November 20th

Musical birthdays today include stage singer Kaye Ballard (93), singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum (76), Meredith Monk (76), producer Mike Vernon (74), former Poco drummer George Grantham (71), Joe Walsh (71), operatic soprano Barbara Hendricks (70), Beastie Boys rapper Mike D (53), Cypress Hill rapper Sen Dog (53), AFI lead singer Davey Havok (43), In Flames drummer Daniel Svensson (41), ex-Girls Aloud vocalist Kimberley Walsh (37), and Bring Me the Horizon lead singer Oliver Sykes (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical pianist Ruth Laredo, who would have been 81 today... for Duane Allman, who would have been 72... for producer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Gilbert, who would have been 52... for pianist and composer Anton Rubenstein, who died on this date in 1894... for Section 25 lead singer Jenny Ross, who passed away in 2004... and for blues & rock guitarist Chris Whitley, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on November 20: Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio premieres in Vienna (1805)... The rock era in Britain officially begins as 'Rock around the Clock' by Bill Haley & His Comets goes to № 1 on the national chart... In America, Bo Diddley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show. The producers requested that he sing his version of ‘Sixteen Tons’, but when he appears on stage, he sings his own song ‘Bo Diddley’, resulting in his being banned from further appearances on the program (1955)... Bob Dylan enters Columbia Studios in NYC for the first time. Over the next two days, he records his eponymous debut album for a cost of $471 (1961)... The Yardbirds release Having a Rave-Up (1965)... Camelot opens on Broadway (1966)... Strawberry Alarm Clock hit № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Incense and Peppermints' (1967)... The Monkees film 'Head' opens in six US cities. Reviews are harsh and the picture will be a box office flop (1968)...  Sly and the Family Stone release There's a Riot Goin' on, while Isaac Hayes starts a two week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Theme From Shaft' (1971)... Keith Moon collapses during a concert by the Who at the Cow Palace in San Francisco after downing a pre-show drink spiked with horse tranquilizer. 19 year-old audience member Scott Halpin volunteers to replace him on drums for the remaining three numbers (1973)... Paul Simon hosts NBC's Saturday Night Live, and performs live with George Harrison on ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘Homeward Bound’. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, watching the show from the former's apartment in the Dakota on Central Park West, briefly discuss the idea of taking a taxi to NBC Studios to try to crash the telecast, but think better of the idea (1976)... Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer top the American singles chart with their duet 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (1979)...  Prince kicks off his 56-date North American ‘Controversy’ tour with a show at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh (1981)... Eurythmic Dave Stewart begins recording tracks with Bob Dylan that will be released on the latter's album Knocked Out Loaded (1985)... The Rolling Stones announced that they have signed a £20 million deal with Virgin Records to make 3 albums over the next 6 years (1991)... A study comparing noise levels of rock music finds that older people rate the music much higher on a loudness scale than younger people. The research carried out at Ohio State University tested people age 18 to 21 and people ranging in age from 51 to 58. The study asked participants to rate the loudness of rock music played at nine intensities, ranging from 10 decibels to 90 decibels. Participants listened to ‘Heartbreaker’ by Led Zeppelin for 10 seconds at different intensities. At each intensity, the older subjects gave the music higher numerical ratings based on loudness than the younger subjects (1998)...  Spice Girl Mel C announces she is quitting the group during an interview on ITV's Frank Skinner Show (2000)... Madonna's childhood home in Oakland County Michigan, sells at an auction in just 12 minutes. The house, along with a few items of Rock memorabilia goes for $331,000 (2001)...  Michael Jackson flies to Santa Barbara to surrender himself for arrest. He is seen being taken into the police station in handcuffs. The singer has his mug shot and fingerprints taken before being freed on $3 million bail (2003)... Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke admits that he was among the thousands of people who paid nothing to download the band's latest album In Rainbows. Speaking to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Yorke said: "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other". According to one survey, three in five people paid nothing at all for it. Yorke added that no one was allowed to have copies of the master recording in case it was leaked beforehand (2007).