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).

 

August 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include Gene Simmons (77), Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford (75), former Yes & Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes (74), Elvis Costello (72), Billy Ray Cyrus (65), Def Leppard guitarist Viv Campbell (64), Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy (59), Belle & Sebastian lead singer Stuart Murdoch (58), country singer Jo Dee Messina (56) and Amy Macdonald (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Leonard Bernstein, born on this day in 1918... for jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter, born in 1933... for former Siouxie and the Banshees and PiL guitarist John McGeoch, who would have been 70... for Mia Zapata of The Gits, who would have been 60... for jazz legend Stan Kenton, who died on this date in 1979... for film score composer and longtime Neil Young sideman Jack Nitzsche, who left us today in 2000... and for Aaliyah, who was killed in a plane crash today in 2001 at the age of 22. 

Also on August 25: Little Eva, babysitter to the songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, takes the couple's tune The Loco-motion to № 1 on the US charts (1962)... Two female Beatles fans hire a helicopter to fly them over the house in Beverly Hills that the group are renting. They jump from a height of approximately 50 feet and land unhurt in the swimming pool (1965)... The Beatles depart for Bangor in North Wales by train for a bank holiday weekend of study and meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...  The № 1 song in the US today: Bobbie Gentry's 'Ode to Billy Joe'. The song will stay in the top spot for the next month... In Honolulu, Brian Wilson plays live with the Beach Boys for the first time in two years, as the group promote the recently released Heroes and Villains album (1967)... A party to celebrate the grand opening of Electric Ladyland Studios is held in NYC... Elton John makes his live debut in America as he opens a 17-date tour with a show at the Troubador in Los Angeles. Also making their live debut, in the UK, are Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who are performing in Plymouth (1970)... At the Las Vegas Hilton, Bobby Darin gives his final live performance (1973)... Bruce Springsteen releases Born to Run (1975)... R.E.M. appear at the Scorpio in Charlotte, NC. The gig is billed as 'Charlotte's first gay new wave disco and costume party.' Admission is $3, with all funds raised to go to local lesbian and gay charities (1981)... Snoop Doggy Dogg is released on $1 million bail after being accused of involvement in the murder of a member of the By Yerself Gang in L.A. He will be acquitted of the charges in 1996 (1993)... Jimmy Page and Robert Plant record their MTV Unplugged set in London... Jimmy Buffett crashes his Grumman G-44 Wigeon seaplane on takeoff from Martha's Vineyard, MA. He swims away from the wreckage uninjured... An escaped mental patient attempts to set fire to the stage on which Michael Jackson is performing in Helsinki, Finland. The man splashes gasoline on the stage from a jerry can, but is subdued by security before he can light it... The marriage of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley is dissolved (1994)... Bob Dylan reveals on his weekly radio show that he is speaking to a number of car companies about becoming the voice for their satellite navigation systems. The 68-year-old singer says he thinks that drivers might enjoy hearing his distinctive voice say such things as "Take a left at the next street... No,  right... You know what? Just go straight" (2009). 

August 24th

 

Musical birthdays today include Quicksilver Messenger Service founding member David Freiberg (88), former Bob Dylan backup singer Ronee Blakely (81), Average White Band saxophonist Malcom Duncan (81), Jean-Michel Jarre (78), Madness bassist Mark Bedford (65), former Anthrax lead singer John Bush (63), Phantom Planet lead guitarist Darren Robinson (48), and King Krule (32).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman and songwriter Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, born on this day in 1905... for Quicksilver messenger Service co-founder John Cippolino, who would have been 83... for saxophonist and Dizzy Gillespie sideman Don Byas, who died on this date in 1972... and for big band leader and pop singer Louis Prima, who left us today in 1978. 

Also on August 24: At the Royal Albert Hall, Elgar's March № 4 in D ~ better known to generations of US high school and college graduates as 'Pomp and Circumstance' ~ is performed for the first time (1904)...  Stevie Wonder becomes the first artist since the inception of the Billboard charts to have the № 1 single ['Fingertips part 2', also the first live recording to reach the ranking] and album [Little Stevie Wonder, the 12-Year-Old Genius] in the same week (1963)... The Doors go into Sunset Sound Recording Studios in Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album (1966)... The film based on Arlo Guthrie's song 'Alice's Restaurant' and co-starring the singer goes into general release in US cinemas (1969)... Queen begin recording Bohemian Rhapsody at a studio in south Wales. The sessions will continue for 10 to 12 hours a day for 3 weeks as Freddie Mercury pursues the sound that he wants. There are 180 vocal overdubs in the finished version of the song (1975)... One week after being named an honorary police chief in his hometown of Luckenbach, Texas, Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession (1977)... Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life (1981)... R.E.M.'s debut EP Chronic Town is released by IRS Records (1982)... Jerry Lee Lewis' fifth wife [0f 77 days], 25-year-old Shawn Stevens, is found dead  of a Methadone overdose at the couple's Mississippi home (1983)... Folkways Records releases A Vision Shared, an album-length tribute to Woody Guthrie (1988)... The Who perform Tommy at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. with the help of Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, Elton John, Patti LaBelle and Billy Idol (1989)... Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher fails to turn up for the recording of the band's MTV Unplugged session at the Royal Albert Hall. The band go on with Liam's brother Noel taking over the vocals. In fact, Liam is sitting in the audience in disguise for the entire show (1996)... Christina Aguilera releases her self-title debut album (1999)... The Los Angeles county coroner rules Michael Jackson's death a homicide, caused by a mix of drugs intended to treat insomnia. Proceedings begin to indict the singer's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray (2009). 

