November 7th

Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones (80), rocker Johnny Rivers (74), Joni Mitchell (73), John 'Jellybean' Benitez (59), Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer (56), former Salt-N-Pepa rapper Sandra Denton (52), Hothouse Flowers keyboardist Liam Ó Maonlai (52), Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri (49), classical pianist Hélène Grimaud (47), Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck (45), Hellogoodbye lead singer Forrest Kline (33), Pussy Riot performance artist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (27), and Ella Yelich-O'Connor AKA Lorde (20). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for trumpeter Al Hirt, born on this day in 1922... for operatic soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, who would have been 90... for soul singer Dee Clark, who would have been 78... for country singer-songwriter Stephen Bruton, who would have been 66... and for R&B singer Carter Cornelius, who left us today in 1991. 

Also on November 7:  The Stoughton Musical Society, the oldest choral society in the US, is founded in the Massachusetts town of the same name (1786)... Frank Sinatra marries his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. The couple will separate in 1953 and divorce in 1957 (1951)... Eddie Cochran enters the Top 40 in the US and Britain with 'Summertime Blues', his first hit (1958)... The Beatles travel to Ireland and make their only appearances ever in the country, playing two shows at the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin. The group also meet up with screenwriter Alun Owen, who has been appointed to write the screenplay for The Beatles' first (as yet untitled) motion picture. Owen will spend three days with The Beatles observing their hectic lifestyle (1963)... Reginald Dwight (AKA Elton John) and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin sign with DJM Music Publishers Their signatures have to be witnessed by their parents because they are both under 21 years of age. Taupin answered an advertisement for a lyric writer placed in the New Musical Express ~ the pair have since collaborated on over 30 albums (1967)... The Rolling Stones kick off their sixth North American tour at the University of Northern Colorado at Fort Collins, CO. Also on the bill are Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry and BB King (1969)... MCA Records president Mike Curb announces that the label is dropping 18 acts who purportedly 'exploit and promote hard drugs through music', including such notorious characters as The Cowsills and Connie Francis (1970)... Atlantic Records release Bette Midler's debut album The Divine Miss M (1972)... Billy Joel releases Piano Man, his first album on Columbia (1973)... Ted Nugent wins the US National Squirrel Shooting Contest, reportedly skewering one of the rodents at 150 yards according to an article in Rolling Stone (1974)... Hall and Oates are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Private Eyes' (1981)... John Fogerty is victorious in the case brought against him by Fantasy Records, the owners of the rights to the songs that he wrote while the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The label alleged that Fogerty plagiarised his own 'Run through the Jungle' for his 1985 hit 'The Old Man down the Road'... WB  Records release R.E.M.'s major label debut album Green (1988)... Guitarist Izzy Stradlin quits Guns N’ Roses and is replaced by Gilby Clarke. Stradlin cites as his reasons a combination of Axl Rose's personal behaviour and the difficulties of being around Slash, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan owing to his new-found sobriety (1991)... Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is invested with the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II (2003)... Eminem hits № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Just Lose It' (2004).

