THIS DAY IN HISTORY OF MUSIC
Births
1923: Sam Phillips
1929: Wilbert Harrison
1932: Johnny Adams
1945: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
1949: George "Funky" Brown (Kool and the Gang)
Deaths
1998: Sonny Bono
Events
1940: The FCC hears the first demonstration of FM radio.
1957: Pat Boone begins filming his movie Bernardine.
1963: Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess records, tells Billboard magazine, "As it stands today, there's virtually no difference between rock and roll, pop and rhythm and blues. The music has completely overlapped."
1967: In order to avoid the draft, folk singer Jesse Winchester moves to Canada.
1975: The Wiz premieres at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway to rave reviews.
1979: The double-album soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever reaches sales of 25 million worldwide, making it the best-selling LP in history.
2003: Little Richard guest-stars on the "Special Edna" episode of Fox's The Simpsons.
Releases
1959: Buddy Holly, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" b/w "Raining in My Heart"
Recording
1941: Carmen Miranda, "Chica Chica Boom Chic"
1965: The Supremes, "Stop! In The Name Of Love"
1967: The Beatles, "Penny Lane"
Certifications
1968: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits album is certified gold
1972: John Denver's Aerie album is certified gold
Charts
1952: Pee Wee King's "Slow Poke" hits #1
1955: LaVern Baker's "Tweedle Dee" enters the R&B charts
1974: The Carpenters' The Singles 1969-1973 album hits #1
1979: The Blues Brothers' Briefcase of Blues album hits #1
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1961 - The Beatles played at Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool. In the audience are two members from Rory Storm & the Hurricanes: Johnny Guitar and Ringo Starr who have just returned from Hamburg, Germany.
1966 - The Who appeared on a new UK television program 'The Whole Scene Going.'
1967 - Pink Floyd appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.
1967 - During The Beatles Sgt Pepper sessions at Abbey Road in London, Paul McCartney recorded his vocal track on 'Penny Lane.'
1968 - Jimi Hendrix was jailed for one day in Stockholm, Sweden on drink charges after going berserk and destroying everything in his room at the Goteberg Hotel.
1972 - David Bowie played two shows at Green's Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland.
1973 - Bruce Springsteen released his debut album 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.' Recorded in a single week the album only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both 'Blinded By The Light' and 'Spirit In The Night' were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band later released a version of 'Blinded By The Light' on their album 'The Roaring Silence,' which reached #1 on the US charts in 1977.
1974 - The Carpenters went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'The Singles 1969-1973'.
1974 - Yes scored their first UK No.1 album with the double set 'Tales From The Topographic Oceans'.
1976 - Former Beatles roadie Mal Evans was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles apartment. His girlfriend called police when she found Evans upset with a rifle in his hand; he pointed the gun at the police who opened fire. Friends later said that Evans was depressed about his separation from his wife Lil Evans — who had asked for a divorce before Christmas.
1978 - The Sex Pistols started a US tour in Atlanta, Georgia before an estimated audience of 500 people.
1979 - Jazz musician and bandleader Charles Mingus died aged 56. His final project was 'Mingus' a collaboration with Joni Mitchell.
1979 - Prince made his live debut at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis.
1980 - Donna Summer scored her third US No.1 album with 'On The Radio- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & II.'
1980 - KC and the Sunshine Band had their 5th US No.1 single and scored the first No.1 of the 80's when 'Please Don't Go' went to No.1 in the UK.
1983 - Everything But The Girl made their live debut at the ICA in London. (They took their name from a second-hand furniture store in Hull).
1987 - Alied Jones the young Welsh chorister announced his retirement from pop music at the age of 16, to study for his O level exams.
1989 - Winners in music weekly Melody Makers Readers Poll results, The Mission won best band, best live act, best single and best album. Morrissey won best male singer, Julianne Regan from All About Eve best female singer, worst LP went to Bros with 'Push' and best new band was won by House Of Love.
1990 - During a UK tour Paul McCartney appeared at The NEC Birmingham, England.
1991 - Iron Maiden went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.' It became the lowest selling No.1 since 1960, with just over 42,000 copies sold in its first week.
1991 - Madonna went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Justify My Love', a song co-written with Lenny Kravitz and No.2 hit in the UK.
1997 - Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged 62. Bono who was one half on Sonny and Cher scored the 1965 UK & US No.1 single 'I Got You Babe' and had become a US Congressman.
1997 - No Doubt went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Tragic Kingdom.'