August 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include South African jazz singer Letta Mbulu (84), Rick Springfield (77), Survivor frontman Jimi Jamison (75), Bucks Fizz singer Bobby G (73), ex-Orange Juice frontman Edwin Collins (67), Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo (64), Happy Mondays lead singer Shaun Ryder (63), jazz pianist Brad Mehldau (56), folk singer Eliza Carthy (51), Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas (48) and Lianne La Havas (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter and activist Malvina Reynolds, born on this day in 1900... for song & dance man Gene Kelly, born in 1912... for jazz pianist & film score composer [best remembered for the soundtrack to Godard's 'Breathless'] Martial Solal, born in 1927... for satirist Mark Russell, born in 1932... for Keith Moon, who would have been 80 today... and for jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on August 23: President Harry Truman's daughter Margaret, an aspiring classical singer, presents her first concert before a crowd of 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl. Reviews are generally negative, prompting a famously scathing letter from dad to Paul Hume, music critic for the Washington Post. Hume will keep the letter framed in his office for the rest of his career (1947)... John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant registry office in Liverpool. He then plays  gig with the Beatles that night at the Riverpark Ballroom (1962)... The Rolling Stones make their first of 20 appearances on the pop music show Ready, Steady, Go!... 'She Loves You' enters the British singles charts at no. 1 (1963)... In Jerusalem, Stravinsky's oratorio Abraham and Isaac is performed for the first time. Dedicated to the people of Israel, the Israel Festival Orchestra play under the baton of Robert Kraft (1964)... The Beatles play Shea Stadium for the last time, with some 11,000 seats unsold... At home, the group are atop the British singles charts again with the double A-side Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby. According to Paul, he came up with the name of the latter song after working with actress Eleanor Bron in the film Help!, and from frequent patronage of a wine & spirits shop in Bristol called Rigby & Evens Ltd. (1966)...  In the course of a wild 21st birthday party during the Who's current US tour, Keith Moon drives a Lincoln Continental limousine into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan... Joni Mitchell plays live in the UK for the first time when she opens for folk rockers The Piccadilly Line at the Marquee Club in London (1967)... Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis marries high school sweetheart Deborah Woodruff ~ they are 19 and 18, respectively (1975)... The Heatwave Festival takes place in Toronto, Talking Heads, the B-52s, the Pretenders and Elvis Costello are among those on the bill. Tickets cost $30, and with only 50,000 attending, the event loses over $1 million... David Bowie goes to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ashes to Ashes'. The release of the song was also accompanied by a video costing some £250,000 [a record at the time], but which will be seen only sporadically until the launch of MTV the following year (1980)... Bob Dylan's childhood home at 2425 7th Avenue East in Hibbing, MN is sold to an anonymous buyer (1990)... 'The Bigger They Come', a previously unreleased track by Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott, is heard for the first time on the soundtrack of the Don Johnson vehicle 'Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man' at the film's Los Angeles premiere (1991)... Queen become the first western rock group to receive official approval in Iran since the Khomeini revolution in 1979. Freddy Mercury was of Iranian ancestry, and bootleg CDs and tapes had been available for years (2004). 

August 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies (81), former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Godchaux (79), Beach Boys founding member David Marks (78), Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid (68), Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson (65), Tori Amos (63), Gary 'GZA' Grice (59), The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn (55), Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough (53) and Simple Plan lead guitarist Jeff Stinco (48). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claude Debussy, born on this day in 1862... for John Lee Hooker, born in 1917... for avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, born in 1927... for Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, and rock 'n' roll pioneer Dale Hawkins, both of whom would have been 88... for Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who would have been 58... for announcer Al Dvorin, who coined the phrase 'Elvis has left the building' [At a Las Vegas gig in the early '70s, Colonel Tom Parker asked him to inform the audience that Elvis would not be doing an encore ~ Dvorin took the stage and announced "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building ~ thank you and goodnight"], and who passed away on this date in 2004... for The Knack drummer Bruce Gary, who died today in 2006... and for Jerry Lieber and Nick Ashford, two great songwriters who both left us today in 2012.

