October 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Tom Paxton (84), Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg (72), Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard (64), singer-songwriter Kate Campbell (60), U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. (60), Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee (58), Johnny Marr (58), My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (57), country singer Darryl Worley (57), Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz (55), ex-Bow Wow Wow lead singer Anabella Lwin (55), Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris (52), former Ace of Base lead singer Linn Berggren (51), Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Johnny Moeller (51), Blnd Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens (51), Less Than Jake bassist Roger Manganelli (47), and ex-My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singing cowgirl Dale Evans, born on this date in 1912... for longtime Shea Stadium organist Jane Jarvis, born in 1915... for pioneering R&B saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, born in 1922... for saxophonist and Mingus sideman Booker Ervin, born in 1930... for Ali Farka Touré, who would have been 82... and for producer and Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, who would have been 69.

Also on October 31: Steinway Hall opens at 4th Ave. & E. 14th St. in Manhattan. It will be home to the New York Philharmonic and the principal classical music venue in NYC until Carnegie Hall opens in 1891 (1866)... 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 Quarrymen 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 to prevent David Gilmour and Nick Mason from using the name 'Pink Floyd' for future touring and recording (1986)... Teen idol Debbie Gibson reportedly holds a seance at her Merrick, NY home to raise the spirits of Liberace and Sid Vicious (1988)... 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 № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Believe', taken from her twenty-third studio album. It makes the 52-year-old Cher the first female artist over the age of 50 to have a № 1 single. 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 30th

 Musical birthdays today include Motown songwriter Eddie Holland (82), Grace Slick (82), Temptations vocalist Otis Williams (80), Manfred Mann drummer Chris Slade (75), ex-Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit (74), Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale (56), Billy Talent guitarist Ian D'Sa (46), and Saturdays vocalist Vanessa White (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer Patsy Montana, born on this date in 1908... for jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, born in 1930... for Jam Master Jay, shot to death in a Jamaica, Queens recording studio today in 2002 at the age of 38... for longtime Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, who passed away in 2003... for cabaret singer Robert Goulet, who 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 in her Manhattan apartment. 

Also on October 30: Schubert begins work on his Symphony in B minor, which will become known as Unfinished, as the composer left it incomplete at his death 6 years later. The symphony as Schubert left it will have its premiere in Vienna in 1865 (1822)... In Washington DC, the Martha Graham Company perform Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring for the first time (1944)... 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)... Buffalo Springfield release their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)... 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 № 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 (1971)... Allen Ginsberg visits Bob Dylan at his house in Malibu, CA; the pair record a lengthy interview together (1977)... Stevie Wonder releases Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979)... La Bohème opens at the Joseph Papp Theater in NYC with Linda Ronstadt in the role of Mimi. The production is a critical and commercial flop, however, and closes after only 5 nights (1984)... An up and coming local band called Nirvana provide the entertainment at a dorm party at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington (1988)... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces the induction of David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Pete Seeger, The Shirelles, and The Velvet Underground (1995)... 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 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include Cuban jazz singer Omara Portuondo (91), ex-Wings guitarist Denny Laine (77), Melba Moore (76), former Alan Parsons Project guitarist David Paton (72), The Cure keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (66), Randy Jackson (60), ex-Sugarcubes trumpeter Einar Örn (59) and Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Zoot Sims, born on this date in 1925... for operatic tenor Jon Vickers, born in 1926... for Peter Green, who would have been 75 today... for Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, who would have been 66... 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 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 № 2 in the UK, the Who's highest charting single in their home country but only № 74 in America (1965)... The musical Hair opens off-Broadway at the Public Theater in the East Village (1967)... Joan Baez joins Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue (1975)... 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 № 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' marks 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 announce that they are splitting 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 28th

