October 14th

 Musical birthdays today include Cliff Richard (85), jazz-rock bassist Colin Hodgkinson (80), Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward (79), Nazareth lead singer Dan McCafferty (79), Boney M vocalist Marcia Barrett (77), bluesman Kenny Neal (68), Thomas Dolby (67), Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero (66), The Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines (51), and singer-songwriter Savannah Outen (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for New Orleans R&B singer Robert Parker, born on this day in 1930... for Bing Crosby, who died on this date in 1977... for Leonard Bernstein, who passed away in 1990... and for Freddy Fender, who left us today in 2006.

Also on October 14: Mendelssohn's overture for A Midsummer Night's Dream is performed for the first time at Potsdam for Frederick William IV, King of Prussia (1843)... The 16-year-old Stravinsky finishes his first surviving composition, an unpublished Tarantella for piano (1898)... BMI [Broadcast Music, Inc.] is founded to compete with ASCAP [American Society of Composers and Publishers] (1939)... The Everly Brothers have their first US № 1 with 'Wake up, Little Susie', and Elvis releases 'Jailhouse Rock' (1957)... Pink Floyd play their first ever 'underground' set, at All Saints Hall in Notting Hill (1966)... Joan Baez is arrested at a sit-in at the US Army induction center in Oakland, California (1967)... The Jackson Five make their national TV debut on ABC's variety show 'Hollywood Palace'... The New Jersey State Police issue an arrest warrant for Frank Sinatra in relation to his alleged Mafia connections (1969)... The music publishing firm Arco Industries file a $500,0o0 lawsuit against John Fogerty, claiming that the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit 'Travelin' Band' 'contains substantial material copied from' Little Richard's 'Good Golly Miss Molly'. The suit is eventually thrown out (1971)... Michael Jackson has his first solo US № 1 with 'Ben' (1972)... David Bowie releases Heroes (1977)... Cyndi Lauper releases her debut album She's So Unusual (1983)... Def Leppard become the first act in chart history to sell seven million or more copies of two consecutive LPs, as Hysteria. the follow-up to the 1983 hit Pyromania tops the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic (1987)... Eric Clapton is suspended from driving in France after being pulled over for speeding ~ at 210 km/hr (135 MPH) ~ on the A6 Autoroute near Merceuil in Burgundy. He is given a €750 fine and his UK license is confiscated. After paying his fine, Clapton poses for photographs with the members of the local gendarmerie and leaves again in the Porsche ~ with his personal assistant at the wheel (2004).

October 13th

 

Musical birthdays include Nana Mouskouri (91), Paul Simon (84), Chicago founding member & songwriter Robert Hamm (81), Sammy Hagar (78), Soft Machine saxophonist Alan Wakeman (78), John Ford Coley (77), operatic soprano Leona Mitchell (76), Fairport Convention multi-instrumentalist Simon Nicol (75), Marie Osmond (66), Anthrax lead singer Joey Belladonna (65), Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff (48), Ashanti (45), and Korean pop singer Park Jimin (33).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Art Tatum, born on this date in 1909... for Yves Montand, born in 1921... for jazz percussionist Johnny Lytle, born in 1933... for Pharoah Sanders, who would have been 85... for Ed Sullivan, who died on this date in 1974... and for Earth, Wind & Fire founding member Wade Flemons, who left us in 1993.

Also on October 13: Six-year-old Wolfgang Mozart gives a recital for Empress Maria Theresa of Austria at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. Also attending is Princess Maria Antonia [the future Marie Antoinette] (1762)...  The Beatles make their debut on ITV's 'Sunday Night at the Palladium', topping the bill in a show broadcast to an estimated 15 million viewers. An article promoting the appearance in today's 'Daily Mirror' also contains the first recorded appearance in print of the term 'Beatlemania' (1963)... The Who record 'My Generation' at Pye Studios in London (1965)... Janis Joplin's ashes are scattered on Stinson Beach in Marin County, CA in a small private ceremony (1970)... The Rolling Stones have the № 1 album in the US with Goats Head Soup (1973)... Neil Young has polyps removed from his vocal chords at a Los Angeles hospital (1975)... Led Zeppelin convene at Headley Grange to begin rehearsing the songs that will go on the In through the Out Door album (1978)... U2 score their first UK № 1 album with the Unforgettable Fire. In the US, Stevie Wonder's 'I Just Called to Say I Love You' tops the singles chart (1984)... Bob Dylan plays a show at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. True to form, he opens the show with 'Masters of War' (1990)... Billy Joel appears live on NPR's 'Performance Today' program to play his new sonata entitled 'Reverie' (1997)... UK tabloids report that Toni Braxton pulled out of this year's MOBO awards in the US because one of her breast implants ruptured. A spokesman for her Arista record label says "We don't comment on the personal lives of our artistes" (2000)... British rock group Muse files for an injunction to keep Celine Dion from going forward with plans to call her forthcoming Las Vegas review 'Muse'. Lead singer Matt Bellamy says "We don't want anyone to think that we're Celine Dion's backing band" (2002)... In a video message on his website, Ringo Starr announces that he no longer has time to sign autographs, and asks fans not to send him any mail at all. "No more fan mail, and no objects of any kind to be signed, please. Nothing" (2008).

October 12th

 Musical birthdays today include Sam Moore [of Sam & Dave] (90), Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt (77), The Damned frontman David Lett (69), jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (63), Dixie Chicks fiddle player Martie McGuire (56), and New Found Glory lead singer Jordan Pundik (46).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, born on this date in 1872... for James 'Sugar Boy' Crawford, New Orleans R&B pianist and songwriter, born in 1934... for Luciano Pavarotti, who would have been 90... for longtime Temptations vocalist Melvin Franklin, who would have been 83... for Smithereens lead singer Pat DiNizio, who would have been 70... for Gene Vincent, who died today in 1971 at the age of 46... for original B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson, who passed away today in 1985 at 32... for John Denver, who died in an airplane crash today in 1997... for bandleader Ray Coniff, who died in 2002... and for Blue Cheer frontman Dickie Peterson, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on October 12: G.F. Handel completes his oratorio Samson (1742)... The Chrysler Corporation launches high fidelity record players for their 1956 line of cars. The unit measures 4 inches wide and just under a foot high and is mounted under the instrument panel. The 7-inch discs spin at 16 2/3 RPM and require 3 times as many grooves per inch as an LP. The players will be discontinued as an option in 1961 (1955)... During a tour Down Under, Little Richard gives a press conference in Sydney to announce that he has renounced rock 'n' roll and embraced God, telling the assembled journalists a story of dreaming of his own damnation after praying when one of the engines of a plane he was on caught fire. The singer will perform nothing but gospel for the next 5 years, but then returns to rock (1957)... Working on what will be the Rubber Soul album at Abbey Road, the Beatles lay down 'Run for Your Life' [John Lennon will later admit to lifting two lines from Elvis' 'Come on Baby, Let's Play House'] and 'Norwegian Wood', with the sitar making its debut on a western pop song in the hands of George Harrison (1965)... Big Brother and the Holding Company have the № 1 album in the US with Cheap Thrills (1968)... Jesus Christ Superstar premieres on Broadway (1971)... The Who release Odds & Sods (1974)... Rod Stewart makes his final appearance as frontman for The Faces in a show at Nassau Coliseum, NY (1975)... Sid Vicious stabs his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death at the Chelsea Hotel (1978)... U2 release October, their second studio album (1981)... Jennifer Rush becomes the first to hit № 1 with the diva standard 'The Power of Love', topping the UK charts (1985)... Nirvana are the musical guests on Saturday Night Live (1991)... Pink Floyd play the first of a scheduled 15-night run at Earl's Court, London. A minute into 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond', a scaffolding stand holding 1,200 spectators collapses, hurling them 20 feet to the ground. It takes over an hour to free everyone from the wreckage ~ 36 will have to be hospitalised. The band send a free t-shirt and a handwritten note of apology to all those seated in the faulty bleachers, and the show is rescheduled (1994)... The Backstreet Boys are forced to cancel a show in Madrid after 7,000 fans show up for a 5,000 seat performance and a riot breaks out (1997)... Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young appear at Madison Square Garden to announce a forthcoming album and their 'CSNY2K' tour (1999)... Oasis go to № 1 on the UK album chart with Dig Out Your Soul, the group's final studio LP (2008).

