. 1933 ~ Jerry Leiber, Record producer with Mike Stoller
. 1945 ~ Stu Cook, Bass with Creedence Clearwater Revival
. 1945 ~ Bjorn Ulvaeus, Musician, guitar, singer with Abba
. 1946 ~ The popular Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra recorded Cement Mixer for Majestic records, tapes and CDs this day. Well, not tapes and CDs. We were still listening to 78s back then … thick, heavy ones, at that.
. 1952 ~ Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist
. 1956 ~ The rock ‘n roll legend, Elvis Presley’sHeartbreak Hotel went No.1.
. 1970 ~ DJs around the U.S. played the new number one song, ABC, quite often, as the Jackson 5 reached the number one spot in pop music for two weeks. ABC was the second of four number one songs in a row for the group from Gary, IN. I Want You Back was their first. ABC was one of 23 hits for Michael, Tito, Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon. ABC was knocked out of first place by The Guess Who and their hit, American Woman.
. 1973 ~ The group, The Sweet, received a gold record for the hit Little Willy. The English rocker band recorded four hits in addition to their first million-seller, Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, Action and Love is like Oxygen. Little Willy was a top-three hit, while the group’s other gold record winner, Fox on the Run made it to the top five.
. 2000 ~ David Merrick, one of Broadway’s most flamboyant and successful theatrical producers who created “Gypsy,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “42nd Street,” died in London at the age of 88. During his long career as arguably Broadway’s most successful producer, Merrick won all the major theatrical awards, including 10 Tony Awards just for “Hello, Dolly!” He was best-known for his musicals but he produced many non-musicals as well.
. 2007 ~ Bobby “Boris” Pickett, American singer-songwriter (Monster Mash), died from leukemia at the age of 69
. 1653 ~ Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer
More information on Corelli
. 1902 ~ Marian Anderson, American contralto
Read quotes by and about Anderson
More information on Anderson
. 1904 ~ Puccini’s opera, Madama Butterfly was first performed at La Scala, the world’s most famous opera house in Milan, Italy.
. 1909 ~ Marjorie Lawrence, Opera soprano: “One of the truest Wagnerian interpreters of our time, unchallenged for the stirring magnificence of her Brunnhilde and the tender simplicity of her Sieglinde, or the stately loveliness of her Elsa and the compelling malevolence of her Ortrud.”
. 1923 ~ Buddy (Boniface) DeFranco, Clarinetist, bandleader. He won all modern jazz music polls in the early 1950s
. 1946 ~ Dodie Stevens (Geraldine Ann Pasquale), Singer
. 1954 ~ Doris Day’s single, Secret Love, became the #1 tune in the U.S. The song, from the motion picture, “Calamity Jane”, stayed at the top of the music charts for three weeks.
. 1962 ~ The Beach Boys started making waves with their first Southern California hit, Surfin’. Their new musical style swept the U.S. like a tidal wave when they hit nationally with Surfin’ Safari in August of this same year.
. 1962 ~ Gene Chandler hit #1 with Duke of Earl on this day. The song stayed at the top for three weeks. It hit #1 on the rhythm & blues charts, as well. Duke of Earl was Chandler’s biggest hit out of a half-dozen he recorded. His only other million-seller came with Groovy Situation in 1970. Curtis Mayfield wrote several hits for Chandler, including Just Be True, What Now and Nothing Can Stop Me. Chandler’s real name is Eugene Dixon. He owned his own record label, Mr. Chand, from 1969 to 1973, though Groovy Situation was recorded in 1970 for Mercury.
. 1966 ~ Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler received a gold record from RCA Victor, for both the album and the single of The Ballad of the Green Berets. Sadler, who recorded one other single (“The “A” Team”) for the label, had served in Vietnam until injuring a leg in a Viet Cong booby trap.
. 1972 ~ Billie Joe Armstrong, Grammy Award-winning singer (1994), guitarist and songwriter with Green Day
. 1998 ~ Bob Merrill passed away. Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.