November 6th

Musical birthdays today include country singer Stonewall Jackson (84), Jive Five vocalist Eugene Pitt (79), country singer Guy Clark (75), AC/DC producer & ex-Easybeats guitarist George Young (70), Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey (68), French chansonnier Florent Pagny (55), Bangles founding member Annette Zilinskas (54), Bad Religion lead singer Greg Graffin (52), BoomKAT singer-songwriter Taryn Manning (38), and Evermore guitarist Jon Hume (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Adolphe Sax [inventor of the saxophone], born on this date in 1814... for composer John Philip Sousa, born in 1854... for classical pianist Jan Paderewski, born in 1860... for bandleader Ray Conniff, born on this date 100 years ago... for Tex-Mex singer-songwriter Doug Sahm, who would have been 73 today... for ex-Christian Death frontman Rozz Williams, who would have been 54... for avant-garde composer Edgard Varèse, who died on this date in 1965... and for country singer Hank Thompson, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on November 6th: Beethoven's String Quartet in A, op. 132 is performed in public for the first time in Vienna by the Schuppanzigh Quartet (1825)... Shostakovich's 2nd Symphony, the October, premieres in Leningrad as part of a concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution (1927)... Charles Mingus and sidemen, including Roland Kirk, record the album Oh Yeah at Atlantic Studios in NYC. It is one of the few albums of Mingus' career on which he plays piano throughout (1961)... During their first promotional visit to the UK, The Beach Boys appear live on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!' [Ready Steady Go! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes which ran from August 1963 until December 1966] (1964)... The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane top the bill at the opening night of San Francisco's Fillmore West (1965)... Working at Abbey Road studios, the Beatles do the final mix of ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘I Am the Walrus’. Because to the radio feed used in ‘I Am the Walrus’ was recorded in mono, the song changes from stereo to mono at the line 'Sitting in an English garden'... In one 3-hour session at Columbia Studios in Nashville, Bob Dylan cuts 'All along the Watchtower' and 'John Wesley Harding' (1967)... Joe Cocker is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with his version of 'With a Little Help from My Friends' (1968)...  
Aerosmith play their first ever live show when they perform at a dance at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, MA (1970)... The Stylistics release their eponymous debut album (1971)... Martin and Phil Kaufman are charged and fined $300 each for the theft of a coffin containing Gram Parsons' body. The two associates of the late singer argue to the court that they were merely carrying out Parson's wishes to be cremated in the Mojave desert (1973)... The Sex Pistols make their live debut at St Martin’s School Of Art in central London, supporting a band called Bazooka Joe, whose lead singer is Stuart Goddard, later to be known as Adam Ant. The Pistols’ 3-song performance lasts 10 minutes (1975)... The three remaining members of Led Zeppelin convene on the Channel island of Jersey to discuss the band's future after the death of John Bonham (1980)... Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' achieves the longest unbroken run on the UK singles charts ever when it logs its 43rd week in the Top 100 (1982)... Pearl Jam hit № 1 on the stateside charts with Vs, selling 950,378 copies for the highest one-week sales figure in US album history (1993)... Madonna plays her first live show in 8 years when she performs a brief [20-minute] set at New York's Roseland Ballroom. The diva wears a tight black vest bearing the sequinned name of 18 year-old Britney Spears (2000)... A number of streets in the German city Frankfurt are temporarily renamed after pop stars to mark the MTV Europe Music Awards. Madonna, Robbie Williams and Janet Jackson all have avenues named after them (2001). 

November 5th

Musical birthdays today include Art Garfunkel (75), former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone (69), former Van der Graaf Generator frontman Peter Hammill (68), ex-Flock of Seagulls lead singer Mike Score (59), composer/producer Don Falcone (58), Bryan Adams (57), Tesla bassist Brian Wheat (53), music history blogger and all-around public nuisance Chris Morris (52), Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood (45), Ryan Adams (42), Steps vocalist Lisa Scott-Lee (41), Pendulum lead singer Rob Swire (34) and Kevin Jonas (29). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical pianist Paul Wittgenstein, born on this date in 1887... for singing cowboy Roy Rogers, born in 1911... for Ike Turner, who would have been 85 today... for Gram Parsons, who would have been 70... for singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris, who would have been 67... for songwriter George M. Cohan, who died on this date in 1942... for Art Tatum, who passed away in 1956... for bandleader Guy Lombardo, who died in 1977... for Vladimir Horowitz, who died in 1989.... for former Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield, found dead in his hotel room on this day in 2003 half an hour before he was to perform at a show in Detroit. The cause of death was later determined to be a cocaine overdose... and for guitarist Link Wray, who left us today in 2005. In 1956, his song 'Rumble' had the unusual distinction of being banned for encouraging juvenile delinquency even though it was an instrumental.

Also on November 5: In Leipzig, J.S. Bach's sacred cantata № 115 Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit is performed for the first time (1724)...Richard Strauss' tone poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche [Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks] has its premiere in Cologne (1905)... After being destroyed in WWII, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera opens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio (1955)... The Nat 'King' Cole Show debuts on NBC-TV. It is the first television variety program in America with a black host (1956)... The Monkees are at the top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, the group’s first № 1. It was later revealed that due to filming commitments on their TV series, none of the group had played on this or most of the group’s early recordings (1966)... Bee Gee Robin Gibb is a passenger on a train which crashes in Hithering Green, S.E. London, killing 49 people and injuring 78. Robin is treated for shock after the accident (1967)... Elvis Presley kicks off a 15-date North American tour at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis. Announcer Al Dvorin utters the now famous phrase "Elvis has left the building" at the end of the show. He was asked to make the announcement in an effort to quiet the fans who continued to call for an encore (1971)... The manager of the Virgin record store in Nottingham, England is arrested for displaying a large poster advertising the new Sex Pistols album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. Many high street stores ban the album after police warn they could be fined under the 1898 indecent advertising act (1977)... Billy Joel is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Uptown Girl' (1983)... 'The Locomotion' becomes the first song to reach the US Top 5 in three different versions, when Kylie Minogue's arrives at № 3 on the Billboard chart. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song is also notable for appearing in the US Top 5 in 3 different decades, previously for Little Eva in 1962 and for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 (1988)... Queen release Made in Heaven, their first studio album since the death of Freddie Mercury. The collection includes the late lead singer's final vocal track, 'Mother Love'. Keith Richards' autobiography 'Life' is at No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller list. The book will go on to be a million seller... At the White House, Aretha Franklin is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with historian Robert Conquest and economist Alan Greenspan (2005).

