• 1397? ~ Guillaume Du Fay, French composer. Considered the leading composer of the early Renaissance.
More information about Du Fay
• 1694 ~ Leonardo Leo, Italian composer and organist
• 1811 ~ Ambrose Thomas, French composer, primarily of operas
• 1890 ~ Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor
• 1891 ~ Henry Charles Litolff, French pianist/composer, died at the age of 73
• 1924 ~ The comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuted in the New York Daily News. Annie and her little dog, Sandy, were creations of cartoonist Harold Gray. His work would come to life in the Broadway and film adaptations of Annie a half-century later, with great success.
• 1926 ~ Jeri Southern (Genevieve Hering), Singer
• 1940 ~ Damita Jo (DuBlanc), Singer
• 1942 ~ Rick Huxley, Bass with Dave Clark Five
• 1943 ~ Sammi Smith, Singer
• 1947 ~ Rick Derringer (Zehringer), Singer, songwriter with The McCoys, record producer
• 1953 ~ Samantha Sang, Singer
• 1957 ~ Dick Clark’s American Bandstand caught the attention of network executives at ABC-TV in New York, who decided to put the show on its afternoon schedule. Many artists, acts and groups of the rock ’n’ roll era debuted on American Bandstand – Simon and Garfunkel, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker – catapulting Clark into the spotlight as one of TV’s most prolific producers and hosts.
• 1958 ~ Joseph Holbrooke, English pianist, conductor and composer (3 Blind Mice), died at the age of 80
• 1975 ~ Singer Stevie Wonder signed the recording industry’s largest contract: $13 million over a seven-year period. Wonder stayed with his original label, Tamla/Motown, while other major Motown artists, including Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and The Four Tops had left the label over creative differences and financial accounting disputes.
• 2018 ~ Charlotte Rae, American character actress, comedian, singer and dancer (Edna-Facts of Life), died at the age of 92
• 1921 ~ Herb (Mitchell) Ellis, Guitarist, singer with Soft Winds
• 1927 ~ Radio station 2XAG, later named WGY, the General Electric station in Schenectady, NY, began experimental operations from a 100,000-watt transmitter. Later, the FCC regulated the power of AM radio stations to not exceed 50,000 watts on ‘clear channels’ (where few, if any, stations would cause interference with each other).
• 1927 ~ Singer Jimmie Rodgers recorded his first sides for Victor Records in Bristol, TN. He sang Sleep Baby Sleep and Soldier’s Sweetheart.
• 1929 ~ Gabriella Tucci, Italian soprano
• 1938 ~ Simon Preston, British organist
• 1939 ~ Frankie Ford (Guzzo), Singer
• 1940 ~ Timi (Rosemarie) Yuro, Singer
• 1943 ~ David Carr, Keyboards with The Fortunes
• 1978 ~ Frank Fontaine passed away. He was an American stage, radio, film and television comedian and singer.
• 2000 ~ Jerome Smith, founding guitarist of KC & The Sunshine Band, died after being crushed in a construction accident. He was 47. KC & The Sunshine Band reached the top of Billboard Magazine’s charts in 1975 with Get Down Tonight. Before Smith left the group, it had five No. 1 songs, including Boogie Shoes and That’s the Way (I Like It), and three Grammys.
1741 ~ Antonio Vivaldi died
More information about Vivaldi
• 1750 ~ Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer and organist, died. Composer of “St Matthew Passion” and “Brandenburg Concertos”, his output covered every musical genre with innovations in format, quality and technical demands.
• 1796 ~ Ignace Bösendorfer, Italian Pianomaker
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• 1811 ~ Guilia Grisi, Italian soprano
• 1901 ~ Rudy (Hubert Prior) Valee, Bandleader and singer. Valee was one of the first, before Bing Crosby, to popularize the singing style known as “crooning”.
• 1914 ~ Carmen Dragon, Classical music conductor, bandleader and father of singer, ‘Captain’ Daryl Dragon
• 1933 ~ The singing telegram was introduced on this day. The first person to receive a singing telegram was singer Rudy Vallee, in honor of his 32nd birthday.
• 1934 ~ Jacques d’Amboise, Ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet
• 1937 ~ Peter Duchin, American bandleader, pianist, son of musician, Eddy Duchin
• 1938 ~ George Cummings, Guitarist with Dr. Hook
• 1939 ~ Judy Garland sang one of the most famous songs of the century with the Victor Young Orchestra. The tune became her signature song and will forever be associated with the singer-actress. Garland recorded Over the Rainbow for Decca Records. It was the musical highlight of the film, The Wizard of Oz.