 Musical birthdays today include jazz & pop singer Dame Cleo Laine (94), R&B singer Curtis Lee (81), Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin (80), Wayne Fontana (76) ex-Tony Orlando & Dawn vocalist Telma Hopkins (72), Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris (63), Jesus & Mary Chain guitarist William Reid (63), alt-country fiddler Caitlin Cary (53), Ben Harper (52), country singer Brad Paisley (49), Joaquin Phoenix (47), and rapper Frank Ocean (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for avant-garde composer Gershon Kingsley, orn on this day in 1922... for Cajun accordion virtuoso Iry Lejeune, born in 1929... for Charlie Daniels, who would have been 85... for ex-Soft Machine saxophonist Elton Dean, who would have been 75...  for big band leader Woody Herman, who died on this date 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 premiere performance in St. Petersburg only nine days before the composer's death (1893)... In Berlin, Richard Strauss conducts the first performance of his tone poem Eine Alpensinfonie (1915)... 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 the King 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 residing in Hamburg. Shop manager Brian Epstein promises to investigate further (1961)... The Kinks release Face to Face, their first LP consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions (1966)... The № 1 album on the Billboard chart today is Diana Ross and the Supremes' Greatest Hits (1967)... Nick Gilder goes to № 1 in the US with 'Hot Child in the City'. When released in the singer's native Britain, the single failed to chart (1978)... The Jam announce that they are breaking up (1982)... Columbia Records releases the 3 LP Bob Dylan career retrospective Biograph (1985)... Sheena Easton guest stars on Miami Vice as Sonny Crockett's fiancée (1987)... R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces that he is  leaving the group after 17 years to become a farmer (1997)... A Kenny Rogers fan is injured at a concert in Dallas when the singer throws a frisbee into the crowd. Concertgoer Kevin O'Toole will later sue Rogers for $2 million, claiming that the accident left him impotent (1999)... 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 27th

 Musical birthdays today include Québecois singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault (93), country singer Lee Greenwood (79), E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent (72), former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing (70), Simon Le Bon (63), and jazz pianist David Hazeltine (63).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, born on this date in 1782.. for song and dance woman Nanette Fabray, born in 1920... for Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland, who would have been 52 today... 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... for bandleader Xavier Cugat, who died in 1990... and for Lou Reed, who left us today in 2013.

Also on October 27: Violinist Efrem Zimbalist makes his American debut with the Boston Symphony (1911)... 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 № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'That'll Be The Day'. It is also a № 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... With Abbey Road in the can, Ringo Starr becomes the first of The Beatles to formally begin work on a solo album, entering the studio to record Sentimental Journey (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)... Amy Winehouse releases Back to Black, her final studio album... Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth offers the U.S. premiere of her experimental film 'Perfect Partner' at Montclair State University in New Jersey and participates in a live performance of the soundtrack (2006)... 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 26th

 Musical birthdays today include German composer and Brian Eno collaborator Hans-Joachim Roedelius (87), jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson (81), Milton Nascimento (79), Herman's Hermits guitarist Keith Hopwood (75), Bootsy Collins (70), keyboardist & former Frank Zappa sideman Tommy Mars (70), B-52s multi-instrumentalist Keith Strickland (68), Natalie Merchant (58), country singer Keith Urban (54), and Yellowcard bassist Josh Portman (42). 

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., born in 1929... for country singer Hoyt Axton, who died on this date in 1999... and for Blaque rapper Natina Reed, who left us today in 2012, 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)... John Coltrane and sidemen complete the recording of the My Favorite Things album (1960)... 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 Diddley'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. 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 drug 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)... John Lennon releases his 'Mind Games' single (1973)... Elton John closes out his latest US tour at Dodger Stadium wearing a sequin-studded Dodgers uniform (1975)... Jefferson Starship guitarist Paul Kantner suffers a stroke during a recording session. He will make a full recovery after spending two weeks in a Los Angeles hospital (1980)... Men at Work have the № 1 song in the US with 'Who Can It Be Now?' (1982)... Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico ask residents to tie black ribbons around trees in protest against Madonna's first live appearance on the island... Bob Dylan releases World Gone Wrong, his second consecutive album of folk and blues standards (1993)...  In a cricket ground in the state of Meghalaya, N.E. India, 1,730 guitarists play 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 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include Brazilian bossa nova pioneer Roberto Menescal (87), Yes lead singer Jon Anderson (77), Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton (74), Television frontman Richard Lloyd (70), bluegrass singer Mollie O'Brien (69), Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs (66), Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith (60), Bare Naked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson (51), rapper Jerome 'Young Rome' Jones (40), Katy Perry (37), and Ciara (35). 

