November 22nd

 Musical birthdays today include Youngbloods founder Jesse Colin Young (83), former Bob Marley & the Wailers bassist Aston Barrett (78), E Street band guitarist Steven van Zandt (74), ex-Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth (74), Styx lead singer Larence Gown (67), singer-songwriter Horse (65), Carter USM singer & guitarist Jim Bob (64), Hello Saferide frontwoman Annika Norlin (47), Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O (46), Napster inventor & entrepreneur Shawn Fanning (44), singer-songwriter & former a1  member Ben Adams (43), and Trivium guitarist Corey Beaulieu (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, born 0n this day in 1899... for composer Benjamin Britten, born today in 1913... for composer, pianist & musicologist Dika Newlin, born in 1923... for organist and composer Peter Hurford, born in 1930... for country singer Terry Stafford, who would have been 82... for composer Arthur Sullivan, who died today in 1900... for former INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, who took his own life at the age of 37 on this day in 1997... and for rapper MC Breed, who left us today in 2008. 

Also on November 22: Ravel's Bolero premieres in Paris (1928)... Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel make their US television debut, in their incarnation as Tom and Jerry on ABC-TV's American Bandstand. They perform their hit 'Hey Schoolgirl' (1957)... The Beatles release their second UK album, With The Beatles (1963)... Bob Dylan and Sara Lowndes are married in a small civil ceremony at the Nassau County, NY courthouse (1965)... Singer-songwriter [and later Dylanologist] Long John Baldry is at  on the UK singles chart with 'Let the Heartaches Begin... George Harrison goes into the studio to begin recording the soundtrack to the film Wonderwall, his first solo effort (1967)... The double LP officially entitled The Beatles and more commonly known as The White Album is released (1968)... Bruce Springsteen's band Steel Mill opens for Iron Butterfly at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA (1969)... Jerry Lee Lewis was arrested for drunk driving after being found unconscious in his Rolls Royce in a ditch outside Pensacola, FL (1976)... Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble kick off a 149-date North American & European tour at the Towson Center in Towson, MD (1986)...  Bill Wyman announces that his 17-month marriage to model Mandy Smith is over. With the consent of her mother, Smith started dating the 47-year-old Rolling Stones bassist when she was 13 (1990)...  Supporting his new album Rhythm of the Saints, Paul Simon opens his first South American tour in Rio de Janeiro (1992)... Pearl Jam release their third studio album Vitalogy, which first comes out on vinyl. It becomes the first vinyl LP to appear on the US charts since 1981, when the domination of the compact disc format began (1994)... Surviving members of The Doors Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger announce that they will record and tour again with a new line up including ex-Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Original drummer John Densmore is unable to take part because he is suffering from severe tinnitus (2002)... U2 shoot the video for 'All Because Of You' from a moving flat bed truck on the streets of Brooklyn. Later in the day, they perform a brief concert under the Brooklyn Bridge which is taped by MTV for later broadcast (2004)... Poems written by Bob Dylan in his college days sell for $78,000 (£45,000) at a New York auction. The 16 pages of verses are the first known use by Robert Zimmerman of the pseudonym to which he will legally change his name in 1962, and date from his enrollment at the University of Minnesota.

November 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include Lebanese singer Fairuz (89),  War founding member Lonnie Jordan (76), Boston guitarist Gary Pihl (74), Livingston Taylor (74), ex-Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie (74), Björk (59), Blur bassist Alex James (56), Teenage Fanclub drummer Francis McDonald (54), Edguy lead singer Tobias Sammet (47), and Carly Rae Jepsen (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Coleman Hawkins, born on this day in 1904... for Dr. John, who would have been 83... for jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon, who would have been 75... for composer Henry Purcell, who died in 1695... and for former Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, who left us today in 1995. 