. 2010 ~ Kathryn Grayson [Zelma Hedrick], American vocalist and actress (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate), died of natural causes at the age of 88
. 2017 ~ Alan Aldridge, British artist, graphic designer and illustrator whose artwork was used in record covers for The Beatles and The Who, died at the age of 73
• 1778 ~ La Scala, one of the world’s great opera houses, opened on this day. They premiered William Tell by Gioachino Rossini
• 1823 ~ Francisco Asenjo Babieri, Spanish composer
• 1884 ~ Louis Gruenberg, Polish-born American composer
• 1902 ~ Ray Bloch, Conductor and orchestra leader
• 1917 ~ Charlie Shavers, Trumpeter with the John Kirby Sextet and composer of Undecided
• 1918 ~ Les Elgart, Lead trumpet, bandleader for Les and (brother) Larry Elgart
• 1921 ~ Richard Adler, Broadway Composer, lyricist
• 1926 ~ Tony Bennett (Benedetto), Grammy Award-winning American singer of popular music
• 1941 ~ Beverly Lee, Singer with The Shirelles
• 1949 ~ B.B. (Morris) Dickerson, Bass and singer with War
• 1951 ~ Johnny Graham, Guitarist with Earth, Wind and Fire
• 1963 ~ The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. The group was about to leave its hometown behind for unprecedented worldwide fame and fortune.
• 1963 ~ The Beach Boys’ Surfer Girl, was released on Capitol Records. It became one of their biggest hits. Surfer Girl made it to number seven on the hit music charts on September 14, 1963
• 1963 ~ Comedian Allan Sherman’s summer camp parody, Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp) was released on Warner Brothers Records. The melody was based on the Dance of the Hours from Ponchielli’s opera La Giaconda. This dance was also performed in the original Disney movie Fantasia.
• 1971 ~ Paul McCartney formed a new band called Wings. Joining McCartney in the group were Denny Laine, formerly of The Moody Blues, Denny Seilwell and McCartney’s wife, Linda.
• 1998 ~ Alfred Schnittke, one of the most original and influential composers to emerge from the Soviet Union, died. He was 63.
• 2001 ~ Jeanne Loriod, the leading performer of an electronic instrument used in film scores and symphonic works to produce mysterious glassy tones, died in southern France. She was 73. Loriod, who played the ondes martenot – invented by the French musician Maurice Martenot – died of a stroke in Juan-les-Pins, Le Monde newspaper reported.
She was the younger sister of pianist Yvonne Loriod, who was married to composer Olivier Messiaen. The three musicians often collaborated.
The ondes martenot – which translates as “Martenot waves” – produces electronic waves from a system of transistors, a keyboard and a ribbon attached to a ring on the performer’s forefinger.
Loriod’s career took her all over the world. She performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
Composers such as Tristan Murail, Jacques Charpentier and Michael Levinas wrote works for her, according to Le Monde. Loriod had also been planning to collaborate with the pop group Radiohead, the paper wrote.
• 2008 ~ Louis Teicher died at 83. He was half of the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, which toured for four decades and released 150 albums, some as suitable for elevators as for concert halls.
• 2016 ~ Ricci Martin, an entertainer/musician son of Dean Martin, died at the age of 62.
• 1284 ~ The Pied Piper exacted his revenge upon the German town of Hamelin this day. The townspeople had promised to pay the piper a large fee if he could rid their town the nasty rats running all over the place. He had played his trusty pipe and the rats had followed him out of town and into the River Weser. But once the rodents were eliminated, the local folks decided not to pay after all. The piper was not pleased and repaid the townspeople by playing his pipe for the children of Hamelin, just like he had done for the rats. And just like the rats, the children followed him out of town.