November 4th

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Delbert McClinton (76), trumpeter Chuck Mangione (76), ex-Supremes vocalist Scherrie Payne (72), Throbbing Gristle multi-instrumentalist Cosey Fanni Tutti (65), Squeeze co-founder Chris Difford (62), Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess (60), Sean 'P Diddy ' Combs (47), and The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for hymn writer Augustus Toplady [best remembered for 'Rock of Ages'], born on this date in 1740... for variety singer Dickie Valentine, who would have been 87... for Irish folkie Tommy Makem, who would have been 84... for Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who would have been 60... for No Use for a Name frontman Tony Sly, who would have been 46... for Felix Mendelssohn, who died on this date in 1847... for French composer Gabriel Fauré, who died in 1924... for Ink Spots founder member Ivory Watson, who passed away in 1969... and for MC5 guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith, who left us today in 1994. 

Also on November 4: Borodin's opera Prince Igor premieres in St. Petersburg (1890)... Bob Dylan makes his Carnegie Hall debut before an audience of 53 in the Chapter Hall rehearsal space (1961)... The Beatles top the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. With the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in the audience, John Lennon makes his famous quip "In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery". The show will be broadcast on UK television on the 10th (1963)... Grant Green and sidemen record the Blue Note classic idle Moments (1964)... The Rolling Stones are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Get offa My Cloud' (1965)... The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations' enters the British singles chart. It will go on to be a UK & US № 1 single.  As a child, Brian Wilson's mother told him that dogs could pick up 'vibrations' from people, so that the dog would bark at 'bad vibrations'. Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song (1966)... Pink Floyd record ‘Point Me at the Sky’ and ‘Careful with That Axe, Eugene’ at Abbey Road Studios (1968)... Johnny Nash goes to №1 in the US with 'I Can See Clearly Now' (1972)... Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, his film of The Band's 1976 farewell concert, has its world premiere in NYC (1977)... Bob Marley is baptised at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica, converting to Christian Rastafarianism and taking on the new name Berhane Selassie (1980)... Prince plays the first of seven nights at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the start of his 87-date North American Purple Rain tour. The outing also marks the live debut of his new band The Revolution (1984)... The Clash release their final studio album Cut the Crap (1985)... Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Booker T. & The M.G.s, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Sam & Dave and The Yardbirds are all elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (1991)... An unusual benefit concert takes place at the Santa Monica airport when Don Henley, James Taylor, Elvis Costello and other perform their favourite one-hit wonder songs; the show closes with a group rendition of 'It Never Rains in Southern California'. Proceeds from the show to go the City of Hope charity (1998)... In a bizarre outburst of experimental rock violence, lead singer Jean-Herve Peron attacks British Sea Power bassist Neil Hamilton Wilkinson during an onstage jam in Hove, Sussex (2005)... 35 years after the release of their eponymous debut, The Eagles finally have the № 1 album in the UK with their reunion offering Long Road Out of Eden (2007). 

November 3rd

Musical birthdays today include Lulu [née Marie Lawrie] (68), Chrome frontman Helios Creed (63), Adam Ant [né Stuart Goddard] (62), Porcupine Tree multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson (49), Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz [né Kirk Jones] (45), Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson (43), and Rise Again lead singer Tim McIlrath (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for film score composer John Barry, who would have been 83 today... for singer-songwriter Bert Jansch, who would have been 73... for R&B singer Chris Bender, shot to death in Brooklyn at the age of 19 today in 1991... for Leon Theremin, inventor of the instrument that bears his name, who died in 1993... for Lonnie Donegan MBE, the 'King of Skiffle', who passed away in 2002... and for former April Wine bassist Jim Clench, who left us today in 2010.