Also on November 21: Thomas Edison announces his new invention called the phonograph, a device that records and plays back sound (1877)... RCA Records purchased Elvis Presley's recording contract from Sam Phillips at Sun Records for an unprecedented sum of $35,000 (1955)... Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs go to № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Stay', the shortest ever US  № 1 single at one minute 37 seconds... In Germany, the Beatles play at the Kaiserkeller Club in Hamburg without George Harrison. Harrison was deported earlier in the day for being underage (he is 17) and therefore not legally allowed to remain in a nightclub after midnight (1960)... The Partridge Family start a three week run at  № 1 on the US singles chart with 'I Think I Love You'. The song was featured in the first episode of the TV series named for the band and produced by the same company that created The Monkees... In Britain,  Jimi Hendrix is at № 1 on the singles chart two months after his death with 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' the closing track on Electric Ladyland, the third and final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This would be the guitarist's only UK  № 1. Hendrix's solo on the track was named the 11th greatest solo of all-time in Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos in 2000 (1970)... Wilson Pickett is arrested in NYC for possession of a dangerous weapon after he pulls a gun during an argument in a Lower East Side bar (1974)... Queen release A Night at the Opera (1975)... The Stranglers supported by Chelsea appear at The Nashville, London. This is Billy Idol's last gig with the opening act before leaving for greater fame with Generation X (1976)... French pop star Dalida makes her Carnegie Hall debut (1978)... Steely Dan release Gaucho, their last album for another 20 years (1980)...  Olivia Newton John starts a ten week run at № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Physical', which will be the biggest-selling single of the '80s in the US (1981)... Michael Jackson's 14-minute video for 'Thriller' premieres in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis and co-starring former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray, the video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by horror film veteran Vincent Price. The clip was filmed at the Palace Theater in downtown L.A., the zombie dance sequence at the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona St. in East L.A., and the final house scene in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood at 1345 Carroll Avenue... Duran Duran release their third studio album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)... Jimmy Page sets out on his first ever-solo tour at The Hummingbird, Birmingham, England, appearing with bassist John Miles and the son of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Jason (1988)...  Mick Jagger marries Jerry Hall in Bali. The marriage will be declared 'null and void' on 13th August 1999 after a judge rules that the six-hour ceremony on the Indonesian island was never registered (1990)... The Beatles Anthology 1 is released in the US, featuring 60 tracks including the track 'Free As A Bird', a song originally composed and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. A studio version of the recording, incorporating contributions from Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, is simultaneously released as a single, the first new release under the group's name since 1970... On the same day, Bruce Springsteen launches his Ghost of Tom Joad solo acoustic tour with a show at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ to coincide with the album's release (1995)... Phil Spector appears before a Los Angeles court and is formally charged with murder. B-movie actress Lana Clarkson was found at his mansion in February of this year with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Spector pleads not guilty to her murder during a brief hearing and is released on $1 million bail (2003).

November 20th

 Musical birthdays today include singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum (82), Meredith Monk (82), producer Mike Vernon (80), former Poco drummer George Grantham (77), Joe Walsh (77), operatic soprano Barbara Hendricks (76), Beastie Boys rapper Mike D (59), Cypress Hill rapper Sen Dog (59), AFI lead singer Davey Havok (49), In Flames drummer Daniel Svensson (47), ex-Girls Aloud vocalist Kimberley Walsh (43), and Bring Me the Horizon lead singer Oliver Sykes (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for stage singer Kaye Ballard, born on this day in 1925... classical pianist Ruth Laredo, who would have been 87 today... for Duane Allman, who would have been 78... for producer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Gilbert, who would have been 57... for pianist and composer Anton Rubenstein, who died on this date in 1894... for Section 25 lead singer Jenny Ross, who passed away in 2004... and for blues & rock guitarist Chris Whitley, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on November 20: Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio premieres in Vienna (1805)... The rock era in Britain officially begins as 'Rock around the Clock' by Bill Haley & His Comets goes to № 1 on the national chart... In America, Bo Diddley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show. The producers requested that he sing his version of ‘Sixteen Tons’, but when he appears on stage, he sings his own song ‘Bo Diddley’, resulting in his being banned from further appearances on the program (1955)... Bob Dylan enters Columbia Studios in NYC for the first time. Over the next two days, he records his eponymous debut album for a cost of $471 (1961)... The Yardbirds release Having a Rave-Up (1965)... Camelot opens on Broadway (1966)... Strawberry Alarm Clock hit № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Incense and Peppermints' (1967)... The Monkees film 'Head' opens in six US cities. Reviews are harsh and the picture will be a box office flop (1968)...  Sly and the Family Stone release There's a Riot Goin' on, while Isaac Hayes starts a two week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Theme From Shaft' (1971)... Keith Moon collapses during a concert by the Who at the Cow Palace in San Francisco after downing a pre-show drink spiked with horse tranquilizer. 19 year-old audience member Scott Halpin volunteers to replace him on drums for the remaining three numbers (1973)... Paul Simon hosts NBC's Saturday Night Live, and performs live with George Harrison on ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘Homeward Bound’. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, watching the show from the former's apartment in the Dakota on Central Park West, briefly discuss the idea of taking a taxi to NBC Studios to try to crash the telecast, but think better of the idea (1976)... Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer top the American singles chart with their duet 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (1979)...  Prince kicks off his 56-date North American ‘Controversy’ tour with a show at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh (1981)... Eurythmic Dave Stewart begins recording tracks with Bob Dylan that will be released on the latter's album Knocked Out Loaded (1985)... The Rolling Stones announced that they have signed a £20 million deal with Virgin Records to make 3 albums over the next 6 years (1991)... A study comparing noise levels of rock music finds that older people rate the music much higher on a loudness scale than younger people. The research carried out at Ohio State University tested people age 18 to 21 and people ranging in age from 51 to 58. The study asked participants to rate the loudness of rock music played at nine intensities, ranging from 10 decibels to 90 decibels. Participants listened to ‘Heartbreaker’ by Led Zeppelin for 10 seconds at different intensities. At each intensity, the older subjects gave the music higher numerical ratings based on loudness than the younger subjects (1998)...  Spice Girl Mel C announces she is quitting the group during an interview on ITV's Frank Skinner Show (2000)... Madonna's childhood home in Oakland County Michigan, sells at an auction in just 12 minutes. The house, along with a few items of Rock memorabilia goes for $331,000 (2001)...  Michael Jackson flies to Santa Barbara to surrender himself for arrest. He is seen being taken into the police station in handcuffs. The singer has his mug shot and fingerprints taken before being freed on $3 million bail (2003)... Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke admits that he was among the thousands of people who paid nothing to download the band's latest album In Rainbows. Speaking to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq, Yorke said: "There wasn't any point. I just move some money from one pocket to the other". According to one survey, three in five people paid nothing at all for it. Yorke added that no one was allowed to have copies of the master recording in case it was leaked beforehand (2007).