• 1941 ~ Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor
• 1943 ~ Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was born
• 1945 ~ Rick Wright, Keyboards with Pink Floyd
• 1949 ~ Peter Doyle, Singer with The New Seekers
• 1949 ~ Simon Kirke, Drummer with Free
• 1958 ~ Three years after his Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White reached number one, Cuban-born bandleader Perez Prado captured the top spot again, with Patricia. Prado was known as the Mambo King for his popular, Latin-flavored instrumentals.
• 1969 ~ Frank Loesser passed away
• 1972 ~ Helen Traubel passed away
• 1975 ~ Van McCoy’s “The Hustle” was the #1 song in America
• 2001 ~ Bass guitarist Leon Wilkeson, one of the founding members of legendary rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died at the age of 49. The band, best known for songs What’s your Name?, Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird, debuted in 1973 and was named after the members’ high school gym teacher, Leonard Skinner. Wilkeson was involved in a 1977 plane crash in Mississippi that killed band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines. The group disbanded after the crash but re-formed with others in 1987 for a reunion tour. The band toured for most of the 1990s and had a concert scheduled for Aug. 23 in Jacksonville.
• 2002~ Thomas Calvin “Tommy” Floyd, whose twangy voice sold Luck’s beans in the 1950s, died. He was 89 and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Floyd was one of Asheboro’s best-known voices, between his music career and his jobs announcing at radio stations. Floyd organized the Blue Grass Buddys in 1942. The group played for radio shows and performed around the Southeast, appearing in concert with bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. In 1950, Luck’s sponsored the band, provided that Floyd plug the product at shows. His jingle went: “Luck’s pinto beans, Luck’s pinto beans. Eat ’em and you’ll never go wrong. Luck’s pinto beans.” Luck’s sponsored him as a host for 15-minute country music spots on television stations in the Southeast. Luck’s discontinued the sponsorship in 1953.
• 2002 ~ Eddy Marouani, who managed the careers of some of the most famous figures in French music, including Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, died. He was 81. He also steered the careers of singers Michel Sardou, Serge Lama and comedian Michel Boujenah. Marouani headed the agency “Office Parisien du Spectacle” and presided over one the biggest families of French impresarios. Marouani published his memoirs in 1989, entitled “Fishing for Stars, Impresario Profession.”
• 1939 ~ W2XBS TV in New York City presented the first musical comedy seen on TV. The show was Topsy and Eva.
• 1941 ~ Manuel Charlton, Musician, guitar, singer with Nazareth
• 1942 ~ Capitol Records first number one hit made it to the top this day. It was one of their first six records released on July 1. The new company’s hit was Cow Cow Boogie, by Ella Mae Morse and Freddy Slack.
• 1943 ~ Jim McCarty, Drummer with the Yardbirds and songwriter
• 1945 ~ Donna Theodore, Singer on Art Linkletter’s Hollywood Talent Scouts
• 1951 ~ Verdine White, Rock Musician, bass, singer with Earth, Wind and Fire
• 1952 ~ Herbert Murrill, Composer, died at the age of 43
• 1955 ~ Ilmari Hannikainen, Composer, died at the age of 62
• 1955 ~ Isaak Iosifovich Dunayevsky, Composer, died at the age of 55
• 1964 ~ “Here’s Love” closed at Shubert Theater New York City after 338 performances
• 1964 ~ The Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night” album went #1 and stayed #1 for 14 weeks
• 1965 ~ Bob Dylan appeared on stage at the Newport Folk Festival with an electric guitar. He was not well received, even with the classic folk song, Blowin’ in the Wind. The electrified “poet laureate of a generation” was booed and hissed by the audience for being amplified. He was, in fact, booed right off the stage. Here’s the original, with acoustic guitar:
• 1966 ~ Eric Clapton recorded guitar tracks for Harrison’s “While My Guitar…”
• 1966 ~ Supremes released “You Can’t Hurry Love”
• 1969 ~ Douglas Stuart Moore, Composer, died at the age of 75
• 1969 ~ First performance of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at Fillmore East, New York ~ 70,000 attended Seattle Pop Festival
• 1970 ~ “(They Long to Be) Close to You” reached #1
• 1971 ~ Leroy Robertson, Composer, died at the age of 74
• 1983 ~ Jerome Moross, American composer of Frankie & Johnny, died at the age of 69
• 1990 ~ “Les Miserables,” opened at Princess Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver
• 1994 ~ John M Dengler, Jazz Bass Sax/Trumpet/Trombone, died at the age of 67
• 1995 ~ Charlie Rich, Country singer, died at the age of 62. Rich began as a Rockabilly artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1958. He scored the 1974 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘The Most Beautiful Girl’ and ‘Behind Closed Doors’, was a No.1 country hit.