• 1582 ~ Johannes Schultz, Composer
• 1657 ~ Tobias Michael, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1661 ~ Lazaro Valvasensi, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1747 ~ Leopold Jan Antonin Kozeluh, Composer
• 1778 ~ Angelo Antonio Caroli, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1798 ~ Eugene Godecharle, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1823 ~ Frederick Bowen Jewson, Composer
• 1824 ~ Moritz Furstenau, Composer
• 1836 ~ Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, author and composer of the Marseillaise, died
• 1870 ~ Wagner’s opera “Valkyrie” premiered in Munich
• 1893 ~ “Big Bill” Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist
• 1894 ~ Bill Wirges, American orchestra leader
• 1901 ~ William Busch, Composer
• 1902 ~ Antonia Brico, Conductor and pianist. Because there were so few opportunities for female conductors, she organized the Woman’s Symphony Orchestra in 1935.
• 1909 ~ “Col Tom” Parker (Dries Van Kruijk), Elvis Presley’s manager
• 1933 ~ Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
More information about Abbado
• 1933 ~ The Kraft Music Hall debuted. It turned out to be one of radio’s longest-running hits. The first program presented Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. SingerAl Jolson became the host of the show shortly thereafter. Several years later, crooner Bing Crosby was named the host. The Kraft Music Hall continued on NBC radio until 1949 and then on TV for many more years; the first year as Milton Berle Starring in the Kraft Music Hall, then Kraft Music Hall Presents: The Dave King Show followed by Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall for four seasons. From 1967 on, The Kraft Music Hall featured a different host.
• 1934 ~ Dave Grusin, Composer of film scores
• 1934 ~ Luis Felipe Pires, Composer
• 1940 ~ Billy Davis, Jr., Singer with The 5th Dimension
• 1942 ~ Larry Taylor, Musician, bass with Canned Heat
• 1943 ~ John Allen Strang, Composer
• 1943 ~ Georgie Fame (Clive Powell), Singer
• 1945 ~ Barry Schrader, Composer
• 1945 ~ Erno Rapee, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1945 ~ Nikolay Nikolayevich Tcherepnin, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1953 ~ Ralph Ezell, American singer
• 1954 ~ Robert Davi, American opera singer/actor
• 1956 ~ Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter, died at the age of 25
• 1964 ~ A Hard Day’s Night was released by United Artists Records. The album featured all original material by The Beatles and became the top album in the country by July 25, 1964.
• 1965 ~ Mr. Tambourine Man, by The Byrds, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts. The song was considered by many to be the first folk-rock hit. The tune was written by Bob Dylan, as were two other hits for the group: All I Really Wantto Do and My Back Pages. The group of James Roger McGinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Mike Clarke charted seven hits. The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
• 1966 ~ “Time for Singing” closed at Broadway Theater New York City after 41 performances
• 1971 ~ Inia Te Wiata, opera singer, died
• 1971 ~ Juan Manen, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1971 ~ “Man of La Mancha” closed at ANTA Washington Square Theater New York City after 2329 performances
• 1972 ~ David Lichine (Lichtenstein), Russian/American choreographer, died at the age of 61
• 1973 ~ Arnold Richardson, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1973 ~ London production of “Grease” premiered
• 1977 ~ Lou Reizner, Rock vocalist/producer, died at the age of 43
• 1977 ~ Elvis Presley sang the last performance of his career, in Indianapolis. He died two months later.
• 1981 ~ Peter Kreuder, German composer, died
• 1982 ~ André Tchaikowsy, Pianist and composer, died
• 1983 ~ Walter O’Keefe, Songwriter and TV host, died at the age of 82
• 1983 ~ “Show Boat” closed at Uris Theater New York City after 73 performances
• 1984 ~ Barbra Streisand recorded Here We Are at Last
• 1991 ~ Carmine Coppola, Composer and conductor (Godfather II), died at the age of 80
• 1994 ~ Thomas Henry Wait Armstrong, Organist, died at the age of 96
• 2001 ~ French soprano Gina Cigna, famed for singing Puccini’s “Turandot”, died at the age of 101. Born in Paris in 1900, Cigna made her stage debut at Milan’s La Scala opera house at age 27 under the name Ginette Sens. Her breakthrough came two years later when she performed in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at La Scala under her own name. Arturo Toscanini, the conductor, was particularly fond of Cigna’s expressive voice, which received widespread acclaim. An auto accident ended Cigna’s performing career in 1947. Until 1965, she coached opera singers in Milan, Siena and Canada.
