October 31

Musical birthdays today include Tom Paxton (76), Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg (64), Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard (56), singer-songwriter Kate Campell (52), Larry Mullen, Jr. (52), Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee (50), Johnny Marr (50), My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (49), country singer Darryl Worley (49), Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz (47), ex-Bow Wow Wow lead singer Annabella Lwin (47), Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris (44), former Ace of Base lead singer Linn Berggren (43), Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Johnny Moeller (43), Blind Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens (43), Less Than Jake bassist Roger Manganelli (39), and ex-My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singing cowgirl Dale Evans, born on this date in 1912... for pioneering R&B saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, born in 1922... for saxophonist and Mingus sideman Booker Ervin, who would have been 83 today... for Ali Farka Touré, who would have been 74... and for producer and Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, who would have been 61.

Also on October 31: 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 Quarry Men 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 went to try and stop David Gilmour and Nick Mason from using the name 'Pink Floyd' for future touring and recording (1986)... 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 No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Believe', taken from her twenty-third studio album. It makes Cher (who is 52) the first female artist to have a No.1 single over the age of 50. 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 30

Musical birthdays today include Motown songwriter Eddie Holland (74), Grace Slick (74), Temptations vocalist Otis Williams (72), Manfred Mann drummer Chris Slade (67), ex-Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit (66), Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale (48), Billy Talent guitarist Ian D'Sa (38), and Saturdays vocalist Vanessa White (24). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer Patsy Montana, born on this date in 1908... for jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, who would have been 83 today... for Jam Master Jay, shot to death in a Jamaica, Queens recording studio today in 2002 at the age of 37... for longtime Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourkem who passed away in 2003... for singer Robert Goulet, 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 at her Manhattan apartment. 

Also on October 30: 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)... 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 No.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 in the water (1971)... Stevie Wonder releases Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979)... Men at Work have the no. 1 song in the US with 'Who can It Be Now?' (1982)... An up and coming local band called Nirvana provide the entertainment at a dorm party at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington (1988)... 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 29

Musical birthdays today include opera singer Jon Vickers (87), Cuban jazz singer Omara Portuondo (83), ex-Wings guitarist Denny Laine (69), Melba Moore (68), Peter Green (67), former Alan Parsons Project guitarist David Paton (64), The Cure keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (58), Randy Jackson (52), ex-Sugarcubes trumpeter Einar Örn (51) and Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Zoot Sims, who would have been 88... for former Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, who would have been 58... 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 world 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 No. 2 in the UK, the Who's highest charting single in their home country but only No. 74 in America (1965)... 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 No.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' marked 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 split 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 28

Musical birthdays today include avant-garde composer Gershon Kingsley (91), jazz & pop singer Dame Cleo Laine (86), Charlie Daniels (77), R&B singer Curtis Lee (74), Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin (74), Wayne Fontana (68), ex-Tony Orlando & Dawn vocalist Telma Hopkins (65), Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris (56), Jesus & Mary Chain guitarist William Reid (55), alt-country fiddler Caitlin Cary (45), Ben Harper (44), Brad Paisley (41), Joaquin Phoenix (39), and rapper Frank Ocean (26). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Cajun accordion virtuoso Iry Lejeune, who would have been 85 today... for ex-Soft Machine saxophonist Elton Dean, who would have been 68... for big band leader Woody Herman, who died today 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 première performance in St. Petersburg only nine days before the composer's death (1893)... 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 Elvis 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 resident in Hamburg. Shop manager Brian Epstein promises to investigate further (1961)... The no. 1 album in the US today is Diana Ross and the Supremes' Greatest Hits (1967)... Nick Gilder goes to no. 1 in the US with 'Hot Child in the City'. Released in the singer's native Britain, the single will fail to chart (1978)... Bob Dylan releases the 3 LP career retrospective Biograph (1985)... R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces that he is  leaving the group after 17 years to become a farmer (1997)... 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 27

Musical birthdays today include song and dance woman Nanette Fabray (93), Québecois singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault (85), country singer Lee Greenwood (71), E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent (64), former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing (62), Simon Le Bon (55), jazz pianist David Hazeltine (55), and ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland (46).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, born on this date in 1782... 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... and for bandleader Xavier Cugat, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on October 27: 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 No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'That'll Be The Day'. It is also a No. 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 (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)... 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 26

Musical birthdays today include German composer and Brian Eno collaborator Hans-Joachim Roedelius (79), jazz trumpeter Eddie henderson (73), Milton Nascimento (71), Herman's Hermits guitarist Keith Hopwood (67), Bootsy Collins (62), keyboardist & former Frank Zappa sideman Tommy Mars (62), B-52s multi-instrumentalist Keith Strickland (60), Natalie Merchant (50), Keith Urban (46), and Yellowcard bassist Josh Portman (34). 