• 1995 ~ Osvaldo Pugliese, Musician and composer, died at the age of 89
• 1811 ~ Vincenz Lachner, German organist, conductor and composer
• 1906 ~ Klauss Egge, Norwegian composer
• 1913 ~ Charles Teagarden, trumpeter, bandleader, brother of Jack
• 1926 ~ Sue Thompson (Eva McKee), singer of Norman and Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)
• 1937 ~ George Hamilton IV, Singer
• 1939 ~ Jack Teagarden and his orchestra recorded Aunt Hagar’s Blues for Columbia Records. Teagarden provided the vocal on the session recorded in Chicago, IL.
• 1941 ~ Natalya Besamertnova, Ballet Dancer with the Bolshoi ballet
• 1942 ~ The Seventh Symphony, by Dmitri Shostakovitch, was performed for the first time in the United States by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
• 1946 ~ Alan Gorrie, Rock Singer with the Average White Band
• 1947 ~ Bernie Leadon, Musician, guitar with The Eagles
• 1947 ~ Brian Harold May, Musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Queen, who had the 1975 UK No.1 single Bohemian Rhapsody, which returned to No.1 in 1991. Queen scored over 40 other UK Top 40 singles, and also scored the 1980 US No.1 single Crazy Little Thing Called Love. May had the solo 1992 UK No.5 single Too Much Love Will Kill You. May was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for ‘services to the music industry and his charity work’. May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London, in 2007.
• 1949 ~ Singer Harry Belafonte began recording for Capitol Records on this day. The first sessions included They Didn’t Believe Me and Close Your Eyes. A short time later, Capitol said Belafonte wasn’t “commercial enough,” so he signed with RCA Victor (for a very productive and commercial career).
• 1952 ~ Allen Collins, Musician, guitar with Lynyrd Skynyrd
• 1952 ~ “Paint Your Wagon” closed at Shubert Theater New York City after 289 performances
• 1966 ~ Frank Sinatra married actress Mia Farrow this day.
• 1963 ~ Kelly Shiver, Country Singer
• 1980 ~ Billy Joel, pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer, earned his first gold record with It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, which reached the top of the Billboard pop music chart. He would score additional million-sellers with Just the Way You Are, My Life, Uptown Girl (for girlfriend and later, wife and supermodel Christie Brinkley) and We Didn’t Start the Fire. Joel reached the top only one other time, with Tell Her About It in 1983.
• 2000 ~ H. LeBaron Taylor, a Sony executive who pioneered the mass marketing of music rooted in black culture and fostered minority development in the corporate world, died at the age of 65 of a heart attack. He was recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the top 50 black executives in corporate America. In the 1970s, Taylor was at CBS Records, leading its Black Music Marketing department, which sold music originating in black culture and styles that sprang from it, such as blues, soul, rap and hip-hop.
• 2015 ~ Van Alexander, American composer and bandleader (A-Tisket, A-Tasket), died at the age of 100
Johann Sebastian Bach’s towering monument of organ music, with its deep sense of foreboding, will forever be associated with Halloween.
Get a free copy of the sheet music at IMSLP or borrow a copy from the O’Connor Music Studio. I have this arranged for organ, piano, duet, 2-piano, simplified…
It’s also available in Piano Maestro, Piano Pronto Encore and Coda
• 1679 ~ Pablo Bruna, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1718 ~ Wenzel Raimund Pirck, Composer
• 1745 ~ Johann Nepomuk Went, Composer
• 1789 ~ Philipp Friedrich Silcher, Composer
• 1805 ~ Stephen Elvey, Composer
• 1812 ~ John Pike Hullah, Composer
• 1814 ~ Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Composer, died at the age of 61
• 1819 ~ Carl Albert Loeschhorn, Composer
• 1821 ~ August Conradi, Composer
• 1829 ~ Louis-Sebastien Lebrun, Composer, died at the age of 64
• 1832 ~ Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisla, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1933 ~ Vladislav Ivanovich Zaremba, Composer
• 1850 ~ Jacob Adolf Hagg, Composer
• 1859 ~ Mildred Hill, American organist, pianist and teacher, composed Happy Birthday To You along with Patty Smith Hill, her younger sister, who wrote the lyrics. The first title was Good Morning to All.
