• 1608 ~ Claudio Monteverdi’s “Arianna,” premiered in Mantua
• 1650 ~ Gilles Hayne, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1765 ~ Jean Baptiste Cartier, Composer
• 1777 ~ Joseph-Henri-Ignace Mees, Composer
• 1778 ~ Friedrich Westenholz, Composer
• 1780 ~ Joseph Frohlich, Composer
• 1787 ~ (Johann Georg) Leopold Mozart, Austrian Composer, Wolfgang’s father, died at the age of 67, in Salzburg.
• 1791 ~ Joseph Schmitt, Composer, died at the age of 57
• 1798 ~ Josef Dessauer, Composer
• 1805 ~ (Ridolfo) Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer and cellist, died at the age of 62
• 1830 ~ Karoly Filtsch, Composer
• 1833 ~ Johann Christian Friedrich Haeffner, Composer, died at the age of 74
• 1836 ~ Anton Reicha, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1838 ~ Thomas Busby, Composer, died
• 1841 ~ Giovanni Sgambati, Composer
• 1844 ~ Leon Felix August Joseph Vasseur, Composer
• 1883 ~ George Dyson, Composer
• 1883 ~ August Freyer, Composer, died at the age of 79
• 1883 ~ Luigi Perrachio, Composer
• 1889 ~ Jose Padilla, Composer
• 1890 ~ Viktor Ernst Nessler, Composer, died at the age of 49
• 1892 ~ Comedienne Marie Dressler made her New York City singing debut in the comic opera, “The Robber of the Rhine”.
• 1896 ~ Marius Monnikendam, Dutch choir composer
• 1898 ~ Andy Kirk, Jazz musician
• 1906 ~ Phil Regan, Singer, My Wild Irish Rose
• 1906 ~ Shields/Cobbs musical “His honor, the Mayor,” premiered in New York City
• 1910 ~ T-Bone Walker, Legendary blues guitarist
• 1914 ~ Adolf Gustaw Sonnenfeld, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1915 ~ Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Violinist
• 1923 ~ György Ligeti, Hungarian-born Austrian composer
More information about Ligeti
• 1922 ~ Carl Tieke, Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1922 ~ Otto Krueger conducted the Detroit News Orchestra, the first known radio orchestra, which was heard on WWJ Radio in Detroit, MI. The “Detroit News” owned the radio station at the time.
• 1925 ~ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone. Known for his performance of opera, notably Mozart, Strauss and Wagner, he is also famed for his interpretation of German lieder.
• 1927 ~ Bernhard Lewkovitch, Composer
• 1930 ~ Julian Penkivil Slade, Composer
• 1931 ~ Peter Talbot Westergaard, Composer
• 1932 ~ Henning Christiansen, Composer
• 1934 ~ Julian Slade, Composer
• 1934 ~ Rob du Bois, Composer
• 1936 ~ Maki Ishii, Composer
• 1940 ~ Hans Dulfer, Tenor saxophonist and director of Paradiso
• 1940 ~ Theodor Streicher, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1940 ~ Irving Berlin’s musical “Louisiana Purchase,” premiered in New York City
• 1941 ~ Frank Sinatra joined Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra in recording “This Love of Mine” for Victor Records.
• 1943 ~ Dennis Riley, Composer
• 1944 ~ Gladys Knight, American rhythm-and-blues singer. She has won 7 Grammys, had 6 number one R&B albums, and had 11 number one R&B singles. Her music career was at its most successful point during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. She began her career as part of the group Gladys Knight and the Pips and later gained recognition as a solo artist. Her most well-known songs include “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Knight has also made several appearances in film and television, often playing herself. Gladys Knight and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
• 1945 ~ John Fogerty, Songwriter, singer with Creedence Clearwater
• 1945 ~ Gary Stewart, Country singer
• 1954 ~ Achille Longo, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1957 ~ The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) was established. This is the organization that brings us the Grammy Awards for all forms of musical entertainment each year.
• 1958 ~ Mikulas Schneider-Trvavsky, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1959 ~ Johnson and Bart’s musical “Lock up your daughters,” premiered in London
• 1963 ~ Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1964 ~ John Finley Williamson, conductor of the Westminster Choir, died at the age of 76
• 1964 ~ Dmitri Shostakovich completed his Ninth String quartet
• 1966 ~ Percy Sledge hit number one with his first, and what turned out to be his biggest, hit. When a Man Loves a Woman would stay at the top of the pop music charts for two weeks. It was the singer’s only hit to make the top ten and was a million seller.
• 1966 ~ Dmitri Shostakovitch’s Eleventh String quartet, premiered in Leningrad
• 1967 ~ Dmitri Shostakovich completed his Second Violin Concerto
• 1973 ~ Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor, died at the age of 73
• 1975 ~ The Doobie Brothers went gold with the album, “Stampede”. The group, formed in San Jose, CA, recorded 16 charted hits. Two made it to number one, becoming million-selling, gold record winners: Black Water in March, 1975 and What a Fool Believes in April, 1979.
• 1977 ~ Jiri Reinberger, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1981 ~ Mary Lou Williams, Musician, died at the age of 71
• 2014 ~ James K. Randall, American composer, died at the age of 84