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. , who would have been 84... for country singer Hoyt Axton, who died today in 1999... and for Blaque rapper Natina Reed, who left us a year ago today, 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)... 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 Diddlley'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."He continued: "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 drugs 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)... Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico asked residents to tie black ribbons around trees in protest against Madonna's first live appearance on the island (1993)...  In a cricket ground in the state of Meghalaya, N.E. India, 1,730 guitarists play Bob 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 25

Musical birthdays today include Brazilian bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal (76), Helen Reddy (72), Yes lead singer Jon Anderson (69), Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton (66), Television frontman Richard Lloyd (62), bluegrass singer Mollie O'Brien (61), Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs (58), Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith (52), Bare Naked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson (43), rapper Jerome 'Young Rome' Jones (32), Katy Perry (29), and Ciara (28). 

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 bluesman Coco Robicheaux, who would have been 66 today... for Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett, who would have been 54... for concert promoter Bill Graham, who died today 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:  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 show between 1965 and 1969 (1964)... Led Zeppelin play a gig at Surrey University, near London. Although there are unconfirmed reports of earlier shows, this appears to be the band's first show with their new name after initially performing as The New Yardbirds. In 2003 a poster for the Surrey gig (billing the group as The New Yardbirds) sells at auction for £2,400 (1968)... 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)... REM, 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 (1997)... The Spice Girls go to No.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 No.1 (1997).   

October 24

Musical birthdays today include Bill Wyman (77), Catalyst saxophone & winds player Odean Pope (75), producer Ted Templeman (69), New Age composer David Wright (60), Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum (43), Laura Veirs (40), ex-Silverhair drummer Jeff Gillies (34), former Blizzards lead guitarist Niall Breslin (33), and Drake (27). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bluesman Sonny Terry, born on this date in 1911... for British coloratura soprano Anne Sharp, born in 1916... for R&B singer Willie Mabon, who would have been 88... for J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, who would have been 83... for ex-Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton, who would have been 67... and for Roy Orbison sideman and songwriting collaborator [most notably on 'Pretty Woman'] Bill Dees, who left us a year ago today. 

Also on October 24: James Brown records the Live at the Apollo album (1962)... As their first foreign tour begins, the Beatles spend the day in the Swedish capital, recording a performance for a radio program entitled 'The Beatles popgrupp fran Liverpool på besök i Stockholm', (The Beatles pop group from Liverpool visiting Stockholm). The Fab Four, enthused by the chance to play before an audience not screaming so loudly that they cannot hear themselves, play seven songs: ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’ ‘Money’, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Twist and Shout' (1963)... Pink Floyd are at No.1 on the UK album chart with the 'Atom Heart Mother', the group's first No.1. The album cover shows a cow standing in a pasture with no text or any other clue as to what might be on the record (1970)... A day in the life of Keith Richards... The guitarist is fined £205 after admitting having cannabis, Chinese heroin, Mandrax tablets and an unlicensed revolver at his Chelsea home in the UK. Later in the evening, Keith and Anita Pallenberg accidentally set fire to their London hotel bedroom (1973)... Michael Jackson starts a two week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with 'Bad'. A music video for the song, directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring one of the first appearances of an as yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, will be released later in the year... Topping the album chart on the other side of the pond is Sting, with Nothing like the Sun, his third solo outing. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 130 ('My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun'), which Sting used in the song 'Sister Moon' (1987)... The Smashing Pumpkins release Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)...  Queen become the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music is still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime, but an album of Queen's greatest hits is released today in Iran. Freddie Mercury was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles had made Queen one of the most popular bands in the country (2004)... Madonna gives a surprise lecture in NYC, discussing her career and new film after she arrives unannounced at Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students had been expecting a screening of her new documentary, 'I'm Going To Tell You a Secret' but they are also given the chance for a Q&A with the singer (2005). 