October 11th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Gene Watson (82), Daryl Hall (79), Jean-Jacques Goldman (74), country singer Paulette Carlson (73), ex-Hanoi Rocks lead guitarist Andy McCoy (63), rock violinist Petra Haden (54), Limp Bizkit guitarist Mike Smith (52), and Mogwait bassist Dominic Aitchison (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Art Blakey, born on this day in 1919... for jazzman Curtis Amy, born in 1929... for country legend Dottie West, born in 1932... for Marshall Tucker Band guitarist George McCorkle, who would have been 78... for composer Anton Bruckner, who died on this date in 1896... and for Werner von Trapp of the Trapp Family Singers [of The Sound of Music fame], who left us today in 2009. 

Also on October 11: In Warsaw, Chopin gives the first performance of his own Piano Concerto in e minor (1830)... Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Symphony for the first time (1912)... Sam Phillips' Sun Records releases its first LP, Johnny Cash's debut album Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957)... The Beatles make their first appearance on the UK singles chart, as 'Love Me Do' cracks the top 40. It will eventually rise as high as № 4 (1962)... Marianne Faithfull records a version of 'Yesterday' at Decca Studios in London with Paul McCartney observing in the control booth (1965)... The Doors appear at Danbury High School in Connecticut. Before the group comes on stage, the school principal warns the audience that anyone leaving their seat during the performance will be escorted from the hall (1967)... George Harrison recruits six saxophonists to get the sound he wants on 'Savoy Truffle', as work on the White Album continues (1968)... Elvis and Priscilla Presley's divorce becomes final (1973)... The Police have the № 1 album in the UK today with Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)... Dave Grohl plays his first public show with Nirvana, as the band appear at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, WA (1990)... Elton John has the № 1 single in the US with the version of 'Candle in the Wind' re-written to commemorate Princess Diana's death... Across the Atlantic. the Verve go to the top of the UK album chart with Urban Hymns (1997)... Mojo magazine readers vote Elvis Presley's session for 'That's Alright' the most important moment in rock history. Coming in second is Bob Dylan's electric debut at Newport in 1965, and № 3 is the release of the Clash's eponymous debut album in 1977 (2003)... Bruce Springsteen, Dixie Chicks, R.E.M. and Pearl Jam wrap up the Vote for Change Tour at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. (2004)... Radiohead release their latest album In Rainbows as a download via a pay-what-you-want model (2007). 

October 10th

 Musical birthdays today include song & dance man Ben Vereen (79), Radiators singer & keyboardist Ed Volker (79/span>), ex-Ultravox frontman James 'Midge' Ure (72), David Lee Roth (71), Tanya Tucker (67), Casbah Club frontman Simon Townshend [yes, he's related to Pete ~ he's his younger brother] (65), Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp (64), ex-.38 Special Drummer Scott Hoffman (64), Crystal Waters (61), Rebecca Pidgeon (60), Goo Goo Dolls drummer Mike Malinin (60), classical pianist Evgenii Kissin (54), Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland (53), Bluetones bassist Scott Morriss (52), and Marina Diamandis (40).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Giuseppe Verdi, born on this day in 1813... for R&B singer Ivory Joe Hunter, born in 1914... for Count Basie sideman Harry 'Sweets' Edison, born in 1916... for Thelonious Monk, born in 1917... for Edith Piaf, who died on this date in 1963... for song & dance man Eddie Cantor, who died in 1964... for Boyzone vocalist Stephen Gately, who passed away today in 2009 at the age of 33 from undetermined causes... and for operatic soprano Joan Sutherland, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on October 10: The Gibson Mandolin & Guitar Company is incorporated (1902)... Porgy and Bess opens on Broadway at the Alvin Theater (1935)... The real Eleanor Rigby dies in her sleep of undetermined causes at the age of 44. Paul McCartney's first draft of the song was called 'Miss Daisy Hawkins', but he changed it after spotting Ms. Rigby's name on a tombstone during a nostalgic walk around the cemetery of St. Peter's Parish Church in Liverpool, where he and John Lennon first met in 1957 (1939)... Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' enters the Billboard Hot 100 ~ it will stay on the charts for 19 weeks, and become the King's first national no.1 for 5 (1956)... The Beatles appear at De Monfort Hall, Leicester, on their current UK tour. Ringo, who has just taken delivery of a new Vagel Vega sportscar, drives himself to the gig from Liverpool, running late. By his account, the drummer will reach speeds of up to 140 MPH during the trip (1964)... The Monkees release their eponymous debut LP... The Beach Boys release the 'Good Vibrations' single (1966)... King Crimson release their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)...  The Carpenters enter the US top 10 with 'We've Only Just Begun', which Richard Carpenter originally wrote as a jingle for a local savings bank (1970)... Jesus Christ Superstar premieres on Broadway (1971)... Steve  Tyler and Joe Perry suffer minor injuries after a cherry bomb is tossed on stage during an Aerosmith gig in Philadelphia. The band will perform behind a protective fence for the remainder of the tour (1978)... The Rose, starring Bette Midler [in her screen debut] as a character transparently based on Janis Joplin, has its world premier in Los Angeles (1979)... John Bonham is laid to rest in the cemetery of St. Michael's Church  in his hometown of Rushock, Worcs. (1980)... R.E.M. have the no. 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Automatic for the People' (1992)... Britney Spears makes her live debut in the UK when she plays the first of three sold out dates at Wembley Stadium (2000)... The latest issue of Blender contains the results of a poll the magazine conducted to determine the worst rock lyricist of all time. Rounding out the top of the list are: 1) Sting [for such transgressions as name-checking Vladimir Nabokov, and quoting bumperstickers, Chaucer, St. Augustine and Shakespeare] 2) Rush drummer Neil Peart 3) Creed frontman Scott Stapleton and 4) Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher ['He seems incapable of following a metaphor through a single line, let alone a whole verse', according to the publication] (2007)... Paul McCartney marries New Yorker Nancy Shevell in a civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, London (2011).

