September 22nd

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz singer Marlena Shaw (84), Lighthouse co-founder Paul Hoffert (83), King Sunny Adé (80), David Coverdale (75), Right Said Fred frontmen Fred & Richard Fairbrass (73), Debby Boone (70), Nick Cave (69), Joan Jett (68), ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp (57), Rilo Kiley lead guitarist Blake Sennett (50), violinist Emilie Autumn (47), Cribs drummer Ross Jarman (42), and Canadian singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate [née Béatrice Martin] (37). 

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

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

September 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include rock guitarist Bobby Tench (82), Spinners lead singer G.C. Cameron (81), ex-Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder (79), former XTC lead guitarist Dave Gregory (74), former Motörhead drummer Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor (72), Swing Out Sister lead singer Corinne Drewery (67), Faith Hill (9), Barenaked Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart (59), De La Soul's David Jude Jolicoeur AKA Dave (58), Liam Gallagher (54), former Korn drummer David Silveria (54), Glasvegas frontman James Allan (47), and Horrors lead singer Faris Badwan (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Gustav Holst, born on this day in 1874... for classical pianist György Sándor, born in 1912... for jazz bassist Leroy 'Slam' Stewart, born in 1914... for jazz vocalist Ward Swingle and longtime Mingus sideman Shafi Hadi, both born in 1929... for Leonard Cohen, born today in 1934... free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, who would have been ..90. for  for Liverpool band leader Rory Storm, who would have been 85... for John Stafford Smith [composer of the tune 'To Anacreon in Heaven', which was later adopted for The Star Spangled Banner], who died on this date in 1836... for jazz bassist Jaco Pastorious, who was killed in an altercation outside a bar today in 1987 at the age of 36... and for ex-King Crimson singer and Bad Company founding member Boz Burrell, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on September 21: Bessie Smith records 'Jailhouse Blues', her first side for Columbia Records (1923)... The № 1 song in the US today is Bobby Vinton's 'Blue Velvet' (1963)... Madame Tussaud's Waxworks gives the Beatles their fifth image change of clothes and hair in 4 years... Stravinsky visits Moscow for the first time since 1920 (1968)... The BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test premieres. In addition to live acts, clips of Jimi Hendrix performing at Monterey and Bob Dylan singing 'Maggie's Farm' at Newport in 1965 are show on television for the first time. According to presenter Bob Harris, the program [which will run until 1987] derived its name from an old Tin Pan Alley expression ~ when a music publishing company received the first test pressing of a record, they would play it for the people they called 'the old greys', i.e. uniformed doormen. The songs they could remember and whistle after the first hearing were said to have 'passed the old grey whistle test' (1971)... Barry White has his only US № 1 with 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby' (1974)... Art Pepper goes into the studio to record the album to which he will give the same title as his recently published autobiography, Straight Life (1979)... During a North American tour, Bob Marley collapses while jogging in NYC's Central Park. Hospital tests will show that the singer is suffering from cancer in an advanced stage (1980)...  The National Enquirer runs a cover photo of Michael Jackson in an oxygen chamber for a story claiming that the singer has a 'bizarre plan' to live until he is 150 years old (1986)... Status Quo put themselves in the Guinness Book of World Record by playing 4 gigs in 4 cities [Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and London] within a 12-hour period (1991)... Nirvana release their final studio album In Utero (1993)... The audience at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry witness an historic moment when Hank Williams III makes his debut at the venue. The third-generation country singer leads off his set with 'Lovesick Blues', which grandpa Hank also launched his first Opry performance with it 1949 (1996)... Yusuf Islam [the former Cat Stevens] is denied entry to the United States after his name turns up on an anti-terrorism watch list. The one-time folk singer denies all alleged ties to Hamas (2004)... A contract revealing that the Beatles refused to perform for a segregated audience at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on August 31, 1965 sells for $23,033 at an auction in L.A. (2011). 

September 20th

Musical birthdays today include Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo (78), jazzman Steve Coleman (69), Thompson Twins co-founder Alannah Currie (69), former Housemartins and Beautiful South lead singer Dave Hemingway (65), Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd (58), The Feeling frontman Dan Gillespie Sells (47), and Québécoise pop singer Marilou (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist John Collins, born today in 1914... for drummer & bandleader Chico Hamilton, born in 1921... for classical pianist William Kappell, born in 1922... for jazz singer & guitarist Jackie Paris and pop singer Gogi Grant, both born in 1924... for original Coasters member Bobby Nunn, born in 1925... for former Styx drummer John Panozzo, who would have been 78... for Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who died on this date in 1908... for singer-songwriter Jim Croce, who was killed in an airplane crash today in 1973 at the age of 30... and for Leonard Skinner, the high school gym teacher who was the namesake of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on September 20: Dimitri Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra premieres in Leningrad (1938)... With the Beatles on hiatus, George Harrison travels to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time (1966)... Led Zeppelin, still under the name The New Yardbirds, enter Olympic Studios in London to begin recording their first album. It will take only 36 hours to complete, at a reported cost of £1,780. Almost all of the tracks are recorded live off the floor with no overdubs (1968)... During a group meeting at Abbey Road Studios, John Lennon tells the other Beatles "I want a divorce" and announces that he is leaving the band... 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies starts a 4-week run at № 1 in the US. It's 8-week stay at the top in Britain will set a longevity record in the spot for a one-hit wonder (1969)... Jim Morrison is acquitted on charges of lewd and lascivious behaviour, but is found guilty of exposing himself during a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, FL 18 months earlier. After his trial at the Dade County Courthouse in Miami, Judge Henry Goodman sentences the Doors vocalist to six months plus sixty days hard labour for public self-exposure and profanity, and a $500 fine. The sentence will still be on appeal when Morrison dies in Paris the following summer (1970)... Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested for possession of cannabis for the second time this month, this time at their farmhouse in Campbeltown, Scotland (1972)... The Roxy in Los Angeles opens its doors. The first headliners are Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1973)... David Bowie has his first US № 1 single with 'Fame', which he co-wrote with John Lennon (1975)... The four former Beatles turn down a £230 million offer from promoter Sid Bernstein to do a one-off reunion concert for charity (1976)... AC/DC release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)... Kate Bush becomes the first female solo artist to have a № 1 album in Britain, with Never for Ever. Meanwhile, Queen score their only chart-topping LP in the US with The Game (1980)... Bruce Springsteen releases his first solo album Nebraska (1982)... Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton share a stage for the first time since the demise of Blind Faith when they appear at the ARMS [Artists for Research into Multiple Sclerosis] benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall (1983)... The musical Miss Saigon has its world premiere in London's West End (1989)... The Dave Matthews Band release the album Under the Table and Dreaming, which features their first widely heard singles including 'What Would You Say' and 'Ants Marching' (1994)... In New Orleans, ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour (1995)... Pearl Jam's video for 'Jeremy' is cited as one of the reasons that school shooter Barry Loukaitis snapped and killed his algebra teacher and two fellow students in Washington state. The defendant's attorneys take the unprecedented step of playing the video in the courtroom (1997)... The former north London home of the original members of Pink Floyd is bought by a Singaporean developer named Sham Masterman. The businessman, who admits that he is not a fan of the group, purchases the Highgate house and the one next door for £1.2 million. Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason all lived in the house in the late '60s. The previous owner, lighting technician Mike Leonard, was landlord and friend to the musicians, and even inspired their group's first name, 'Leonard's Lodgers' (2012)