• 1885 ~ Arthur Harmat, Composer
• 1885 ~ Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter applied for a patent for the gramophone. The patent was granted on May 4, 1886.
• 1889 ~ Carlotta Patti, Italian soprano, died
• 1889 ~ Whitney Eugene Thayer, Composer, died at the age of 50
• 1898 ~ Tibor Harsanyi, Composer
• 1908 ~ Hans de Jong, Musician and conductor
• 1909 ~ Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Composer
• 1910 ~ Karel Reiner, Czech composer and pianist
• 1911 ~ V K Narayana Menon, Composer
• 1915 ~ Hendrik W van Leeuwen, Musician
• 1916 ~ Hallvard Olav Johnsen, Composer
• 1917 ~ Ben Homer, Composer and songwriter
• 1922 ~ George Walker, American composer and pianist
• 1954 ~ Elmo Hope, Pianist, The Elmo Hope Trio
• 1924 ~ Rosalie Allen (Julie Bedra), Country singer and yodeler
• 1925 ~ (Jerome) ‘Doc’ Pomus, Songwriter, Atlantic Records co-owner, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
• 1931 ~ Alojz Srebotnjak, Composer
• 1931 ~ Ryszard Kwiatkowski, Composer
• 1932 ~ Hugh Wood, Composer
• 1934 ~ Anna Moffo, Opera Singer with the Metropolitan Opera from 1959 until 1969
• 1942 ~ John Howard McGuire, Composer
• 1942 ~ Frank Mills, Musician, piano, composer of Music Box Dancer
• 1954 ~ Bruce Johnston (1944) Grammy Award-winning songwriter in 1976, with The Beach Boys
• 1944 ~ Werner Wehrli, Composer, died at the age of 52
• 1946 ~ Daria Semegen, Composer
• 1946 ~ Janice Giteck, Composer
• 1954 ~ Francis L Casadesus, French violinist, composer and conductor, died at the age of 83
• 1955 ~ “Julius LaRosa Show,” debuted on CBS-TV
• 1959 ~ West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein, closed after 734 performances on Broadway. The show remains one of the brightest highlights in Broadway history.
• 1962 ~ Two albums of melancholy music by Jackie Gleason received gold record honors. Music, Martinis and Memories and Music for Lovers Only got the gold. Both were issued by Capitol Records in Hollywood.
• 1963 ~ Brenda Lee inked a new recording contract with Decca Records. She was guaranteed one million dollars over the next 20 years.
• 1964 ~ Daniel Lazarus, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1964 ~ Jan & Dean released Little Old Lady From Pasadena
• 1964 ~ Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman were married. It did not turn out to be one of Hollywood’s most enduring marriages. The couple broke up 38 days later.
• 1969 ~ Richard Vance Maxfield, Composer, died at the age of 42
• 1970 ~ Mariah Carey, Singer
• 1970 ~ The Jackson 5: Marlon, Tito, Jackie, Randy and Michael, jumped to number one on the music charts with The Love You Save. The song stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks. It was the third of four number one hits in a row for the group. The other three were I Want You Back, ABC and I’ll Be There. In 15 years (from 1969 to 1984), The Jackson 5/Jacksons had 23 hits, scored two platinum singles and one gold record.
• 1970, The newly formed Queen featuring Freddie Mercury (possibly still known as Freddie Bulsara) on vocals, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Mike Grose on bass played their first gig at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England. They were billed as Smile, Brian and Roger’s previous band, for whom the booking had been made originally. Original material at this time included an early version of ‘Stone Cold Crazy’.
• 1971 ~ “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” closed at Golden New York City after 31 performances
• 1971 ~ Promoter Bill Graham closed the Fillmore East in New York City. It was a spin-off of San Francisco’s legendary rock ’n’ roll palace, Fillmore West. The New York City landmark laid claim to having hosted every major rock group of the 1960s.
