September 7th

 

Musical birthdays today include Sonny Rollins (93), country singer Ronnie Dove (88), composer Olly Wilson (86), R&B singer Benny Latimore (84), Gloria Gaynor (74), Chrissie Hynde (72), Benmont Tench (72), Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians co-founder Brad Houser (63), rapper Sean 'Slug' Daley (51), and 12 Stones frontman Paul McCoy (42).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for dixieland jazz trumpeter Max Kaminsky, born on this day in 1908... for session guitarist and arranger Al Caiola, born in 1920... for easy listening pianist Arthur Ferrante, born in 1921... for ex-Weavers vocalist Ronnie Gilbert, born in 1926... for Buddy Holly, who would have been 87... for Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who would have been 62... for Keith Moon, who died of a drug overdose today in 1978 at the age of 32... for former Beatles and Byrds publicist Derek Taylor, who passed away in 1997... for Warren Zevon, who died in 2004.... and for Mac Miller, who left us four years ago today.

Also on September 7: Mary Carr Moore's Narcissa, the first grand opera by an American woman, has its premiere in Seattle with Moore herself at the podium [since she was unable to find any conductor willing to take on an opera composed by a woman] (1925)... Already well established as an artist on the Billboard country chart, Hank Williams has his first crossover Top 40 hit with 'Lovesick Blues' (1949)... Tenor saxophonists Al Cohn and Zoot Sims join John Coltrane and his usual sidemen for a jam session at the Van Gelder Studio. The recordings will be released under the title Tenor Conclave (1956)... Columbia Records releases Bob Dylan's single 'Positively 4th Street' (1965)... Hank Mobley, The Rolling Stones and Traffic are in the audience as the Doors make their London debut at the Playhouse Theatre. The sold out gig is also filmed by Granada TV (1968)... Led Zeppelin make their live debut [though still billed as the New Yardbirds] in the gymnasium of a Danish high school in the Copenhagen suburb of Gladsaxe. Teen Club president Lars Abel introduces the lead singer to the 1,200 spectators as 'Robert Platt'. The band receive rave reviews in the local press (1968)... At London's Trident Studios, David Bowie begins the sessions for what will become The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' album. The character of Ziggy was inspired by Bowie's meeting with British rock 'n' roll singer Vince Taylor, who after a breakdown believed himself to be a cross between a god and an alien (1971)...  Topping the charts in the US is Abba's 'Dancing Queen', the group's only American № 1 single (1976)... Sid Vicious kicks off his solo career with a gig at Max's Kansas City in NYC (1978)... Siouxie and the Banshees release their second album, Join Hands (1979)... Berlin have the № 1  song in the US with 'Take My Breath Away' (1986)... Pink Floyd launch the Momentary Lapse of Reason world tour in Ottawa, CA, even though the absent Roger Waters has threatened to sue the promoters if the band perform under the Floyd name (1987)... Michael Jackson kicks off the HIStory tour with a concert in Letna Park, Prague, in the Czech Republic. The 82 shows will be attended by some 4.5 million fans worldwide... Tupac Shakur is shot on the Las Vegas strip (1996)... The Jackson Five are reunited with their brother at Madison Square Garden for a 30th anniversary show, as Michael performs live in the US for the first time in 11 years. Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Eminem, Britney Spears and Destiny's Child also join in the music-making (2001)... A World Health Organization study shows that rock stars are twice as likely to die prematurely as the rest of the population. The organization says the problem is so bad that the industry should be labelled a 'high risk profession' (2007).