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 Helen Reddy, who would have been 80 today... for bluesman Coco Robicheaux, who would have been 74... for Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett, who would have been 62... for concert promoter Bill Graham, who died on this date 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: Milhaud's one-act ballet La Création du Monde is premiered by Les Ballets Suédois at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (1923)... The Archbishop of Dubuque, IA, Francis J.L. Beckman, denounces swing as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people" and warns that it leads "down the primrose path to hell" (1938)...  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 program between 1965 and 1969 (1964)... 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)... 
R.E.M., 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... The Spice Girls go to № 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 the top of the charts (1997)... A poster from a 1968 Led Zeppelin gig at Surrey University [the first time the group played under their new name after abandoning the moniker The New Yardbirds] sells at auction for £2,400 (2003).

 

October 24th

 Musical birthdays today include Turkish rock pioneer Erkin Koray (80), Arthur Brown (79), Jeff Beck (77), original Family bassist John 'Charlie' Whitney (77), former Traffic & Blind Faith saxophonist Chris Wood (77), Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone (76), Mick Fleetwood (74), former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz (73), ex-Dire Straits bassist John Illsley (72), UB40 rapper Terence 'Astro' Wilson (64), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman Andy McCluskey (62), session vocalist & keyboardist Siedh Garrett (61), Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith (60), Mazzy Star lead singer Hope Sandoval (55), Rammstein lead guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe (54), Black Crowes lead guitarist Jeff Cease (54), variety singer Sissel Kirkjebø (52), Laura Veirs (48), Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello (47), and Solange Knowles (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country & rockabilly singer Ramblin' Tommy Scott, born today in 1917... for original Social Distortion guitarist Dennis Danell, who would have been 60 today... for tango singer Carlos Gardel, who was killed in a plane crash today in 1935 at the age of 44... for gospel singer Ira Tucker, who died in 2006... and for singer-songwriter Ewanya 'Puff' Johnson and Devo drummer Alan Myers, both of whom left us today in 2013.

Also on June 24th: Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax files in Paris for a patent for his saxophone (1846)... The song that will become the Canadian national anthem O Canada! is performed publicly for the first time at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français in Montreal (1880)... John Lennon's second book of poetry and drawings, 'A Spaniard in the Works', was published. The book consists of absurdist stories and drawings similar to the style of his 1964 book 'In His Own Write'... The Hollies are at № 1 on the UK singles chart for the first time with 'I'm Alive' (1965)... Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' enters the Billboard chart, where it will peak at № 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Orchestral Suite in D', composed in 1739 (1967)... Led Zeppelin record 'Whole Lotta Love', 'What Is and What Should Never Be', 'Travelling Riverside Blues' and 'Communication Breakdown' for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios, London. The session will broadcast on the 29th of June (1969)... Capitol Records release The Beach Boys greatest hits retrospective Endless Summer, which will go on to spend 155 consecutive weeks on the US album chart (1974)... Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Devo, Brand X and The Atlanta Rhythm Section are all on the bill at Knebworth Park, England ~ tickets cost £6 (1978)... Paul McCartney scores his seventh UK № 1 solo album with Flowers In The Dirt, featuring the single 'My Brave Face' (1989)... Frank Zappa gives his final onstage rock performance when he takes part in the concert 'Adieu Soviet Army', organised in Prague as a farewell to the last soldiers of the Soviet Army leaving free Czechoslovakia (the Red Army had occupied the country since the Prague spring in 1968). Zappa's set is recorded and can be found on the album Adieu C. A. [Soviet Army] (1991)... Eric Clapton puts 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie's in NYC to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster named Brownie, which he used to record the original studio version of ‘Layla’, sells for a record $497,500. The auction helps raise nearly $5 million for the clinic (1999)... The crypt in which Elvis Presley was originally buried is withdrawn from a Los Angeles auction after protests that it should be kept as a shrine. More than 10,000 fans signed a petition against the sale of the tomb at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, TN. A spokesman for Julien's Auctions says that they will not sell the crypt until the cemetery "finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis" (2012).