• 1975 ~ Robert Stolz, Austrian Composer, died at the age of 94
• 1976 ~ “Pacific Overtures” closed at Winter Garden New York City after 193 performances
• 1980 ~ Steve Peregrin Took, Percussionist, died at the age of 31
• 1981 ~ Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes returned to #1 slot
• 1982 ~ “Dancin'” closed at Broadhurst Theater New York City after 1,774 performances
• 1982 ~ “Play Me a Country Song” opened & closed at Virginia Theater New York City
• 1992 ~ Allan Jones, Vocalist and actor in Show Boat, died of lung cancer at the age of 84
• 1992 ~ Stefanie Ann Sargent, Guitarist, died at the age of 24
• 1993 ~ “Falsettos” closed at John Golden Theater New York City after 487 performances
• 1995 ~ Lionel Edmund “Sonny” Taylor, musician, died at the age of 70
• 1995 ~ Prez “Kidd” Kenneth, blues singer/guitarist, died at the age of 61
• 2001 ~ Chico O’Farrill, the Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer who composed ballads and fiery, big band bebop for such greats as Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie, died at the age of 79. Born Arturo O’Farrill in Havana, the trumpeter was most renowned as a composer and arranger of extended jazz pieces. He became one of the creators of Afro-Cuban jazz, dubbed Cubop, a melding of big-band Cuban music with elements of modern jazz. O’Farrill toiled largely in obscurity for more than 50 years. But like the musicians of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, he had recently enjoyed a renaissance. His comeback began in 1995, with the release of his album “Pure Emotion,” a Grammy nominee for best Latin jazz performance. He released two other acclaimed albums, “Heart of a Legend” in 1999 and last year’s “Carambola.”
• 2002 ~ John Entwistle, the bass player for veteran British rock band The Who, died in Las Vegas at age 57, just one day before the group was set to begin a North American tour in the city, officials said.
More information about Entwistle
• 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 Want to 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 Tchaikowsky, 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.
• 1819 ~ Jacques Offenbach, German-born French conductor, cellist and composer of operettas
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• 1833 ~ Philip Knapton, Composer, died at the age of 44
• 1837 ~ Giovanni Furno, Composer, died at the age of 89
• 1842 ~ Michael Umlauf, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1861 ~ Arthur Battelle Whiting, Composer
• 1883 ~ Giannotto Bastianelli, Composer
• 1888 ~ Cesare Dominiceti, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1899 ~ Anthon van der Horst, Dutch organist and composer
• 1922 ~ Vittorio Monti, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1923 ~ Joseph Leopold Rockel, Composer, died at the age of 85
• 1924 ~ Chet Atkins (Chester Burton), Grammy Award-winning guitarist, made over 100 albums and elected to Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.
• 1925 ~ Wilhelm Posse, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1927 ~ John M Dengler, Jazz bass sax, trumpet, trombone
• 1928 ~ Robert Satanowski, Composer
• 1929 ~ Ingrid Haebler, Austrian pianist
• 1931 ~ Arne Nordheim, Norwegian conductor and composer
• 1934 ~ Cornel Taranu, Composer
• 1938 ~ Nikolay Avksentevich Martinov, Composer
• 1939 ~ first TV broadcast of an operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance” by Gilbert and Sullivan W2XBS (later WCBS-TV) in New York City televised Pirates of Penzance. It was presented to a very small viewing audience since television was a new, experimental medium at the time.
• 1936 ~ Billy Guy, Singer with The Coasters
• 1937 ~ Jerry Keller, Singer
• 1940 ~ Jehan Alain, French organist and composer, died in battle at 29
• 1942 ~ Brian Wilson, Bass player, singer with The Beach Boys, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988
• 1946 ~ André Watts, American pianist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• 1948 ~ George Frederick Boyle, Composer, died at the age of 61
• 1949 ~ Lionel Richie, Tenor sax, songwriter, singer with the Commodores
• 1951 ~ Peter Gordon, Composer
• 1953 ~ Cyndi Lauper, Singer
• 1953 ~ Alan Longmuir, Musician, bass with Bay City Rollers
• 1955 ~ Michael Anthony, Musician, bass with Van Halen
• 1955 ~ “Almost Crazy” opened at Longacre Theater New York City for 16 performances
• 1960 ~ John Taylor, Musician: guitar, bass with Duran Duran
• 1963 ~ The Beatles formed “Beatles Ltd” to handle their income
• 1969 ~ Guitarist Jimi Hendrix earned the biggest paycheck ever paid (to that time) for a single concert appearance. Hendrix was paid $125,000 to appear for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival.
• 1970 ~ The Long and Winding Road, by The Beatles, started a second week in the number one spot on the pop music charts. The tune was the last one to be released by The Beatles.
