October 24th

 Musical birthdays today include Turkish rock pioneer Erkin Koray (85), Arthur Brown (84), original Family bassist John 'Charlie' Whitney (82), former Traffic & Blind Faith saxophonist Chris Wood (82), Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone (81), Mick Fleetwood (79), former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz (78), ex-Dire Straits bassist John Illsley (77), UB40 rapper Terence 'Astro' Wilson (69), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman Andy McCluskey (67), session vocalist & keyboardist Siedh Garrett (66), Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith (65), Mazzy Star lead singer Hope Sandoval (60)), Rammstein lead guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe (59), Black Crowes lead guitarist Jeff Cease (58), variety singer Sissel Kirkjebø (57), Laura Veirs (53), Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello (52), and Solange Knowles (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country & rockabilly singer Ramblin' Tommy Scott, born today in 1917... for Jeff Beck, who would have been 82 today... for original Social Distortion guitarist Dennis Danell, who would have been 6... for tango singer Carlos Gardel, who was killed in a plane crash to5day in 1935 at the age of 44... for gospel singer Ira Tucker, who died in 2006... and for singer-songwriter Ewanya 'Puff' Johnson and Devo drummer Alan Myers, both of whom left us today in 2013.

Also on June 24th: Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax files in Paris for a patent for his saxophone (1846)... The song that will become the Canadian national anthem O Canada! is performed publicly for the first time at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français in Montreal (1880)... John Lennon's second book of poetry and drawings, 'A Spaniard in the Works', was published. The book consists of absurdist stories and drawings similar to the style of his 1964 book 'In His Own Write'... The Hollies are at № 1 on the UK singles chart for the first time with 'I'm Alive' (1965)... Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' enters the Billboard chart, where it will peak at № 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Orchestral Suite in D', composed in 1739 (1967)... Led Zeppelin record 'Whole Lotta Love', 'What Is and What Should Never Be', 'Travelling Riverside Blues' and 'Communication Breakdown' for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios, London. The session will broadcast on the 29th of June (1969)... Capitol Records release The Beach Boys greatest hits retrospective Endless Summer, which will go on to spend 155 consecutive weeks on the US album chart (1974)... Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Devo, Brand X and The Atlanta Rhythm Section are all on the bill at Knebworth Park, England ~ tickets cost £6 (1978)... Paul McCartney scores his seventh UK № 1 solo album with Flowers In The Dirt, featuring the single 'My Brave Face' (1989)... Frank Zappa gives his final onstage rock performance when he takes part in the concert 'Adieu Soviet Army', organised in Prague as a farewell to the last soldiers of the Soviet Army leaving free Czechoslovakia (the Red Army had occupied the country since the Prague spring in 1968). Zappa's set is recorded and can be found on the album Adieu C. A. [Soviet Army] (1991)... Eric Clapton puts 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie's in NYC to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster named Brownie, which he used to record the original studio version of ‘Layla’, sells for a record $497,500. The auction helps raise nearly $5 million for the clinic (1999)... The crypt in which Elvis Presley was originally buried is withdrawn from a Los Angeles auction after protests that it should be kept as a shrine. More than 10,000 fans signed a petition against the sale of the tomb at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, TN. A spokesman for Julien's Auctions says that they will not sell the crypt until the cemetery "finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis" (2012).

