April 24: Today’s Music History

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. 1706 ~ Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian music scholar and composer

. 1792 ~ La Marseillaise composed by French army officer Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

. 1913 ~ Violet Archer, Canadian pianist and composer

. 1916 ~ Stanley Kauffmann, Theatre critic for the New York Times

. 1922 ~ (Samuel) Aaron Bell, Jazz musician, bass, composer

. 1923 ~ Freddy Scott, Singer

. 1928 ~ Johnny Griffin, Jazz musician, tenor sax

. 1934 ~ Shirley Boone (Foley), Singer, married to singer Pat Boone since 1953

. 1934 ~ Shirley MacLaine, Entertainer, Academy Award-winning actress, sister of actor Warren Beatty

. 1934 ~ Laurens Hammond, in Chicago, IL, announced the news that would be favored by many churches across the United States. The news was the development of the pipeless organ — and a granting of a U.S. patent for same.
Read more about the Hammond Organ

. 1936 ~ Benny Goodman and his trio recorded China Boy for Victor Records. Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and Goodman recorded the session in Chicago.

. 1937 ~ Joe Henderson, Musician, composer. He played live in sextet at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner and also played with Blood Sweat and Tears

. 1942 ~ John Williams, Guitarist

. 1942 ~ Barbra Streisand, American actress and singer of popular music, Grammy Award-winning Best Female Pop Vocalist (1963-1965, 1977, 1986), Best Songwriter in 1977, Academy Award-winning Best Actress, Oscar for Best Song (Evergreen in 1976)
Read a news item about Barbra Streisand

. 1943 ~ Richard Sterban, Musician: bass, singer with The Oak Ridge Boys

. 1945 ~ Doug Clifford, Drummer with Creedence Clearwater Revival

. 1954 ~ Billboard magazine, the music industry trade publication, headlined a change to come about in the music biz. The headline read, “Teenagers Demand Music with a Beat — Spur Rhythm and Blues” … a sign of times to come. Within a year, R&B music by both black and white artists became popular.

. 1959 ~ Your Hit Parade ended after a nine-year run on television and many more years on radio. The show debuted in 1935. On the final show, these were the top five songs on Your Hit Parade:
1 Come Softly to Me
2 Pink Shoelaces
3 Never Be Anyone Else but You
4 It’s Just a Matter of Time
5 I Need Your Love Tonight

. 1965 ~ Game of Love, by Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, made it to the top spot on the Billboard music chart. Game of Love stayed for a short visit of one week, before Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits took over the top spot with Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.

. 1968 ~ Climaxing his birthday celebration, the Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, accidentally drove a Lincoln Continental into a hotel swimming pool in Flint, Mich.

. 1969 ~ The singing family, The Cowsills, received a gold record for their hit single, Hair, from the Broadway show of the same name.

. 2000 ~ Singer and pianist George Paoa, whose smooth voice and mellow style introduced generations of tourists to Hawaiian music, died. He was 65. For more than 40 years, Paoa entertained vacationers at isle hotels with a repertoire of old Hawaiian standards, light jazz and hapa-haole music, a tourist favorite with its blend of English lyrics and Hawaiian melodies. Paoa played with the jazz recording star Martin Denny in the 1960s and two of his children sang on his 1994 album, “Walking in the Sand.”

. 2001 ~ Jazz singer Al Hibbler, who was known for his rich baritone and exaggerated phrasing, died at the age of 85. Hibbler is best remembered as one of Duke Ellington’s most colorful vocalists. Hibbler went solo in the 1950s and enjoyed his biggest hit, Unchained Melody. Another of his hit songs was After the Lights Go Down Low. The Mississippi native, who was blind from birth, joined Ellington’s band in 1943 and became popular for singing tunes with the band that included Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me and I’m Just a Lucky So and So. Hibbler’s penchant for distorted vocal effects were described by Ellington as “tonal pantomime.” Hibbler started his professional singing career in the 1930s, after vocal studies at the Conservatory for the Blind in Little Rock, Ark. After winning amateur concerts in Memphis, Tenn., he led a group in Texas and toured with Kansas City bandleader Jay McShann in 1942. Hibbler went on to record with Ellington’s son, Mercer Ellington, Billy Taylor, Count Basie, Gerald Wilson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He sang When the Saints Go Marching In at Louis Armstrong’s funeral.