October 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include Argentine singer-songwriter Charly Garcia (70), jazz singer Diane Reeves (65), Dwight Yoakam (65), Weird Al Yankovic (62), Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo (57), Melvins drummer Dale Crover (54), and ex-Jack Off Jill lead singer Jessica 'Jessicka' Fodera (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bebop saxophonist Sonny Criss, born on this day in 1927... for pop singer and producer Ellie Greenwich, who would have been 80 today... for former Motörhead guitarist Mike 'Würzel' Burston, who would have been 72... for Gong drummer Pierre Muerlen, who would have been 69... for Al Jolson, who died on this date in 1950... for pioneering country guitarist Maybelle Carter, who passed away in 1978... and for operatic baritone Robert Merrill, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 23: Scriabin is at the keyboard for the premiere of his Piano Concerto № 1 in Odessa (1897)... Leoš Janáček's opera Káťa Kabanová premieres in Brno, Czechoslovakia (1921)... Dion has the № 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 have taken the day off school (1963)... Bob Dylan records 'The Times They Are A-Changin' at Columbia 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)... A spokesman for Columbia Records announces that the label will take legal action to stop distribution of The Great White Wonder, a bootleg album of previous unreleased Dylan material (1969)... Al Green releases I'm Still in Love with You (1972)... Led Zeppelin make their long-awaited US television debut, performing ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Dazed And Confused’ on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1976)... Sid Vicious attempts suicide by hanging himself in his cell at Rikers Island (1978)... Mark David Chapman signs out of his job as a security guard in Honolulu for the last time before heading for NYC. He scrawls the name 'John' in the log book (1980)... 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)... Apple introduces the iPod portable music player (2001)... Arctic Monkeys score their first UK No.1 with 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor', the Sheffield band's debut single (2005). 

October 22nd

 Musical birthdays today include Mountain lead guitarist Leslie West (76), Rascals vocalist Eddie Brigati (75), Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer (61), country singer Shelby Lynne (53), Tim Kinsella (47), Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman (45), and Zac Hanson (36). 

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 79 today... for punk rocker Stiv Bators, who would have been 72... for cellist Pablo Casals, who died on this date in 1973... for British folk singer & activist Ewan McColl who passed away today in 1989.... and for Elliot Smith, who took his own life 13 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 № 1 album on the US chart, with The Supremes a Go Go knocking Revolver from the top spot...  The Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ makes its debut in the US Top 40. 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 № 1 on the chart 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)... In Louisville, KY, Earth, Wind & Fire kick off a sold-out 75-date US tour (1976)... Van Halen add a date in Worcester, MA to their current tour after a petition signed by 25,000 locals asking them to play is delivered to the band (1982)...  Pearl Jam play their first live gig, at the Off Ramp in Seattle (1990)... A Bob Dylan concert in Rochester, NY is interrupted by a stage invasion that will turn out to have been orchestrated by the makers of documentary about the singer (1994)... Dylan plays his first show in his birthplace of Duluth, MN since the beginning of the 'Never-Ending Tour' ten years earlier (1998)... 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... R.E.M. give a three-song performance on the steps of the Clarke Co. courthouse in Athens, GA as part of Land Aid, a local festival that strives to improve the economic environment of Athens and its surrounding area (2005).

October 21st

 Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Virginia Zeani (96), Manfred Mann (81), Steve Cropper (80), Elvin Bishop (79), Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane (75), Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey (68), Bay City Rollers guitarist Eric Faulkner (68), Julian Cope (64), Pink Floyd keyboardist & songwriter Jon Carin (57), ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri (50), Fiery Furnaces guitarist Matthew Friedberger (49), singer-songwriter Josh Ritter (45), and Doja Cat (26).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazzman Don Byas, born on this date in 1912... for Dizzy Gillespie, born in 1917... for salsa singer Celia Cruz, born in 1924... for Cramps lead singer Lux Interior [né Erick Purkheiser], who would have been 74... for ex-Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, who would have been 69... for Maxene Andrews [of the Andrews Sisters], who died on this date in 1995, and for Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon, who left us on the same day as the result of a drug overdose at the age of 28. 