September 19th

 Musical birthdays today include Bill Medley (86), folk singer Sylvia Tyson (86), pop & Broadway musical singer Freda Payne (84), David Bromberg (81), ex-10cc lead singer Lol Creme (79), Daniel Lanois (75), free jazz guitarist Henry Kaiser (74), Nile Rogers (74), Rex Smith (71), former Runaways lead guitarist Lita Ford (68), Jarvis Cocker (63), Trisha Yearwood (62), heavy metal guitarist & drummer Jimmy Bower (58), rapper Amil (48), indie pop duo Tegan & Sara Quinn (46), and singer-songwriter Eamon (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Brian Epstein, born on this day in 1934... for former Chieftains fiddler Martin Fay, who would have been 90... for Cass Elliot, who would have been 85... for country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, who died today in 1973 at the age of 26... and for session drummer Earl Palmer [who played on the original studio recordings of 'Tutti Frutti', 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' and 'River Deep, Mountain High' among many others], who left us today in 2008. 

Also on September 19: Mahler conducts the premiere of his 7th Symphony at the National Theatre in Prague (1908)... 16-year-old English singer Cliff Richard joins his first band, The Dick Teague Skiffle Group (1957)... Chubby Checker hits № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'The Twist' (1960)... The Beatles begin recording 'Piggies' (1968)... Creedence Clearwater Revival score their only British № 1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' (1969)... The first Glastonbury Festival opens with T Rex and Jethro Tull among the headliners (1970)... Max Weinberg makes his live debut as the drummer in the E Street Band, at a gig at The Main Point in Philadelphia (1974)... The first of a five-night series of MUSE [Musicians United for Safe Energy] concerts takes place at Madison Square Garden ~ performing this evening are Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne and The Doobie Brothers (1979)...  The № 1 album in the US today is the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You ~ it will stay atop the charts for the next two months... Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in Central Park in NYC (1981)... Tipper Gore and other US political wives form the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center] as Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and other musicians testify at Congressional hearings on obscenity in popular music (1985)... Pearl Jam release their second album, Vs. It sets a record for most copies sold in its first week in shops that will stand for 5 years, despite the group's refusal to produce any videos for the album's singles (1993)... James Brown is sued by his own daughters for nearly one million dollars of song royalties they say they are owed. The suit brought by Deanna Brown Thomas and Dr. Yamma Brown Lummar, a Houston physician, alleges that Brown is withholding the money because of family grudges (2002)... Former Cream bassist Jack Bruce undergoes a successful liver transplant after being diagnosed with cancer (2003).

September 18th

 

Musical birthdays today include Frankie Avalon (86), former Kansas frontman Kerry Livgren (77), ex-Black Flag lead singer Keith Morris (71), Jayhawks frontman Mark Olson (65), Cutting Crew drummer Martin Beedle (65), Human League vocalist Joanne Catherall (64), musical trendsetter, ex-college DJ and all-around good egg Sharon 'Sherri' Wallach (58), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Darryl 'Cappadonna' Hill (57), operatic soprano Anna Netrebko (55), Mobb Deep rapper Albert 'Prodigy' Johnson (52), and pop and R&B singer Asher Monroe (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan, who would have been 81 today... for Dee Dee Ramone, who would have been 75... for jazz guitarist Emily Remler, who would have been 69... for bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, who died on this date in 1945... and for Jimi Hendrix, who left us today in 1970. 

Also on September 18: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden opens for the first time (1809)... Reggie Workman replaces Jimmy Garrison on bass for the second of the three sessions that it takes the John Coltrane Quartet to record the album Ballads (1962)... The Beatles continue work on the White Album, recording 'Birthday' today. Mal Evans, Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contribute backing vocals and handclaps (1968)... Black Sabbath release Paranoid, which will go on to become the group's only № 1 LP in their home country (1970)... The Who score their first and only UK № 1 album with Who's Next. The cover photo, taken at Easington Colliery in County Durham, shows the members of the band having apparently just relieved themselves on a large concrete piling. According to photographer Ethan Russell, only Pete Townshend was actually able to urinate on cue, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired affect... Pink Floyd become the first rock group to play the Montreux Classical Music Festival, performing the album Atom Heart Mother in its entirety (1971)... John Lennon sits in as all-night guest DJ on WNEW-FM in NYC (1974)... The № 1 single in the US today is 'Play That Funky Music' by one-hit wonders Wild Cherry (1976)... Gary Numan takes off on a round the world trip in a single-engine Cessna aircraft. The attempt ends after he is forced down by the Indian air force over Mumbai and arrested when he lands (1981)... Kiss appear for the first time in public without their famous make-up, in an interview with MTV to promote their latest album, Lick It Up (1983)... At Sotheby's of London, Julian Lennon is the top bidder for Paul McCartney's recording notes for 'Hey Jude', as well as for a copy of his father's handwritten lyrics to 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite'. The two purchases will cost the younger Lennon £21,000 and £57,500 respectively (1996)... Britney Spears marries Kevin Federline in a private ceremony in Los Angeles (2004)... 73-year-old Willie Nelson and four members of his band are charged with drug possession after cannabis and magic mushrooms are found by Louisiana state troopers after the singer's tour bus is pulled over outside Lafayette (2006)... The documentary 'It Might Get Loud' has its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (2008)... Leonard Cohen collapses on stage while singing his song 'Bird on a Wire' during a concert in Valencia, Spain and is taken to hospital. The 75-year-old tunesmith will be found to be suffering from food poisoning (2009).