• 1778 ~ La Scala, one of the world’s great opera houses, opened on this day. They premiered William Tell by Gioachino Rossini
• 1823 ~ Francisco Asenjo Babieri, Spanish composer
• 1884 ~ Louis Gruenberg, Polish-born American composer
• 1902 ~ Ray Bloch, Conductor and orchestra leader
• 1917 ~ Charlie Shavers, Trumpeter with the John Kirby Sextet and composer of Undecided
• 1918 ~ Les Elgart, Lead trumpet, bandleader for Les and (brother) Larry Elgart
• 1921 ~ Richard Adler, Broadway Composer, lyricist
• 1926 ~ Tony Bennett (Benedetto), Grammy Award-winning American singer of popular music
• 1941 ~ Beverly Lee, Singer with The Shirelles
• 1949 ~ B.B. (Morris) Dickerson, Bass and singer with War
• 1951 ~ Johnny Graham, Guitarist with Earth, Wind and Fire
• 1963 ~ The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. The group was about to leave its hometown behind for unprecedented worldwide fame and fortune.
• 1963 ~ The Beach Boys’ Surfer Girl, was released on Capitol Records. It became one of their biggest hits. Surfer Girl made it to number seven on the hit music charts on September 14, 1963
• 1963 ~ Comedian Allan Sherman’s summer camp parody, Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp) was released on Warner Brothers Records. The melody was based on the Dance of the Hours from Ponchielli’s opera La Giaconda. This dance was also performed in the original Disney movie Fantasia.
• 1971 ~ Paul McCartney formed a new band called Wings. Joining McCartney in the group were Denny Laine, formerly of The Moody Blues, Denny Seilwell and McCartney’s wife, Linda.
• 1998 ~ Alfred Schnittke, one of the most original and influential composers to emerge from the Soviet Union, died. He was 63.
• 2001 ~ Jeanne Loriod, the leading performer of an electronic instrument used in film scores and symphonic works to produce mysterious glassy tones, died in southern France. She was 73. Loriod, who played the ondes martenot – invented by the French musician Maurice Martenot – died of a stroke in Juan-les-Pins, Le Monde newspaper reported.
She was the younger sister of pianist Yvonne Loriod, who was married to composer Olivier Messiaen. The three musicians often collaborated.
The ondes martenot – which translates as “Martenot waves” – produces electronic waves from a system of transistors, a keyboard and a ribbon attached to a ring on the performer’s forefinger.
Loriod’s career took her all over the world. She performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
Composers such as Tristan Murail, Jacques Charpentier and Michael Levinas wrote works for her, according to Le Monde. Loriod had also been planning to collaborate with the pop group Radiohead, the paper wrote.
• 2008 ~ Louis Teicher died at 83. He was half of the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, which toured for four decades and released 150 albums, some as suitable for elevators as for concert halls.
• 2016 ~ Ricci Martin, an entertainer/musician son of Dean Martin, died at the age of 62.
• 1284 ~ The Pied Piper exacted his revenge upon the German town of Hamelin this day. The townspeople had promised to pay the piper a large fee if he could rid their town the nasty rats running all over the place. He had played his trusty pipe and the rats had followed him out of town and into the River Weser. But once the rodents were eliminated, the local folks decided not to pay after all. The piper was not pleased and repaid the townspeople by playing his pipe for the children of Hamelin, just like he had done for the rats. And just like the rats, the children followed him out of town.
• 1582 ~ Johannes Schultz, Composer
• 1657 ~ Tobias Michael, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1661 ~ Lazaro Valvasensi, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1747 ~ Leopold Jan Antonin Kozeluh, Composer
• 1778 ~ Angelo Antonio Caroli, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1798 ~ Eugene Godecharle, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1823 ~ Frederick Bowen Jewson, Composer
• 1824 ~ Moritz Furstenau, Composer
• 1836 ~ Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, author and composer of the Marseillaise, died
• 1870 ~ Wagner’s opera “Valkyrie” premiered in Munich
• 1893 ~ “Big Bill” Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist
• 1894 ~ Bill Wirges, American orchestra leader
• 1901 ~ William Busch, Composer
• 1902 ~ Antonia Brico, Conductor and pianist. Because there were so few opportunities for female conductors, she organized the Woman’s Symphony Orchestra in 1935.
