November 12th

Musical birthdays today include Booker T. Jones (75), Neil Young (74), Blue Öyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma (72), Errol Brown (71), country singer Barbara Fairchild (71), ex-Bay City Rollers lead singer Les McKeown (64), ex-Fall guitarist Brix Smith (57), Megadeath bassist Dave Ellefson (55), former Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna (51), singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer (49), and Taking Back Sunday bassist Shaun Cooper (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Alexander Borodin, born on this date in 1833... for blues legend Bukka White, born in 1909... for big band singer Jo Stafford, born in 1917... for producer Bob Crewe, who would have been 88... for former Walker Brothers frontman John Walker, who would have been 76... for Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who passed away in 2008... and for composer Henryk Górecki, who left us in 2010. 

Also on November 12th: Enrico Caruso records the aria 'Vesti la giubba' from Leoncavallo's  I Pagliacci ~ it will go on to become the first phonograph record to sell a million copies (1902)... Soprano Lillian Evanti founds the National Negro Opera Company in Pittsburgh, PA (1941)... Johnnie Ray is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Just Walking In The Rain.' It will stay at the top for seven weeks, making it this year's Christmas № 1 (1956)... The Beatles make a return appearance at the Star Club, Hamburg, opening for headliner Little Richard (1962)...  After changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future T Rex star performs his first single 'The Wizard' on the UK TV show Ready Steady Go!... In America, the Velvet Underground make their live debut, playing a Homecoming dance at Summit High School in New Jersey. The band are paid $75 for the gig (1965)... Pink Floyd appear at the Corn Exchange, Bedford. The set list includes 'Let's Roll Another One', 'Gimme A Break', 'Interstellar Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Stoned Alone'. 'Stoned Alone' was also known as 'I Get Stoned', and is considered by many rock historians to be the first song that Syd Barrett wrote for the group (1966)... On his 23rd birthday, Neil Young releases his eponymous debut album... UK book and record chain W.H. Smith announce their refusal to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the nude women featured on the sleeve (1968)... Mott The Hoople kick off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with an up and coming group called Queen as their opening act (1973)... The Sex Pistols' debut LP Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols debuts at № 1 on the UK album chart the day after its release. The record has already been met by a hail of controversy. The first problems involve the allegedly 'obscene' name of the album, resulting in the prosecution of the manager of the Nottingham Virgin record shop for displaying it in a window. More outrage is sparked by the lyrics of the songs 'God Save the Queen' and 'Anarchy in the UK' (1977)... Bob Dylan’s album Infidels reaches its highest position when it peaks at № 9 on the UK chart. Dylan's 22nd studio album was co-produced with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler after the star also approached Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Frank Zappa as possible producers (1983)... Ron Wood breaks both his legs after crashing his car on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire (1990)... Gary Glitter [né Paul Gadd] pleads guilty before the Bristol Crown Court to 54 counts of taking and possessing indecent photographs of underage children, and is sentenced to 4 months in prison (1999)... Die-hard Beatles fans are outraged after Paul McCartney alters the song writing credits on his Back in The US 2002 album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney (2002).