August 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies (76), former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Godchaux (74), Beach Boys founding member David Marks (73), Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson (60), Tori Amos (58), Gary 'GZA' Grice (55), The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn (50), Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough (48) and Simple Plan lead guitarist Jeff Stinco (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Claude Debussy, born on this day in 1862... for John Lee Hooker, born in 1917... for avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, born in 1927... for Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-go, and rock 'n' roll pioneer Dale Hawkins, both of whom would have been 83... for Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who would have been 53... for announcer Al Dvorin, who coined the phrase 'Elvis has left the building' [At a Las Vegas gig in the early '70s, Colonel Tom Parker asked him to inform the audience that Elvis would not be doing an encore ~ Dvorin took the stage and announced "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building ~ thank you and goodnight"], and who passed away on this date in 2004... for The Knack drummer Bruce Gary, who died today in 2006... and for Jerry Lieber and Nick Ashford, two great songwriters who both left us today in 2012.

Also on August 22: Handel begins work on The Messiah. Working in the white heat of inspiration [many musical biographers and historians today believe that the composer was bipolar], he will finish the oratorio in three weeks (1741)... Elvis Presley begins work on his first film, Love Me Tender (1956)... The first television appearance of the Beatles is recorded by Manchester-based Granada TV, who film a lunchtime session at the Cavern Club [the episode will be broadcast on the 17th of October] (1962)... Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas are at no. 1 on the UK charts with 'Bad to Me', which John Lennon wrote while on holiday in Spain with Brian Epstein. It is the first Lennon-McCartney composition to be a hit for an act other than the Beatles themselves (1963)... The Supremes go to № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Where Did Our Love Go?' The Holland-Dozier-Holland team originally offered the song to The Marvelettes, who rejected it as 'childish' (1964)... Jimi Hendrix is part of another curious lineup as he appears on the BBC's Simon Dee Show following Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens (1967)... Ringo storms out of the White Album sessions, saying that he can't take the bickering and tension in the group anymore and announcing that he's quitting. The news of the drummer's departure is kept secret, and he will rejoin the group on the 3rd of September. In the meantime, the remaining Beatles record 'Back in the USSR' with John on bass and Paul on drums (1968)... The Beatles meet at John's Tittenhurst Park estate for what will be their final photo session together. Two of photographer Ethan Russell's shots will form the front and back of the US compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a heavily pregnant Linda McCartney [she will give birth to daughter Mary 6 days later] also appear in some of the pictures... Ornette Coleman's drummer Don Blackwell teams up with Don Cherry for the first time, as the two begin the sessions that will produce the album Mu (1969)... Creedence Clearwater Revival start a 9-week run at the top of the US album charts with Cosmo's Factory. The name of the album came from the Berkeley, CA warehouse where the band rehearsed ~ drummer Doug Clifford, nicknamed Cosmo, had begun calling the space 'the Factory' owing to John Fogerty's insistence on long daily practices (1970)... Sid Vicious makes his last live stage appearance, at London's Electric Ballroom with Rat Scabies of the Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen. In the audience are Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry and Joan Jett, among others (1978)... In through the Out Door, Led Zeppelin's final album with all 4 original members, is released. 'Fool in the Rain' is issued simultaneously as the first single from the album (1979)... Levon Helm discovers the perils of playing the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, when Bruce Springsteen spontaneously jumps on stage after the opening riff of 'Up on Cripple Creek' and commandeers lead vocals (1987)... Sting and longtime girlfriend Trudie Styler are married. The band at the reception is The Troggs, who will be joined by the former Policemen themselves for two numbers (1992)... At a Lilith Fair stop in Toronto, Prince appears during Sheryl Crow's set to jam on 'Every Day Is a Winding Road' (1999)... The Times of London publishes an open letter from Pink to Prince William urging the future monarch to stop hunting on behalf of furry animals everywhere (2003).