 

 

 

October 23

Musical birthdays today include Argentine singer-songwriter Charly Garcia (62), jazz singer Diane Reeves (57), Dwight Yoakam (57), Weird Al Yankovic (54), Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo (49), Melvins drummer Dale Crover (46), and ex-Jack Off Jill lead singer Jessica 'Jessicka' Fodera (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bebop saxophonist Sonny Criss, who would have been 86 today... for pop singer and producer Ellie Greenwich, who would have been 73... for former Motörhead guitarist Mike 'Würzel' Burston, who would have been 64... ex-Gong drummer Pierre Muerlen, who would have been 61... for Al Jolson, who died on this date in 1950... for pioneering country guitarist Maybelle Carter, who died in 1978... and for operatic baritone Robert Merrill, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 23: Leoš Janáček's opera Káťa Kabanová premieres in Brno, Czechoslovakia (1921)... Dion has the no. 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 had taken the day off school (1963)... Bob Dylan records 'The Times They Are A-Changin' at Columbia Recording 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)...  Led Zeppelin make their long-awaited US television debut, performing ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Dazed And Confused’ on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1976)... 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)... Arctic Monkeys score their first UK No.1 with 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor', the Sheffield band's debut single (2005)... 

 

 

 

 

October 22

Musical birthdays today include Mountain lead guitarist Leslie West (68), Rascals vocalist Eddie Brigati (67), Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer (53), Shelby Lynne (45), Tim Kinsella (39), Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman (37), and Zac Hanson (28). 

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 71 today... for punk rocker Stiv Bators, who would have been 64... for Pablo Casals, who died 40 years ago today... for British folk singer & activist Ewan McColl who passed away today in 1989.... and for Elliot Smith, who committed suicide 10 years ago today 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 No. 1 album on the US chart with The Supremes a Go Go, knocking Revolver from the top spot (1966)...  The Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ makes its debut on the US singles chart. 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 No.1 on the Billboard Top 40 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)... Pearl Jam play play their first live gig, at the Off Ramp in Seattle (1990)... 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 (2000). 

October 21

Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Virginia Zeani (88), Manfred Mann (73), Steve Cropper (72), Elvin Bishop (71), Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane (67), Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey (60), Bay City Rollers guitarist Eric Faulkner (60), Julian Cope (56), Pink Floyd keyboardist & songwriter Jon Carin (49), ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri (42), Fiery Furnaces guitarist Matthew Friedberger (41), and Josh Ritter (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Don Byas, born on this date in 1912... for Dizzy Gillespie, who would have been 96 today... for salsa vocalist Celia Cruz, who would have been 89... for former Cramps lead singer Lux Interior, who would have been 67... for ex-Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, who would have been 61... for Maxene Andrews [of the Andrews Sisters], who died today 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: 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 no. 1 hit for him (1958)... The Beatles record 'Norwegian Wood' in three takes and begin work on 'Nowhere Man' (1965)... Lulu hits no. 1 on the US charts with 'To Sir, with Love' (1967)... Mick Jagger becomes a father when Bianca gives birth to their daughter Jade (1971)... Chuck Berry has his first and only simultaneous US and UK no. 1 with 'My Ding-a-Ling' (1972)... 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).

October 20

Musical birthdays today include Wanda Jackson (76), Tom Petty (63), original Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood (62), Level 42 lead singer Mark King (55), Teenage Fanclub guitarist Norman Blake (48), Calvin 'Snoop Dogg' Broadus (42), Dannii Minogue (42), and Snow Patrol bassist Paul Wilson (35). 

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 100 years ago 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, died in 2007 at the age of 46... 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 first UK no. 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)... The Who begin a six-night residency at the Filmore East in NYC, playing Tommy in its entirety each night (1969)... John and Yoko release The Wedding Album (1969)... The Rolling Stones have the no. 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 had flown 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)... Michael Jackson receives a jury 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 19

Musical birthdays today include Kingston Trio founding member Dave Guard (79), soul singer George McRae (69), singer-songwriter Gloria Jones (68), Jeannie Riley [of 'Harper Valley PTA' fame] (68), Delfonics vocalist Wilbert Hart (66), Doobie Brothers lead guitarist Patrick Simmons (65), World Party frontman Karl Wallinger (56), rapper 'Kool Keith' Thornton (50), Sinitta (47), and Suburban Legends trombonist Brian Robertson (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Syrian oud virtuoso Farid Al-Atrash, born on this date in 1915... for Peter Tosh, who would have been 69 today... 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 19: 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 (1967)... Cream play the L.A. Forum on the farewell tour of America; the version of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads' that appears on the band's Goodbye album is recorded during the show (1968)... 18-year-old Peter Frampton meets Steve Marriott at a Small Face 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 debut 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)... A-Ha become the first Norwegian group to score a US no. 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 18

Musical birthdays today include Canadian fiddler Buddy McMaster (1989), Chuck Berry (87), ex-REO Speedwagon Gary Richrath (64), Stealer's Wheel founding member Joe Egan (64), former Pylon lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay (58), Les Rita Mitsouko lead singer Catherine Ringer (56), Wynton Marsalis (52), Curtis Stigers (48), and Cardigans lead guitarist Peter Svensson (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist & songwriter Bobby Troup [best remembered for 'Get Your Kick on Route 66'], born on this date in 1918... for jazz singer Anita O'Day, born in 1919... for blueswoman Jessie Mae Hemphill, who would have been 90 today... for Laura Nyro, who would have been 66... for ex-Van Der Graaf Generator bassist Nic Potter, who would have been 62... for composer Charles Gounod, who died today in 1893... and for saxophonist David S. Ware, who left us a year ago today. 