September 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include Fifth Dimension founding member Lamonte McLemore (87), Five Man Electrical Band guitarist Les Emmerson (82), Tubes frontman Fee Waybill (76), Budgie drummer Steve Williams (73), Ned's Atomic Dustbin lead singer Jonn Penney (58), Prodigy singer Keith Flint (55), Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau (47), and ex-Panic! At the Disco bassist Jon Walker (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Hank Williams and for jazz pianist Ralph Sharon, both born on this day in 1923... for Jeanine Deckers, AKA the Singing Nun, born in 1933... for original Steely Dan drummer Jim Hodder, who would have been 79... for pioneering boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey, who died on this day in 1951... for former MC5 lead singer Rob Tyner, who passed away in 1991 at the age of 47... and for British cabaret singer Frankie Vaughn, who left us in 1999. 

Also on September 17: Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries is performed in America for the first time at a free concert by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in NYC's Central Park (1872)... The first 33 1/3 RPM vinyl LP, a recording of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, is demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in NYC by RCA Victor. The venture proves impractical owing to the high cost of the record players ($95, or approximately $1150 in today's dollars). The project is shelved, and will not be revived until 1948 (1931)... The Beatles set a new American record for payment for a single show when they receive $150,000 to play Kansas City's Municipal Stadium... Roland Kirk changes labels, going into the studio to record his first album for Limelight. Kirk plays only flute, and records 'Serenade to a Cuckoo', one of his signature tunes, which will later be covered by Jethro Tull (1964)... The Doors are banned from the Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison breaks his promise to the producers to drop 'Girl, we couldn't get much higher' from 'Light My Fire' by singing the offending line anyway. The group also perform their new single 'People Are Strange' (1967)... Newspaper on both sides of the Atlantic run headline stories of Paul McCartney's reported demise. The Beatles bassist was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on the 9th of November, 1966, and a double has been taking his place for public appearances ever since. McCartney tells journalists "Believe me, if I were dead, I'd be the last to know" and that he and Jane Asher were in Kenya at the time of the alleged mishap (1969)... The Sex Pistols play a show for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex (1976)... The video for Queen's single 'Bicycle Race' is filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, London. It features 65 female models pedalling around the track in the nude on bicycles that were hired for the day. The rental company will reportedly demand payment for all the saddles when they learn how the cycles were used (1978)... The № 1 single in America today is John Waite's 'Missing You' (1984)... Over 4 million copies of the Guns N' Roses albums use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II are simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in US pop history... An inebriated 19-year-old man is taken off the plane in Denver, CO after harassing members of Hootie and the Blowfish, who are travelling in the first class section (1991)... The Fleetwood Mac reunion tour in support of the band's new album The Dance gets underway in Hartford, CT (1997)... Bono meets with President George W. Bush to discuss increasing US federal funding for AIDS initiatives. At a press conference after their talk, the U2 singer says "I'm not here to peddle a cause. Seven thousand people a day dying isn't a cause, it's an emergency" (2003)... Barry Manilow cancels his appearance on The View because he refuses to be interviewed by conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Manilow says that he will speak only to co-hosts Joy Behar, Barbara Walters or Whoopi Goldberg, a demand that the show's producers reject as 'completely disrespectful' (2007). 

September 16th

 

Musical birthdays today include George Chakiris [leader of the Sharks in the film version of West Side Story] (94), blues harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold (91), World Saxophone Quartet founding member Hamiet Bluiett (86), Lovin' Spoonful drummer Joe Butler (85), ex-Hollies bassist Bernie Calvert (84), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers bassist Ron Blair (78), former Small Faces and The Who drummer Kenney Jones (78), singer-songwriter Vince Bell (75), jazz guitarist Earl Klugh (73), Wire frontman Colin Newman (72), ex-Runaways bassist Victory Tischler-Blue (72), My Bloody Valentine singer & guitarist Bilinda Butcher (65), former Elastica lead singer Justine Frischmann (57), Katie Melua (42), and Nick Jonas (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for English librettist John Gay [best remembered for The Beggar's Opera], born on this day in 1685... for scat singer Jon Hendricks, born in 1921... for B.B. King, and for jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, both born in 1925... for boogie-woogie pianist Little Willie Littlefield, born in 1931... for blues sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith, and for Jamaican session drummer Winston Grennan, both of whom would have been 82 today... for Dead Milkmen bassist Dave Schulthise, who would have been 70... for Marc Bolan, who was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 29 today in 1977, and for operatic diva Maria Callas who died on the same day... for Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield, who passed away in 2008... and for Mary Travers, who left us today in 2009. 