October 9th

 

Musical birthdays today include Nona Hendryx (81), Indian sarod master Amjad Ali Khan (80) Jackson Browne (77), ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton (73), Pogues accordionist James Fearnley (71), Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen (67), P.J. Harvey (56), Sean Lennon (50), and ex-Westlife vocalist Nicky Byrne (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Camille Saint-Saëns, born on this date in 1835... for John Lennon, who would have been 85 today... for John Entwistle, who would have been 81... for France Gall, who would have been 78... for Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel, who died on this date in 1978... for Modern Jazz Quartet vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who passed away in 1999... and for Marilyn Manson collaborator Brad 'Gidget Gein' Stewart, who left us today in 2009.

Also on October 9: 12-year-old Clara Wieck [the future Mrs. Robert Schumann] plays for Goethe, who places a pillow on the piano stool so that she can sit higher (1831)... Thelonious Monk and sidemen enter the studio to record what will become the album Brilliant Corners. It is the pianist's first album for Riverside to contain his own compositions, the difficulty of which will lead to tempestuous and problem-plagued sessions (1956)... Eddie Cochran records 'C'mon Everybody' (1958)... Ray Charles hits № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Hit the Road, Jack' (1961)... The № 1 single in the US today is the Beatles' 'Yesterday' (1965)... For the first time in the history of the show, the producers of the BBC's Top of the Pops refuse to air the № 1 song in Britain, as 'Je t'aime, moi non plus' by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin is rejected. The song has been so widely castigated as obscene that Fontana, the label on which the single was originally released, have already disavowed it... The Carpenters release their debut album Ticket to Ride (1969)... The Who play a show at the University of Surrey in Guildford, with John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful joining in on 'Magic Bus' on harmonica. It was the only time that an outside musician has jammed with the band in front of an audience. Backstage after the show, there is a party for John Entwistle's 27th birthday (1971)... The Sex Pistols sign with EMI Records for £40,000. The label will drop them three months later and delete the single 'Anarchy in the UK' from its catalogue after a series of controversies and public incidents... One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band have the top single in the US today with 'A Fifth of Beethoven' (1976)... Prince opens for the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on the Tattoo You tour. Wearing only leopard-print bikini briefs and a trench coat, the diminutive guitarist runs off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing him and pelting him with beer cans and other objects (1981)... Marking what would have been her late husband's 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opens the 3 1/2 acre garden at the Strawberry Field site in New York's Central Park. The area is planted with trees, shrubs and flowers from around the world, and is endowed with a $1 million donation from Yoko (1985)... The Phantom of the Opera has its world premiere at her majesty's Theatre in London's West End (1986)... Nirvana's In Utero, the group's third and final studio album, enters the US charts at № 1. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to call the collection I Hate Myself and I Want to Die (1993)... Barry White shares lessons from several decades of lovemaking with the students of Oxford University when he addresses their debating union (2000)... Michael Stipe, Bono and Moby make surprise appearances at the second of two anti-violence benefit concerts in NYC organized by The Beastie Boys (2001)... For the first time in the history of the Billboard singles chart, all of the top 10 places are occupied by black artists; at № 1 are Beyoncé and Sean Paul with 'Baby Boy' (2003)... Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, is reported as having been furious upon learning that a Liverpool branch of McDonald's is displaying pictures of him in its windows, supposedly to attract customers. Sir Paul is quoted as saying "What sort of morons do McDonald's suppose Beatles fans are?" (2008).

October 8th

 Musical birthdays today include Impressions vocalist Fred Cash (85), country singer Susan Raye (81), ex-Average White Band guitarist & songwriter Hamish Stuart (76), Kool & the Gang frontman Robert 'Kool' Bell (75), former Lounge Lizards trumpeter Steven Bernstein (64), gospel singer CeCe Winans (61), Chris 'C.J. Ramone' Ward (60), Prodigy keyboardist Leroy Thornhill (57), Evanescence guitarist Terry Balsamo (53), Modest Mouse lead guitarist Jim Fairchild (52), Shiny Toy Guns guitarist & singer Gregori Chad Petree (46), and Bruno Mars (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for proto-country and bluegrass guitarist Dick Burnett, born on this date in 1883... for Johnny Ramone, who would have been 77 today... for bluesman Lonnie Pitchford, who would have been 70.. and for Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson, who left us today in 1990 at the age of 43 after a long illness. 

Also on October 8: Gustav Mahler is named director of the Vienna Opera by Emperor Karl Joseph I (1897)... Ringo Starr passes his driving test, Afterwards, he joins his fellow Beatles at Abbey Road to record their new single 'She's a Woman' in seven takes plus five overdubs (1964)... Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapses backstage at a gig at Sussex University after playing  25-minute solo. He later recovers at a local hospital (1966)... Led Zeppelin II enjoys its 100th week in the UK album charts (1971)... In a meeting with journalists at the Swan Song label offices, Jimmy Page derides rumours that Zeppelin are going to split. He also ridicules reports that he has been dabbling in black magic (1977)... Talking Heads release Remain in Light (1980)... Cats opens on Broadway (1982)... The three members of ZZ Top make advance bookings for seats on the first commercial flight to the Moon. To date, they are still waiting for confirmation... Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The documentary about his life and career Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll! also premieres (1987)... U2 score their first UK № 1  single with 'Desire' from the Rattle & Hum soundtrack... Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon finally leaves the Top 200 Billboard album chart after a record-setting 741 weeks (1988)... An environmental benefit concert in Jacksonville, OR featuring Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne turns ugly when protesters supporting the local logging industry and the  harvesting of old growth redwoods begin revving chainsaws and throwing firecrackers. No one is seriously injured (1996)... Radiohead's Kid A becomes the group's first album to debut at № 1 in the US (2000)... Britney Spears announces that she has decided not to renew her contract with manager Larry Rudolph, who has been guiding her career since she was 13... After nearly 60 years of recordings, Ray Charles posthumously earns his first platinum record, for the single 'Genius Loves Company' (2004)... Bill Berry reunites with his former R.E.M. bandmates to play an 8-song set at the wedding reception for one of the group's roadies at Kingpins Bowl & Brew in Atlanta, GA (2005)... A Weezer anti-fan launches an online campaign to stop the band from releasing another album. James Burns of Seattle says that he is hoping to raise $10 million as an inducement to the band to cease and desist from making music. Burns claims that he was inspired by friends who are fans of the 'Buddy Holly' rockers but who have been disappointed by the group's recent offerings, which he says have not come close to living up to the standard set by their 1996 hit album Pinkerton (2010).

