), and rapper Frank Ocean (39). 

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 90... for ex-Soft Machine saxophonist Elton Dean, who would have been 80...  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).

     

  

October 27th

 Musical birthdays today include Québecois singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault (98), country singer Lee Greenwood (84), E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent (77), former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing (75), Simon Le Bon (68), and jazz pianist David Hazeltine (68).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, born on this date in 1782.. for song and dance woman Nanette Fabray, born in 1920... for Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland, who would have been 57 today... for former T Rex member Steve Took, who on this day in 1980 choked to death on a cherry stone after some magic mushrooms he had consumed numbed all sensation in his throat ~ he was 31... for bandleader Xavier Cugat, who died in 1990... and for Lou Reed, who left us today in 2013.

Also on October 27: Violinist Efrem Zimbalist makes his American debut with the Boston Symphony (1911)... The first recorded use of the word 'jazz' in  musical context occurs in an article in today's Chicago Daily Tribune (1916)... The Crickets start a three-week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'That'll Be The Day'. It is also a № 3 hit in the US where it goes on to sell over a million. The song was inspired by a trip to the movies by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis in June 1956 to see the John Ford film 'The Searchers', in which John Wayne's frequently-used, world-weary catchphrase "That'll be the day" inspired the young musicians (1957)... Ben E King records 'Stand by Me' and 'Spanish Harlem' at Atlantic Studios in NYC (1960)... 31 year old Salvatore Philip Bono marries 18-year-old Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere in Los Angeles. For a time they will perform together as Caesar and Cleo before changing the name of their act to Sonny and Cher. Their union lasts 12 years (1964)... Muddy Waters is seriously injured in a road accident in Champagne, Illinois. Three other people in the car are killed... With Abbey Road in the can, Ringo Starr becomes the first of The Beatles to formally begin work on a solo album, entering the studio to record Sentimental Journey (1969)... Stevie Wonder releases Talking Book (1972)... Gladys Knight and the Pips top the US singles chart with 'Midnight Train to Georgia' (1973)... Two months after the release of the album Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen has the rare honour of simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek magazines (1975)... In Honolulu, an unemployed former security guard named Mark David Chapman buys a Charter Arms five-shot .38 special for $169 (1980)...  Prince releases 1999 (1982)... For the first time during one of their tours, the Grateful Dead allocate a specific recording area for fans to bootleg the show; tonight's gig is in Berkeley, CA (1984)... The Phil Joanou-directed U2 film 'Rattle And Hum' receives its world premiere in the group's hometown of Dublin (1988)...  Bob Dylan releases Good as I Been to You (1992)... Lonnie Donegan goes to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE for his services to British culture. Lonnie pioneered skiffle in the 1950's and inspired a generation of teenagers, including the future Beatles, to start bands (2000)... Amy Winehouse releases Back to Black, her final studio album... Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth offers the U.S. premiere of her experimental film 'Perfect Partner' at Montclair State University in New Jersey and participates in a live performance of the soundtrack (2006)... Eric Clapton pulls out of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gala concert in New York City after he undergoes an operation to remove gallstones. His place at the Madison Square Garden gig is taken by Jeff Beck (2009).

October 26th

 Musical birthdays today include German composer and Brian Eno collaborator Hans-Joachim Roedelius (92), jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson (86), Milton Nascimento (84), Herman's Hermits guitarist Keith Hopwood (80), Bootsy Collins (75), keyboardist & former Frank Zappa sideman Tommy Mars (75), B-52s multi-instrumentalist Keith Strickland (73), Natalie Merchant (63), country singer Keith Urban (59), and Yellowcard bassist Josh Portman (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Domenico Scarlatti, born on this date in 1685... for Mahalia Jackson, born in 1911... for Jordanaires vocalist Neal Matthews Jr., born in 1929... for country singer Hoyt Axton, who died on this date in 1999... and for Blaque rapper Natina Reed, who left us today in 2012, 2 days short of her 34th birthday. 