Also on September 16: In a Victor Records studio in Camden, NJ, Enrico Caruso makes his final recording (1920)... No No Nanette has its Broadway premiere (1925)... She Loves You is released in the US on the Swan label. Although the song is currently № 1 in the UK, it will be dormant on the US charts until the Beatles visit America for the first time in February of the following year (1963)... The new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center opens with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's 'Antony and Cleopatra' starring Leontyne Price... The Kinks' bassist Pete Quaife announces that he is leaving the band ~ he will be replaced by John Dalton... MP Tom Drilberg asks the House of Commons to officially deplore the actions of a London magistrate who the day before called the Rolling Stones "...complete morons who wear filthy clothes" (1966)... The Beatles continue to work on 'Your Mother Should Know' at Abbey Road Studios (1967)... Led Zeppelin are voted group of the year in a Melody Maker readers' poll. For the first time in 8 years, the honour goes to a band other than the Beatles... Jimi Hendrix joins Eric Burdon on stage at Ronnie Scott's in London for what will prove to be the guitarist's final public appearance (1970)... Bob Dylan goes into the studio in NYC to begin the sessions that will produce the Blood on the Tracks album (1974)... The Sugar Hill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight', often considered the song that first popularized hip-hop in the US and subsequently around the world, is released (1979)... U2 jam with B.B. King on a yacht in Sydney Harbour rented for the blues legend's 64th birthday (1989)... Pearl Jam kick off their 'No Code' tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA. Because of the band's refusal to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas, they are forced to use alternate ticketing companies, who book the shows in halls which fans complain are remote and hard to get to (1996)... The original lineup of Mott the Hoople reunite for the first time in 24 years for a one-off performance at the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street, London (1998)... For the first time in 30 years, Bob Dylan has the № 1 album in the US, with 'Modern Times'. The last time the singer achieved the feat was in 1976, with 'Desire'. Dylan also sets a record as the oldest performer to date to top the Billboard album chart, at the age of 65... The members of R.E.M., including original drummer Bill Berry, are inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Atlanta (2006).

September 15th

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Musical birthdays today include ex-Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy (74), Bad Brains guitarist Gary 'Dr. Know' Miller (68), Super Furry Animals lead guitarist Huw Bunford (59), Franz Ferdinand drummer Paul Thomson (50), and Clare Maguire (3<9/span>). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for early country star Roy Acuff, born today in 1907... for Preservation Hall Jazz Band trumpeter George 'Kid Sheik' Colar, born in 1908... for cabaret singer Bobby Short, born in 1924... for jazz legend Cannonball Adderley, born in 1928... for original Jefferson Airplane lead singer Signe Toly Anderson, who would have been 85... for Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman, who would have been 84... for operatic soprano Jessye Norman, who would have been 80... for ABBA drummer Ola Brunkert, who would have been 79... for composer Anton Webern, who died on this date in 1945... for Miles Davis collaborator and pianist Bill Evans, who passed away in 1980... for Johnny Ramone, who died of cancer in 2004... for Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright in 2009... and for Cars lead singer Ric O'Casek, who left us today in 2020.
Also on September 15: The first recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra is released, with Eduard van Beinum conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam (1948)... Elvis hits № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Don't Be Cruel' (1956)... John Coltrane goes into the studio to begin recording 'Blue Train', his only album for the Blue Note label (1957)... A group from Hawthorne, California calling themselves The Pendletones go into the Hite Morgan Studio in L.A. to record the single 'Surfin'. Leader Brian Wilson decides soon after that The Beach Boys is a more suitable name for the outfit (1961)... The Four Seasons become the first American act to have three № 1 singles in succession when 'Sherry' tops the charts (1963)... A Beatles concert at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH is halted when fans engulf the stage midway through the performance. After police succeed in getting the group safely back to their dressing room, publicist Derek Taylor goes on the PA system and pleads for order to be restored so that the show does not have to be cancelled (1964)... The Ford Motor Company become the first automakers to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for the entire line of vehicles on sale in the US (1965)... Shooting for the Magical Mystery Tour today consists of filming the Beatles having lunch at James and Amy Smedley's fish & chips shop in Taunton, Somerset (1967)... The Doors are forced to play as an instrumental trio in Amsterdam after Jim Morrison collapses while dancing during the Jefferson Airplane's opening set (1968)... Pink Floyd release 'Wish You Were Here' in the US (1975)... Bob Dylan kicks off the longest US tour of his career thus far in Augusta, Maine, playing the first of 65 gigs in 62 cities (1978)... Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Relax' enters its 40th week on the UK singles charts (1984)... A reel to reel tape of the Quarrymen performing at a St. Peter's Parish Church garden party in Liverpool in 1957 sells for £69,000 at auction in London (1994)... The Band release their 10th and final studio album, Jubilation (1998)... Johnny Cash is buried next to June Carter Cash in a funeral ceremony in Hendersonville, TN. Among those attending are Johnny's daughter Roseanne, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and former vice president Al Gore (2003)... Madonna arrives in Tel Aviv for Rosh Hashana. The Kabbala enthusiast is planning to visit the graves of various rabbinical sages, and is accompanied by an entourage including designer

September 14th

 

Musical birthdays today include saxophonist Oliver Lake (84), operatic tenor Maryn Hill (83), Nazareth bassist Pete Agnew (80),, producer Steve Berlin (71), country singer John Berry (67), A-Ha lead singer Morten Harket (67), ex-La's bassist John Power (59), former Everclear bassist Craig Montoya (56), rapper Nas [né Nasir Jones] (53), ex-Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts (45), and Big Time Rush vocalist Logan Henderson (37). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for operatic soprano and philanthropist Alice Tully, born on this day in 1902... for cabaret singer Eric Bentley, born in 1916... for Captain Beefheart sideman Alex St. Clair, who would have been 85 today... for Strawberry Alarm Clock founding member and guitarist Ed King, who would have been 77... for Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, who would have been 76... for Free lead guitarist Paul Kossoff, who would have been 76... for avant-garde cellist Tom Cora, who would have been 73... for Amy Winehouse, who would have been 43... and for blues great Furry Lewis, who left us today in 1981. 

