Thursday 3 October 2013

October 3

Musical birthdays today include Steve Reich (77), Chubby Checker (72), Lindsey Buckingham (64), bluesman Keb' Mo' (62), Tommy Lee (51), Gwen Stefani (44), Backstreet Boys vocalist Kevin Richardson (42), Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shears (35), Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (34), and Ashlee Simpson (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Eddie Cochran, who would have been 75 today... for Alan O'Day [of 'Undercover Angel' fame], who would have been 73... for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who would have been 59... for former Allman Brothers sideman Allen Woody, who would have been 58... for Woody Guthrie, who lost his long battle with Huntington's Disease today in 1967... for Benjamin Orr, lead singer of the Cars, who died today in 2000... and for bluesman Skip James, who left us in 2002. 

Also on October 3: A 10-year-old Elvis Presley makes his first recorded public appearance as a singer, performing 'Old Shep' at the talent contest of the Mississippi-Alabama Dairy Show. The future King comes in second (1945)... Working at London's Trident Studios, the Beatles lay down the basic tracks for George's 'Savoy Truffle'. The song was inspired by Eric Clapton's love of sweets, especially Mackintosh's Good News chocolates (1968)... Texas governor Anne Richards proclaims this day 'Stevie Ray Vaughn Day', in honour of the Lone Star State native's 37th birthday (1991)... Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II during her appearance on Saturday Night Live as a protest over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The incident, which stuns the studio audience to silence and prompts the NBC network to go immediately to commercial, results in a $2.5 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission (1992)... Tom Jones is at no. 1 on the UK album chart with Reload, making him ~ at 59 ~ the oldest artist to top the British chart with new material (1999)... Mark David Chapman is denied parole after having served 20 years of his life sentence for murdering John Lennon (2001)... Scientific researchers declare 'We Are the Champions' by Queen the catchiest song ever written. Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley of the University of London and her staff conducted research into what makes a song memorable, and compiled a list of the ten 'catchiest' songs of all time. They obtained the results by observing thousands of volunteers singing a list of selected tracks. They discovered that popular sing-along tunes contained four elements: long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch modulations in a song's 'hook', male vocalists, and upper range male voices making a noticeable effort. Also on the list are 'YMCA' by the Village People, Sum 41's 'Fat Lip', and Europe's 'The Final Countdown' (2011). 

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