November 28th

 Musical birthdays today include Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. (93), Bruce 'Hey! Baby' Channel (82), Randy Newman (79), ex-Little River Band guitarist Beeb Birtles (74), Paul Shaffer (73), Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron (60), rapper Styles P [né David Styles] (48), Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij (40), and R&B singer Trey Songz [né Tremaine Neverson] (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for French chansonnier Michel Berger, who would have been 75 today... for ex-Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton, killed in a road accident on this day in 1993 at the age of 48... and for operatic bass Franco Ventriglia, who left us today in 2012.   

Also on November 28: Beethoven premieres his own Piano Concerto № 5 in E Flat Major premieres at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (1811)... In St. Petersburg, Rachmaninoff gives the debut performance of his Piano Concerto № 3, widely considered to be one of the most technically challenging concertos in the standard classical repertoire (1909)... The Grand Ole Opry goes on the air for the first time as the radio program 'Barn Dance on WSM, Nashville (1925)... Winifred Atwell is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Let's Have Another Party.' Atwell is the first black artist to reach № 1 in Britain, as well as the first to sell a million records (1954)... Elvis tops the American charts with 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', beginning a 6 week run at № 1 (1960)... The Beatles record their last fan club record as a group ~ this year's offering is called 'Christmas Time Is Here Again!' The Beatles' Christmas records were spoken and musical messages from the group that were posted out on flexi disc during the holiday season  to members of their official fan-clubs in the UK And the US (1967)... The Rolling Stones release Let It Bleed (1969)... Bob Dylan’s 11th studio album New Morning is at № 1 in the UK album listings, his 6th chart-topping LP. The album leads off with 'If Not For You', which will be recorded by George Harrison (on his 3 LP collection All Things Must Pass), and also becomes the title track for Olivia Newton-John's 1971 debut album (1970)... John Lennon makes what will prove to be his last ever concert appearance when he joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden. Lennon performs 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night', 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' (1974)... The Jam release Sound Affects (1980)... The Jennifer Warnes/Bill Medley duet '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life' from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack goes to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart (1987)... REM hit the US top 10 for the first time with 'The One I Love' (1987)... Nirvana record a performance for BBC TV's Top Of The Pops. When asked to lip-sync ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to a pre-recorded tape, Kurt Cobain registers his disagreement by singing in a low-pitched funny voice with the rest of the band, making no attempt to mime in-time to the track (1991)... David Bowie is crowned the Musician's Musician. Bowie beats the Beatles and alternative rockers Radiohead in a survey by the NME that asked five hundred  of top rock and pop performers to name their biggest musical influence (2000)... Ray Davies plays his first solo date in NYC in 15 years at the Supper Club, treating fans to six songs from his forthcoming debut solo album (2005).