November 19th

 

Musical birthdays include Blood, Sweat & Tears saxophonist Fred Lipsius (81), former Guns 'N Roses drummer Matt Sorum (64), Tool bassist Justin Chancellor (54), The Old Ceremony frontman Django Haskins (50), and rapper Tyga [né Michael Nguyen-Stevenson] (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for bandleader Tommy Dorsey, born on this day in 1905... for composer Slavko Avsenik, born in 1929... for Mothers of Invention vocalist and Frank Zappa collaborator Ray Collins, who would have been 88... for Israeli singer Ofra Haza, who would have been 66... for composer Franz Schubert, who died on this date in 1828... for ex-Badfinger guitarist and songwriter Tom Evans, who hanged himself at the age of 36 in 1983... for Byrds producer Terry Melcher, who died today in 2004... and for Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, who left us in 2005. 

Also on November 19: J.S. Bach is named court composer by Polish King Augustus III (1736)... On the 50th anniversary of the union of the cities Buda and Pest, Bartok's Five Dances receive their first public performance in the Hungarian capital (1923)...  Carl Perkins records 'Blue Suede Shoes' at Sun Studios (1955)... The Supremes become the first all-female group to have a UK № 1, when 'Baby Love' tops the charts (1964)... Emerson, Lake & Palmer release Brain Salad Surgery (1973)... The British music weekly 'Sounds' names the Sex Pistols' debut single 'Anarchy in the UK' its Single of the Week... George Harrison releases the album Thirty-Three & 1/3 (1976)... Led Zeppelin release their final studio album Coda (1982)... Tina Turner makes her first American chart appearance in twelve years with her version of the Al Green hit 'Let's Stay Together' (1983)... Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy after it is revealed that the duo did not sing at all on their Girl You Know It's True album (1990)... U2 release Achtung Baby (1991)... David Crosby undergoes a successful liver transplant operation at Dumont-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Crosby's liver was deteriorated from years of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as hepatitis-C (1994)... The Beatles start an eleven-week run at № 1 on the UK album chart with The Beatles 1. The album features every number-one single released by the band from 1962 to 1970. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the their break-up, it was their first compilation available on one CD. The world's best-selling album of the 21st century, 1 has sold over 31 million copies worldwide to date (2000)... Michael Jackson is widely criticized after dangling his baby from the third-floor balcony of a Berlin hotel. The singer is in the German capital for an awards ceremony and was showing off his nine-month old baby to fans outside the hotel (2003)... Former glam rock star Gary Glitter is arrested in Vietnam after being detained at Ho Chi Minh airport as he tries to board a plane to Bangkok. Police say Glitter is being held under suspicion of committing lewd acts with two girls under the age of 18 (2005).

November 18th

 Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Sheila Jordan (96), Graham Parker (74), Queensrÿche bassist Rudy Sarzo (74), John Parr (72), film score composer Carter Burwell (70), jazz & rock drummer Cindy Blackman (65), Kim Wilde (64), Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (62), Polyphonic Spree lead singer Tim DeLaughter (59), Duncan Sheik (55), country singer Jessi Alexander (48), Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue (44), and Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pianist and composer Jan Paderewski, born on this day in 1860... for violinist and conductor Eugene Ormandy, born in 1899... for Buena Vista Social Club guitarist Compay Segundo, born in 1907... for songwriter Johnny Mercer, born in 1909... for Hank Ballard, born today in 1928... for operatic soprano Gianna d'Angelo, born in 1929... for Don Cherry, who would have been 88... for Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 29 on this day in 1972... for Cab Calloway, who passed away in 1994... and for folk rock singer & guitarist Doug Sahm, who left us today in 1999. 