Also on September 14: Handel completes 4he Messiah after 23 days of nearly round the clock work (1741)... In the early morning hours whilst on board a British frigate in Baltimore harbor, Francis Scott Key writes the poem that will become the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner (1814)... Little Richard enters a New Orleans studio to begin two days of recording. Things are going badly when the singer and producer Bumps Blackwell go to a bar & grill across the street for lunch. Little Richard spots an upright piano in the corner and improvises what will become 'Tutti Frutti' on the spot. The song takes 15 minutes to record when work resumes (1955)... The filming of The Magical Mystery Tour continues. The Beatles' attempts to find quiet, secluded fields in which to shoot are repeatedly frustrated by hordes of pursuing fans who track them down (1967)... Roy Orbison's house in Nashville burns down. The two elder sons of the singer, who is currently on tour in the UK, die in the blaze (1968)... The first episode of the adventure of the musical comic strip band The Archies airs on US TV (1968)... The № 1 single in the US today is Eric Clapton's cover of 'I Shot the Sheriff' (1974)... In Egypt, The Grateful Dead play a concert at the foot of the Great Pyramid (1978)... The Rolling Stones play an incognito pre-tour warm-up show at Sir Morgan's Cove Club in Worcester, MA. They are billed as Little Boy Blue & the Cockroaches, but their identity is leaked by a local radio station, and a riot breaks out outside the club as 4,000 fans try to get into the 350-seat venue. Police make a dozen arrests (1981)... The first MTV Video Music Awards are held, with Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd handling MC duties. David Bowie wins Video of the Year for China Girl (1984)... In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan describes his new album Under the Red Sky as "...intentionally both long and short, so you can draw all kinds of conclusions" (1990)... Steve Earle is sentenced to 1 year in prison for possession of crack... Counting Crows release August and Everything after, which will become one of the biggest selling albums of the '90s (1994)... Paul McCartney's original handwritten first draft of the lyrics to 'Getting Better' sells for £161,000 at auction at Sotheby's of London (1995)... A crowd of over 2,000 gather to watch Pete Townshend unveil an English Heritage Blue Plaque at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, to mark the townhouse where Jimi Hendrix lived in 1968-69 (1997)... HMV stores in Canada remove all Bob Dylan CDs from their shelves in protest at the singer's signing of a deal with Starbucks to make the coffee giant the exclusive sellers of his latest release (2005)... The Grateful Dead's original tour bus, newly refurbished, goes on display in an auto museum in the town of Volo, Illinois. The 1965 Gillig bus, dubbed 'Sugar Magnolia' by Jerry Garcia, was used by the band on their frequent cross-country tours between 1967 and 1985 (2005)... Whitney Houston files for divorce from Bobby Brown after 14 years of marriage (2006). 

September 13th

 Musical birthdays today include Blood Sweat & Tears frontman David Clayton-Thomas (85), Chicago lead singer Peter Cetera (82), Randy 'The Cowboy' Jones of the Village People (74), Don Was (74), The Church lead singer Steve Kilbey (72), drummer Vinny Appice (69), Megadeath and ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine (65), Zak Starkey (61), Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins (59), Rascal Flatts lead guitarist Joe Don Rooney (51), and Fiona Apple (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer and pianist Clara Schumann, born on this date in 1819... for composer Arnold Schoenberg, born in 1874... for film score composer Maurice Jarre, born in 1924... for jazz singer Mel Tormé, born in 1925... for Stone the Crows guitarist Les Harvey, who would have been 81... for conductor Leopold Stokowski, who died today in 1977... and for Tupac Shakur, who left us today in 1996 at the age of 25, succumbing to wounds sustained in a drive-by shooting six days earlier. 

Also on September 13: Nicolas Rubenstein, director of the soon to be opened Moscow Conservatory, offers Tchaikovsky the chair of Professor of Harmony (1866)... Cliff Richard makes his UK television debut on the variety show 'Oh Boy'. Before he is allowed to appear on the program, Richard is told he must shave his sideburns (1958)... The Federal Communications Act in the US is amended to outlaw payments of cash or gifts in exchange for airplay of records (1960)... After a Hollies gig in Scotland, Graham Nash checks to see if the side door of the group's van is locked properly as they drive along the motorway. It isn't, and Nash falls out as the vehicle is travelling at around 40 MPH. Miraculously, the future CSN&Y superstar has only minor bruises and abrasions (1963)... The Paul McCartney-penned 'Yesterday' comes out as a single in the US. The other 3 Beatles consider the final version so uncharacteristic of the rest of their work hitherto that they veto a UK release [which eventually happens in 1976] (1965)... The Beatles form an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd, with John Alexis 'Magic Alex' Mardas as director. Alex claims that he is close to perfecting a 72-track tape machine ~ it never materialises ~ and proposes replacing the acoustic baffles around Ringo's drums with an invisible sonic force field. George will later call employing Mardas 'the greatest disaster of all time' (1967)... John and Yoko fly to Canada to perform at the Rock 'n' Roll Revival show in Toronto. Eric Clapton and drummer Alan White were recruited so late that the ensemble have their first rehearsal on the airplane (1969)... Yes release Close to the Edge (1972)... Sting kicks off his first solo US tour in San Diego (1985)... Geffen Records give a party at a lower Manhattan hotel to launch Nirvana's single 'Smells like Teen Spirit'. The band members are thrown out of the affair after starting a food fight (1991)... Elton John throws a tantrum when he is set to appear at a sold out show at a casino near Lisbon. Unhappy because the audience are slow in leaving a VIP dinner before the concert and taking their seats, Elton leaves the building and flies back to the UK on his private jet without playing a note (2000)... WalMart refuses to stock the album Permission to Land by the British group Darkness [who sent the disc to the top of the charts in their home country] because the cover contains a shot of a woman's bare bottom (2003)... The childhood home of Jimi Hendrix in Seattle, WA is saved from demolition after a settlement with the city to relocate the structure is reached at the last minute. The James Marshall Hendrix Foundation and the City of Seattle agree to renovate the house into a community centre opposite the cemetery where the guitarist is buried (2005)... Earl Scruggs is honoured at Turner Field in Atlanta as part of the pre-game show for a Braves home game. Organizers set a world record for the most banjo players picking one tune together, as 239 play Scruggs' signature tune 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' (2006)... The № 1 album in the UK today is Vera Lynn's career retrospective We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn. The 92-year-old singer sets a record as the oldest person ever to achieve this feat with an album. The previous mark was set by Bob Dylan when he topped the British charts with Together through Life earlier this year at the comparatively youthful age of 67... Taylor Swift becomes the first country artist to win an MTV Music Video Award, taking Best Female Video honours for 'You Belong with Me'. Kanye West interrupts Swift's acceptance speech, saying that another video should have won. After a media stir that last several days, West apologizes ~ first on his blog, then by contacting Swift personally (2009).