Also on October 18: 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 band, opening for French pop star Johnny Hallyday at L'Olympia in Paris (1966)... The Bee Gees have their first UK no. 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 (1974)... The Buggles go to no. 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). 

October 17

Musical birthdays today include ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez (79), Gary Puckett (71), Defunkt trombonist Joseph Bowie (60), Alan Jackson (55), Aqua vocalist René Dif (46), Ziggy Marley (45), Wyclef Jean (44), and Eminem (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Herbert Howells, born on this date in 1892... for jazz guitarist Barney Kessel, who would have been 90 today... for Jeanine Deckers, AKA the Singing Nun, who would have been 80... for former Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack, who would have been 67... for Frédéric Chopin, who died today in 1849... and for Alberta Hunter, who left us today in 1984... and for pop singer Teresa Brewer, who passed away in 2007. 

Also on October 17: The opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by a 15-year-old prodigy named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premieres in Milan (1771)... In between lunchtime and evening sets at the Cavern Club, the Beatles pop over to Manchester to make their British television debut, performing 'Some Other Guy' and 'Love Me Do' on the Granada TV local magazine program People and Places (1962)... Manfred Mann starts a two week run at no. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' (1964)... The Rolling Stones play a show in Brussels as part of their current European tour; opening acts are Billy Preston and the American group Kracker (the first act signed to Rolling Stones Records after the band created the label). Saxophonist Bobby Keys fails to show for the gig, provoking Mick Jagger to sack him from the backing musicians. The excuse given by Keys (who will be banned from Stones tours until the early '80s) is that he filled his hotel bathtub with Dom Perignon and attempted to drink his way out while sitting in it (1973)... The Bee Gees become the only act to have a UK no. 1 single in the '60s, '70s and '80s when 'You Win Again' tops the British charts (1987)... During an interview with the Observer Magazine, Noel Gallagher of Oasis says "Nothing would make me happier than Damon Albarn and Alex Cox [of rival band Blur] dying of AIDS". He will later apologize for the statement (1995)... The British tabloid press reports that Michael Jackson recently played a secret gig at a martial arts convention in Barnstaple, N. Devon. In fact, the man who arrived in the white stretch limo was Navi, a notorious London impersonator of the superstar (1999)... The 2-storey, 2-bedroom Montague Square townhouse owned by Ringo Starr through much of the '60s (and where John, Yoko and Jimi Hendrix were frequent houseguests) goes on the market for £575,000 (2000)... Two security guards at the University Of California-San Diego's RIMAC Arena are fired after refusing to allow Bob Dylan into his own concert. The singer, who had recently asked that security be tightened up on his Love and Theft tour, had arrived backstage without his ID badge (2001)... Madonna and Guy Ritchie announce that their marriage is over (2008). 

October 16

Musical birthdays today include former BTO bassist Fred Turner (70), Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir (66), Greek popular singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki (55), Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp (54), ex-Hüsker Dü leader Bob Mould (53), Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael 'Flea' Balzary (51), Wendy Wilson (44) and John Mayer (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Christa Päffgen, AKA Nico, who would have been 75 today... for former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson, who would have been 72... for Leonard Chess, founder of the pioneering rock and R&B label of the same name, who died on this date in 1969... for swing drummer Gene Krupa, who died in 1973... and for Art Blakey, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on October 16: 18-year-old Richard Penniman, who is already using the stage name Little Richard, makes his first recordings for the RCA Camden label in the studios of Atlanta radio station WGST (1951)... The Beatles record 'Day Tripper' (1965)... Creedence Clearwater Revival announce that they have disbanded (1972)... The no. 1 song in the US today is 'Disco Duck' by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots (1976)... Culture Club perform 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?' on Top of the Pops, where they are a last-minute replacement for Shakin' Stevens, who had suddenly fallen ill on the day of the taping (1982)... Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Robert Cray join Chuck Berry on stage in St. Louis, MO for the concert that will be filmed for the documentary 'Hail Hail! Rock & Roll' (1986)... A tribute concert to Bob Dylan on the 30th anniversary of the release of his first Columbia album takes place at Madison Square Garden. Guest performers include Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Ron Wood and Eric Clapton. Dylan himself appears for group renditions of 'My Back Pages' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' before closing the proceedings with a solo 'Girl from the North Country' (1992)... Legendary NYC club CBGB closes with a performance by Patti Smith, one of many artists who first came to fame on its stage. The venue was opened in 1973 with the full name CBGB-OMFUG, standing for 'Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers' (2006). 