Also on November 18: Soprano Marie Selika Williams becomes the first black artist to perform at the White House (1878)... The Czech National Opera House in Prague opens with a production of Smetana's Libuše (1883)... The New York Philharmonic gives its first concert at Carnegie Hall (1892)... Fats Domino appears on the Ed Sullivan Show performing 'Blueberry Hill'. Before the song became a rock and roll standard it had been recorded by various artists including Louis Armstrong, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Gene Autry and Jimmy Dorsey (1956)... The Beatles receive silver LP discs for 'Please Please Me' and 'With the Beatles' at a ceremony held at EMI House in London. They also receive a silver EP for 'Twist and Shout' and a silver single for 'She Loves You'. The band then attend a cocktail party and a formal lunch in the EMI boardroom with company executives and invited guests (1963)... Cat Stevens starts a three-week run at № 1 on the US album chart with Catch Bull At Four. The title was taken from one of the Ten Bulls of Zen, a series of short poems and accompanying pictures that are intended to illustrate the stages of a Buddhist practitioner's progression towards enlightenment (1972)... Genesis release The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The double album is the group's final LP with Peter Gabriel as lead singer (1974)... Bruce Springsteen makes his live debut in the UK at London's Hammersmith Odeon (1975)... The Jam release This Is the Modern World (1977)... R.E.M. make their first appearance outside the US when they are guests on the Channel 4 UK TV show 'The Tube'. The following night they make their live UK debut when they play at Dingwalls, London (1983)... Nirvana record their MTV Unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York. The band play a setlist composed of mainly lesser-known material and cover versions of songs by The Vaselines, David Bowie, Meat Puppets and Lead Belly. The album will win the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996 (1993)... Britney Spears scores her third US No. 1 album with 'Britney.' The album's success makes her the first female artist in music history to have her first three studio albums debut at the No. 1 spot. This record however will later be broken by Spears herself with her 4th studio album In the Zone which charted in the same position (2001)... Following allegations of the sexual abuse of a 12-year old boy, police raid Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Jackson denies the allegations; the search comes on the day that his latest greatest hits album, Number Ones, was released in the US (2003)... The Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line goes into general release in the US (2005).

November 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include Four Seasons keyboardist and songwriter Bob Gaudio (83), Jethro Tull lead guitarist Martin Barre (78), Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray (66), Primal Fear drummer Randy Black (61), Moldy Peaches singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson (52), rapper Lord Infamous (49), Isaac Hanson (44), and former Girls Aloud vocalist Sarah Harding (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beond for classical violinist Leonid Kogan, born on this day in 1924... for film & television score composer Robert Drasnin, born in 1928...for Gordon Lightfoot, who would have been 86 today... for original Byrds member Gene Clark, who would have been 80... for Jeff Buckley, who would have been 57... for choral composer Thomas Ford, who died on this date in 1648... for Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock, who died today in 1979 at the age of 28 from a congenital heart defect... and for country singer-songwriter Don Gibson, who left us today in 2003. 

Also on November 17: The Sorceror, Gilbert and Sullivan's first operetta under the aegis of agent and producer Richard D'Oyly Carte, premieres at London's Royalty Theatre (1877)... Jan Paderewski makes his American debut at Carnegie Hall, playing Saint-Saën's Fourth Piano Concerto with the NY Symphony Society Orchestra (1891)... Roberta Peters makes her NY Metropolitan Opera debut in Don Giovanni (1950)... Harry Belafonte is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Mary's Boy Child,' the first 45 RPM to sell over 1 million copies in the country. It will stay in the top spot for seven weeks making it this years Christmas № 1  (1957)... John Weightman, headmaster of a Grammar School in Croydon, Surrey bans all pupils from having Beatle haircuts saying, "This ridiculous style brings out the worst in boys physically. It makes them look like morons" (1963)... A 16-date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice and Amen Corner stops at the City Hall, Sheffield. A review in the Sheffield Star noted: 'Like an electrified golliwog, Jimi Hendrix threw himself into a live-wire act that featured his intricate guitar interpretation. Quite an Experience'. Pink Floyd also release their third single in Britain, 'Apples And Oranges' (1967)... Slade are at the top of the UK singles chart with 'Coz I Luv You', the group's first of six British Number Ones. Deliberately misspelt song titles become a trademark for Slade, causing a great furore among teachers up and down the country... In America, Bob Dylan releases volume 2 of his Greatest Hits, and Laura Nyro releases Gonna Take a Miracle (1971)... John Lennon releases Double Fantasy (1980)... David Crosby breaks his left shoulder, leg and ankle in a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles (1990)... Bob Dylan tapes his MTV Unplugged performance at Sony Studios in NYC (1994)... Mariah Carey is forced to abandon a performance on Rome's historic Spanish Steps after crowds of tourists overwhelm security and swamp her. She takes shelter in a local shop before being given an escort by riot police to safety (1999)... The NME reports that Andy White, who played drums on The Beatles track 'Love Me Do' which is featured on the new Beatles Greatest Hits album will not earn enough from it to buy his own copy. White is to receive no more than his original session fee of £7 (2000)... Britney Spears announces that her first boyfriend Justin Timberlake was a huge disappointment in the endowment department. Talking during an MTV interview, Spears says  "Forget trouser snake, it's more like a trouser worm" when referring to her ex (2003).