Also on October 21: Beethoven's first printed work ~ 3 Trios, op. 1 ~ is issued by Artaria Publishers of Vienna (1795)... 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 № 1 hit for him (1958)... At Atlantic Studios in NYC, the John Coltrane quartet record 'My Favorite Things' (1960)... The Beatles record 'Norwegian Wood' in three takes and begin work on 'Nowhere Man' (1965)... Lulu hits № 1 on the US charts with 'To Sir, with Love' (1967)... Bob Dylan releases the album New Morning (1970)... Mick Jagger becomes a father for the first time when Bianca gives birth to their daughter Jade (1971)... Chuck Berry has his first and only simultaneous US and UK № 1 with 'My Ding-a-Ling' (1972)... Scott Joplin's ragtime opera Treemonisha has its NYC premiere at the Uris Theater (1975)... 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)... Liza Minelli's ex-husband David Gest sues her for $10 million, alleging that she beat him during drunken rages (2003)... Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, the singer and co-author of the 1960 novelty hit 'Monster Mash', releases a re-written version of the song entitled 'Monster Slash' to protest the environmental policies of the Bush administration (2004).

October 20th

 Musical birthdays today include Wanda Jackson (84), original Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood (70), Level 42 lead singer Mark King (63), Teenage Fanclub guitarist Norman Blake (56), Calvin 'Snoop Dogg' Broadus (50), Dannii Minogue (50), and Snow Patrol bassist Paul Wilson (43). 

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 in 1913... for Tom Petty, who would have been 71 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, who died in 2007 at the age of 46... for Slits lead singer Ari Up [née Ariane Forster], who died in 2010... 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 his first UK № 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)... London Symphony woodwinds players Jack Ellory and Richard Taylor add the flute parts to The Beatles' 'Fool on the Hill' (1967)... The Who begin a six-night residency at the Fillmore East in NYC, playing Tommy in its entirety each night (1969)... John and Yoko release The Wedding Album (1969)... The Rolling Stones have the № 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 flew 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)... Jimmy Cliff is ordered Jamaica's Order of Merit for his contributions to the nation's musical culture (2003)... Michael Jackson receives a jury duty 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 19th

 

Musical birthdays today include soul singer George McRae (77), singer-songwriter Gloria Jones (76), country singer Jeannie Riley [of 'Harper Valley PTA' fame] (76), Delfonics vocalist Wilbert Hart (74), Doobie Brothers lead guitarist Patrick Simmons (73), World Party frontman Karl Wallinger (64), rapper 'Kool Keith' Thornton (58), Sinitta (55), and Suburban Legends trombonist Brian Robertson (42).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Syrian oud virtuoso Farid Al-Atrash, born on this day in 1915... for Kingston Trio founding member Dave Guard, who would have been 86 today... for Peter Tosh, who would have been 76... 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 19th... 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... The Beatles record 'Hello Goodbye' (1967)... Cream play the L.A. Forum on their farewell tour of America; the performance of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads' that appears on the band's Goodbye album is recorded during the show... 18-year-old Peter Frampton meets Steve Marriott at a Small Faces 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 second 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)... At a stop on the Shot of Love tour in Merriville, IN, Bob Dylan brings out boyhood friend Larry Kegan, now wheelchair-bound, for the encore. Kegan sings Chuck Berry's 'No Money Down' while Dylan plays tenor saxophone. The performance is so well received that the pair will repeat it tomorrow night in Boston (1981)... A-Ha become the first Norwegian group to score a US № 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 18th

 Musical birthdays today include Stealer's Wheel founding member Joe Egan (72), former Pylon lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay (66), Les Rita Mitsouko lead singer Catherine Ringer (64), Wynton Marsalis (60), Curtis Stigers (56), and Cardigans lead guitarist Peter Svensson (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist & songwriter Bobby Troup [best remembered for 'Get Your Kicks on Route 66'], born on this date in 1918... for jazz singer Anita O'Day, born in 1919... for blueswoman Jessie Mae Hemphill, born in 1923... for Canadian fiddler Buddy McMaster, born in 1924... for Chuck Berry, born in 1926... for Laura Nyro, who would have been 74... for ex-REO Speedwagon lead guitarist Gary Richrath, who would have been 72... for Van Der Graaf Generator bassist Nic Potter, who would have been 70... for composer Charles Gounod, who died on this date in 1893... and for saxophonist David S. Ware, who left us today in 2013.