Also on November 3: Mozart completes his 'Linz Symphony' [№ 36 in C Major] less than 24 hours before its first performance in the Austrian city (1783)... The Chicago Grand Opera gives its inaugural performance, a production of Aida (1910)... Sun Records releases 'Great Balls of Fire' by Jerry Lee Lewis (1957)... Elvis Presley goes on field maneuvers for the first time with the US Army's 32nd Armored Regiment, near the German-Czech border (1958)... Elvis tops the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with 'It's Now or Never', his first post-army № 1 (1960)... During the Rolling Stones' North American tour, a 17 year-old fan falls from the balcony during a gig in Cleveland, Ohio. Mayor Ralph S. Locher bans all future pop concerts, saying: "Such groups do not add to the community's culture or entertainment" (1964)... The Beatles record 'Michelle' (1965)... Filming for The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour is completed, ending with a sequence at Ringo's country house in Weybridge, Surrey. BBC television buy the rights to broadcast the film twice; the first broadcast, in black-and-white, is scheduled for December 26, 1967. The second showing, on the colour channel BBC2 [which is not yet available to all Britons] is scheduled for January 5, 1968 (1967)... James Taylor and Carly Simon are married in a civil ceremony at the latter's Manhattan apartment (1972)... David Bowie's Pinups is the № 1 album in the UK (1973)... Following a concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, Elton John announces his retirement from live performance... A Santa Monica, CA Superior Court judge orders Bob Dylan to return his children to his estranged wife Sara. He was granted temporary custody while his soon to be ex set up housekeeping in Hawaii (1977)... The Jam release All Mod Cons (1978)... One-hit wonder M tops the Billboard singles chart with 'Pop Music' (1979)... Devo open their latest tour by bringing their video-synchronized concert experience to Minneapolis. The show involves the band performing in front of a giant screen on which are projected films and lyrics. The robotic band also interact with the clips (1982)... 'Ice Ice Baby', by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the US singles chart, [and later also a UK No. 1 as well] (1990)... Rage against the Machine release their eponymous debut album (1992)... Metallica reach an out of court settlement with a fan who claims he lost his sense of smell after being dropped on his head by fans at one of their shows four years earlier (1997)... EMI Records announce that they have dropped Simple Minds. The Scottish band sold over 30 million albums during the 1980's (2000)... P Diddy runs in the New York City Marathon, finishing the race in 4 hours and 18 minutes and raising $2,000,000 for the public education system of New York (2003)... A man who had been stalking Hilary Duff is arrested for threatening to kill her. According to the court papers, Maksim Miakovsky of St. Petersburg, Russia went to the U.S. 'for the sole purpose of meeting and becoming romantically involved with Ms. Duff'. He will later be sentenced to 4 months in jail and 5 years probation after pleading no contest to the charges (2006).

November 2nd

Musical birthdays today include jazzman Phil Woods (85), Jay and the Americans lead singer Jay Black (78), Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch OBE (75), J.D. Souther (71), ex-Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull bassist Dave Pegg (69), former Go-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison (65), Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford (59), k.d. lang (55), Poison bassist Bobby Dall (53), Korn bassist Reginald Arvizu (47), Nelly (42), Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla (41), and Big Time Rush singer Kendall Schmidt (26). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for swing trumpeter Bunny Berigan, born on this date in 1908... for Blue Note Records producer & engineer Rudy van Gelder [worked on Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme, among many other classics], born in 1924, and who left us earlier this year... for Cadillacs lead singer Earl Carroll, who would have been 79 today... for  Keith Emerson, who would have been 72... for legendary soprano Jenny 'The Swedish Nightingale' Lind, who died on this date in 1887... for bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, who passed away in 1966... and for singer Eva Cassidy, who died of melanoma at the age of 33 today in 1996.