October 15

Musical birthdays today include Barry McGuire (76), Richard Carpenter (67), Chris de Burgh (65), Tito Jackson (60), Beautiful South drummer Dave Stead (47), and heavy metal guitarist Dax Riggs (40).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for blueswoman Victoria Spivey, born on this date in 1906... for jazz pianist & vocalist Nellie Lutcher, born in 1912...  for big band trombonist Paul Tanner, born in 1917... for R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia's Mickey Baker, who would have been 88 today... for Fela Kuti, who would have been 75... and for Cole Porter, who died today in 1964. 

Also on October 15: ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is founded (1914)... Buddy Holly opens for Elvis Presley at the Big D Jamboree, held at the Cotton Club in Lubbock, Texas. Talent scout Eddie Crandall, who is in the audience, will arrange an audition for the bespectacled guitarist with Decca Records (1955)... The Beatles [minus Pete Best] and two members of Rory Storm's backing band the Hurricanes [Ringo Starr and Lou Walters] record a version of 'Summertime' in a Hamburg recording studio. The track, which is cut onto a 78 RPM disc, is the first known session with John, Paul, George and Ringo playing together (1960)... Jimi Hendrix signs his first recording contract in the UK ~ according to the terms, he will receive $1 and a 1% royalty on all of his sales (1966)... Pink Floyd [who are paid £15 for the gig], The Move, Denny Laine, Soft Machine, Yoko Ono and a West Indian steel drum band all play the London Roundhouse launch of the International Times, which will become Britain's longest-running underground. newspaper. Paul McCartney attends as a spectator in Bedouin robes (1966)... The Four Tops have the no. 1 single in both the US and the UK with 'Reach out and I'll Be There' (1967)... Keith Richards is found guilty of trafficking cannabis by  court in Nice. The guitarist is given a one-year suspended sentence, fined 5,000 FF, and banned from entering France for two years (1973)... Debby Boone begins a 10-week run at no. 1 on the Billboard singles chart, a new record for the rock era (1977)... Abba play their first North American concert, in Vancouver (1979)... In Los Angeles, Bob Dylan shoots the first video of his career, for 'Sweetheart like You' (1983)... Paul and Linda McCartney are the guest voices for an episode of the Simpsons entitled 'Lisa the Vegetarian'. Macca's stipulation for appearing was that Lisa's decision to become a vegetarian would be a permanent character change, to which the show's producers agreed (1995)... Michael Jackson plays the last show on the HIStory tour, at King's Park Rugby Stadium in Durban, South Africa During the tour, Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, visiting 5 continents and 35 countries (1997)... Jon Bon Jovi becomes the latest musician to disapprove of the use of his songs in John McCain's US presidential campaign. Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin had been using 'Who Says You Can't Go Home' in her rallies. Foo Fighters, Heart and Jackson Browne have already taken legal action to prevent their songs from being used by the senator's presidential campaign (2008).