1998 - Ken Forssi bassist with Love died of brain cancer aged 55. Love scored the 1966 US No.33 single '7 And 7 Is', 1968 UK No.24 album 'Forever Changes.'
2001 - Kirsty MacColl was laid to rest at a private funeral ceremony, ahead of a public memorial to pay tribute to her life. The singer songwriter was killed in a boating accident on 18th Dec 2000.
2002 - UK Pop magazine Smash Hits listed the Best singles Of 2001 had Kylie Minogue at No.3 with 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head', No.2, Shaggy, 'It Wasn't Me' and at No.1 S Club 7 'Don't Stop Movin.'
2003 - Canadian singer Avril Lavigne went to No.1 on the UK album chart with her debut release 'Let Go'.
2003 - Green Day's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after being stopped in California speeding in a black BMW convertible. He failed a breath test and was taken to Berkeley county jail and was later released on $1,053 (£657) bail.
2004 - Kinks singer Ray Davies was shot in the leg while on holiday in New Orleans. The 59-year-old singer-songwriter was shot when running after two men who stole his girlfriend's purse at gunpoint. Davies was admitted to the Medical Centre of Louisiana but his injuries were not considered serious. New Orleans police said one person had been arrested, and police were still searching for the second.
2005 - New York group Scissor Sisters had the UK's best-selling album of 2004 after overtaking Keane's sales on the last day of the year. Scissor Sisters' self-titled debut CD sold 1,594,259 copies in 2004 - 582 more than Keane's ‘Hopes and Fears.’ Robbie Williams' ‘Greatest Hits’ was the year's third biggest-seller, followed by Maroon 5, Katie Melua and Anastacia.
2008 - Josh Groban was at No.1 on the US album chart with his Christmas album 'Noel'. The best selling US album of 2007 selling over 3.5 million copies in 10 weeks.
BORN
1923 - Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, the first label of Elvis Presley's recordings. Recorded Carl Perkins, Ike Turner, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis. Phillips died on 30th July 2003.
1940 - Athol Guy, singer, The Seekers, (1965 UK No.1 single 'I'll Never Find Another You').
1941 - Grady Thomas, Funkadelic, (1978 US No.16 album 'One Nation Under A Groove').
1949 - George Brown, singer, Kool & The Gang, (1981 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Celebration', plus over 15 other UK Top 40 hits).
1950 - Chris Stein, guitar, Blondie. (Five UK No.1 singles including 1979 UK & US No.1 single 'Heart Of Glass' and 1978 world-wide No.1 album 'Parallel Lines').
1951 - Biff Byford, vocals, Saxon, (1980 UK No.5 album 'Wheels Of Steel').
1964 - Grant Young, drums, Soul Asylum, (1993 US No.5 and UK No.7 single 'Runaway Train').
1964 - Phil Thornalley, songwriter, vocals, guitar, Johnny Hates Jazz, The Cure. Writer of Natalie Imbruglia word- wide hit 'Torn'.
1966 - Kate Schellenbach, singer, Luscious Jackson, (1997 UK No.25 single 'Naked Eye').
1969 - Brian Warner, (Marilyn Manson), 1998 US No.1 album, 'Mechanical Animals', UK No. 12 single, 'The Dope Show'. His stage name was formed from juxtaposing the names of two 1960s American cultural icons, Marilyn Monroe and convicted multiple murder Charles Manson.
1970 - Jeffrey Jey, singer, Italian group Eiffel 65, (1999 UK No.1 single 'Blue (Da Ba Dee'). The single was also No.1 in Norway, Austria, Finland, Germany and Denmark.
1970 - Troy Van Leeuwen, American guitarist, Queens of the Stone Age.
1976 - Matthew Walter Wachter, bassist Angels & Airwaves, 30 Seconds to Mars.