October 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include Argentine singer-songwriter Charly Garcia (75), jazz singer Diane Reeves (70), Dwight Yoakam (70), Weird Al Yankovic (67), Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo (62), Melvins drummer Dale Crover (59), and ex-Jack Off Jill lead singer Jessica 'Jessicka' Fodera (51). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bebop saxophonist Sonny Criss, born on this day in 1927... for pop singer and producer Ellie Greenwich, who would have been 85 today... for former Motörhead guitarist Mike 'Würzel' Burston, who would have been 77... for Gong drummer Pierre Muerlen, who would have been 74... for Al Jolson, who died on this date in 1950... for pioneering country guitarist Maybelle Carter, who passed away in 1978... and for operatic baritone Robert Merrill, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 23: Scriabin is at the keyboard for the premiere of his Piano Concerto № 1 in Odessa (1897)... Leoš Janáček's opera Káťa Kabanová premieres in Brno, Czechoslovakia (1921)... Dion has the № 1 single in the US with 'Runaround Sue' (1961)... 12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder records his first single for Motown Records, 'Thank You For Loving Me All The Way' backed by the Funk Brothers (1962)... The Beatles complete the final session for their second album With the Beatles, recording 'I Wanna Be Your Man'. The group are then driven to Gatwick airport for a flight to Stockholm to start their first foreign tour. The Fab Four are met at Stockholm airport by hundreds of female fans who have taken the day off school (1963)... Bob Dylan records 'The Times They Are A-Changin' at Columbia Studios in NYC (1963)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience record their first single 'Hey Joe' at De Lane Lea studios in London. The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late-1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band The Leaves; the band then re-recorded the track and released it in 1966 as a follow-up single which became a hit (1966)... A spokesman for Columbia Records announces that the label will take legal action to stop distribution of The Great White Wonder, a bootleg album of previous unreleased Dylan material (1969)... Al Green releases I'm Still in Love with You (1972)... Led Zeppelin make their long-awaited US television debut, performing ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Dazed And Confused’ on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1976)... Sid Vicious attempts suicide by hanging himself in his cell at Rikers Island (1978)... Mark David Chapman signs out of his job as a security guard in Honolulu for the last time before heading for NYC. He scrawls the name 'John' in the log book (1980)... Elvis Costello releases the country album Almost Blue (1981)... Iggy Pop releases Blah Blah Blah (1986)... Nirvana play their first ever European show when they appear at Newcastle's Riverside Club in North East England. It is the first night of a 36 date European tour for the group, who are sharing the bill with Tad (1989)... Def Leppard earn themselves a place in the Guinness book Of World Records by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours ~ Tangier, London and Vancouver (1995)... Apple introduces the iPod portable music player (2001)... Arctic Monkeys score their first UK No.1 with 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor', the Sheffield band's debut single (2005). 

October 22nd

 Musical birthdays today include Mountain lead guitarist Leslie West (81), Rascals vocalist Eddie Brigati (80), Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer (66), country singer Shelby Lynne (58), Tim Kinsella (52), Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman (50), and Zac Hanson (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Franz Liszt, born on this date in 1811... for French film score composer Joseph Kosma, born in 1905... for chansonnier George Brassens, born in 1921... for Bobby Fuller, who would have been 84 today... for punk rocker Stiv Bators, who would have been 77... for cellist Pablo Casals, who died on this date in 1973... for British folk singer & activist Ewan McColl who passed away today in 1989.... and for Elliot Smith, who took his own life today in 2008 at the age of 34. 

