October 9th

 

Musical birthdays today include Nona Hendryx (77), Indian sarod master Amjad Ali Khan (76), France Gall (74), Jackson Browne (73), ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton (69), Pogues accordionist James Fearnley (67), Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen (63), P.J. Harvey (52), Sean Lennon (46), and ex-Westlife vocalist Nicky Byrne (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Camille Saint-Saëns, born on this date in 1835... for John Lennon, who would have been 81 today... for John Entwistle, who would have been 77... for Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel, who died on this date in 1978... for Modern Jazz Quartet vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who passed away in 1999... and for Marilyn Manson collaborator Brad 'Gidget Gein' Stewart, who left us today in 2009.

Also on October 9: 12-year-old Clara Wieck [the future Mrs. Robert Schumann] plays for Goethe, who places a pillow on the piano stool so that she can sit higher (1831)... Thelonious Monk and sidemen enter the studio to record what will become the album Brilliant Corners. It is the pianist's first album for Riverside to contain his own compositions, the difficulty of which will lead to tempestuous and problem-plagued sessions (1956)... Eddie Cochran records 'C'mon Everybody' (1958)... Ray Charles hits № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Hit the Road, Jack' (1961)... The № 1 single in the US today is the Beatles' 'Yesterday' (1965)... For the first time in the history of the show, the producers of the BBC's Top of the Pops refuse to air the № 1 song in Britain, as 'Je t'aime, moi non plus' by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin is rejected. The song has been so widely castigated as obscene that Fontana, the label on which the single was originally released, have already disavowed it... The Carpenters release their debut album Ticket to Ride (1969)... The Who play a show at the University of Surrey in Guildford, with John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful joining in on 'Magic Bus' on harmonica. It was the only time that an outside musician has jammed with the band in front of an audience. Backstage after the show, there is a party for John Entwistle's 27th birthday (1971)... The Sex Pistols sign with EMI Records for £40,000. The label will drop them three months later and delete the single 'Anarchy in the UK' from its catalogue after a series of controversies and public incidents... One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band have the top single in the US today with 'A Fifth of Beethoven' (1976)... Prince opens for the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on the Tattoo You tour. Wearing only leopard-print bikini briefs and a trench coat, the diminutive guitarist runs off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing him and pelting him with beer cans and other objects (1981)... Marking what would have been her late husband's 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opens the 3 1/2 acre garden at the Strawberry Field site in New York's Central Park. The area is planted with trees, shrubs and flowers from around the world, and is endowed with a $1 million donation from Yoko (1985)... The Phantom of the Opera has its world premiere at her majesty's Theatre in London's West End (1986)... Nirvana's In Utero, the group's third and final studio album, enters the US charts at № 1. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to call the collection I Hate Myself and I Want to Die (1993)... Barry White shares lessons from several decades of lovemaking with the students of Oxford University when he addresses their debating union (2000)... Michael Stipe, Bono and Moby make surprise appearances at the second of two anti-violence benefit concerts in NYC organized by The Beastie Boys (2001)... For the first time in the history of the Billboard singles chart, all of the top 10 places are occupied by black artists; at № 1 are Beyoncé and Sean Paul with 'Baby Boy' (2003)... Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, is reported as having been furious upon learning that a Liverpool branch of McDonald's is displaying pictures of him in its windows, supposedly to attract customers. Sir Paul is quoted as saying "What sort of morons do McDonald's suppose Beatles fans are?" (2008).