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EVENTS
1649 - Francesco Cavalli's opera "Giasone," premieres in Venice
1875 - Charles Garnier's new Opera opens in Paris
1896 - Isaac Albeniz' opera "Pepita Jiminez," premieres in Barcelona
1962 - Tony Sheridan & Beatles produce "My Bonnie" & "The Saints"
BIRTHDAYS
1560 - William Cobbold, composer
1596 - Henry Lawes, English composer
1661 - Jacob Balthasar Schutz, composer
1667 - Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1740)
1679 - Pietro Filippo Scarlotti, composer
1710 - Friedrich Wilhelm Reidt, composer
1762 - Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1842)
1778 - Fortunato Santini, composer
1788 - Kaspar Ett, German organist/composer
1810 - Auguste Mermet, composer
1823 - William Rockstro, composer
1835 - Friedrich Richard Faltin, composer
1871 - Frederick Shepherd Converse, Newton Mass, composer
1880 - Nicolai Karlovich Medtner, composer
1881 - Nikolay Andreyevich Roslavets, composer
1891 - Johan Boskamp, Dutch actor/singer (Potasch & Perlemoer) [or 1893]
1893 - Friedrich Blume, German musicologist (Das Rassenproblem in der Musik)
1895 - Elizabeth Cotten, American musician (d. 1987)
1897 - Theo Mackeben, German pianist/composer (Lady Fanny, Bel Ami)
1902 - Pierre Palla, Dutch pianist/organist
1903 - Leighton Lucas, composer
1904 - Erica Morini, Vienna Austria, concert violinist (d. 1995)
1915 - Uta Graf, singer/teacher
1917 - Reginald Smith Brindle, composer
1917 - Wieland Wagner, German opera director
1920 - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Brescia Italy, pianist
1923 - Sam Phillips, musician/record founder (Sun)
1923 - Sam Phillips, American music producer (d. 2003)
1929 - Wilbert Harrison, singer
1930 - Frederick Charles Tillis, composer
1930 - Richard Hayes, Passaic NJ, singer/emcee (Name That Tune)
1931 - Alfred Brendel, Wiesenberg Moravia, Austrian pianist
1931 - Alvin Ailey, choreographer (American Dance Theater)
1940 - Athol Guy, Australian singer, member of The Seekers
1941 - Grady Thomas, US rock vocalist (Parliaments, Funkadelic, Maggot Brain)
1942 - Maurizio Pollini, Milan Italy, pianist
1946 - "Crazy Barret Diamond" Syd, rocker (Pink Floyd)
Actress Diane Keaton (1946)
1946 - Diane Keaton, [Hall], LA, actress (Annie Hall, Little Drummer Girl)
1948 - Thom Mooney, rocker
1949 - George Brown, rock drummer (Kool & the Gang-Celebration)
1950 - Chris Stein, rock guitarist and co-founder of Blondie (Heart of Glass, Call Me) born in Brooklyn, New York
1953 - Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers)
1954 - Bryan Hitt, rocker (REO Speedwagon-Keep on Loving You)
1963 - Rick Ambrose, singer (Jewel)
1964 - Ted Harris Poley, Englewood NJ, rocker (Danger Danger-Screw It)
1966 - Kate Schellenbach, musician (Luscious Jackson)
1968 - DJ Bobo, Swiss singer
1968 - Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer and choreographer
1969 - Marilyn Manson, singer/musician
1972 - Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer
1973 - Phil Joel, Australian bassist (Newsboys)
1974 - John Drew Nichols, Oklahoma, rocker (PC Quest-Can You See)
1976 - Matt Wachter, American bassist (30 Seconds to Mars)
1986 - Teppei Koike, Japanese actor and singer
1988 - Pauline, French singer
DEATHS
1740 - Antonio Lotti, Italian opera composer, dies at about 72
1746 - Anton Simon Ignaz Praelisauer, composer, dies at 53
1783 - Friedrich Wilhelm Reidt, composer, dies on 73rd birthday
1788 - Johann Schneider, composer, dies at 85
1814 - Johann Gottfried Krebs, composer, dies at 72
1848 - Ferdinando Orlandi, composer, dies at 73
1862 - Joseph Frohlich, composer, dies at 81
1888 - Henri Herz, composer, dies at a day before 85th birthday
1891 - Emma Abbott, American soprano (b. 1849)
1946 - Kitty Cheatham, American singer (b. 1864)
1956 - Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
1970 - Roberto Gerhard, composer, dies at 73
1974 - Roy Bargy, orchestra leader (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 79
1974 - Lev Oborin, Russian pianist (b. 1907)
1976 - Georges E Migot, French composer, dies at 84
1979 - Charles Mingus, US jazz bassist/composer/orchestra leader, dies at 56
1993 - Leonce Gras, Flemish singer/conductor, dies at 84
1994 - Victor van Os, Dutch jazz guitarist, dies at 39
1995 - Francis Lopez, Fren dentist/operetta composer (Andalousie), dies at 78
1996 - Joseph Daniel White, singer/bandleader, dies at 84
1998 - Georgi Sviridov, composer, dies at 82
1998 - Sonny Bono, (Rep-R-Ca)/singer (Sonny & Cher), dies skiing at 62
1998 - Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
2003 - Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
2005 - Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors) (b. 1954)