. 2016 ~ Billy Paul [Paul Williams], American singer (Me & Mrs Jones), died at the age of 81

April 23: Today’s Music History

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. 1756 ~ Alexander Reinagle, English-American composer, born

. 1882 ~ Albert Coates, British conductor and composer

OCMS 1891 ~ Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer and pianist
More information about Prokofiev
 Grammy winner

. 1924 ~ Arthur Frackenpohl, American composer

. 1928 ~ Shirley Temple, American actress best known for her parts as a child actress / singer / Tap Dancer. Possibly her best known part was as Shirley Blake in the movie Bright Eyes when she first performed the song that would become one of her trademarks, “On the Good Ship Lollipop”. She won an Academy Award for best Juvenile Performer in 1935. She went on to star in Stand Up and Cheer!, The Littlest Rebel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and Just Around the Corner. She was cast alongside some of the great actors of the time including John Wayne, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda and Ronald Reagan to name just a few. After ending her acting career she became a successful diplomat including a delegate to the United Nations (1969), United States Ambassador to Ghana (1974), United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the velvet revolution (1989–92). She was also one of the celebrities featured in the cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper.

. 1936 ~ Roy Orbison, American rock-and-roll singer, songwriter and guitarist

. 1939 ~ Ray Peterson, Singer

. 1947 ~ Keith Moon, Drummer for the rock band The Who

. 1952 ~ Narada Michael Walden, Musician: drums with the group Mahavishnu Orchestra, record producer, singer, songwriter

. 1952 ~ Elisabeth Schumann, German soprano, died. Best known for her roles in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “Cosi Fan Tutte,” she was also a popular recitalist

. 1985 ~ This was a big day for the flamboyant Liberace. Lee, as he was called by those close to him, first appeared on the TV soap opera, Another World. The sequined and well-furred pianist appeared as a fan of Felicia Gallant, a romance novelist. Later in the day, Liberace was a guest video jockey on MTV!

and

. 1985 ~ The first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize in over a decade was Sunday in the Park with George.

. 1986 ~ Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], American composer of Over the Rainbow died at the age of 81

. 2001 ~ Genji Ito, the resident composer for the experimental theater club La MaMa E.T.C. and a music collaborator with many other groups, died of cancer at the age of 54. Ito composed scores for more than 25 theatrical productions at La MaMa. He received an Obie Award in 1986 for sustained excellence. Working closely with Ellen Stewart, La MaMa’s founder, Ito produced scores notable for their stylistic variation and diversity. For 1986’s “Orfei,” a retelling of the Orpheus myth, Ito composed a score that mixed traditional folk instruments with modern electronic ones. For 1993’s “Ghosts: Live from Galilee,” the story of a group of black men accused of raping a white woman in 1931, Ito composed a score that combined blues with country and vaudeville. Ito also wrote 15 compositions for the Ubu Repertory.

April 22: Today’s Music History

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. 1858 ~ Dame Ethel Smyth, British composer

. 1912 ~ Kathleen Ferrier, British contralto singer, born. Best known for her emotional performances of Gustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” (“Song of the Earth”).

OCMS 1916 ~ Yehudi Menuhin, American violinist
Read quotes by and about Menuhin
More information about Menuhin

. 1921 ~ Candido (Camero), Musician: bongos, congas, tres, bass: over 100 recording credits with famous jazz, Latin and R&B artists

. 1922 ~ Charles Mingus, American jazz double-bass player, pianist, composer and bandleader

. 1922 ~ Lou Stein, pianist (Tonight! America After Dark)

. 1936 ~ Glen Campbell, Grammy Award-winning singer

. 1940 ~ The first all-Chinese commercial radio program was broadcast over KSAN radio in San Francisco, CA. Later, KSAN would become a pioneer in playing ‘underground rock’ music.

. 1943 ~ Mel Carter, Singer

. 1950 ~ Peter Frampton, Singer, guitarist

. 1956 ~ Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut on this night at the Frontier Hotel. With Heartbreak Hotel at the top of the pop charts, one can imagine the excitement generated by the new ‘King of rock and roll’. Even with a number one hit, Elvis was not yet well-received by the middle-aged audience. Management of the Frontier was so unimpressed, they gave Elvis his walking papers after one week of a two-week engagement.