Also on October 22: The original Metropolitan Opera House in NYC opens with a performance of Charles Gounoud's Faust (1883)... EMI reject a group from Leeds auditioning as The High Numbers. They will go on to greater success the following year after renaming themselves The Who (1964)... The Supremes become the first female group to have a № 1 album on the US chart, with The Supremes a Go Go knocking Revolver from the top spot...  The Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ makes its debut in the US Top 40. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the track was recorded over 6 weeks in four different Los Angeles studios at a cost of over $16,000. The recording engineer would later say that the last take sounded exactly like the first, six months earlier. The record will reach № 1 on the chart in December (1966)... Paul McCartney once again publicly denies rumors that he is dead. The most recent of many 'clues' to the hoax was the fact that he was the only barefoot Beatle on  'Abbey Road' LP cover. The story was actually started as a prank by Fred La Bour, a sports and arts writer for the University of Michigan student newspaper The Michigan Daily (1969)... Led Zeppelin II is released on Atlantic Records in the UK (1969)... In Louisville, KY, Earth, Wind & Fire kick off a sold-out 75-date US tour (1976)... Van Halen add a date in Worcester, MA to their current tour after a petition signed by 25,000 locals asking them to play is delivered to the band (1982)...  Pearl Jam play their first live gig, at the Off Ramp in Seattle (1990)... A Bob Dylan concert in Rochester, NY is interrupted by a stage invasion that will turn out to have been orchestrated by the makers of documentary about the singer (1994)... Dylan plays his first show in his birthplace of Duluth, MN since the beginning of the 'Never-Ending Tour' ten years earlier (1998)... George Michael pays £1.45 million for the Steinway piano on which John Lennon wrote 'Imagine.' George says, "I know that when my fingers touch the keys of that Steinway, I will feel truly blessed. And parting with my money has never been much of a problem, just ask my accountant." The singer outbid Robbie Williams and The Oasis brothers... R.E.M. give a three-song performance on the steps of the Clarke Co. courthouse in Athens, GA as part of Land Aid, a local festival that strives to improve the economic environment of Athens and its surrounding area (2005).

October 21st

 Musical birthdays today include Manfred Mann (86), Steve Cropper (85), Elvin Bishop (84), Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane (80), Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey (73), Bay City Rollers guitarist Eric Faulkner (73), Julian Cope (69), Pink Floyd keyboardist & songwriter Jon Carin (62), ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri (55), Fiery Furnaces guitarist Matthew Friedberger (54), singer-songwriter Josh Ritter (50), and Doja Cat (31).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Don Byas, born on this date in 1912... for Dizzy Gillespie, born in 1917... for salsa singer Celia Cruz, born in 1924... for operatic sopran0 Virginia Zeani, born in 1925... for Cramps lead singer Lux Interior [né Erick Purkheiser], who would have been 79/span>... for ex-Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, who would have been 74... for Maxene Andrews [of the Andrews Sisters], who died on this date in 1995, and for Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon, who left us on the same day at the age of 28. 

Also on October 21: Beethoven's first printed work ~ 3 Trios, op. 1 ~ is issued by Artaria Publishers of Vienna (1795)... Buddy Holly goes into Pythian Temple Studios in NYC for what will prove to be his final recording session. Among the tracks he completes is 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore', which will be a posthumous № 1 hit for him (1958)... At Atlantic Studios in NYC, the John Coltrane quartet record 'My Favorite Things' (1960)... The Beatles record 'Norwegian Wood' in three takes and begin work on 'Nowhere Man' (1965)... Lulu hits № 1 on the US charts with 'To Sir, with Love' (1967)... Bob Dylan releases the album New Morning (1970)... Mick Jagger becomes a father for the first time when Bianca gives birth to their daughter Jade (1971)... Chuck Berry has his first and only simultaneous US and UK № 1 with 'My Ding-a-Ling' (1972)... Scott Joplin's ragtime opera Treemonisha has its NYC premiere at the Uris Theater (1975)... Keith Moon plays his final show with the Who, the closing date of their North American tour at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto (1976)... Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind 97' is declared by the Guinness Book Of Records to be the biggest selling single record of all time, with sales of 31.8 million in less than 40 days and raising more than £20 million for charity (1997)... Liza Minelli's ex-husband David Gest sues her for $10 million, alleging that she beat him during drunken rages (2003)... Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, the singer and co-author of the 1960 novelty hit 'Monster Mash', releases a re-written version of the song entitled 'Monster Slash' to protest the environmental policies of the Bush administration (2004).