November 16th

 Musical birthdays today include soul singer Garnet Mimms (91), singer-songwriter & producer Dan Penn (82), original AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess (78), jazz drummer Luis Conte (70), Stone Roses bassist Gary 'Mani' Mountfield (62), jazz chanteuse Diana Krall (60), Rammstein keyboardist Christian Lorenz (58), ex-Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader (54), Modest Mouse bassist Eric Judy (50), singer-songwriter Allison Crowe (43), and The Wanted vocalist Siva Kaneswaran (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer & violin virtuoso Rodolphe Kreutzer, born on this day in 1766... for operatic soprano Minnie Hauk, born in 1851... for W.C. Handy, 'The Father of the Blues', born in 1873... for composer Paul Hindemith, born in 1895... for jazz guitarist Eddie Condon, born in 1905... for Cajun accordionist Alphonse 'Bois Sec' Ardoin, born in 1915... for jazz pianist & Dexter Gordon sideman Dolo Coker, born in 1927... for blues guitarist and Howlin' Wolf sideman Hubert Sumlin, born in 1932... for operatic soprano Lucia Popp, who died on this date in 1993... for Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist Chet Powers (AKA Dino Valenti in his solo career), who passed away in 1994... for DJ & rapper DJ Screw [né Robert Davis, Jr.], who died of a drug overdose at the age of 29 on this day in 2000... and for jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan, who left us in 2001. 

Also on November 16: In London, Chopin gives his final public performance, a benefit concert for Poland (1848)... Arturo Toscanini makes his debut as conductor of the NY Metropolitan Opera (1908)... Johnny Cash makes first appearance in the Billboard Top 40 with 'Cry Cry Cry' (1955)... The Sound of Music premieres on Broadway (1959)... The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is released by Capitol Records (1964)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience top the US album chart with Electric Ladyland... Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin play their first ever show in the north of England when they appear at Manchester College of Science & Technology. The band are paid £225 for the gig (1968)... Frank Zappa appears on this week's edition of the UK TV music show 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', playing live and showing clips from his film 200 Motels (1971)... John Lennon is at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Whatever Gets You through the Night.' Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached № 1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with him (1974)... On The Old Grey Whistle Test, reclusive Beach Boy Brian Wilson gives his first televised interview in 8 years (1976)... Former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey has his only UK № 1 single with the Maria McKee song 'A Good Heart', written about her relationship with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' keyboard player Benmont Tench. Sharkey will follow up the single with the Tench-penned 'You Little Thief', his take on his relationship with McKee... In the US, Starship hit № 1 with 'We Built This City' (1985)... Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is revealed that the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It's True album (1990)... Texan billionaire David Bonderman hires The Rolling Stones to play at his 60th birthday party held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The band's fee is $7.9 million (2002)... The Beatles' catalogue becomes available on iTunes, after years of negotiations. For the first time consumers will now be able to purchase some of the Fab Four's most popular songs via the store. Apple and record label EMI have been in talks for years about getting the catalogue online. Apple chief executive and Beatles fan Steve Jobs says "It has been a long and winding road to get here. We love the Beatles and are honoured and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes" (2010)

November 15th

 

Musical birthdays include Petula Clark (92), former Steeleye Span bassist Rick Kemp (83), conductor and classical pianist Daniel Barenboim (82), former ABBA vocalist Frida Lyngstad (79), former Henry Cow bassist Georgina Born (69), ex-Parliament/Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton (68), former Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks (67), rapper E-40 [né Earl Stevens] (57), Elysian Fields co-founder & vocalist Jennifer Charles (55), country singer Jack Ingram (53), Nickelback frontman Jack Kroeger (50), Glass Cloud lead singer Jerry Roush (38), and rapper B.o.B. (36).  

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 and country singer C.W. McCall, both born in 1928... for soul singer Joe Hinton, born in 1929... for Drifters vocalist Clyde McPhatter, born in 1932... for R&B singer Little Willie John, who would have been 86... for Wu-Tang Clan founding member Russell 'ODB' Jones, who would have been 56... for Velvet Teen drummer Logan Whitehurst, who would have been 47... 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 today in 2016.

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). 

November 14th

 

Musical birthdays today include composer Wendy Carlos (85), Styx lead guitarist James Young (75), Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali (73), singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop (73), ex-Bon Jovi bassist Alec John Such (72), New Age composer Yanni (70), Joseph 'DJ Run' Simmons (60), Veruca Salt guitarist Nina Gordon (57), Raconteurs multi-instrumentalist Brendan Benson (51), hip hop artist Moka Only [né Daniel Denton] (51), Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker (49), former Steps vocalist Daye Tozer (49), and rapper Lil Boosie [né Torrence Hatch] (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel, born on this date in 1778... for composer Aaron Copland, born in 1900... for crooner Johnny Desmond, born in 1919... for classical pianist Peter Katin, born in 1931... for jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr., who would have been 89 today... for Freddie and the Dreamers frontman Freddie Garrity and Coasters vocalist Cornell Gunter, both of whom would have been 88... for Cajun accordionist Buckwheat, who would have been 76... for composer and piano craftsman Ignaz Pleyel, who died on this date in 1831... and for former Doll by Doll frontman Jackie Leven, who left us today in 2011. 