October 7th

 

Musical birthdays today include former 10cc drummer Kevin Godley (80), original Kansas bassist Dave Hope (76), John Cougar Mellencamp (74), Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres (72), cellist Yo-Yo Ma (70), Simon Cowell (66), Toni Braxton (58), ex-Auteurs frontman Luke Haines (58), Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke (57), OK Go frontman Damian Kulash (50), Deerhunter multi-instrumentalist Lockett Punkt (43), and Chvrches lead singer Lauren Mayberry (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz trumpeter & singer Vaughn Monroe, born on this date in 1911... for Dino Valenti [founding member of the Quicksilver Messenger Service and writer of the '60s classic 'Get Together'), who would have been 87 today... for Judee Sill, who would have been 81... for Sir Hubert Parry [composer of the hymn 'Jerusalem'] who died on this date in 1918... for Mario Lanza, who passed away today in 1959... and for early British rocker Johnny Kidd (UK no. 1 in 1960 with 'Shakin' All over'] killed in a car crash on his way to a gig today in 1966.

Also on October 7: Utopia, Limited or the Flowers of Progress, Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate operetta, premieres at London's Savoy Theatre (1893)... The Rolling Stones record the Lennon & McCartney song 'I Wanna Be Your Man' at De Lane Lea studios in London... The Beach Boys release their fourth album, Little Deuce Coupe (1963)... Bob Dylan meets a group of itinerant Indian minstrels called the Benghal Bauls, who are staying in a converted barn on the estate of his manager Albert Grossman in Woodstock, NY. A black & white photo of Dylan with troupe members Purna and Lakhsman Das will grace the cover of the album John Wesley Harding (1967)... After years of travails with the US government, John Lennon is awarded his green card (1975)... Dire Straits release their eponymous debut album (1978)... Jimmy Page is sentenced to 1 year's probation after being found guilty by a London court of cocaine possession (1982)... Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl finally hits № 1 on the Billboard album chart, after spending 164 weeks in the Top 200, setting a record for longest ascension to the top spot (1989)... The № 1 album in America today in Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, which still holds the US record for biggest selling record by a female solo artist... David Bowie releases Outside, his first album with Brian Eno producing since their collaborations in Berlin in the late '70s (1995)... Michael Jackson performs before an audience of 60,000 at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis, his first ever show in Africa (1996)... Continuing a verbal sparring match which began earlier in the month, Elton John replies to Keith Richards' charge that the pianist's only claim to fame is "writing ditties for dead blondes" by saying "Keith, he's so pathetic, poor thing. He's like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young" (1997)... Mick Jagger donates £100,000 to his boyhood grammar school in Dartford, Kent, to help pay to hire a director of musical studies and to buy instruments (2002)... Bruce Springsteen's latest release Magic is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic (2007).

October 6th

 

Musical birthdays today include composer and guitarist Glenn Branca (77), Commodores lead guitarist Thomas McClary (76), REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin (74), Los Lobos guitarist & singer David Hidalgo (71), ex-Skids lead singer Richard Jobson (65), guitarist Matthew Sweet (61), Anathema guitarist Danny Cavanagh (53), and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist William Butler (43).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for soprano Jenny 'The Swedish Nightingale' Lind, born on this day in 1820... for band leader Nelson Riddle, who died today in 1985... and for Ginger Baker, who left us today in 2019. 

Also on October 6: Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, premieres in Florence. This is often considered the beginning of the Baroque period in classical music (1600)... Beethoven files his will, the Heiligenstadt Testament, to be opened after his death (1802)... Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony № 1 has its first performance in Leeds (1910)... The Jazz Singer, the first film with a musical soundtrack, premieres in NYC (1927)... The Beatles record 'Eight Days a Week' in the afternoon, then spend the evening partying with the Ronettes and Mick Jagger at London's Ad Lib Club (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience record a session for the BBC Radio show 'Top Gear'. Stevie Wonder, also appearing on the program, jams with the group afterwards... Pink Floyd play at the Miss Teenage Brighton beauty pageant, providing the musical interlude during the contest... The SFPD raid the Matrix Club in Haight-Ashbury while Big Brother & the Holding Company are on stage (1967)... George Harrison gets his first A side single, as the Beatles release 'Something' (1969)... The Buzzcocks open for Joy Division at the Odeon Theatre in Edinburgh ~ admission is £2.50... Bob Dylan has his 12th US top 40 hit, as 'Gotta Serve Somebody' enters the chart. Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin's In through the Out Door is the № 1 album (1979)... Michael Jackson gives away the bride at Elizabeth Taylor's seventh wedding, to construction worker Larry Fortensky. The nuptials are held at the singer's Never Neverland Ranch (1991)... 'Grind', the first single from Alice in Chains' eponymous debut album, is released to radio via satellite uplink to stem the proliferation of taped copies of the song (1995)... The Jack Black comedy School of Rock goes on general release in US cinemas (2003)... Bruce Springsteen is served with notice that he is being sued for $850,000 by a man who claims he backed out of a contract to buy a horse. Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa are both named in legal documents filed in Florida by Todd Minikus. He claims that the singer and his wife reneged on a $650,000 deal to buy a horse of his named Pavarotti (2007)... A set of John Lennon's fingerprints are seized by the FBI from a NYC memorabilia dealer who intended to auction them off for a $100,000 minimum bid. The prints were taken at a NYPD precinct in 1976 when the former Beatle applied for permanent US residence. The Bureau states that they believe the card is still US government property, and are investigating how it ended up in private hands (2009)... Rolling Stone Magazine publishes the results of its poll of readers and critics to determine the worst song of the 1980s. Rounding out the top 5 are: 1) 'We Built this City' ~ Starship. 2) 'The Final Countdown' ~ Europe. 3) 'Lady in Red' ~ Chris de Burgh. 4) 'Wake Me up (before You Go Go)' ~ Wham! 5) 'The Safety Dance' ~ Men without Hats (2011).

October 5th

 Musical birthdays today include bluesman Roy Book Binder (82), Steve Miller (82), Henry Cow saxophonist Geoff Leigh (80), former AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson (78), original Funkadelic rhythm guitarist Lucius 'Tawl' Ross (77), Bob Geldof (74), Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson (68), Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy (51), Maroon 5 lead guitarist James Valentine (47), Good Charlotte bassist Paul Thomas (45), and Girls Aloud vocalist Nicola Roberts (40).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Glynis Johns, born on this day in 1923... for R&B singer Billy Scott, and for Temptations vocalist Richard Street, both of whom would have been 83 today... for Sweet lead singer Brian Connolly, who would have been 80... for opera composer Jacques Offenbach, who died on this date in 1880... for Temptations founding member Eddie Kendricks, who passed away in 1992... for Bert Jansch, who died in 2011... and for Eddie van Halen, who left us five years ago today.