• 1909 ~ “Col Tom” Parker (Dries Van Kruijk), Elvis Presley’s manager
• 1933 ~ Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
More information about Abbado
• 1933 ~ The Kraft Music Hall debuted. It turned out to be one of radio’s longest-running hits. The first program presented Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. SingerAl Jolson became the host of the show shortly thereafter. Several years later, crooner Bing Crosby was named the host. The Kraft Music Hall continued on NBC radio until 1949 and then on TV for many more years; the first year as Milton Berle Starring in the Kraft Music Hall, then Kraft Music Hall Presents: The Dave King Show followed by Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall for four seasons. From 1967 on, The Kraft Music Hall featured a different host.
• 1934 ~ Dave Grusin, Composer of film scores
• 1934 ~ Luis Felipe Pires, Composer
• 1940 ~ Billy Davis, Jr., Singer with The 5th Dimension
• 1942 ~ Larry Taylor, Musician, bass with Canned Heat
• 1943 ~ John Allen Strang, Composer
• 1943 ~ Georgie Fame (Clive Powell), Singer
• 1945 ~ Barry Schrader, Composer
• 1945 ~ Erno Rapee, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1945 ~ Nikolay Nikolayevich Tcherepnin, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1953 ~ Ralph Ezell, American singer
• 1954 ~ Robert Davi, American opera singer/actor
• 1956 ~ Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter, died at the age of 25
• 1964 ~ A Hard Day’s Night was released by United Artists Records. The album featured all original material by The Beatles and became the top album in the country by July 25, 1964.
• 1965 ~ Mr. Tambourine Man, by The Byrds, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts. The song was considered by many to be the first folk-rock hit. The tune was written by Bob Dylan, as were two other hits for the group: All I Really Wantto Do and My Back Pages. The group of James Roger McGinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Mike Clarke charted seven hits. The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
• 1966 ~ “Time for Singing” closed at Broadway Theater New York City after 41 performances
• 1971 ~ Inia Te Wiata, opera singer, died
• 1971 ~ Juan Manen, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1971 ~ “Man of La Mancha” closed at ANTA Washington Square Theater New York City after 2329 performances
• 1972 ~ David Lichine (Lichtenstein), Russian/American choreographer, died at the age of 61
• 1973 ~ Arnold Richardson, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1973 ~ London production of “Grease” premiered
• 1977 ~ Lou Reizner, Rock vocalist/producer, died at the age of 43
• 1977 ~ Elvis Presley sang the last performance of his career, in Indianapolis. He died two months later.
• 1981 ~ Peter Kreuder, German composer, died
• 1982 ~ André Tchaikowsy, Pianist and composer, died
• 1983 ~ Walter O’Keefe, Songwriter and TV host, died at the age of 82
• 1983 ~ “Show Boat” closed at Uris Theater New York City after 73 performances
• 1984 ~ Barbra Streisand recorded Here We Are at Last
• 1991 ~ Carmine Coppola, Composer and conductor (Godfather II), died at the age of 80
• 1994 ~ Thomas Henry Wait Armstrong, Organist, died at the age of 96
• 2001 ~ French soprano Gina Cigna, famed for singing Puccini’s “Turandot”, died at the age of 101. Born in Paris in 1900, Cigna made her stage debut at Milan’s La Scala opera house at age 27 under the name Ginette Sens. Her breakthrough came two years later when she performed in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at La Scala under her own name. Arturo Toscanini, the conductor, was particularly fond of Cigna’s expressive voice, which received widespread acclaim. An auto accident ended Cigna’s performing career in 1947. Until 1965, she coached opera singers in Milan, Siena and Canada.
