October 4th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Leroy van Dyke (95), jazz bassist Steve Swallow (84), Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon (82), singer-songwriter Bridget St John (78), French chansonnier Julien Clerc (77), Blood, Sweat & Tears bassist Jim Fielder (77), Triumph drummer Gil Moore (73), harpist Andreas Vollenweider (71), Def Jam record label founder Russell Simmons (67), Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe (65), and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for  Janis Joplin, who died of a drug overdose today in 1970 at the age of 27... for classical pianist Glenn Gould, who passed away in 1982... and for Argentine diva Mercedes Sosa, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on October 4: Aaron Copland's orchestral suite from the ballet Appalachian Spring has its premiere at Carnegie Hall (1945)... The Tornadoes become the first British band to score a № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with the instrumental 'Telstar' (1962)... The Beatles make their first appearance on the UK ITV pop show Ready, Steady, Go! (1963)... Creedence Clearwater Revival have their first US № 1 album with Green River (1969)... John Lennon releases the album Walls and Bridges (1974)... Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic. For the album's cover shot, two stuntmen were used, one of whom was dressed in a fire retardant costume underneath a business suit (1975)... Tammy Wynette is abducted, beaten, and held in her car for two hours by a kidnapper wearing a ski mask. She is forced to drive 90 miles from Nashville before she is released ~ her abductor will never be caught (1978)... Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood present the USC Trojans marching band with a platinum record for their contribution to Fleetwood Mac's hit single 'Tusk' (1980)... Miles Davis concludes a world tour, his first in 5 years, in Tokyo. The show is recorded for inclusion in the live album We Want Miles (1981)... The Smiths play their first live gig, as the opening act for Blue Rondo a la Turk at the Ritz in Manchester... Philip Glass' score for Koyaanisqatsi is heard publicly for the first time when the film premieres at Radio City Music Hall in NYC (1982)... Ringo Starr and wife Barbara Bach fly together to Tucson, AZ to enter alcohol rehab (1988)... Van Halen announce that former Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone has replaced Sammy Hagar as the group's frontman (1996)... Barbra Streisand's tour-opening performance at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA becomes the highest grossing event in the venue's history (2006).