Also on August 22: Handel begins work on The Messiah. Working in the white heat of inspiration [many musical biographers and historians today believe that the composer was bipolar], he will finish the oratorio in three weeks (1741)... Elvis Presley begins work on his first film, Love Me Tender (1956)... The first television appearance of the Beatles is recorded by Manchester-based Granada TV, who film a lunchtime session at the Cavern Club [the episode will be broadcast on the 17th of October] (1962)... Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas are at no. 1 on the UK charts with 'Bad to Me', which John Lennon wrote while on holiday in Spain with Brian Epstein. It is the first Lennon-McCartney composition to be a hit for an act other than the Beatles themselves (1963)... The Supremes go to № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Where Did Our Love Go?' The Holland-Dozier-Holland team originally offered the song to The Marvelettes, who rejected it as 'childish' (1964)... Jimi Hendrix is part of another curious lineup as he appears on the BBC's Simon Dee Show following Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens (1967)... Ringo storms out of the White Album sessions, saying that he can't take the bickering and tension in the group anymore and announcing that he's quitting. The news of the drummer's departure is kept secret, and he will rejoin the group on the 3rd of September. In the meantime, the remaining Beatles record 'Back in the USSR' with John on bass and Paul on drums (1968)... The Beatles meet at John's Tittenhurst Park estate for what will be their final photo session together. Two of photographer Ethan Russell's shots will form the front and back of the US compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a heavily pregnant Linda McCartney [she will give birth to daughter Mary 6 days later] also appear in some of the pictures... Ornette Coleman's drummer Don Blackwell teams up with Don Cherry for the first time, as the two begin the sessions that will produce the album Mu (1969)... Creedence Clearwater Revival start a 9-week run at the top of the US album charts with Cosmo's Factory. The name of the album came from the Berkeley, CA warehouse where the band rehearsed ~ drummer Doug Clifford, nicknamed Cosmo, had begun calling the space 'the Factory' owing to John Fogerty's insistence on long daily practices (1970)... Sid Vicious makes his last live stage appearance, at London's Electric Ballroom with Rat Scabies of the Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen. In the audience are Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry and Joan Jett, among others (1978)... In through the Out Door, Led Zeppelin's final album with all 4 original members, is released. 'Fool in the Rain' is issued simultaneously as the first single from the album (1979)... Levon Helm discovers the perils of playing the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, when Bruce Springsteen spontaneously jumps on stage after the opening riff of 'Up on Cripple Creek' and commandeers lead vocals (1987)... Sting and longtime girlfriend Trudie Styler are married. The band at the reception is The Troggs, who will be joined by the former Policemen themselves for two numbers (1992)... At a Lilith Fair stop in Toronto, Prince appears during Sheryl Crow's set to jam on 'Every Day Is a Winding Road' (1999)... The Times of London publishes an open letter from Pink to Prince William urging the future monarch to stop hunting on behalf of furry animals everywhere (2003). 

August 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include former Statler Brothers bass vocalist Harold Reid (87), Jackie DeShannon (82), ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith (72), System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (59), Prodigy founder Liam Howlett (55), Kelis Rogers AKA Kelis (47), and former Burning the Masses lead singer Cameron 'Big Chocolate' Argon (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Count Basie, born on this day in 1904... for bebop trumpeter Art Farmer, born in 1928... for Kenny Rogers, who would have been 87 today... for Joe Strummer, who would have been 74... for Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer that bears his name, who died on this date in 2005... for Nashville session drummer Buddy Harman, who played on Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' [see below] and Tammy Wynette's 'Stand by Your Man', and passed away in 2008... and for Don Everly, who left us four years ago today.  