Also on November 2: The work of Shostakovich is heard in the US for the first time, as Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Symphony in a performance of the Russian composer's 1st Symphony (1928)... John Coltrane and sidemen record the first of the two shows that will become the Live at the Village Vanguard album (1961)... Peter, Paul & Mary hit № 1 on the US singles chart with their cover of 'Blowin' in the Wind'... The Konrads, featuring a young lead singer named David Jones making his public debut ~ he will soon rechristen himself David Bowie ~ appear at Shirley Parish Hall, in Croydon, Surrey (1963)... The Beatles complete recording their next single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at Abbey Road studios with a second Paul McCartney bass line. The McCartney song had been selected for the A-side for The Beatles next single, the flip side to be John Lennon’s ‘I Am the Walrus'... Cream release Disraeli Gears (1967)... Ringo Starr releases his star-studded solo album Ringo. Among the many supporting musicians were the three other former Beatles, though all four were never in the studio at the same time (1973)... George Harrison became the first Beatle to undertake a solo world tour, kicking off a 30-night outing with a show in Vancouver (1974)... The Rev Marvin Gaye Sr. is sentenced to five years in prison on a charge of manslaughter in the death of his son (1984)... Bob Dylan is sued for 'palimony' by actress Laura Tyrangiel, who appeared in the singer's 1977 film Renaldo and Clara. Tyrangiel claims that she lived with Dylan from 1974 to 1993, that she is the co-author of many of his songs from that period, and that he promised to marry her (1994)... Foo Fighters release their third studio album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose; the album marks the first appearance of drummer Taylor Hawkins (1999)... Eric Clapton collects his CBE from Buckingham Palace for his services to music (2004)... Led Zeppelin's eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London is postponed for two weeks after guitarist Jimmy Page breaks a finger (2007).

November 1st

Musical birthdays today include saxophonist and former Thelonious Monk sideman Lou Donaldson (90), Kinky Friedman (72), Kool & the Gang saxophonist Ronald Bell (65), Lyle Lovett (59), Manfred Mann's Earth Band lead singer Robert Hart (58), Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis (54), A-ha keyboardist Magne Furuholmen (54), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (53), Geto Boys rapper Willie D [né William Dennis](50),  singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins (48), and ex-Destiny's Child vocalist LaTavia Robertson (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler [of 'Ballad of the Green Berets' fame] who would have been 76 today... for Family and Blind Faith bassist Ric Grech, who would have been 70... for America multi-instrumentalist Dan Peek, who would have been 66... for Stereolab guitarist Mary Hansen, who would have been 50... for rapper Ma Dre [né Andre Hicks], who was shot to death at age 34 on this day in 2004... and for session drummer Jimmy Carl Black, who left us today in 2008.

Also on November 1: Handel finishes his oratorio Israel in Egypt (1738)... Chopin leaves his native city of Warsaw for the last time, destination Vienna (1830)...R&B group The Famous Flames, led by singer James Brown, cut their first demo ‘Please, Please, Please’ at a radio station in Macon, Georgia. It will lead to their signing with King Records (1955)... Elvis Presley buys a new Harley Davidson, and spends the day riding around Memphis on his acquisition with actress Natalie Wood (1956)... George Harrison releases his first solo album, Wonderwall Music, on the Apple label. The songs, which are mostly Harrison instrumentals, feature Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and an uncredited banjo contribution by Peter Tork of The Monkees (1968)... Elvis hits № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Suspicious Minds'. On the album rankings, the Beatles score their 13th US  № 1  with Abbey Road (1969)... The Grateful Dead release American Beauty (1970)... Paul McCartney & Wings kick off their first Australian tour with a show at the Entertainment Centre in Perth (1975)... Bruce Springsteen tops the Billboard album chart for the first time with The River (1980)... Whilst shooting the film Hearts of Fire in Canada, Bob Dylan jams with local outfit The Paul James Band in a bar in Markham, Ontario (1986)... Flavor Flav of Public Enemy is arrested and charged with the attempted murder of his neighbour. Flav claims that the man had had sex with his (Flav's) girlfriend (1993)... Danish dance-pop act Aqua are at № 1 on the UK charts with 'Barbie Girl'. The single will sell over 8 million copies worldwide (1997)... Organizers of the MTV Europe Awards recruit 500 'screamers' to attend this year's event. The music lovers are selected at an audition held in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens. About 1,500 pop-mad teenagers and adults scream themselves hoarse in a bid to get their hands on a ticket to the exclusive event (2003)... Metal Hammer magazine publishes a list of the 'Top ten rock and heavy metal moustaches…Ever'. The list, which includes moustaches worn by the likes of Frank Zappa, all the members of Black Sabbath, (except Ozzy Osbourne), James Hetfield and Lemmy, places Freddie Mercury at the top (2012).