September 12th

 

Musical birthdays today include Maria Muldaur (83), former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews (70), ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson (70), Mylène Farmer (65), singer-songwriter & producer Ben Folds (60), Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde (58), rapper Bizzy Bone (50), James McCartney (49), Jennifer Hudson (45), and Emmy Rossum (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for George Jones, born on this day in 1932... for Barry White, who would have been 81 today... for Rush drummer Neil Peart, who would have been 74...  for French composer François Couperin, who died on this date in 1733... for Johnny Cash, who passed away in 2003... and for Nashville session drummer Kenny Buttrey [noted for his work with Bob Dylan and Neil Young, among many others] who left us today in 2004.

Also on September 12th: Mahler's 8th symphony ~ his last to premiere in his lifetime ~ is performed for the first time, in Munich, with 1,028 instrumentalists and singers (1910)... Frank Sinatra has his first № 1 song in the UK with 'Three Coins in a Fountain' (1954)... NBC airs the premiere of 'The Monkees' TV show. The series will run for a total of 58 episodes (1966)... Filming continues for the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. The bus heads for Widecombe on the Moor, in Devon, where a local fair is being held, but driver Alf Manders takes a shortcut to bypass heavy traffic and gets stuck on a bridge. The coach ends up having to drive in reverse for half a mile before it can turn around. It then heads for Plymouth, followed by a 20-car convoy of photographers and journalists (1967)... The № 1 song in the UK is Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' 'Tears of a Clown' (1970)... Public Image Ltd guitarist John McGeoch will need 40 stitches after being struck in the face by a 2-litre wine bottle hurled from the crowd during a show in Vienna (1986)... The soundtrack album to the Richie Valens biopic 'La Bamba' by Los Lobos is at № 1 on the Billboard chart (1987)... Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie announce that they are leaving Fleetwood Mac at the end of the band's current tour (1990)... In Modena, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti is joined by Brian Eno along with U2 members Bono and the Edge for a benefit concert for the children of war-ravaged Bosnia (1995)... The soundtrack album to Cameron Crowe's film 'Almost Famous' is released containing a first: the authorised use of vintage Led Zeppelin songs. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were so taken with the rough cut of the movie that they allowed Crowe to include four of their tracks... Christina Aguilera releases her first Spanish-language album, 'Mi Reflejo' (2000)... The surviving members of Led Zeppelin announce that they will reform for a one-off concert with the late John Bonham's son Jason in the drummer's chair. The show, the first for the group in 18 years, is to honour Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. All profits from the concert, which will take place at London's O2 arena on the 26th of November and cost £125 per ticket, will go to establishing scholarships in Ertegun's name in the UK, the USA, and his native Turkey (2007). 

September 11th

 

Musical birthdays today include composer Arvo Pärt (91), Lola Falana (84), Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart (84), Leo Kottke (81), former Buckinghams lead singer Dennis Tufano (80), Styx singer/songwriter Tommy Shaw (73), ex-Culture Club drummer Jon Moss (69), Moby (61), Harry Connick, Jr. (59), former Letters to Cleo lead singer Kay Hanley (58), Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft (54), and Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for English composer William Boyce, born on this date in 1711... for bluesman Robert 'Barbecue Bob' Hicks, born in 1902... for British guitarist John Martyn, who would have been 78 today... for composer Anton Bruckner, who died on this date in 1896... for reggae star Peter Tosh, who was murdered in his home during a robbery in 1987... and for Weather Report keyboardist Joe Zawinul, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on September 11: In a saloon in Pittsburgh, PA, Stephen Foster's song 'Oh! Susannah' is performed for the first time (1847)... Soprano Jenny Lind, who will become known as 'The Swedish Nightingale', arrives in New York under the sponsorship of P.T. Barnum to begin her first American tour (1850)... W.C. Handy publishes 'St. Louis Blues' (1914)... Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun takes over as producer of his label's latest signing, 21-year-old Ray Charles, at Atlantic Studios on W. 56th St. in Manhattan (1952)... With session drummer Andy White replacing Ringo at George Martin's insistence, the Beatles make another attempt at recording their first single, 'Love Me Do', at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. The 45 RPM that is released on the 5th of October will be a version including Ringo, the Andy White take ending up on the 'Please Please Me' album (1962)... 'Help!' is the № 1 US album, the 6th time the Beatles have topped the chart... The Rolling Stones make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1965)... Filming for 'The Magical Mystery Tour' begins. The Beatles have no shooting script or storyboards of any kind, nor even any clear idea of what they wish to accomplish. The tour bus sets off for the West Country of England with no particular destination, eventually stopping for the night at Teignmouth, Devon, where the Fab Four are greeted by hundreds of fans (1967)... Donny Osmond has his only American № 1 with 'Go Away, Little Girl'. The song was also a chart-topper for Steve Lawrence in 1963 (1971)... The № 1 single in the US today is KC and the Sunshine Band's '(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty' (1976)... John Cougar Mellencamp becomes the only male artist in American chart history to simultaneously have two singles in the top 10 ['Jack and Diane' and 'Hurts So Good'] and the № 1 album [American Fool] (1982)... Michael Jackson appears at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. Over 3,000 fans were treated by Merseyside EMTs for fainting, hysteria, and minor injuries from the crush of the crowd of some 125,000, the largest audience of the 123-date 'Bad' world tour (1988)... Green Day turn down an invitation to guest star on Sesame Street, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong saying "We couldn't handle a mosh pit full of five-year-olds" (1995)... Walking to his job in lower Manhattan as a comic book illustrator, Gerard Way witnesses the 9/11 attacks on the WTC. The day's events inspire him to start a band, which will become My Chemical Romance. Meanwhile, Sir Paul McCartney, in an airplane awaiting takeoff at JFK, composes the single 'Freedom' after seeing the burning towers in the distance. All profits from the song will go to the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity set up to aid the families of NYC police and firemen... Bob Dylan releases the album Love and Theft (2001)... Leicester University in the UK releases the results of a study showing that more than a quarter of classical music listeners have tried cannabis. Researchers at the institution have been trying to find out what people's musical tastes reveal about their lifestyles. They find that blues buffs are the most likely to have received a traffic ticket, Hip-hop fans are more likely to have had multiple sex partners and are the biggest drug consumers among the 2,500 people surveyed. The study will be published next month in the journal Psychology of Music (2006). 

