September 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Marlena Shaw (81), Lighthouse co-founder Paul Hoffert (80), King Sunny Adé (77), David Coverdale (72), Right Said Fred frontmen Fred & Richard Fairbrass (70), Debby Boone (67), Nick Cave (66), Joan Jett (65), ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp (54), Rilo Kiley lead guitarist Blake Sennett (47), violinist Emilie Autumn (44), Cribs drummer Ross Jarman (39), and Canadian singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate [née Béatrice Martin] (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for American composer and bandleader Arthur Pryor, born on this date in 1870... for cabaret singer Joni Jame, born in 1930... for songwriter Harry Warren ['That's Amore', 'Chatanooga Choo Choo'], who died on this date in 1981... for Irving Berlin, who passed away in 1989 at the age of 101... and for violin virtuoso Isaac Stern, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on September 22: Webern's String Quartet, op. 28 is given its first performance at the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival in Pittsfield, MA. The work was commissioned by American philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1938)... Elvis Presley gives a final press conference at the Military Ocean Terminal in Brooklyn, NY before shipping out to Germany with the US 3rd Armored Division on the USS General Randall (1958)... Bob Dylan is on the bill at Carnegie Hall as part of an all-star hootenanny. Dylan performs 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown' for the first time in public (1962)... Herman's Hermits have their first and only UK № 1 with 'I'm into Something Good'... Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway (1964)... San Francisco band The Great Society, with then husband and wife Jerry and Grace Slick on drums and lead vocals, respectively, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery in North Beach... The Who kick off their first Scandinavian tour with a gig in Copenhagen. Roger Daltrey is nearly fired from the band for punching Keith Moon in the jaw just before they go on (1965)... The Doors perform 'Light My Fire' and 'People Are Strange' on The Murray the K Show on WPIX-TV in New York (1967)... The Band release their eponymous second album, which will yield the hit singles 'Up on on Cripple Creek', 'Rag Mama Rag' and 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' (1969)... David Bowie kicks off the North American leg of the Ziggy Stardust world tour at The Music Hall in Cleveland, OH (1972)... The Rolling Stones have the № 1 album in Britain today with Goats Head Soup (1973)... Def Leppard receive their first major press notice when Melody Maker reviews a gig the band recently played in Wolverhampton (1979)... David Geffen incorporates his latest musical venture, the Geffen Records label. His first act signed is John Lennon, who is looking for a home for his just completed album Double Fantasy (1980)... The re-formed King Crimson release Discipline, the band's first album of new material in 7 years (1981)... Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell and Tom Petty headline the first Farm Aid concert at the stadium of the University of Illinois-Champaign  (1985)... Bob Dylan releases Oh Mercy (1989)... Nirvana play their largest gig to date, at Seattle's Motor Sports International Garage. Dave Grohl, who will audition for the band two days from now, is in the audience of 15,000 (1990)... Bryan Adams makes British chart history when '(Everything I Do) I Do It for You' comes in at № 1 for the 12th consecutive week (1991)... Bruce Springsteen's MTV Unplugged session loses the Un- after the Boss turns up with an electric ensemble for a rare live performance with musicians other than the E Street Band (1992)... Diana Ross is arrested on the Concorde after an incident at Heathrow Airport. The singer claims that a female security guard fondled her breasts when frisking her; Ross retaliated by grabbing the guard's genital area... Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon are all seen in the same room at the same time for the first time in 15 years, as the former bandmates attend the London premiere of the Clash documentary Westway to the World (1999)... 'A Tribute to Heroes' is aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money for 9/11 charities. Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, U2, Billy Joel, Pearl Jam and Limp Bizkit all perform (2001)... Jimmy Page is made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro for his work raising money to help the city's street children (2005)... Research conducted by UK car maker SEAT shows that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the song most likely to be found on British iPods, with 40% of owners of the device having the Queen hit on their playlists (2011)