Also on August 21: The US Marine Corps Band gives its first performance for the general public in Washington, DC (1800)... Motown release The Marvelettes' 'Please Mr. Postman', which will become the label's first № 1 single (1961)... Patsy Cline records the classic Willie Nelson song, ‘Crazy’. Cline is still on crutches after going through a car windshield in a head-on collision two months earlier and has difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs. 'Crazy'will spend 21 weeks on the charts and eventually become one of her signature tunes.(1962)... During today's Beatles concert in Las Vegas, the band stop the show twice to plead with the fans to stop pelting the stage with jellybeans. This has become a regular occurrence at the group's gigs ever since they revealed that the spherical snacks are among their favourite treats (1964)... The Rolling Stones top the US album charts for the first time with their LP 'Out of Our Heads' (1965)... On their final US tour, the Beatles perform in two cities because of a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they play at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. They then fly to St. Louis for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they perform under a tarpaulin due to a downpour. Paul McCartney will later say it was this gig that convinced him that the Beatles should stop performing live (1966)... The Doors go into the studio in Los Angeles to begin recording their second album (1967)... Linda Ronstadt makes her Broadway debut in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Pirates of Penzance' (1980)... Bono marries longtime girlfriend Alison Stewart at All Saints Church in the Dublin suburb of Raheny. Adam Clayton is best man (1982)... Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone has a four-hour neurosurgical operation at Bellevue Hospital after being found unconscious on a Lower East Side street where he had been involved in a brawl (1983)... In Columbus, OH, Bob Dylan plays the 600th show on his so-called 'Never-ending Tour' (1994)... David Byrne's lawyers file for an injunction to keep the other members of the band from touring as The Heads. The lawsuit will be settled out of court (1996)... Oasis' third album 'Be Here Now', becomes one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release (1997)... A Beatles fan in America foils three men breaking into a shop in Liverpool, England. The man, who had logged onto a site streaming live footage of Mathew Street and a forthcoming Beatles festival, saw the men smash the window of a shop and climb inside. He phoned Merseyside Police, who arrested the perpetrators at the scene (2006)... Paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter returns to Thailand after being refused entry to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities inform the UK Foreign Office that they barred Glitter from entry. He was earlier deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two pre-teen girls. He flew to Hong Kong from Bangkok after refusing to fly to the UK, and had made a plea for medical treatment after saying he was suffering a heart attack (2008).

August 20th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Milford Graves (85), Hawkwind guitarist Dave Brock (85), Kraftwerk founder and leader Ralf Hütter (80), Chicago [the group, that is] trombonist and horn arranger James Pankow (79), Robert Plant (78), John Hiatt (74), Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst (56), singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum (47), and Demi Lovato (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Jack Teagarden, born on this day in 1905... for country singer Jim Reeves, born in 1923... for original Flying Burrito Brother and country rock pioneer Sneaky Pete Kleinow, born in 1934... for The Seeds frontman Sky Saxon, who would have been 88... for Isaac Hayes, who would have been 84... for Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, who would have been 77... for The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger, who would have been 74... for Joe Dassin, who died today in 1980... and for Bread member and widely employed session man Larry Knechtel, who left us today in 2009. 


Also on August 20: Tchaikovsky conducts the orchestra in the premiere performance of his 1812 Overture in Moscow (1882)... Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and his partner found Immediate Records. The launch party is attended by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Nico, among others. The new label's first release will be the McCoys' 'Hang on Sloopy', and will go on to become the home of the Small Faces and the Nice, as well as the place where Jimmy Page will serve his apprenticeship as a producer... The Rolling Stones release (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in the UK, some 2 1/2 months after its American debut (1965)... Dr. David R. Lipscomb, director of the audio lab at the University of Tennessee, reports that guinea pigs subjected over a 3-month period to 90 hours of rock music recorded at 120 decibels at a Knoxville club have suffered acute inner ear damage. NYC disco owner Steve Paul is quoted as saying "In the event that we notice a rise in guinea pig attendance at The Scene, we will bear their comfort in mind" (1968)... Frank Zappa announces that he has disbanded The Mothers of Invention. he will form a new lineup the following year... After finishing 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)', The Beatles begin working on the running order for the Abbey Road album. The medley is initially slated for side 1 of the record, and Octopus' Garden and Oh! Darling are in reverse order from the final version. This day also marks the last time all four Beatles are together in the Abbey Road studio (1969)... The Stones release the single 'Angie' (1973)... Bob Dylan visits Michael Bloomfield at the guitarist's home in Marin Co., CA to play him some of the material from the yet-to-be-recorded Blood on the Tracks. He is considering using Bloomfield on some of the sessions. The visit does not go well, however, and the atmosphere is tense as Dylan runs through song after song without a pause. Bloomfield is unable to follow the chord changes, and Dylan seems uninterested in helping him learn the songs (1974)... Dylan releases Slow Train Coming, his first album following his conversion to Christianity (1979)... Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen makes his first live appearance with the band since losing his left arm in a car accident (1986)... A doctor in Phoenix, AZ files a $35 million lawsuit against the Southwest Bell phone company. He alleges that his wife died because he could not get through to 911, all lines being jammed by callers trying to purchase Garth Brooks concert tickets (1992)... Madame Tussaud's opens an interactive Pop Idol display with a speaking waxwork of judge Simon Cowell. The waxwork makes such comments as "That was extraordinary... Unfortunately, I mean extraordinarily bad", and "Thank you, goodbye, and that was the worst performance I have ever heard" (2003)... A man in Stoke-on-Trent, England names Bryan Adams as the 'other man' in a divorce action after years spent trying to cope with his wife's obsession with the singer. Rob Tinsley says that he has been living for years with a life-size cutout standing at the foot of the marital bed, and posters of the Canadian rocker covering most of the wall surfaces of the house (2004).