Also on October 18: Mahler conducts the first performance of his own 5th Symphony in Cologne (1904)... The BBC is formed to bring news, cultural programming, arts and music to homes in the UK (1922)... 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 a band, opening for French pop star Johnny Hallyday at L'Olympia in Paris (1966)... The Bee Gees have their first UK № 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... Al Green's ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson pours a pot of boiling grits on the soul singer while he is in the shower in his Memphis home. Green suffers second-degree burns on his back, neck and arms and will undergo a religious conversion whilst recovering (1974)... The Buggles go to № 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 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez (87), Gary Puckett (79), Defunkt trombonist Joseph Bowie (68), country singer Alan Jackson (63), Aqua vocalist René Dif (54), Ziggy Marley (53), Wyclef Jean (52), Eminem (49), and singer-songwriter Marcela Bovio (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Herbert Howells, born on this date in 1892... for jazz guitarist Barney Kessel, born in 1923... for Jeanine Deckers, AKA the Singing Nun, who would have been 88... for Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack, who would have been 75... for Frédéric Chopin, who died on this date in 1849... for blues legend Alberta Hunter, who passed away in 1984... and for pop singer Teresa Brewer, who left us in 2007. 

Also on October 17: The opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by 15-year-old prodigy 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 № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy'... The Rolling Stones release 12 x 5, their second American album (1964)... The Kinks play their first US concert in four years, opening for Spirit at the Fillmore East in NYC. The American Federation of Musicians banned the group from playing stateside after a disastrous 1965 tour marred by several onstage fistfights (1969)... 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)... Lynyrd Skynyrd release Street Survivors, their last album with original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins (1977)... Bruce Springsteen releases The River (1980)... The Bee Gees become the only act to have a UK № 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... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band play the first rock concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (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 recently asked that security be tightened up on his Love and Theft tour, arrived backstage without his ID badge (2001)... Madonna and Guy Ritchie announce that their marriage is over (2008). 

October 16th

Musical birthdays today include former BTO bassist Fred Turner (78), Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir (74), Greek pop singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki (63), Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp (62), Hüsker Dü leader Bob Mould (61), Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael 'Flea' Balzary (59), Wilson Phillips vocalist Wendy Wilson (52) and John Mayer (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Christa Päffgen, AKA Nico, who would have been 83 today... for former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson, who would have been 80... 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 passed  away in 1973... and for Art Blakey, who left us today in 1990. 

Also on October 16: Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire for speaking voices and chamber orchestra premieres in Berlin after six weeks of daily rehearsals (1912)... Concert pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WW I, premieres Richard Strauss' Parergon to the Symphonia Domestica for left hand alone and orchestra in Dresden (1925)... 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)... At San Francisco's Fillmore West, Grace Slick performs publicly as lead singer of Jefferson Airplane for the first time (1966)... Creedence Clearwater Revival announce that they have disbanded (1972)... The № 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 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)... Simon & Garfunkel kick off their Old Friends reunion tour with a show in Wilkes-Barre, PA (2003)... 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 15th

 

Musical birthdays today include Barry McGuire (84), Richard Carpenter (75), Chris de Burgh (73), Tito Jackson (68), Beautiful South drummer Dave Stead (55), heavy metal guitarist Dax Riggs (48), and R&B singer Jessie Ware (37).  

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, born in 1925... for Fela Kuti, who would have been 83... and for Cole Porter, who left us today in 1964. 

Also on October 15: Commissioned by Catherine de Medici, Le Ballet Comique de la Reine, widely considered to be the first ballet, is staged in Paris (1581)... ASCAP [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers] is founded (1914)... The War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, the first municipally owned opera palace in the United States, opens with a production of Tosca (1932)... 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... 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 № 1 single in both the US and the UK with 'Reach out and I'll Be There' (1967)... Led Zeppelin give their debut performance in the UK under their new name at Surrey University (1968)... Keith Richards is found guilty of trafficking cannabis by a 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's 'You Light up My Life' begins a 10-week run at  № 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 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 run. 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).