 

. 1978 ~ Steve Martin & THE TOOT UNCOMMONS performed KING TUT on Saturday Night Live, popularizing goofy Egyptian dancing. The song, which portrays the pharaoh as his “favorite honky,” went on to sell over 500,000 copies.

Nearly three months after it was featured in the skit, the novelty tune peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Some of the backing musicians on the track, who called themselves the Toot Uncommons, were actually members of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

The record, which paid homage to Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, would go on to sell over a million copies.

The song was also included on Martin’s album A Wild and Crazy Guy.

In the book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad write that the sketch was one of the most expensive productions the show had attempted up to that point.

Martin had brought the song to the show and asked if he could perform it, not expecting the production that occurred—producer Lorne Michaels put everything behind it.

. 1983 ~ Earl “Fatha” Hines, American jazz pianist and bandleader, died at the age of 79

. 2001 ~ Jazz pianist-composer Isaac Cole, brother of the late singer Nat King Cole who worked on his niece Natalie’s multiple Grammy-winning 1991 album, died of cancer. He was 73. Ike Cole said he may have benefited from being compared with his more famous brother, who died in 1965 of lung cancer at 45, but that he disliked being accused of “trying to live off the name.” Ike Cole said he decided against changing his name because, shortly before dying, Nat asked him not to. He and brother Freddy toured in 1990 with a show saluting their famous brother. Ike Cole had played the bass drum in an Army band but in 1957, he formed the Ike Cole Trio in Chicago, where he was born, and went on the road. Winning major TV exposure, he soon was booked steadily for Las Vegas shows. His trio also regularly toured Japan, Australia and Europe as well as the United States. Though he often sang a medley of his older brother’s hits, Ike primarily was a jazzman. He played keyboard when Natalie Cole recorded her late father’s songs for a 1991 album that won three Grammys.

. 2013 ~ Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist, died from a heart attack at the age of 72

Happy Birthday ~ Gene Krupa!

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Eugene Bertram “Gene” Krupa lived from January 15, 1909 to October 16, 1973.  He was an American jazz and big band drummer, actor and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.

One of my all-time favorite non-piano songs is Sing Sing Sing. Krupa joined Benny Goodman’s band in 1934, where his featured drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on their hit “Sing, Sing, Sing” were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially.