October 14

Musical birthdays today include New Orleans R&B singer Robert Parker (84), Cliff Richard (74), jazz-rock bassist Colin Hodgkinson (69), Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward (68), Nazareth lead singer Dan McCafferty (68), Boney M vocalist Marcia Barrett (66), bluesman Kenny Neal (57), Thomas Dolby (56), Twister Sister drummer A.J. Pero (55), Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines (40), and singer-songwriter Savannah Outen (22). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Bing Crosby, who died on this date in 1977... for Leonard Bernstein, who passed away in 1990... and for Freddy Fender, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on October 14: Mendelssohn's overture for A Midsummer Night's Dream is performed for the first time at Potsdam for Frederick William IV, King of Prussia (1843)... The 16-year-old Stravinsky finishes his first surviving composition, an unpublished Tarantella for piano (1898)... BMI [Broadcast Music, Inc.] is founded to compete with ASCAP [ The Everly Brothers have their first US no. 1 with 'Wake up, Little Susie', and Elvis releases 'Jailhouse Rock' (1957)... Pink Floyd play their first ever 'underground' set, at All Saints Hall in Notting Hill (1966)... Joan Baez is arrested at a sit-in at the US Army induction center in Oakland, California (1967)... The Jackson Five make their national TV debut on ABC's variety show 'Hollywood Palace' (1968)... The New Jersey State Police issue an arrest warrant for Frank Sinatra in relation to his alleged Mafia connections (1969)... The music publishing firm Arco Industries file a $500,0o0 lawsuit against John Fogerty, claiming that the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit 'Travelin' Band' 'contains substantial material copied from' Little Richard's 'Good Golly Miss Molly'. The suit is eventually thrown out (1971)... Michael Jackson has his first solo US no. 1 with 'Ben'... The Temptations release 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' (1972)... As a personal request from several players on the L.A. Dodgers, Linda Ronstadt sings the National Anthem before game 3 of the World Series... David Bowie releases the Heroes album (1977)... Cyndi Lauper releases her debut album She's So Unusual (1983)... Def Leppard become the first act in chart history to sell seven million or more copies of two consecutive LPs, as Hysteria, the follow-up to the 1983 hit Pyromania, tops the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic (1987)... Madonna's daughter Lourdes is born in Los Angeles (1996)... Sir Paul McCartney's symphonic poem Standing Stone receives its world premiere by the London Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall. While the performance earns the composer six curtain calls, the critical reviews in the next day's newspapers are generally scathing (1997)... Barbra Streisand releases The Movie Album, her 60th LP for Columbia Records (2003)...  Eric Clapton is suspended from driving in France after being pulled over for speeding ~ at 210 km/hr (135 MPH) ~ on the A6 Autoroute near Merceuil in Burgundy. He is given a €750 fine and his UK license is confiscated. After paying his fine, Clapton poses for photographs with the members of the local gendarmerie and leaves again in the Porsche ~with his personal assistant at the wheel (2004). 

October 13

Musical birthdays include Lee Konitz (86), Nana Mouskouri (79), Pharoah Sanders (73), Paul Simon (72), Chicago founding member & songwriter Robert Hamm (69), Sammy Hagar (66), Soft Machine saxophonist Alan Wakeman (66), John Ford Coley (65), operatic soprano Leona Mitchell (64), Fairport Convention multi-instrumentalist Simon Nicol (63), Marie Osmond (54), Anthrax lead singer Joey Belladonna (53), Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff (36), and Ashanti (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Art Tatum, born on this date in 1909... for Yves Montand, who would have been 92... for jazz percussionist Johnny Lytle, who would have been 81... for Ed Sullivan, who died today in 1974... and for Earth, Wind & Fire founding member Wade Flemons, who left us 20 years go today. 

Also on October 13: The Beatles make their debut on ITV's 'Sunday Night at the Palladium', topping the bill and transmitted to an estimated 15 million viewers. An article promoting the appearance in today's 'Daily Mirror' also contains the first recorded appearance of the term 'Beatlemania' (1963)... The Who record 'My Generation' at Pye Studios in London (1965)... Janis Joplin's ashes are scattered on Stinson Beach in Marin County, CA in a small private ceremony (1970)... The Rolling Stones have the no. 1 album in the US with Goats Head Soup (1973)... UK tabloids report that Toni Braxton pulled out of this year's MOBO awards in the US because one of her breast implants ruptured. A spokesman for her Arista record label says "We don't comment on the personal lives of our artistes" (2000)... British rock group Muse files for an injunction to keep Celine Dion from going forward with plans to call her forthcoming Las Vegas review 'Muse'. Lead singer Matt Bellamy says "We don't want anyone to think that we're Celine Dion's backing band" (2002)... In a video message on his website, Ringo Starr announces that he no longer has time to sign autographs, and asks fans not to send him any mail at all. "No more fan mail, and no objects of any kind to be signed, please. Nothing" (2008). 

October 12

Musical birthdays today include Sam Moore [of Sam & Dave] (78), Staus Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt (65), The Damned frontman David Lett (57), jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (51), Dixie Chicks fiddle player Martie McGuire (44), and New Found Glory lead singer Jordan Pundik (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, born on this date in 1872... for James 'Sugar Boy' Crawford, New Orleans R&B pianist and songwriter, who would have been 79 today... for Luciano Pavarotti, who would have been 78... for longtime Temptations vocalist Melvin Franklin, who would have been 71... for Gene Vincent, who died today in 1971 at the age of 46... for original B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson, who passed away today in 1985 at 32... for John Denver, who died in an airplane crash today in 1997... for bandleader Ray Coniff, who died in 2002... and for Blue Cheer frontman Dickie Peterson, who left us in 2009. 