. 1933 ~ Jerry Leiber, Record producer with Mike Stoller
. 1945 ~ Stu Cook, Bass with Creedence Clearwater Revival
. 1945 ~ Bjorn Ulvaeus, Musician, guitar, singer with Abba
. 1946 ~ The popular Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra recorded Cement Mixer for Majestic records, tapes and CDs this day. Well, not tapes and CDs. We were still listening to 78s back then … thick, heavy ones, at that.
. 1952 ~ Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist
. 1956 ~ The rock ‘n roll legend, Elvis Presley’sHeartbreak Hotel went No.1.
. 1970 ~ DJs around the U.S. played the new number one song, ABC, quite often, as the Jackson 5 reached the number one spot in pop music for two weeks. ABC was the second of four number one songs in a row for the group from Gary, IN. I Want You Back was their first. ABC was one of 23 hits for Michael, Tito, Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon. ABC was knocked out of first place by The Guess Who and their hit, American Woman.
. 1973 ~ The group, The Sweet, received a gold record for the hit Little Willy. The English rocker band recorded four hits in addition to their first million-seller, Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, Action and Love is like Oxygen. Little Willy was a top-three hit, while the group’s other gold record winner, Fox on the Run made it to the top five.
. 2000 ~ David Merrick, one of Broadway’s most flamboyant and successful theatrical producers who created “Gypsy,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “42nd Street,” died in London at the age of 88. During his long career as arguably Broadway’s most successful producer, Merrick won all the major theatrical awards, including 10 Tony Awards just for “Hello, Dolly!” He was best-known for his musicals but he produced many non-musicals as well.
. 2007 ~ Bobby “Boris” Pickett, American singer-songwriter (Monster Mash), died from leukemia at the age of 69
. 1653 ~ Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer
More information on Corelli
. 1902 ~ Marian Anderson, American contralto
Read quotes by and about Anderson
More information on Anderson
. 1904 ~ Puccini’s opera, Madama Butterfly was first performed at La Scala, the world’s most famous opera house in Milan, Italy.
. 1909 ~ Marjorie Lawrence, Opera soprano: “One of the truest Wagnerian interpreters of our time, unchallenged for the stirring magnificence of her Brunnhilde and the tender simplicity of her Sieglinde, or the stately loveliness of her Elsa and the compelling malevolence of her Ortrud.”
. 1923 ~ Buddy (Boniface) DeFranco, Clarinetist, bandleader. He won all modern jazz music polls in the early 1950s
. 1946 ~ Dodie Stevens (Geraldine Ann Pasquale), Singer
. 1954 ~ Doris Day’s single, Secret Love, became the #1 tune in the U.S. The song, from the motion picture, “Calamity Jane”, stayed at the top of the music charts for three weeks.
. 1962 ~ The Beach Boys started making waves with their first Southern California hit, Surfin’. Their new musical style swept the U.S. like a tidal wave when they hit nationally with Surfin’ Safari in August of this same year.
. 1962 ~ Gene Chandler hit #1 with Duke of Earl on this day. The song stayed at the top for three weeks. It hit #1 on the rhythm & blues charts, as well. Duke of Earl was Chandler’s biggest hit out of a half-dozen he recorded. His only other million-seller came with Groovy Situation in 1970. Curtis Mayfield wrote several hits for Chandler, including Just Be True, What Now and Nothing Can Stop Me. Chandler’s real name is Eugene Dixon. He owned his own record label, Mr. Chand, from 1969 to 1973, though Groovy Situation was recorded in 1970 for Mercury.
. 1966 ~ Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler received a gold record from RCA Victor, for both the album and the single of The Ballad of the Green Berets. Sadler, who recorded one other single (“The “A” Team”) for the label, had served in Vietnam until injuring a leg in a Viet Cong booby trap.
. 1972 ~ Billie Joe Armstrong, Grammy Award-winning singer (1994), guitarist and songwriter with Green Day
. 1998 ~ Bob Merrill passed away. Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.