The Benny Goodman big band playing Sing Sing Sing, featuring Gene Krupa at the end. We get the added benefit of hearing Mr. Harry James play a trumpet solo.

~~~

Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich: Famous Drum Battle

Saint Andrew’s Day

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Saint Andrew’s Day  

In Scotland, and many countries with Scottish connections, St Andrew’s Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance. Schools across Scotland hold special St Andrew’s Day events and activities including art shows, Scottish country dancing, lunchtime Ceilidhs, dance festivals, storytelling, reciting and writing poems, writing tall tales, cooking traditional Scottish meals, and bagpipe-playing.

The day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night.

In Edinburgh, there is a week of celebrations, concentrating on musical entertainment and traditional ceilidh dancing. A ceilidh is a social event with couples dancing in circles or sets (groups of eight people).

In Glasgow city centre, a large shindig, or party, with traditional music and a ceilidh are held. In Dumfries, songs are performed in the Burn’s night tradition.

In Barbados Saint Andrew’s Day is celebrated as the national day of Independence in Barbados. As the patron saint of Barbados, Saint Andrew is celebrated in a number of Barbadian symbols including the cross formation of the Barbadian Coat of Arms, and the country’s national honours system which styles persons as Knights or Dames of St. Andrew.

st-andrews-day-google

November 26 ~ On This Day in Music

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. 1789 ~ Thanksgiving was celebrated nationally for the first time in the United States.

. 1915 ~ Earl Wild, American composer and pianist (Caesar’s Hour, NBC Symphony 1942)

. 1925 ~ Eugene Istomin, American pianist

. 1932 ~ Alan Stout, American composer

. 1933 ~ Robert Goulet (Stanley Applebaum), Singer, actor

. 1935 ~ Marian Mercer, Singer, actress

. 1938 ~ Ray Brown, Singer with The Four Freshmen

. 1938 ~ Tina Turner (Annie Bullock), American soul-rock singer, Grammy Award-winning Pop Singer of the Year, 1985; Ike Turner’s ex-wife

. 1940 ~ Xavier Cugat and his orchestra recorded Orchids in the Moonlight on the Columbia label.

. 1944 ~ Alan Henderson, Bass with Them

. 1946 ~ John McVie, Guitarist with Fleetwood Mac

. 1956 ~ Tommy Dorsey passed away at the age of 51. His records sold more than 110,000,000 copies.

. 1959 ~ Albert Ketèlbey, British composer (In a Monastery Garden), died at the age of 84

. 1963 ~ Amelita Galli-Curci passed away

. 1968 ~ Cream gave a farewell performance filmed by the BBC in London. The rock group played before a capacity crowd at Royal Albert Hall.

. 1969 ~ The Band received a gold record for the album, The Band.

. 1978 ~ Frank Rosolino passed away

. 1980 ~ “Wings Over America” premiered in New York City. The movie is about the first American tour of Paul McCartney and Wings.

. 2001 ~ Paul Hume, a music critic who once drew the ire of President Harry Truman after he panned his daughter’s recital, died of pneumonia at his home in Baltimore. Hume was 85. Hume worked for The Washington Post and built a reputation as one of the most learned critics in the nation. Classical music legends Vladimir Horowitz, Eugene Ormandy and Leonard Bernstein all held Hume in high esteem. Hume will always be remembered for his review of a recital by Truman’s daughter, Margaret, in 1950, in which he criticized her singing as flat. After reading the review, Truman wrote an angry, threatening letter to Hume. Truman’s remarks got him in hot water with the public, which felt he shouldn’t take time to joust with critics as the nation fought the Korean War. A Chicago native, Hume taught music history at Georgetown University from 1950 to 1977 and was a visiting professor at Yale University from 1975 to 1983. He wrote several books, including a study of Catholic church music and a biography of Giuseppe Verdi.

. 2003 ~ Meyer Kupferman, a prolific composer whose work ranged from contemporary classical music to opera, ballet and jazz, died. He was 77. Kupferman, a virtuoso clarinetist, taught composition and music theory at Sarah Lawrence College, where he was a staff member from 1951 to 1993. During his tenure there, he also served as chair of the music department and conducted the orchestra, chorus and chamber improvisation ensemble. In 1948 Kupferman wrote both his first piano concerto and opera. In all, he produced seven operas, 12 symphonies, nine ballets, seven string quartets, 10 concertos and hundreds of chamber works. His compositions have been performed and recorded worldwide. Kupferman also was commissioned by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic to write ‘FDR’ for the centennial of Franklin Roosevelt’s birth. The manuscript of the piece is now held by the Roosevelt Library. William Anderson, a family friend and a guitarist who performed Kupferman’s music, told the New York Times that Kupferman died of heart failure.

November 25 ~ On This Day in Music

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. 1787 ~ Franz Gruber, composer of Silent Night. The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in present-day Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. He had written the lyrics of the song “Stille Nacht” in 1816.

The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass. It is unknown what inspired Mohr to write the lyrics, or what prompted him to create a new carol.

. 1896 ~ Virgil Thomson, American composer, conductor and music critic
Read quotes by and about Thomson
More information about Thomson

. 1924 ~ Paul Desmond, was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group’s greatest hit, “Take Five”.

. 1925 ~ Derroll Adams, Country singer, played with Jack Elliott

. 1931 ~ Nat Adderley, Musician, cornet, mellophone, French horn, trumpet, brother of Cannonball Adderley

. 1941 ~ Percy Sledge, Singer

. 1949 ~ Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, by Johnnie Marks, appeared on the music charts and became THE musical hit of the Christmas season. Although Gene Autry’s rendition is the most popular, 80 different versions of the song have been recorded, with nearly 20,000,000 copies sold.

. 1955 ~ Following a summer at the top of the American pop charts, Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets became the #1 song in Great Britain.

. 1959 ~ Steve Rothery, Guitarist with Marillion

. 1960 ~ Amy Grant, Singer

. 1965 ~ Dame Myra Hess, British pianist died

. 1966 ~ Stacey Lattisaw, Singer