September 10th

Musical birthdays today include jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers (86), Three Dog Night vocalist Danny Hutton (84), Jose Feliciano (81), Slade drummer Don Powell (80), ex-Jethro Tull drummer Barrie Barlow (77), Joe Perry (76), Tex-Mex musician Rosie Flores (76), King Crimson percussionist Pat Mastelloto (71), Boomtown Rats pianist John 'Johnnie Fingers' Moylett (70), Bananarama vocalist Siobhan Fahey (65), Bush drummer Robin Goodridge (61) and former Drop Nineteens multi-instrumentalist Paula Kelley (56). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for English composer Henry Purcell, born today in 1659... and for bluesman Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on September 10: Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini premieres in Paris (1838)... Miles Davis and sidemen go into Columbia's 30th St. Studios in NYC for the third and last of the sessions that will produce 'Round about Midnight, the trumpeter's first album for CBS (1956)... Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers' single 'Monster Mash' is banned by the BBC as offensive. Re-released 10 years later, it will peak at № 3 on the UK charts (1962)... Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet John Lennon and Paul McCartney by chance at the London jazz club Studio 51. Paul plays a partly finished song entitled 'I Wanna Be Your Man' for the Glimmer Twins, who will soon record it themselves (1963)... The Byrds begin recording the album Turn! Turn! Turn! at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles (1965)... № 1 on the Billboard singles chart today is 'You Can't Hurry Love' by the Supremes (1966)... Elvis records Jerry Reed's 'Guitar Man' at RCA Studios in Nashville. It will be the last of the King's 11 number ones on the Billboard country chart (1967)... 'Hey Jude', the longest № 1 song in chart history, is on top on both sides of the Atlantic (1968)... The BBC bans the Rolling Stones' single 'Star Star' from the Goat's Head Soup LP because it contains the word 'starfucker' in the chorus a dozen times (1973)... The New York Dolls announce that the group is disbanding (1974)... Bob Dylan releases the live album Hard Rain (1976)... The № 1 song in America is Michael Sembello's 'Maniac' from the Flashdance soundtrack (1983)... Nirvana's single 'Smells like Teen Spirit' is released in the US. Its rapid ascent to the top of the charts is often considered the point at which alternative rock entered the mainstream (1991)... An electric chair which was used in Alcatraz and was once owned by Andy Warhol sells for £4,800 at an auction in Bristol, England. Warhol reportedly often sat in the chair when watching horror films, and when listening to the recordings in progress of his protegés The Velvet Underground... In honour of his 80th birthday, John Lee Hooker holds a live chat on MSN. Topics discussed include his latest album, the nightclub he plans to open in San Francisco, his upcoming star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in addition to various musings on his 5-decade career (1997)... Paul McCartney makes the front page of tabloids after being photographed at an NYC party minus one of his front teeth after a crown broke off when he was eating. He had lost the tooth in a motorcycle accident in 1967 (1999)... MTV, VH1 and several other cable music channels simultaneously broadcast 'ReAct Now: Music & Relief', a 4 1/2 hr. long concert to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and Emmylou Harris are the headliners amongst the numerous acts (2005)... A harmonica once owned by Bob Dylan sells for £2,700 at an auction in Norfolk, England, more than four times the initial suggested price. The singer had presented the Hohner instrument to a member of the wardrobe department on his 1974 US tour. Lifelong Dylan connoisseur and Norfolk resident John Fellas wears RayBans while outbidding fans from across the world. The inside of the harmonica case is signed and dedicated by Dylan. After the auction, Fellas tells reporters that he is on his way to a pub in order to get up the courage to tell his wife what he has done (2009).

 

September 9th

 