Also on October 12: The Chrysler Corporation launches high fidelity record players for their 1956 line of cars. The unit measures 4 inches wide and just under a foot high and is mounted under the instrument panel. The 7-inch discs spin at 16 2/3 RPM and require 3 times as many grooves per inch as an LP. The players will be discontinued as an option in 1961 (1955)... During a tour Down Under, Little Richard gives a press conference in Sydney to announce that he has renounced rock 'n' roll and embraced God, telling the assembled journalists a story of dreaming of his own damnation after praying when one of the engines of a plane he was on caught fire. The singer will perform nothing but gospel for the next 5 years, but then returns to rock (1957)... Working on what will be the Rubber Soul album at Abbey Road, the Beatles lay down 'Run for Your Life' [John Lennon will later admit to lifting two lines from Elvis' 'Come on Baby, Let's Play House'] and 'Norwegian Wood', with the sitar making its debut on a western pop song in the hands of George Harrison (1965)... Big Brother and the Holding Company have the no. 1 album in the US with Cheap Thrills (1968)... Rod Stewart makes his final appearance as frontman for the Faces in a show at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island (1975)... Sid Vicious stabs his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death at the Chelsea Hotel (1978)... Jennifer Rush becomes the first to hit no. 1 with the diva standard 'The Power of Love', topping the UK charts (1985)... Pink Floyd play the first of a scheduled 15-night run at Earl's Court, London. A minute into 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond', a scaffolding stand holding 1,200 spectators collapses, hurling them 20 feet to the ground. It takes over an hour to free everyone from the wreckage ~ 36 will have to be hospitalised. The band send a free t-shirt and a handwritten note of apology to all those seated in the faulty bleachers, and the show is rescheduled (1994)... The Backstreet Boys are forced to cancel a show in Madrid after 7,000 fans show up for a 5,000 seat performance and a riot breaks out (1997).

October 11

Musical birthdays today include country singer Gene Watson (70), Daryl Hall (67), Jean-Jacques Goldman (62), country singer Paulette Carlson (61), ex-Hanoi Rocks lead guitarist Andy McCoy (51), rock violinist Petra Haden (42), Limp Bizkit guitarist Mike Smith (40), and Mogwait bassist Dominic Aitchison (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Art Blakey, who would have been 94 today... for jazzman Curtis Amy, who would have been 84... for country legend Dottie West, who would have been 81... for Marshall Tucker Band guitarist George McCorkle, who would have been 66... for composer Anton Bruckner, who died on this date in 1896... for Edith Piaf, who passed away in 1963 at the age of 47... and for Werner von Trapp of the Trapp Family Singers [of The Sound of Music fame], who left us today in 2009. 

Also on October 11: The Beatles make their first appearance on the UK singles chart, as 'Love Me Do' cracks the top 40. It will eventually rise as high as no. 4 (1962)... The Doors appear at Danbury High School in Connecticut. Before the group comes on stage, the school principal warns the audience that anyone leaving their seat during the performance will be escorted from the venue (1967)... George Harrison recruits six saxophonists to get the sound he wants on 'Savoy Truffle', as work on the White Album continues (1968)... The Police have the no. 1 album in the UK today with Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)... Dave Grohl plays his first public performance with Nirvana, as the band appear at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, WA (1990)... Elton John has the no. 1 single in the US with the version of 'Candle in the Wind' re-written to commemorate Princess Diana's death... Across the Atlantic. the Verve go to no. 1 on the UK album chart with Urban Hymns (1997)... Mojo magazine readers vote Elvis Presley's session for 'That's Alright' the most important moment in rock history. Coming in second is Bob Dylan's electric debut at Newport in 1965, and no. 3 is the relese of the Clash's eponymous debut album in 1977 (2003). 

