November 15th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer C.W. McCall (95), Petula Clark (89), former Steeleye Span bassist Rick Kemp (80), conductor and classical pianist Daniel Barenboim (79), former ABBA vocalist Frida Lyngstad (76), former Henry Cow bassist Georgina Born (66), ex-Parliament/Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton (65), former Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks (64), rapper E-40 [né Earl Stevens] (54), Elysian Fields co-founder & vocalist Jennifer Charles (52), country singer Jack Ingram (51), Nickelback frontman Jack Kroeger (47), Glass Cloud lead singer Jerry Roush (35), and rapper B.o.B. (33).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pianist and ragtime composer Artie Matthews, born on this day in 1888... for pop orchestra conductor Annunzio Mantovani, born in 1905... for jazzman Seldon Powell, born in 1928... for soul singer Joe Hinton, born in 1929... for Drifters vocalist Clyde McPhatter, who would have been 89... for R&B singer Little Willie John, who would have been 83... for Wu-Tang Clan founding member Russell 'ODB' Jones, who would have been 53... for Velvet Teen drummer Logan Whitehurst, who would have been 44... for composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, who died on this date in 1787... for jazz and prog rock multi-instrumentalist John Grimaldi, who died of MS at the age of 28 today in 1983... and for jazz legend Mose Allison, who left us five years ago today.

Also on November 15: Beethoven conducts the premiere of his 4th Symphony in Vienna (1807)... The Jerome Kern musical Showboat opens in Washington, D.C. (1928)... 
Johnny and the Moondogs (the future Beatles) play in the final heat of the 'TV Star Search' competition at the Hippodrome Theatre, Manchester. Judging is done by the volume of applause each group receives when they are called back onto stage at the end of the night. Since the Moondogs have no money to stay overnight in Manchester, they are forced to leave to catch the last train back to Liverpool before they are called back on stage (1959)... Brian Jones is admitted to Passavant Hospital in Chicago with a temperature of 105ºF, causing him to miss the last few dates on the Rolling Stones' current tour (1964)... The Stones make their US TV debut on Hullabaloo, performing ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’. Hullabaloo was an American one-hour musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 1965 through August 1966 (1965)... The Doors officially sign with Elektra Records in a deal for the band to produce seven albums. The band also reluctantly agree to release 'Break On Through' as their first single. The lyric 'She gets high/she gets high/she gets high' is shortened to 'She gets.../she gets.../she gets...' in order to secure radio airplay (1966)... Janis Joplin is arrested during a gig in Tampa, Florida for using 'vulgar and indecent language' with a policeman. Joplin became upset after police moved into the hall to force fans to move back to their seats. As the singer left the stage she confronted a detective calling him 'a son of a bitch' and told him she would kick his face in. She is released on $500 bail (1969)... Bob Dylan spends much of the day shooting scenes for his film Renaldo and Clara at Niagara Falls. In the evening the Rolling Thunder Revue plays the Niagara Falls Convention Center (1975)... Blondie score their third UK № 1 of the year with 'The Tide Is High' (1980)... Echo and the Bunnymen release Songs to Learn and Sing (1985)... Pop history is made when the Top 5 UK singles are all by female vocalists: Corinne Drewery from Swing Out Sister, Mel and Kim, Susannah Hoffs from The Bangles, plus Kim Wilde and Terri Nunn from Berlin who are at № 1 with 'Take My Breath Away' (1986)... Ozzy Osbourne announces his retirement from live performance after a gig in California, saying "Who wants to be touring at 46?" (1992)... Michael Abram, the Liverpool man who stabbed George Harrison after breaking into his home, is found not guilty at Oxford's Crown Court. The verdict, however, was returned in view of Abrams' mental history, and he is taken into care at a secure psychiatric facility (2000)... Jay-Z goes to the top of the US album chart with American Gangster his 10th № 1 disc. This ties the rapper with Elvis Presley for the most № 1 albums on the chart; only the Beatles have had more, with 19. Since 1998, all eight of Jay-Z's solo studio albums have hit the top spot, in addition to his Collision Course project with Linkin Park and his Unfinished Business collaboration with R. Kelly (2007).