Also on November 14: Ray Charles goes to № 1 on the US singles chart with his cover of Hoagy Carmichael's 1930 standard 'Georgia On My Mind' (1960)... In an interview following the opening show of her first solo UK tour, Dusty Springfield tells a journalist "I wish I'd been born coloured. When it comes to singing and feeling, I want to be one" (1964)... Pink Floyd are added to a 16-date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, The Move, The Nice, Amen Corner, The Outer Limits and The Eire Apparent. It kicks off on this day at the Royal Albert Hall with only one performance, as opposed to the rest of the dates, which call for two shows per night. The headlining Hendrix is allotted exactly 40 minutes; The Move, who precede him onstage, have just half an hour, and Pink Floyd, who appear between after The Outer Limits, are allowed between 15 and 20 minutes per show (1967)... Syd Barrett releases his first solo album, entitled Barrett (1970)... Queen play the first of two nights at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, the first shows on their 78-date A Night at the Opera World Tour (1975)... George Michael tops the UK album chart with his debut solo album Faith. The album goes on to win several awards including the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the collection has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Between 1987 and 1988, Faith produced six Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hits, four of which ('Faith', 'Father Figure', 'One More Try', and 'Monkey') reached № 1, making him the only British male singer to have four № 1 singles from one LP in the US (1987)... Blur bring chaos to traffic in central London when over 3,000 fans turned up for a signing at 'Books Etc' in Charing Cross Road (1995)... Michael Jackson marries Debbie Rowe in Sydney, Australia. The couple met when he was diagnosed with vitiligo in the mid-1980s, and she was working as his dermatologist's assistant. The couple will divorce in 1999, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the children to Jackson and receiving an $8-million settlement (1996)... Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Keane, Snow Patrol and Darkness are among those who participate in the recording of a new version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' (2004). 

November 13th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Idris Muhammad (85), John P. Hammond (82), session guitarist Terry Reid (75), Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken (71), Aldo Nova (68), Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture (46), and rapper Jibbs [né Jovan Campbell] (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist Hampton Hawes, born on this day in 1928... for Marshall Tucker Band guitarist Toy Caldwell, who would have been 76... for former Troggs drummer Ronnie Bond, who died on this date in 1992... for Mills Brothers vocalist Donald Mills, who left us today in 1999... and for experimental musician John Balance [co-founder of Coil] who was killed in a home accident on this day in 2004 at the age of 42. 

Also on November 13: The first concert of the music of composer Heitor Villa-Lobos is given in Rio de Janeiro. Both vocal and chamber works are on the program (1915)... New York Philharmonic conductor Bruno Walter, unable to go on because of illness, is replaced at the podium by a little-known 25-year-old assistant named Leonard Bernstein making his concert debut (1943)... The John Coltrane Quartet record the album Ballads (1962)... The Beatles record a television interview at Westward Television Studios in Plymouth, Devon, for the local teen program 'Move Over, Dad'. Due to the large crowd of excited fans outside, the group has to be smuggled from their dressing-room at the ABC Cinema, where they are scheduled to appear that night, into an adjacent building, then through a tunnel, to get to Westward Studios for the interview taping (1963)... Decca Records release The Rolling Stones’ 'Little Red Rooster'. Written by Willie Dixon (as 'The Red Rooster'), and previously recorded by Howlin’ Wolf and Sam Cooke, the single was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago. The single will become a № 1 hit in the UK and remains the only time a blues song has ever topped the British pop chart (1964)... Brian Jones buys 'Cotchford Farm' in Sussex from the estate of A.A. Milne, who wrote Winnie the Pooh when he was living in the house (1968)... Crosby Stills Nash & Young open a four-night stand at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco (1969)... Led Zeppelin's fifth tour of the UK sells out within four hours (1972)... Rod Stewart starts an 8 week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Tonight's The Night'. It is Rod's second US № 1; it made № 5 in the UK despite being banned by many radio stations owing to the song's lyric about the seduction of a virgin. The song features whispers from actress Britt Ekland, who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time... In Britain, Melody Maker announces UK dates for the first major punk tour, with The Sex Pistols and The Ramones co-headlining along with Talking Heads, The Vibrators and Chris Spedding. The 14-date tour which is due to start at Newcastle City Hall on Nov 29th will never take place (1976)... Siouxie and the Banshees release their debut album The Scream (1978)... U2 kick off their 23 date North American 'October' tour at JB Scott's in Albany, NY (1981)...  Rod Stewart fan Patricia Boughton files a lawsuit against the singer claiming that a football he kicked into the crowd during a concert at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, MI ruptured a tendon in the middle finger of her right hand; the injury allegedly made sex between her and her husband difficult (1990)... On the occasion of the release of his 5-CD career retrospective Genius & Soul, Ray Charles conducts his first ever online chat at rhino.com (1997)... The Beatles launch their first official website, www.thebeatles.com. The site goes live on the same day as the release of their retrospective 'Compilation 1' album (2000)... Wynona Judd is arrested for DUI after being stopped by Nashville police for doing 90 MPH on a city thoroughfare. The country star is released on $500 bond (2003). 