. 2010 ~ Kathryn Grayson [Zelma Hedrick], American vocalist and actress (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate), died of natural causes at the age of 88
. 2017 ~ Alan Aldridge, British artist, graphic designer and illustrator whose artwork was used in record covers for The Beatles and The Who, died at the age of 73
• 1778 ~ La Scala, one of the world’s great opera houses, opened on this day. They premiered William Tell by Gioachino Rossini
• 1823 ~ Francisco Asenjo Babieri, Spanish composer
• 1884 ~ Louis Gruenberg, Polish-born American composer
• 1902 ~ Ray Bloch, Conductor and orchestra leader
• 1917 ~ Charlie Shavers, Trumpeter with the John Kirby Sextet and composer of Undecided
• 1918 ~ Les Elgart, Lead trumpet, bandleader for Les and (brother) Larry Elgart
• 1921 ~ Richard Adler, Broadway Composer, lyricist
• 1926 ~ Tony Bennett (Benedetto), Grammy Award-winning American singer of popular music
• 1941 ~ Beverly Lee, Singer with The Shirelles
• 1949 ~ B.B. (Morris) Dickerson, Bass and singer with War
• 1951 ~ Johnny Graham, Guitarist with Earth, Wind and Fire
• 1963 ~ The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. The group was about to leave its hometown behind for unprecedented worldwide fame and fortune.
• 1963 ~ The Beach Boys’ Surfer Girl, was released on Capitol Records. It became one of their biggest hits. Surfer Girl made it to number seven on the hit music charts on September 14, 1963
• 1963 ~ Comedian Allan Sherman’s summer camp parody, Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp) was released on Warner Brothers Records. The melody was based on the Dance of the Hours from Ponchielli’s opera La Giaconda. This dance was also performed in the original Disney movie Fantasia.
• 1971 ~ Paul McCartney formed a new band called Wings. Joining McCartney in the group were Denny Laine, formerly of The Moody Blues, Denny Seilwell and McCartney’s wife, Linda.
• 1998 ~ Alfred Schnittke, one of the most original and influential composers to emerge from the Soviet Union, died. He was 63.
• 2001 ~ Jeanne Loriod, the leading performer of an electronic instrument used in film scores and symphonic works to produce mysterious glassy tones, died in southern France. She was 73. Loriod, who played the ondes martenot – invented by the French musician Maurice Martenot – died of a stroke in Juan-les-Pins, Le Monde newspaper reported.
She was the younger sister of pianist Yvonne Loriod, who was married to composer Olivier Messiaen. The three musicians often collaborated.
The ondes martenot – which translates as “Martenot waves” – produces electronic waves from a system of transistors, a keyboard and a ribbon attached to a ring on the performer’s forefinger.
Loriod’s career took her all over the world. She performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
Composers such as Tristan Murail, Jacques Charpentier and Michael Levinas wrote works for her, according to Le Monde. Loriod had also been planning to collaborate with the pop group Radiohead, the paper wrote.
• 2008 ~ Louis Teicher died at 83. He was half of the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, which toured for four decades and released 150 albums, some as suitable for elevators as for concert halls.
• 2016 ~ Ricci Martin, an entertainer/musician son of Dean Martin, died at the age of 62.
• 1284 ~ The Pied Piper exacted his revenge upon the German town of Hamelin this day. The townspeople had promised to pay the piper a large fee if he could rid their town the nasty rats running all over the place. He had played his trusty pipe and the rats had followed him out of town and into the River Weser. But once the rodents were eliminated, the local folks decided not to pay after all. The piper was not pleased and repaid the townspeople by playing his pipe for the children of Hamelin, just like he had done for the rats. And just like the rats, the children followed him out of town.
• 1582 ~ Johannes Schultz, Composer
• 1657 ~ Tobias Michael, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1661 ~ Lazaro Valvasensi, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1747 ~ Leopold Jan Antonin Kozeluh, Composer
• 1778 ~ Angelo Antonio Caroli, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1798 ~ Eugene Godecharle, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1823 ~ Frederick Bowen Jewson, Composer
• 1824 ~ Moritz Furstenau, Composer
• 1836 ~ Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, author and composer of the Marseillaise, died
• 1870 ~ Wagner’s opera “Valkyrie” premiered in Munich
• 1893 ~ “Big Bill” Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist
• 1894 ~ Bill Wirges, American orchestra leader
• 1901 ~ William Busch, Composer
• 1902 ~ Antonia Brico, Conductor and pianist. Because there were so few opportunities for female conductors, she organized the Woman’s Symphony Orchestra in 1935.