Also on October 5: The New York Philharmonic begins its series of Sunday afternoon radio broadcasts from Carnegie Hall (1930)... A year after launching the cool jazz movement with Birth of the Cool, Miles Davis turns away from the sound, going into Apex Studios in NYC with Sonny Rollins to record the post-bop album Dig (1951)... Cliff Richard and the Shadows play their first live show, at the Victoria Hall in Hanley, Staffs. (1958)... The Beatles release their first single in the UK, 'Love Me Do' (1962)... Johnny Cash is arrested in El Paso, TX as he attempts to return to the United States from Mexico with a guitar case full of pills. He receives  a suspended sentence and is fined $1,000 (1965)... Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell have their first rehearsal together and form the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966)... The Who, Small Faces, Joe Cocker and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown launch a package tour of the UK in London (1968)... Violinist Papa John Creach officially joins Jefferson Airplane... Atlantic Records release Led Zeppelin III (1970)... The № 1 song in the UK today is Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells [Theme from the Exorcist]'. Across the Atlantic, Olivia Newton-John is atop the American charts with 'I Honestly Love You'... Randy Newman plays  show at Atlanta Symphony Hall backed by an 87-piece orchestra conducted by his uncle Emil (1974)... Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original Wailers, perform together for the last time, at a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. Also joining the trio on stage is Stevie Wonder... Willie Nelson has his first № 1 hit on the Billboard Country chart with 'Blue Eyes Crying the Rain' (1975)... Defying an international artists' boycott, Queen open a 10-day residency at Sun City, South Africa (1984)... Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr begins rehearsals with the Pretenders as they prepare to open for U2 on the N. American leg of the Joshua Tree tour (1987)... Roger Daltrey announces that the Who are reforming, and that their first show, which will also be broadcast live on the Internet, will be in Las Vegas on the 29th of this month (1999)... Madonna visits an orphanage in Malawi. Her publicist denies rumours that the star is planning to adopt a local child (2006).

October 4th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Leroy van Dyke (96), jazz bassist Steve Swallow (85), Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon (83), singer-songwriter Bridget St John (79), French chansonnier Julien Clerc (78), Blood, Sweat & Tears bassist Jim Fielder (78), Triumph drummer Gil Moore (74), harpist Andreas Vollenweider (72), Def Jam record label founder Russell Simmons (68), Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe (66), and Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry (48). 

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).

October 3rd

 Musical birthdays today include composer Steve Reich (89), Chubby Checker (84), Lindsey Buckingham (76), bluesman Keb' Mo' (74), Tommy Lee (63), Gwen Stefani (56), Backstreet Boys vocalist Kevin Richardson (54), Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shears (47), Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (46), and Ashlee Simpson (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Eddie Cochran, who would have been 87 today... for Alan O'Day [of 'Undercover Angel' fame], who would have been 85... for Stevie Ray Vaughn, who would have been 71... for former Allman Brothers sideman Allen Woody, who would have been 69... for Woody Guthrie, who lost his long battle with Huntington's Disease today in 1967... for blues singer Victoria Spivey, who died on this date in 1976... for Benjamin Orr, lead singer of the Cars, who passed away in 2000... and for bluesman Skip James, who left us in 2002. 

Also on October 3: Beethoven finishes his final string quartet, op. 135 in F Major (1826)... Gilbert and Sullivan's Yeoman of the Guard premieres at London's Savoy Theatre (1888)... The New York City Opera is founded (1943)... A 10-year-old Elvis Presley makes his first recorded public appearance as a singer, performing 'Old Shep' at the talent contest of the Mississippi-Alabama Dairy Show. The future King comes in second (1945)... In Los Angeles, Frank Sinatra finishes recording his first album with the Count Basie Orchestra, An Historical Musical First (1962)... Working at London's Trident Studios, the Beatles lay down the basic tracks for George's 'Savoy Truffle'. The song was inspired by Eric Clapton's love of sweets, especially Mackintosh's Good News chocolates (1968)... Janis Joplin goes into a recording studio for the last time to listen to a playback of the instrumental track for 'Buried Alive in the Blues', which will be included on Pearl, the album on which she is currently working (1970)... George Harrison releases his final album on the Apple label, Extra Texture (Read All about It) (1975)... Aerosmith pay the bail for thirty of their fans who were busted for smoking marijuana at their concert in Fort Wayne, IN (1978)... Bruce Springsteen's tour in support of the album The River gets off to an inauspicious start in Ann Arbor, MI when the Boss forgets the words to 'Born to Run'. His memory is jogged when the audience sing the lyrics to him en masse (1980)... The documentary John Lennon: Imagine, compiled from more than 240 hours of unreleased footage, has its world premiere in Los Angeles (1988)... Texas governor Anne Richards proclaims this day 'Stevie Ray Vaughn Day', in honour of the Lone Star State native's 37th birthday (1991)... Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II during her appearance on Saturday Night Live as a protest over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The incident, which stuns the studio audience to silence and prompts the NBC network to go immediately to commercial, results in a $2.5 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission (1992)... Tom Jones is at № 1 on the UK album chart with Reload, making him at 59 the oldest artist to top the British chart with new material (1999)... Mark David Chapman is denied parole after having served 20 years of his life sentence for murdering John Lennon (2001)... Scientific researchers declare 'We Are the Champions' by Queen the catchiest song ever written. Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley of the University of London and her staff conducted research into what makes a song memorable, and compiled a list of the ten 'catchiest' songs of all time. They obtained the results by observing thousands of volunteers singing a list of selected tracks. They discovered that popular sing-along tunes contained four elements: long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch modulations in a  song's 'hook', male vocalists, and upper range male voices making a noticeable effort. Also on the list are 'YMCA' by the Village People, Sum 41's 'Fat Lip', and Europe's 'The Final Countdown' (2011).

October 2nd

Musical birthdays today include Don McLean (80), Cajun musician Jo-El Sonnier (79), Richard Hell [né Richard Meyers] (76), Mike Rutherford (75), Sting (74), Human League frontman Philip Oakey (70), ex-Dream Academy multi-instrumentalist Kate St John (68), Glass Tiger lead guitarist Al Connelly (65), ex-Sugarcubes drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson (61), Gillian Welch (58), Damon 'Badly Drawn Boy' Gough (56), Slipknot guitarist Jim Root (53), Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm (52), and The Sounds lead singer Maja Ivarsson (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist Howard Roberts, born on this day in 1929... for rapper Proof, who would have been 52... and for cowboy singer and entertainer Gene Autry, who left us today in 1998. 