November 12th

 Musical birthdays today include Booker T. Jones (80), Neil Young (79), Blue Öyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma (77), Errol Brown (76), country singer Barbara Fairchild (76), ex-Bay City Rollers lead singer Les McKeown (69), ex-Fall guitarist Brix Smith (61), Megadeath bassist Dave Ellefson (60), former Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna (56), singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer (54), and Taking Back Sunday bassist Shaun Cooper (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Alexander Borodin, born on this date in 1833... for blues legend Bukka White, born in 1909... for big band singer Jo Stafford, born in 1917... for producer Bob Crewe, born in 1931... for Walker Brothers frontman John Walker, who would have been 81... for Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who passed away in 2008... and for composer Henryk Górecki, who left us in 2010. 

Also on November 12th: Enrico Caruso records the aria 'Vesti la giubba' from Leoncavallo's  I Pagliacci ~ it will go on to become the first phonograph record to sell a million copies (1902)... Soprano Lillian Evanti founds the National Negro Opera Company in Pittsburgh, PA (1941)... Johnnie Ray is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Just Walking In The Rain.' It will stay at the top for seven weeks, making it this year's Christmas № 1 (1956)... The Beatles make a return appearance at the Star Club, Hamburg, opening for headliner Little Richard (1962)...  After changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future T Rex star performs his first single 'The Wizard' on the UK TV show Ready Steady Go!... In America, the Velvet Underground make their live debut, playing a Homecoming dance at Summit High School in New Jersey. The band are paid $75 for the gig (1965)... Pink Floyd appear at the Corn Exchange, Bedford. The set list includes 'Let's Roll Another One', 'Gimme A Break', 'Interstellar Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Stoned Alone'. 'Stoned Alone' was also known as 'I Get Stoned', and is considered by many rock historians to be the first song that Syd Barrett wrote for the group (1966)... On his 23rd birthday, Neil Young releases his eponymous debut album... UK book and record chain W.H. Smith announce their refusal to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the nude women featured on the sleeve (1968)... Mott The Hoople kick off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with an up and coming group called Queen as their opening act (1973)... The Sex Pistols' debut LP Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols debuts at № 1 on the UK album chart the day after its release. The record has already been met by a hail of controversy. The first problems involve the allegedly 'obscene' name of the album, resulting in the prosecution of the manager of the Nottingham Virgin record shop for displaying it in a window. More outrage is sparked by the lyrics of the songs 'God Save the Queen' and 'Anarchy in the UK' (1977)... Bob Dylan’s album Infidels reaches its highest position when it peaks at № 9 on the UK chart. Dylan's 22nd studio album was co-produced with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler after the star also approached Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Frank Zappa as possible producers (1983)... Ron Wood breaks both his legs after crashing his car on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire (1990)... Gary Glitter [né Paul Gadd] pleads guilty before the Bristol Crown Court to 54 counts of taking and possessing indecent photographs of underage children, and is sentenced to 4 months in prison (1999)... Die-hard Beatles fans are outraged after Paul McCartney alters the song writing credits on his Back in The US 2002 album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney (2002).

November 11th

 

Musical birthdays today include singer-songwriter Chris Smither (80), Yardbirds rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja (79), Vanilla Fudge lead guitarist Vince Martell (79), songwriter and Survivor guitarist Jim Peterik (74), Marshall Crenshaw (71), former XTC frontman Andy Partridge (71), ex-Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin (69), ex-Human League synth player Ian Craig Marsh (67), Green Day lead guitarist Jason White (51), and Death from above 1979 bassist & synth player Jesse F. Keeler (46).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Mose Allison, born on this day in 1927... for Nashville session guitarist Hank Garland, born in 1930... for rapper Static Major [né Stephen Garrett], who would have been 50... for songwriter Jerome Kern, who died on this date in 1945... for former Allman Brothers bass player Berry Oakley, who was killed in 1972 when his motorcycle hit a bus at the same intersection as former band member Duane Allman, who had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old... for film score composer Dimitri Tiomkin, who passed away in 1979... and for jazzman Erskine Hawkins, who left us today in 1994.