October 20th

 Musical birthdays today include Wanda Jackson (89), original Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood (75), Level 42 lead singer Mark King (68), Teenage Fanclub guitarist Norman Blake (61), Calvin 'Snoop Dogg' Broadus (55), Dannii Minogue (55) and Snow Patrol bassist Paul Wilson (48). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Charles Ives, born on this date in 1874... for Jelly Roll Morton, born in 1890... for Grandpa Jones, born in 1913... for Tom Petty, who would have been 76 today... for Steve & Cassie Gaines and Ronnie van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who died on this day in 1977 in the plane crash that devastated the band... for jazz singer Shirley Horn, who passed away today in 2005... for Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven, who died in 2007 at the age of 46... for Slits lead singer Ari Up [née Ariane Forster], who died in 2010... and for photographer Barry Feinstein [best known for taking enduring pictures of musicians such as Bob Dylan, George Harrison, the Byrds and the Rolling Stones], who left us today in 2011.

Also on October 20: Symphony no. 2 in B Flat Major by the 18-year-old Franz Schubert premieres in Vienna (1815)... Richard Strauss completes his opera Die schweigsame Frau (1934)... Roy Orbison has his first UK № 1 with 'Only the Lonely'. The singer offered the composition to The Everly Brothers and Elvis ~ both of whom rejected it ~ before deciding to record it himself (1960)... London Symphony woodwinds players Jack Ellory and Richard Taylor add the flute parts to The Beatles' 'Fool on the Hill' (1967)... The Who begin a six-night residency at the Fillmore East in NYC, playing Tommy in its entirety each night (1969)... John and Yoko release The Wedding Album (1969)... The Rolling Stones have the № 1 single in the US with 'Angie' (1973)... The Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same has its world premiere in NYC. The event raises $25,000 for the Save the Children fund (1976)... The Police make their US debut at CBGB. The trio flew on low cost tickets with Laker Airtrain from the UK, carrying their instruments as hand luggage (1978)... U2 release their debut album Boy (1980)... Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker presents this week's edition of the UK music show Top Of The Pops, introducing Michelle Gayle, Let Loose and INXS (1994)... Jimmy Cliff is ordered Jamaica's Order of Merit for his contributions to the nation's musical culture (2003)... Michael Jackson receives a jury duty summons at his Neverland ranch in California four months after being acquitted on child molestation charges. A spokesperson says it is likely that the King of Pop will be excused from serving due to the fact that he has lived in Bahrain since the trial (2005).

October 19th

 

Musical birthdays today include soul singer George McRae (82), singer-songwriter Gloria Jones (81), country singer Jeannie Riley [of 'Harper Valley PTA' fame] (81), Delfonics vocalist Wilbert Hart (79), Doobie Brothers lead guitarist Patrick Simmons (78), rapper 'Kool Keith' Thornton (63), Sinitta (57), and Suburban Legends trombonist Brian Robertson (47).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Syrian oud virtuoso Farid Al-Atrash, born on this day in 1915... for Kingston Trio founding member Dave Guard, born today in 1935... for Peter Tosh, who would have been 81... for World Party frontman Karl Wallinger, who would have been 69... for cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who died today in 1987... for Son House, who passed away in 1988... and for original Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton, who left us today in 1997. 