Musical birthdays today include former Blues Project guitarist Danny Kalb (84), R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp (81), ex-Iron Butterfly keyboardist Doug Ingle (80), ex-Paul Revere & the Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller (79), groupie Pamela Des Barres (78), Doobie Brothers guitarist John McFee (76), Dave Stewart (74), Michael Bublé (51) and Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Elvin Jones, born 0n this day in 1927... for Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers founding member Joe Negroni, who would have been 86... for Otis Redding, who would have been 85... for Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer, who would have been 78... for bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, who died on this date in 1996... and for guitar maker Ernie Ball, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on September 9: Wagner begins composing the music to Lohengrin (1846)... Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash meet for the first time, after a show given by the former at a shopping center opening in Memphis (1954)... Elvis makes his debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1956)... 'She Loves You', which will remain the Beatles' biggest-selling single in the UK, is at № 1 on the British charts today. 'Please Please Me' is also the № 1 album (1963)... The Rolling Stones top the UK charts with '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'. As Keith Richards later told the story, he recorded a rough version of the song's famous riff in a Florida hotel room. He ran through it once before falling asleep. He said "When I listened back to it in the morning, there was about 2 minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear me drop the pick, and then 40 minutes of me snoring" (1965)... The Beatles record 'Helter Skelter' at Abbey Road studios. John plays bass and honks on a saxophone, roadie Mal Evans tries his hand at the trumpet, and George runs around the studio with a flaming ashtray on his head as Paul records the lead vocal (1968)... John Lennon releases the album Imagine (1971)... David Bowie appears on Marc Bolan's ITV show 'Marc' performing 'Heroes' as well as a duet with Bolan on 'Standing Next to You', which is prematurely terminated when Bolan falls from the stage, much to Bowie's amusement. After the show the pair record demos together that will never be finished, as Bolan is killed in a car crash a week later (1977)... In Dublin, U2 open for the Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom. Since the headliners and their entourage have taken up both dressing rooms, Bono and his bandmates must make all pre-show preparations behind the speaker stacks on stage (1978)... Both Sting and Phil Collins make their live solo debuts at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball concert in London (1981)... Al Green and Patti LaBelle open on Broadway in the gospel musical 'Your Arms Too Short to Box with God' (1982)... New Kids on the Block have the № 1 album in America today with 'Hangin' Tough' (1989)... Krist Novoselic of Nirvana knocks himself unconscious during the VMAs when he is hit on the head with his guitar after throwing it up in the air (1992)... After 22 years of marriage, Jane Petty files for divorce from husband Tom (1996)... Liverpool City Council announce plans to demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace because it has 'no historical significance'. The house in the Dingle is one of 460 dwellings scheduled for demolition as part of an urban regeneration project. A spokesman for the council says the members decided that Madryn Street had no significance because Ringo spent only the first three months of his life there... A 3-day international conference on the life, work and influence of Bruce Springsteen opens at Monmouth University in New Jersey. The proceedings include live acts as well address by rock critics and music industry representatives. Among the 150 papers presented are 'Bruce Springsteen and American Folklore', 'Springsteen and Dylan's Dreamscapes', 'Born to Run at 30' and 'New Jersey and the Boss and the Bible' (2005). 

September 8th

 Musical birthdays today include Dokken drummer Mick Brown (70), Great White keyboardist Michael Lardie (68), Aimee Mann (66), ex-Fine Young Cannibals bassist David Steele (66), ex-Bad Religion drummer Jay Ziskrout (64), former Genesis guitarist Ray Wilson (58), singer-songwriter Neko Case (56), Keane drummer Richard Hughes (51) and Pink (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Antonin Dvořák, born on this day in 1841... for early country star Jimmie 'The Yodeling Brakeman' Rogers, born in 1897... for conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, born in 1929... for Patsy Cline, born in 1932... for Grateful Dead founding member Ron 'Pigpen' McKiernan, who would have been 81... for former Cars bassist and singer Benjamin Orr, who would have been 79... and for composer Richard Strauss, who left us on this day in 1949. 

Also on September 8: Ray Charles has his first recording session for the Atlantic label (1952)... Eddie Cochran signs his first contract, with Liberty Records (1956)... The Beatles perform 'Hey Jude' on the TV show Frost on Sunday in front of an invited audience, many of whom will gather around the musicians to join in on the extended refrain that ends the song... The opening act for the nascent Led Zeppelin's latest Danish gig, at Raventlow Park in Nykobing, is The Ladybirds, an all-girl topless go-go dancing outfit (1968)... In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated with a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, A Theater Piece (1971)...  Mott the Hoople release their breakthrough album All the Young Dudes (1972)... Marvin Gaye has the № 1 song in the US today with 'Let's Get It on' (1973)... Joni Mitchell, CSN&Y and the Beach Boys headline the 'Somersault '74' festival at the Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, NY... Recent RISD graduates and future Talking Heads David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz move into a loft together in Manhattan's SoHo (1974)... Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English leave Paul McCartney & Wings (1977)... Led Zeppelin score their 8th UK № 1 album when In through the Out Door tops the charts (1979)... Elton John delivers a vast collection of costumes and concert props to Sotheby's of London, who will eventually auction off the items ~ including the oversized boots that the singer wore in Ken Russell's film of The Who's Tommy ~ for some $6.2 million (1988)... To promote their reissued back catalogue, Led Zeppelin release 'Whole Lotta Love' as their first ever single in Britain (1997)... Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson starts a day job when he qualifies as an airline pilot. He lands a £35,000 a year job with Astreus, a small airline ferrying holiday makers from the UK to Egypt and Portugal (2002)... David Bowie performs the first interactive concert when his performance is beamed live into 21 cinemas from Edinburgh to Warsaw. Audience members talk to Bowie via microphones hooked up to ISDN lines and are asked by the singer to request songs (2003)... Jury selection begins for the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's physician Dr. Conrad Murray. Prospective jurors are required to fill out a 30-page questionnaire to determine their level of knowledge of the case (2009)... Sir Paul McCartney is made a member of the Légion d'Honneur in a ceremony at the Elysée Palace by French president François Hollande for his contributions to music (2012).

September 7th

 

Musical birthdays today include country singer Ronnie Dove (91), composer Olly Wilson (88), R&B singer Benny Latimore (87), Gloria Gaynor (77), Chrissie Hynde (75), Benmont Tench (75), Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians co-founder Brad Houser (66), rapper Sean 'Slug' Daley (54), and 12 Stones frontman Paul McCoy (45).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for dixieland jazz trumpeter Max Kaminsky, born on this day in 1908... for session guitarist and arranger Al Caiola, born in 1920... for easy listening pianist Arthur Ferrante, born in 1921... for ex-Weavers vocalist Ronnie Gilbert, born in 1926... for Sonny Rollins, born in 1930... for Buddy Holly, who would have been 90... for Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who would have been 65... for Keith Moon, who died of a drug overdose today in 1978 at the age of 32... for former Beatles and Byrds publicist Derek Taylor, who passed away in 1997... for Warren Zevon, who died in 2004.... and for Mac Miller, who left us today in 2019.

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