October 10

Musical birthdays today include John Prine (67), Ben Vereen (67), Radiators singer & keyboardist Ed Volker (67), ex-Ultravox frontman James 'Midge' Ure (60), David Lee Roth (59), Tanya Tucker (55), Casbah Club frontman Simon Townshend [yes, he's related to Pete ~ he's his younger brother] (53), Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp (52), ex-.38 Special Drummer Scott Hoffman (52), Crystal Waters (49), Rebecca Pidgeon (48), Goo Goo Dolls drummer Mike Malinin (48), classical pianist Evgeny Kissin (42), Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland (41) and former Bluetones bassist Scott Morriss (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Giuseppe Verdi on the bicentennial of his birth... for R&B singer Ivory Joe Hunter, born on this date in 1914... for Count Basie sideman Harry 'Sweets' Edison, born in 1915... for Thelonious Monk, who would have been 96 today... for song & dance man Eddie Cantor, who died today in 1964... for Boyzone vocalist Stephen Gately, who passed away today in 2009 at the age of 33 from undetermined causes... and for operatic soprano Joan Sutherland, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on October 10: The Gibson Mandolin & Guitar Company is incorporated (1902)... The real Eleanor Rigby dies in her sleep of undetermined causes at the age of 44. Paul McCartney's first draft of the song was called 'Miss Daisy Hawkins', but he changed it after spotting Ms. Rigby's name on a tombstone during a nostalgic walk around the cemetery of St. Peter's Parish Church in Liverpool, where he and John Lennon first met in 1957 (1939)... Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' enters the Billboard Hot 100 ~ it will stay on the charts for 19 weeks, and become the King's first national no.1 for 5 (1956)... The Beatles appear at De Monfort Hall, Leicester, on their current UK tour. Ringo, who has just taken delivery of a new Vagel Vega sportscar, drives himself to the gig from Liverpool, running late. By his account, the drummer will reach speeds of up to 140 MPH during the trip (1964)... The Carpenters enter the US top 10 with 'We've Only Just Begin', which Richard Carpenter originally wrote as a jingle for a local savings bank (1970)... Jesus Christ Superstar premieres on Broadway (1971)... Steve Tyler and Joe Perry suffer minor injuries after a cherry bomb is tossed on stage during an Aerosmith gig in Philadelphia. The band will perform behind a protective fence for the remainder of the tour (1978)... The Rose, starring Bette Midler [in her screen debut] as a character transparently based on Janis Joplin, has its world premier in Los Angeles (1979)... John Bonham is laid to rest in the cemetery of St. Michael's Church  in his hometown of Rushock, Worcs. (1980)... R.E.M. have the no. 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Automatic for the People' (1992)... Britney Spears makes her live debut in the UK when she plays the first of three sold out dates at Wembley Stadium (2000)... the latest issue Blender contains the results of a poll the magazine conducted to determine the worst rock lyricist of all time. Rounding out the top of the list are: 1) Sting [for such transgressions as name-checking Vladimir Nabokov, and quoting bumperstickers, Chaucer, St. Augustine and Shakespeare] 2) Rush drummer Neil Peart 3) Creed frontman Scott Stapleton and 4) Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher ['He seems incapable of following a metaphor through a single line, let alone a whole verse', according to the publication] (2007).

October 9

Musical birthdays today include Nona Hendryx (69), Indian sarod master Amjad Ali Khan (68), France Gall (66), Jackson Browne (65), ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton (61), Pogues accordionist James Fearnley (59), Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen (55), PJ Harvey (44), Sean Lennon (38), and ex-Westlife vocalist Nicky Byrne (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Camille Saint-Saëns, born on this date in 1835... for John Lennon, who would have been 73 today... for John Entwistle, who would have been 69... for Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel, who died on this date in 1978... and for Marilyn Manson collaborator Brad 'Gidget Gein' Stewart, who left us 5 years ago today. 

Also on October 9: Eddie Cochran records 'C'mon Everybody' (1958)... Ray Charles hits no. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Hit the Road, Jack' (1961)... The. no. 1 single in the US today is the Beatles' 'Yesterday' (1965)... For the first time in the history of the show, the producers of the BBC's Top of the Pops refuse to air the no. 1 song in Britain, as 'Je t'aime, moi non plus' by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin is rejected. The song has been so widely castigated as obscene that Fontana, the label on which the single was originally released, have already disavowed it (1969)... The Who play a show at the University of Surrey in Guildford, with John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful joining in on 'Magic Bus' on harmonica. It was the only time that an outside musician has jammed with the band in front of an audience. Backstage after the show, there is a party for John Entwistle's 27th birthday (1971)... The Sex Pistols sign with EMI Records for £40,000. The label will drop them three months later and delete the single 'Anarchy in the UK' from its catalogue after a series of controversies and public incidents (1976)... One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band have the no. 1 single in the US today with 'A Fifth of Beethoven' (1976)... Prince opens for the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on the Tattoo You tour. Wearing only leopard-print bikini briefs and a trench coat, the diminutive guitarist runs off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing him and pelting him with beer cans and other objects (1981)... Marking what would have been her late husband's 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opens the 3 1/2 acre garden at the Strawberry Field site in New York's Central Park. The area is planted with trees, shrubs and flowers from around the world, and is endowed with a $1 million donation from Yoko (1985)... Nirvana's 'In Utero', the groups third and final studio album, enters the US charts at no. 1. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to call the collection I Hate Myself and I Want to Die (1993)... Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, is reported as having been furious upon learning that a Liverpool branch of McDonald's is displaying pictures of him in its windows, supposedly to attract customers. Sir Paul is quoted as saying "What sort of morons do McDonald's suppose Beatles fans are?" (2008).