Also on October 2: The NY Academy of Music opens at 14th St. & Irving Place in Manhattan with a performance of Bellini's Norma. It will be the centre of opera in the city until the creation of the Met (1854)... Leonard Bernstein arrives in Tel Aviv to begin conducting the newly renamed Israel Philharmonic in a month-long concert series (1948)... 'Stay' by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs is the № 1 song in America today. At 1:37, it remains the shortest US chart-topper ever (1959)... 15 Elvis Presley fans are arrested in Leipzig, East Germany, after marching through the city streets shouting "Long live Elvis!" along with derogatory remarks about German music (1959)... Phil Spector and his partner Lester Sill release their first single on their new label Philles, The Crystals' 'Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby' (1961)... The Kinks' eponymous debut albumn is released (1964)... The McCoys have the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Hang on Sloopy' (1965)... All six members of the Grateful Dead are arrested for possession of marijuana after an SFPD raid on their house at 710 Ashbury St. (1967)... Pink Floyd release their fifth album, Atom Heart Mother (1970)... Following several attempts at grave robbery, the remains of Elvis and his mother Gladys are disinterred from the Memphis cemetery and moved to Graceland (1977)... Peter Gabriel performs with Genesis for the first time since leaving the band in 1975. Phil Collins and company join their former lead singer on stage in a concert to benefit WOMAD [World of Music, Art and Dance], the festival organizing body that is Gabriel's current project (1982)... Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA world tour ends with the last of 4 sold out shows at L.A.'s Memorial Coliseum (1985)... The Everly Brothers receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1986)... The Cranberries release their second album No Need to Argue (1994)... Journey announce that they have decided to re-form (1995)...  In Galway, Ireland, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones plays his first solo concert (1999)... Kevin Spacey is the MC for 'Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music' at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Among those performing are Alanis Morissette, Moby, Stone Temple Pilots and the Dave Matthews Band. The evening closes with an invitation to the audience to sing along on 'Give Peace a Chance' (2002)... Robbie Williams signs with EMI for £80 million, the most lucrative record deal in British history to date. When asked what he's going to do with all the money, the singer replies "Count it" (2002)... Billy Joel marries 23-year-old Kate Lee at his Centre Island, New York mansion. It is the singer's third trip to the altar (2004).

October 1st

 

Musical birthdays today include Julie Andrews (90), Cajun accordion master Marc Savoy (85), Herb Fame [of Peaches & Herb] (83), ex-Sly & the Family Stone saxophonist Jerry Martini (82), former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner (78), April Wine guitarist Brian Greenway (74), OMD keyboardist Martin Cooper (67), Youssou N'Dour (66), Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin (58), Suede guitarist Richard Oakes (49), and rapper Dizzee Rascal [né Dylan Mills] (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Vladimir Horowitz, born on this date in 1903... for pioneering doo-wop singer Grady Chapman and for country singer Bonnie Owens, both of whom were born in 1929... for bluesman Albert Collins, born in 1932... for Donny Hathaway, who would have been 80 today... for Brownsville Station frontman Cub Koda, who would have been 77... for Booker T & the M.G.s drummer Al Jackson, Jr., who was murdered in a home robbery today in 1975 at the age of 40... and for Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on October 1: John Phillip Sousa is appointed conductor of the US Marine Band (1880)... The Curtis Institute of Music opens in Philadelphia with a $12 million endowment from Mary-Louise Curtis Bok, heiress to the Saturday Evening Post publishing fortune (1924)... Following an overwhelmingly negative reaction from screening audiences to Elvis Presley's death at the end of the film Love Me Tender, the King is called back to re-shoot the scene. In the new ending, the hero lives (1956)... Shostakovich's Symphony № 12 in D Minor, subtitled The Year of 1917, premieres in Leningrad (1961)... Brian Epstein signs a 5-year management contract with the Beatles (1962)... Bob Dylan plays his first electric show at Carnegie Hall, backed by Levon & the Hawks... At Camelot Sound Studios in Lynwood, WA, John Coltrane and sidemen record the album Om, which will be released posthumously. Controversy persists to this day as to whether or not Coltrane and fellow saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders were under the influence of LSD at the time (1965)... Jimi Hendrix plays live in the UK for the first time when he is invited onstage by Cream to jam with them at a gig at London Polytechnic (1966)... Pink Floyd arrive at JFK airport to begin their first US tour (1967)... Jimi Hendrix is laid to rest in the Greenwood Cemetery, over the road from the Dunlop Baptist Church in Seattle. Among the graveside mourners are Miles Davis, Eric Burdon and Johnny Winter (1970)... The Pretenders are forced to cancel the remaining shows on their current US tour after drummer Martin Chambers punches out a windowpane, severing tendons and nicking an artery in the process (1981)... Sony unveils the CDP-101, the world's first commercially released Compact Disc Player. The system retails for 168,000 yen, or c. $1,730 in today's dollars (1982)... Robert Plant wraps up his first solo North American tour at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, BC (1983)... British tabloid The Daily Mirror publishes a cover photo of Michael Jackson in a scoutmaster's uniform along with 5 young scouts. A spokesman for the Boy Scouts makes a statement the next day that the singer has no association with the organization (1994)... The surviving members of Nirvana release From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, a compilation of live recordings made between 1989 and 1994 (1996)... The № 1 album in America today is Madonna's latest release, Music (2000)... The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia officially unveils the street sign for the newly named AC/DC Way. The local council ordered two dozen of the signs in anticipation of future thefts... As part of the John Kerry campaign in swing states, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes kick off the Vote for Change tour in Philadelphia (2004)... The Spice Girls London reunion concert sells out in 38 seconds after fans are informed that tickets have gone on sale. More than one million people in the UK had pre-registered for notification. The show is scheduled for December 15 at the O2 Arena (2007).  

 

September 30th

 

Musical birthdays today include soul singer Cissy Houston (92), 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn McCoo (82), Québecoise pop singer Diane Dufresne (81), 10,000 Maniacs founding member John Lombardo (73), Gov't Mule drummer Matt Abts (72), singer & multi-instrumentalist Patrice Rushen (71), country singer Marty Stuart (66), Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio (61), Goo Goo Dolls original lead singer Robby Takacs (61), ex-Sugababes vocalist Keisha Buchanan (41), and rapper T-Pain [né Faheem Rasheed Najm] (39).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Buddy Rich, born on this day in 1917... for English songwriter & pianist Donald Swann [of Flanders & Swann], born in 1923... for Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin, who would have been 85... for Frankie Lymon, who would have been 83... for Marc Bolan, who would have been 78... for Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Nick Curran, who would have been 48... for Mary Ford, who died on this date in 1977... for American composer Virgil Thomson, who passed away in 1989... and for songwriter [and sometime Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn collaborator] Jacques Levy, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on September 30: Mozart's final opera Die Zauberflöte[The Magic Flute] has its premiere in Vienna (1791)... Donovan makes his US television debut on ABC's Shindig! (1965)... The UK's first national pop radio station, BBC Radio 1, is launched to take over from the pirate radio stations, which had been shut down by the Home Office. The first record played by former pirate DJ Tony Blackburn is The Move's 'Flowers in the Rain' (1967)... David Crosby's girlfriend Christine Hinton is killed in a head-on collision just north of San Francisco (1969)... In Reading, Yes begin their first UK tour with Rick Wakeman at the keyboards (1971)... Foghat play a benefit concert at the Palladium to help the NY Public Library buy a collection of rare blues records for its archives (1977)... Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic (1983)... Steve Earle is arrested in Nashville for failing to report for jury duty (1992)... Kate Pierson of the B-52's is charged with criminal mischief and trespassing after being arrested during an anti-fur demonstration outside Vogue Magazine's New York offices (1993)... Mariah Carey becomes the first female artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at № 1 with her latest single 'Fantasy' (1995)... Chris De Burgh's website is closed down after its guestbook is flooded with obscene messages. One of the posts consisted of two four-letter words repeated 3500 times (1999)... Dido releases Life for Rent, her follow-up to her multi-million selling debut album No Angel (2003)... George Strait breaks Conway Twitty's record by scoring his 41st № 1 hit on the Billboard Country chart with 'Give It Away' (2006).