• 1975 ~ Daniel Ayala Perez, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1980 ~ Gustaf Allan Pettersson, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1987 ~ Whitney Houston’s album, Whitney, debuted on Billboard magazine’s album chart at number one. Houston became the first female to have an LP debut at the top. The singer, daughter of Cissy Houston and cousin of Dionne Warwick, began her singing career at age 11 with the New Hope Baptist Junior Choir in New Jersey. Houston first worked as a backup vocalist for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls; entered modeling in 1981, appearing in Glamour magazine and on the cover of Seventeen. Whitney married soul singer, Bobby Brown, in the late 1980s.
• 1997 ~ Lawrence Payton, singer with the Four Tops, died at the age of 59
• 1672 ~ Orazio Benevoli, Italian Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1725 ~ Joseph Anton Bauer, Composer
• 1750 ~ Michel Woldemar, Composer
• 1818 ~ Charles Gounod, French composer, conductor and organist
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• 1855 ~ Fritz Steinbach, Composer
• 1882 ~ Igor Stravinsky, Russian-born American composer Stravinsky’s Firebird is featured in Fantasia 2000 and his The Rite of Spring was featured in the original Fantasia
Read quotes by and about Stravinsky
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• 1883 ~ Alexandre Cellier, Composer
• 1888 ~ Bernhard van den Sigtenhorst Meyer, Composer
• 1900 ~ Hermann Reuter, Composer
• 1902 ~ Sammy Fain (Samuel Feinberg), Oscar-winning musician, composer
More information about Fain
• 1908 ~ John Verrall, Composer
• 1910 ~ Red (Clyde Julian) Foley, Songwriter, singer
• 1910 ~ Herbert Owen Reed, Composer
• 1916 ~ Einar Englund, Composer
• 1917 ~ Dean Martin, Entertainer
• 1922 ~ Herbert Kelsey Jones, Composer
• 1926 ~ Manuel Enriquez, Composer
• 1941 ~ Johan Wagenaar, Dutch Composer (Cyrano de Bergerac), died at the age of 78
• 1930 ~ Romuald Twardowski, Composer
• 1932 ~ Mignon Dunn, American mezzo-soprano
• 1933 ~ Christian Ferras, French violinist/conductor
• 1939 ~ Dickie Doo (Gerry Granahan), Singer with Dickie Doo and The Don’ts
• 1942 ~ Norman Kuhlke, Musician, drummer with The Swinging Blue Jeans
• 1943 ~ Christopher Brown, Composer
• 1943 ~ Barry Manilow, , American singer/pianist (Mandy, I Write the Songs)
• 1951 ~ Carl Vogler, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1952 ~ Alberto Williams, Argentine Composer (Etrerno Reposo), died at the age of 89
• 1953 ~ Walter Niemann, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1957 ~ So Rare by Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra peaked at #2
• 1967 ~ “Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane peaked at #5
• 1967 ~ Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park performed
• 1968 ~ Ohio Express’ Yummy Yummy Yummy went gold
• 1969 ~ Jazz musician Charles Mingus came out of a two-year, self-imposed retirement to make a concert appearance at the Village Vanguard in New York City.
• 1972 ~ Long Haired Lover From Liverpool by Little Jimmy Osmond peaked at #38
• 1978 ~ Shadow Dancing, by Andy Gibb, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts for the first of seven weeks. Gibb had two other number one hits: I just want to Be Your Everything and (Love is) Thicker than Water. Gibb, the youngest of the Gibb brothers who made up the Bee Gees, hosted TV’s Solid Gold in 1981-82. Andy scored nine hits on the pop music charts in the 1970s and 1980s. He died of an inflammatory heart virus in Oxford, England in 1988.
• 1978 ~ Cheeseburger In Paradise by Jimmy Buffett peaked at #32
• 1983 ~ Peter Mennin(i), American Composer (Moby Dick), died at the age of 60
• 1986 ~ Kate Smith died in Raleigh North Carolina at 78
• 1991 ~ Country entertainer Minnie Pearl suffered a stroke at 78
• 1992 ~ Dewey Balfa, Bayou fiddler, died at the age of 65
• 1995 ~ The Who’s “Tommy” closed at St James Theater NYC after 899 performances
• 2008 ~ Cyd Charisse [Tula Finklea], American dancer and actress (Singin’ in the Rain), died at the age of 86
Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment
Grammy winner
MaryO'Studio 