Also on October 19th... Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser premieres in Dresden (1845)... Simon & Garfunkel release their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (1964)... The Yardbirds arrive in New York for their first US tour, with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page as guitarists. After two shows, Beck comes down with tonsillitis, and decides to quit the tour and the band altogether (1966)... The soundtrack to The Sound of Music and Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band occupy the top two spots on the UK album chart... The Beatles record 'Hello Goodbye' (1967)... Cream play the L.A. Forum on their farewell tour of America; the performance of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads' that appears on the band's Goodbye album is recorded during the show... 18-year-old Peter Frampton meets Steve Marriott at a Small Faces show in London. The two agree to play together in the future, leading to the formation of Humble Pie the following spring (1968)... David Bowie releases Pin Ups, and the Who release Quadrophenia (1973)... A Chorus Line premieres on Broadway (1975)... Prince releases his eponymous second album (1979)... At Colson Hall in Bristol, AC/DC kick off their European tour with their first live show since Brian Johnson replaced the late Bon Scott as lead singer (1980)... At a stop on the Shot of Love tour in Merriville, IN, Bob Dylan brings out boyhood friend Larry Kegan, now wheelchair-bound, for the encore. Kegan sings Chuck Berry's 'No Money Down' while Dylan plays tenor saxophone. The performance is so well received that the pair will repeat it tomorrow night in Boston (1981)... A-Ha become the first Norwegian group to score a US № 1 with 'Take on Me' (1985)... Oasis play their first show with Noel Gallagher, at the Boardwalk Club in their hometown of Manchester (1991)... A survey concludes that the average person spends around £21,000 ($42,000) on music during their lifetime; the figure includes the amount spent on Hi-Fi equipment, concerts and CDs. Music enthusiasts are likely to spend more than double that, parting with just over £44,000 ($89,000), in a lifetime, according to the survey conducted by the UK branch of the Prudential Insurance Company (2005)... Johnny Marr is made a visiting professor of music at the University of Salford in Manchester. The former Smiths guitarist will give a series of workshops and masterclasses to students reading for the Popular Music and Recording B.A. (2007).

October 18th

 Musical birthdays today include Stealer's Wheel founding member Joe Egan (77), former Pylon lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay (71), Les Rita Mitsouko lead singer Catherine Ringer (69), Wynton Marsalis (65), Curtis Stigers (61), and Cardigans lead guitarist Peter Svensson (51). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist & songwriter Bobby Troup [best remembered for 'Get Your Kicks on Route 66'], born on this date in 1918... for jazz singer Anita O'Day, born in 1919... for blueswoman Jessie Mae Hemphill, born in 1923... for Canadian fiddler Buddy McMaster, born in 1924... for Chuck Berry, born in 1926... for Laura Nyro, who would have been 79... for REO Speedwagon lead guitarist Gary Richrath, who would have been 77... for Van Der Graaf Generator bassist Nic Potter, who would have been 75... for composer Charles Gounod, who died on this date in 1893... and for saxophonist David S. Ware, who left us today in 2013.

Also on October 18: Mahler conducts the first performance of his own 5th Symphony in Cologne (1904)... The BBC is formed to bring news, cultural programming, arts and music to homes in the UK (1922)... 21-year-old Elvis Presley pulls into a Memphis gas station, where he attracts a crowd of autograph seekers. After repeatedly asking Elvis to move on so that he can resume normal business, station manager Ed Hopper slaps the singer, who responds with a punch to the face that knocks Hopper to the ground. After police are called, the manager and one of his employees ~ who had also tried to take on the King ~ are arrested for assault (1956)... Taking a day off from their current British tour, the Beatles go into the studio and record six tracks to complete the Beatles for Sale LP (1964)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first gig as a band, opening for French pop star Johnny Hallyday at L'Olympia in Paris (1966)... The Bee Gees have their first UK № 1 with 'Massachusetts' (1967)... John and Yoko are taken to Paddington Green police station after cannabis is discovered in the flat that they are staying in. Lennon will plead guilty next month and pay a fine of £150 ~ the seemingly minor conviction will assume much greater significance when the Beatle fights his battle to stay in the US in the '70s (1968)... The Rolling Stones release It's Only Rock 'N'Roll... Al Green's ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson pours a pot of boiling grits on the soul singer while he is in the shower in his Memphis home. Green suffers second-degree burns on his back, neck and arms and will undergo a religious conversion whilst recovering (1974)... The Buggles go to № 1 in Britain with 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. In two years' time, the video for the song will become the first ever played on MTV (1979)... Sonic Youth release Daydream Nation (1988)... After a 15-year court battle, the New York State Supreme Court rules that the Ronettes do not have the right to share the money earned by their producer Phil Spector through the use of the group's songs in movies, TV and advertising. Citing a 1963 contract signed by the group, the court also substantially reduces the amount they stand to gain from royalties on vinyl and CD sales (2002).