Also on November 11: Louis Armstrong makes his first recordings with the Hot Five at the Okeh Studios in Chicago (1925)... Bill Haley & the Comets score their first US Top ten single with 'Shake Rattle And Roll' (1954)... Elvis Presley appears at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, for his last concert of the '50s (1957)... The final recording session for Rubber Soul takes place at Abbey Road. The Beatles need three new songs to finish the album, so an old song ~ ‘Wait’ ~ is pulled off the shelf, and the group records two new songs from start to finish. The basic tracks for both Paul's ‘You Won't See Me’ and John's ‘Girl’ are completed in two takes (1965)...  John Lennon and Yoko Ono release the album Two Virgins (1968)... Agents from the FBI's Phoenix, AZ office arrest Jim Morrison for drunk and disorderly conduct aboard a plane. The Doors singer, who was on his way to a Rolling Stones concert with actor Tom Baker, were drinking and harassing the flight attendants. The pair spend the night in jail and are released on $2,500 bail (1969)... Thirty US radio stations broadcast a 'live' Mott the Hoople concert. In reality it is the band recorded in the studio with the applause dubbed in (1973)... Donna Summer holds down the top spots on both the Billboard singles and album charts, with 'Macarthur Park' and Live and More, respectively (1978)... Prince kicks off his 87-date '1999' North American tour at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN (1982)... Pink Floyd issue a press statement saying that they intend to continue using the band's name without Roger Waters and are in the process of recording their next album (1986)... The Smashing Pumpkins top the US album charts with Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)... Britney Spears wins four MTV Awards: Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best Song ['...Baby One More Time'],  and Best Breakthrough Artist (1999)... Liza Minnelli's former bodyguard accuses the singer of forcing him to have sex with her in order to keep his job, court documents reveal. M'hammed Soumayah is suing Minnelli for $100 million in damages, saying she made 'many repeated attempts' to compel him into sex and that he 'eventually succumbed' (2004)... The four original band members of Black Sabbath announce that they are reuniting and recording a new album, which will be followed by a world tour in 2012 (2011).

November 10th

 Musical birthdays today include lyricist Sir Tim Rice (80), Donna Fargo (79), rapper Warren G (54), Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba (52), rapper Eve (46), Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell (46), and country singer Miranda Lambert (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer François Couperin, born on this date in 1668... for songwriter Johnny Marks, born in 1909... for jazz trumpeter and composer [of the Batman theme, among others] Billy May, born in 1916... for  film score composer Ennio Morricone and composer-songwriter Marilyn Bergman, both born in 1928... for Greg Lake, and for original Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton, both of whom would have been 77... and for session guitarist Tommy Tedesco, who left us today in 1997.

Also on November 10: Elvis Presley attends the fourth Country Music Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville. Back at his hotel, Mae Boren Axton plays him a demo of a new song she has written with Tommy Durden called ‘Heartbreak Hotel' (1955)... An 18-year-old guitarist named Eric Clapton makes his live debut with The Yardbirds as they play a gig at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey (1963)... The Beatles film three promotional films for their new single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at the Saville Theatre in London. Each of the three clips feature different costumes and Beatle antics. In the first, they wear their 'Sgt. Pepper' uniforms, for the second, everyday clothes, while the third film clip features shots from the first two films, plus additional shots of The Beatles (especially John) doing the twist. A Musician's Union ban on lip-sync broadcasts prevents the film being used on British television (1967)... Bob Dylan arrives in Durango, Mexico for a meeting with director Sam Peckinpah to discuss the possibility of a role in the director's upcoming film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. After a dinner of roast goat, Dylan plays his new composition 'Billy' for Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn (1972)... Elton John starts an eight week run at the top of the US album chart with 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', the singer's third stateside № 1. The album, which had the working titles of 'Vodka and Tonics' and 'Silent Movies, Talking Pictures', remains his best selling studio album with worldwide sales of over 15 million copies. Recorded at the Château d'Hérouville northwest of Paris, the album contains the Marilyn Monroe tribute 'Candle in the Wind', as well as three successful singles: 'Bennie and the Jets', 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' and the title track... Dylan and The Band wrap up the Planet Waves sessions (1973)... The Sex Pistols release their first and only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977)... The Eagles have their final US № 1 single with 'Heartache Tonight' (1979)... Frankie Goes To Hollywood make their debut US TV appearance on Saturday Night Live performing 'Two Tribes' and 'Born To Run' (1984)... Bob Dylan presents Gordon Lightfoot with the Canadian Hall of Fame award at  ceremony in Toronto (1986)... Jimmy Page and Robert Plant perform 'Stairway to Heaven' for a music on show on Japanese TV. The duo tell the presenter that it is the last time they will ever play the song in public (1994)...  After the anti-child-abuse group Kidscape files a complaint, the British exam board recall all copies of a high school music test that includes convicted child molester Gary Glitter's 1973 hit 'I'm the Leader of the Gang' in its 'suggested listening' section. Group head Michele Elliott said "The role model is morally decrepit. It's just inappropriate" (2008).