Also on October 26th: Bill Haley & the Comets play the first rock & roll show in Germany, in West Berlin. The 7,000 fans present turn the concert into a riot (1958)... John Coltrane and sidemen complete the recording of the My Favorite Things album (1960)... At Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London, the Rolling Stones, consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman, make their first demo tape . They record three songs: Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten' (1962)... Queen Elizabeth II invests the Beatles with their MBEs at Buckingham Palace. According to an account by John Lennon, the group smoked marijuana beforehand in one of the palace bathrooms to calm their nerves. Many former recipients give their MBE's back in protest, to which John Lennon responds "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war, for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more." When asked how he enjoyed meeting  the Queen, John said "She's much nicer than she is in the photos" (1965)... A wake is held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. The singer, who died of an accidental drug overdose at the beginning of the month, had left $2,500 in her will to throw a party in the event of her demise. Attending are her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends. Brownies laced with hashish are passed around amongst the guests unbeknownst to them. Joplin was cremated in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles, and her ashes scattered on Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco (1970)... John Lennon releases his 'Mind Games' single (1973)... Elton John closes out his latest US tour at Dodger Stadium wearing a sequin-studded Dodgers uniform (1975)... Jefferson Starship guitarist Paul Kantner suffers a stroke during a recording session. He will make a full recovery after spending two weeks in a Los Angeles hospital (1980)... Men at Work have the № 1 song in the US with 'Who Can It Be Now?' (1982)... Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico ask residents to tie black ribbons around trees in protest against Madonna's first live appearance on the island... Bob Dylan releases World Gone Wrong, his second consecutive album of folk and blues standards (1993)...  In a cricket ground in the state of Meghalaya, N.E. India, 1,730 guitarists play Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' in a bid to break a record. The guitarists hope their achievement will earn them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current Guinness mark is held by a community guitar project from Kansas City, MO who assembled 1,683 pickers to play Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water' (2007)... A coroner's inquest into the Amy Winehouse case reaches a verdict of death by misadventure. The report explains that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg/decilitre at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner, ‘The unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death' (2011).

October 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include Brazilian bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal (92), Yes lead singer Jon Anderson (82), Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton (79), Television frontman Richard Lloyd (75), bluegrass singer Mollie O'Brien (74), Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs (71), Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith (65), Bare Naked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson (55), rapper Jerome 'Young Rome' Jones (44), Katy Perry (40), and Ciara (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Johann Strauss, born on this date in 1825... for composer Georges Bizet, born in 1838... for country singer Minnie Pearl, born in 1912... for Helen Reddy, who would have been 85 today... for bluesman Coco Robicheaux, who would have been 79... for Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett, who would have been 67... for concert promoter Bill Graham, who died on this date in 1991... for Roger 'King of the Road' Miller, who passed away in 1992... and for legendary DJ John Peel, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 25: Milhaud's one-act ballet La Création du Monde is premiered by Les Ballets Suédois at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (1923)... The Archbishop of Dubuque, IA, Francis J.L. Beckman, denounces swing as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people" and warns that it leads "down the primrose path to hell" (1938)...  Cliff Richard makes his British radio debut on the BBC's 'Saturday Club.' The show started life as 'Saturday Skiffle Club' in 1957 hosted by Brian Matthew and is broadcast from 10 AM to 12 noon Saturday mornings on the BBC Light Programme (1958)... The Beatles kick off their tour of Sweden by playing two shows at the Nya Aulan in Karlstad. The local pop reviewer is not impressed, saying 'The Beatles should be grateful to their screaming fans for drowning out the group's dreadful performance', adding that The Beatles 'are of no musical importance whatsoever, and their local support group, The Phantoms, decidedly outshone them' (1963)... The Rolling Stones appear for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing ‘Around and around’ and ‘Time is on My Side’. A riot breaks out in the studio, prompting Sullivan’s infamous quote, "I promise you they’ll never be back on our show again". The Stones will go on to make a further five appearances on Sullivan’s program between 1965 and 1969 (1964)... The double album 'Electric Ladyland' by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is released. It is also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve. The female models were each paid £5 for the photo shoot, and another £5 if they posed completely nude (1968)... 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies goes to the top of the UK singles chart, to remain there for 8 weeks (1969)... 
R.E.M., The Smiths and Tom Waits all appear on local Northern England TV show The Tube, at Tyne Tree Television Studios, in Newcastle (1985)... For the first time in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, the top three spots are held by female solo acts. Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors' occupies the No.1 position, followed by Tina Turner's 'Typical Male' at No. 2, and Janet Jackson's 'When I Think Of You' at No. 3 (1986)... After falling over on stage when reaching for a guitar pick during  gig in Ann Arbor Michigan, Johnny Cash announces to the crowd that he is suffering from Parkinson's disease... The Spice Girls go to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Spice Up Your Life'. Taken from their second album Spiceworld, the single sets a new record, making them the only act ever to have their first five singles reach the top of the charts (1997)... A poster from a 1968 Led Zeppelin gig at Surrey University [the first time the group played under their new name after abandoning the moniker The New Yardbirds] sells at auction for £2,400 (2003).