September 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include bluegrass flatpicker Dan Crary (86), jazz-rock violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (83), television theme composer Mike Post [best remembered for 'The Rockford Files' and 'Law & Order'] (81), ex-Grand Funk Railroad frontman Mark Farner (77), Suzzy Roche (69), record label owner & impresario Alan McGee [manager of Oasis and The Jesus and Mary Chain, among others] (65), Primus lead singer & bassist Les Claypool (62), Suede lead singer Brett Anderson (58), jazz and metal guitarist Alex Skolnick (57), rapper AMG (55), and former Much the Same frontman Chris 'Gunner' McGrath (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Gene Autry, born on this date in 1907... for Czech conductor and violinist Václav Neumann, born in 1920... for Jerry Lee Lewis, who would have been 90... for Tommy Boyce [of the songwriting duo Boyce & Hart), who would have been 86 today... for session drummer and King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace, who would have been 79... and for songwriter Paul Jabara [best known for Donna Summer's 'Last Dance' and 'It's Raining Men' for the Weather Girls], who left us today in 1992.  

Also on September 29: Handel finished his Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, no. 1 (1739)... Gustav Holst's The Planets has its premiere at Queen's Hall, London. It was noted that during rehearsals, custodians would stop work and listen in awe to the work that would bring Holst lasting fame (1918)... Berry Gordy's new label Motown Records release their first single, 'Bad Girl' by The Miracles (1959)... Robert Shelton's glowing review of Bob Dylan's support slot at Gerde's Folk City is published in the New York Times. On the same day, Dylan has his first audition with legendary CBS Records scout John Hammond (1961)... At Abbey Road Studios, the Beatles do the final mix of 'I Am the Walrus', which includes the sound of a radio being tuned through numerous stations and coming to rest on a BBC production of King Lear. John Lennon composed the song by combining three separate fragments that he had been working on, and reportedly made the words as nonsensical as possible when he learnt that a former English teacher of his was giving students Beatles lyrics to analyse... The Rolling Stones officially part ways with their manager Andrew Loog Oldham (1967)... Capitol Records releases Merle Haggard's 'Okie from Muskogee' (1969)... Led Zeppelin close their triumphant first Japanese tour with a show at Osaka's Festival Hall (1971)... Celebrating his birthday somewhat excessively, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname of 'the Killer' when he accidentally shoots his bass player Norman Owens in the chest. The piano-pounder was using an office door for target practice. Owens survives, but sues his boss (1976)... Prince has his second US № 1 with 'Let's Go Crazy' (1984)... The Smiths release Strangeways, Here We Come, their final studio album (1987)... While travelling cross country on his motorbike from Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen calls in at Matt's Saloon in Prescott, AZ and jams with the house band. He also writes a cheque for $10,000 to pay the medical expenses of one of the barmaids who has just returned to work after a long stay in hospital (1989)... Keith Moon's five-piece drum kit, custom made for him in 1968, sells for £125,000 at auction in London to an American collector (1992)... Alanis Morissette plays the final show of her first US tour in Houston, TX (1996)... Ozzy Osbourne announces that he is writing a Broadway musical based on the life of Rasputin (2003).

September 28th

 

Musical birthdays today include guitarist Emmett Chapman [inventor of the Chapman Stick] (89), original Steppenwolf bassist Nick St. Nicolas (82), pop singer Helen Shapiro (79), guitarist George Lynch (71), Jennifer Rush (65), Moon Zappa (58), singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur (54), A.J. Croce (54), Pussycat Dolls vocalist Melody Thornton (41), Hilary Duff (38), and classical violinist Chloë Hanslip (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for variety show host Ed Sullivan, born on this date in 1901... for Fugs co-founder Naphtali 'Tuli' Kupferberg, born in 1923... for bluesman Koko Taylor, born in 1929... for Johnny Mathis, born in 1934... for Ben E. King, who would have been 87... for Temptations vocalist Elbridge Bryant, who would have been 86... for harmonica virtuoso Phillip 'Norton Buffalo' Jackson, who would have been 73... for jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland, who would have been 70... for Miles Davis, who left us today in 1991... and for Lucy Vodden, the childhood friend of Julian Lennon who was the subject of his drawing that inspired one of his father to write 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', and who lost a long battle with lupus today in 2009 at the age of 46. 

Also on September 28: The British national anthem God Save the King is performed for the first time at the Drury Lane Theatre in London (1745)... Placido Domingo makes his American debut at the Met in NYC, performing in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur... The Beatles start a 9-week run at № 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Hey Jude' (1968)... David Bowie sells out his first performance in NYC at Carnegie Hall (1972)... Bad Company's eponymous debut is the № 1 album in the US (1974)... A&M Records sue George Harrison for $6 million for being two months late in delivering a new album... Stevie Wonder releases Songs in the Key of Life (1976)... U2 play the first of two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden on the Joshua Tree tour... Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson are guests on the game show 'The $10,000 Pyramid' (1987)... The 103rd convention of the Audio Engineering Society [AES], feturing the official US debut of the DVD audio format, opens in NYC (1997)... Tina Turner's hometown, made famous in her song 'Nutbush City Limits', names a section of Tennessee State Highway 19 the Tina Turner Highway. Turner was born in Nutbush, a small town some 50 miles northeast of Memphis, and lived there until she was 17 (2002)... In an editorial published in the Los Angeles Times, Yusuf Islam blasts the U.S. government's policy of screening airline passenger manifests for potential terrorists as 'indiscriminate and unjust'. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens was barred from entering the country last week because his name appeared on a Homeland Security watch list (2004)... The first John Lennon Northern Lights Festival is held in Durness, Scotland, one of the most northwesterly and remote villages in mainland Britain. Lennon spent his childhood holidays between the ages of 9 in 13 in the village, and also returned there in 1969 with Yoko and Julian (2007).

September 27th

 Musical birthdays today include Austrian balladeer Freddy Quinn (94), Stax session player Don Nix (84), Randy Bachman (82), classical guitarist David Starobin (74), session bassist Robbie Shakespeare (72), Shaun Cassidy (67), Third Eye Blind lead singer Stephan Jenkins (61), Wild Flag guitarist & singer Carrie Brownstein (51), rapper Lil Wayne [né Dwayne Carter, Jr.] (43), Avril Lavigne (41), and Of Mice & Men lead singer Austin Carlile (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist Bud Powell, born on this day in 1924... for bop trumpeter Red Rodney, born in 1929... for Soul Train host and producer Don Cornelius, who would have been 89... for Meat Loaf [né Marvin Lee Aday], who would have been 78... for Men at Work multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham, who would have been 72... for Wings guitarist Jimmy McCullough, who died of a drug overdose on this date in 1979 at the age of 26... for Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in an accident involving the band's tour bus in 1986... and for Johnny Mathis, who left us today in 2011. 