• 1909 ~ “Col Tom” Parker (Dries Van Kruijk), Elvis Presley’s manager
• 1933 ~ Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor
More information about Abbado
• 1933 ~ The Kraft Music Hall debuted. It turned out to be one of radio’s longest-running hits. The first program presented Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. SingerAl Jolson became the host of the show shortly thereafter. Several years later, crooner Bing Crosby was named the host. The Kraft Music Hall continued on NBC radio until 1949 and then on TV for many more years; the first year as Milton Berle Starring in the Kraft Music Hall, then Kraft Music Hall Presents: The Dave King Show followed by Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall for four seasons. From 1967 on, The Kraft Music Hall featured a different host.
• 1934 ~ Dave Grusin, Composer of film scores
• 1934 ~ Luis Felipe Pires, Composer
• 1940 ~ Billy Davis, Jr., Singer with The 5th Dimension
• 1942 ~ Larry Taylor, Musician, bass with Canned Heat
• 1943 ~ John Allen Strang, Composer
• 1943 ~ Georgie Fame (Clive Powell), Singer
• 1945 ~ Barry Schrader, Composer
• 1945 ~ Erno Rapee, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1945 ~ Nikolay Nikolayevich Tcherepnin, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1953 ~ Ralph Ezell, American singer
• 1954 ~ Robert Davi, American opera singer/actor
• 1956 ~ Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter, died at the age of 25
• 1964 ~ A Hard Day’s Night was released by United Artists Records. The album featured all original material by The Beatles and became the top album in the country by July 25, 1964.
• 1965 ~ Mr. Tambourine Man, by The Byrds, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts. The song was considered by many to be the first folk-rock hit. The tune was written by Bob Dylan, as were two other hits for the group: All I Really Wantto Do and My Back Pages. The group of James Roger McGinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Mike Clarke charted seven hits. The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
• 1966 ~ “Time for Singing” closed at Broadway Theater New York City after 41 performances
• 1971 ~ Inia Te Wiata, opera singer, died
• 1971 ~ Juan Manen, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1971 ~ “Man of La Mancha” closed at ANTA Washington Square Theater New York City after 2329 performances
• 1972 ~ David Lichine (Lichtenstein), Russian/American choreographer, died at the age of 61
• 1973 ~ Arnold Richardson, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1973 ~ London production of “Grease” premiered
• 1977 ~ Lou Reizner, Rock vocalist/producer, died at the age of 43
• 1977 ~ Elvis Presley sang the last performance of his career, in Indianapolis. He died two months later.
• 1981 ~ Peter Kreuder, German composer, died
• 1982 ~ André Tchaikowsy, Pianist and composer, died
• 1983 ~ Walter O’Keefe, Songwriter and TV host, died at the age of 82
• 1983 ~ “Show Boat” closed at Uris Theater New York City after 73 performances
• 1984 ~ Barbra Streisand recorded Here We Are at Last
• 1991 ~ Carmine Coppola, Composer and conductor (Godfather II), died at the age of 80
• 1994 ~ Thomas Henry Wait Armstrong, Organist, died at the age of 96
• 2001 ~ French soprano Gina Cigna, famed for singing Puccini’s “Turandot”, died at the age of 101. Born in Paris in 1900, Cigna made her stage debut at Milan’s La Scala opera house at age 27 under the name Ginette Sens. Her breakthrough came two years later when she performed in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at La Scala under her own name. Arturo Toscanini, the conductor, was particularly fond of Cigna’s expressive voice, which received widespread acclaim. An auto accident ended Cigna’s performing career in 1947. Until 1965, she coached opera singers in Milan, Siena and Canada.
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