Also on September 27: Dvořák arrives in NYC to take up the position of director of the National Conservatory (1892)... The Beach Boys make their debut appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, performing 'I Get around' and 'Wendy'... Bob Dylan is among the guests at a party at Miles Davis' home in Manhattan given for Robert Kennedy, candidate for the US Senate from NY (1964)... The Beatles complete work on 'Fool on the Hill' and begin recording 'I Am the Walrus' (1967)... Pink Floyd appear at Queen's Hall on the Isle of Dunoon in Scotland. All regularly scheduled ferry services to the island having been cancelled because of bad weather, the group hire a small boat on their own and risk the rough seas to make the crossing. They eventually appear in front of 400 fans (1968)... Creedence Clearwater Revival are among the guests on Johnny Cash's ABC-TV weekly variety show (1969)... Carlos Santana announces that he has become a disciple of Sri Chinmoy and that he has legally added the middle name 'Devadip' [meaning 'the Light of the Lamp Supreme'] to his own (1973)... Blondie release the album Eat to the Beat, while Regatta de Blanc by The Police also appears in shops (1979)...  The № 1 album in Britain today is David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)... R.E.M. release Monster (1994)... Bob Dylan performs before Pope John Paul II at the World Eucharistic Conference in Bologna, Italy. The two chat briefly after the singer's concluding number, 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' (1997)... In NYC, Placido Domingo breaks Enrico Caruso's record when he headlines his 18th season opening performance at the Met (1999)... U2 play a show from the rooftop of Dublin's Clarence Hotel [which they own] to more than 4,000 listeners in the streets below (2000)... Phil Spector is formally charged with murder in the February 3, 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson (2004)... Metallica have the № 1 album in the US with Death Magnetic, the group's ninth studio release (2008)... At the age of 85, Tony Bennett becomes the oldest living person to top the US album chart, with Duets II. Featuring collaborations with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, among others, it is also the singer's first US № 1 (2011).

September 26th

 

Musical birthdays today include R&B singer and keyboardist Georgie Fame (82), Brian Ferry (80),cex-10cc drummer Stuart Tosh (74), ex-Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico (71), Carlene Carter (70), former Everything But the Girl lead singer Tracey Thorn (63), heavy metal guitarist Al Pitrelli (63), Boyz II Men vocalist Shawn Stockman (53), Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth (48), and British composer & clarinet virtuoso Mark Simpson (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for George Gershwin, born on this day in 1898... for country singer Marty Robbins, born in 1925... for cabaret singer Julie London, born in 1926... for country singer Lynn Anderson, who would have been 78 today... for Olivia Newton-John, who would have been 77... for punk rocker Darby Crash [né Jan Beahm], who would have been 66... for former Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon, who would have been 57... for Bessie Smith, who died in an road accident on this date in 1937 at the age of 43... and for Robert Palmer, who left us today in 2003. 

Also on September 26: Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor premieres at La Scala (1835)... West Side Story premieres on Broadway (1957)... The Greenbriar Boys begin  2 week residency at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village. Their opening act, Bob Dylan, receives a rave review from New York Times music critic Robert Shelton ~ the piece will be instrumental in bringing the virtually unknown Dylan to prominence on the Village scene (1961)... Buckingham palace announces that The Beatles are to receive the OBE (1965)... Pink Floyd play their first live show in the US, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco (1967)... The Beatles release Abbey Road (1969)... John Lennon begins the recording sessions for what will become the Plastic Ono Band album (1970)... Paul McCartney, wife Linda and Denny Laine return to London from Nigeria, where they recorded Band on the Run (1973)...  The Clash release their first American single, their version of 'I Fought the Law' ~ it fails to chart (1979)... The Go-Gos have the № 1 album in the US today with Beauty and the Beat (1981)... Michael Jackson's Bad tops the American album chart. It will eventually yield five Stateside № 1 singles, the first album ever to do so (1987)... Paul McCartney kicks off his first major tour in 10 years in Drammen, Norway. The world tour that follows will also include the former Beatle's first US dates since 1976 (1989)... The initial 300,000 unit shipment of Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind 1997' single to Japan sells out within 90 minutes of its delivery to shops throughout the country (1997)... MTV Russia launches at midnight with a broadcast of 'Prodigy Live in Moscow', which was taped the previous year (1998)... Green Day's American Idiot is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic (2004).

September 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include ex-Iron Butterfly bassist Jerry Penrod (79), Siouxie and the Banshees bassist Steven Severin (70), heavy metal guitarist Chris Impellitteri (61), Commitments singer Maria Doyle Kennedy (61), Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal (56), singer-songwriter Douglas September (52), Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler (52) and Dolour founder Shane Tutmarc (44).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Jean-Philippe Rameau, born on this day in 1683... for Dmitri Shostakovich, born in 1906... for classical pianist Glenn Gould, born in 1932... for folksinger Ian Tyson, born in 1933... for Cecil Womack, who would have been 78... for Johann Strauss the Elder [composer of 'The Radetzky March'], who died today in 1809... for Bela Bartok, who died in 1945... for John 'Bonzo' Bonham, who passed away in 1980... and for Andy Williams, who left us today in 2015. 

Also on September 25: Elvis releases his second single on Sun Records, 'Good Rockin' Tonight' (1954)... The Temptations go into the studio to record 'My Girl' (1964)... The Beatles cartoon series premieres on the ABC Network. The first adventure is entitled 'I Want to Hold Your Hands', and has the group in a diving bell exploring the ocean floor, where they meet a lovesick octopus (1965)... The Beatles begin recording Paul's new song 'Fool on the Hill' (1967)... Welsh singer Mary Hopkin is at № 1 on the UK charts with 'Those Were the Days'. Hopkin was one of the first acts signed by The Beatles to their new Apple label (1968)... John Lennon records 'Cold Turkey' with Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Ringo. Paul vetoed the tune as a potential Beatles track, and John's name alone will be listed as writer on the single, the first time that either of the duo takes sole credit for authorship of a song (1969)... The Partridge Family premieres on ABC (1970)... Larry Mullen Jr., a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive in Dublin, posts a note on the school's notice board announcing that he is searching for musicians to form a new band. Three of the six students who turn up for the audition ~ Paul Hewson, David Evans, and Adam Clayton ~ will become long-term members of the group, who initially call themselves Feedback. It will not be until March 1978 that they settle on the name U2 (1976)... Queen perform 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'Under Pressure' on Saturday night Live (1982)... Dave Grohl auditions for Nirvana and is offered the drummer's chair on the spot (1990)... Courtney Love is sentenced to a year in prison with two years suspended and ordered to take an anger management course as  result of her assault on Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna (1995)... Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman is the first major artist to release an album on his own personalised digital MP3 player. The matchbox-sized device with no moving parts is one of the smallest of its kind in the world, and has encryption software designed to prevent piracy (1999)... Ozzy Osbourne formally requests that Black Sabbath be removed from the nomination list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, calling the inclusion "meaningless" (2000)... The New York Post reports that Sly Stone is living in a van parked in the notorious South Central L.A. district of Crenshaw. "I like my small camper. I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving", the singer is quoted as saying (2011).