Tag Archives: pianist

July 11, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1768 ~ Jose Melchior de Nebra Blascu, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1781 ~ Adolph Carl Kunzen, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1824 ~ Adolphe-Abraham Samuel, Composer

• 1826 ~ Carl Bernhard Wessely, Composer, died at the age of 57

• 1836 ~ Carlos Gomez, Composer

• 1837 ~ Paul Lacombe, Composer

• 1857 ~ Iacob Moresianu, Composer

• 1861 ~ Anton Stepanovich Arensky, Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music.

• 1862 ~ Liza Nina Mary Frederica Lehmann, Composer

• 1892 ~ Giorgio Federico Ghedini, Composer

• 1897 ~ Blind Lemon Jefferson, Singer

• 1914 ~ Ahti Sonninen, Composer

• 1916 ~ Howard Brubeck, Composer

• 1918 ~ Enrico Caruso bypassed opera for a short time to join the war (WWI) effort. Caruso recorded Over There, the patriotic song written by George M. Cohan.

• 1920 ~ Yul Brynner (Taidje Khan), Academy & Tony Award-winning actor in The King and I

• 1925 ~ Mattiwilda Dobbs, American soprano

• 1925 ~ Nicolai Gedda, Swedish tenor

• 1926 ~ Rodolfo Arizaga, Composer

• 1927 ~ Herbert Blomstedt, American-born Swedish conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic from 1954 until 1961

• 1928 ~ Robert Washburn, Composer

• 1929 ~ Hermann Prey, German baritone

• 1931 ~ Thurston Harris, American vocalist

• 1931 ~ Tab Hunter (Arthur Gelien), Singer

• 1932 ~ Alex Hassilev, American vocalist with the Limeliters

• 1937 ~ George Gershwin, Composer of An American Paris, died at the age of 38
More information about Gershwin

• 1938 ~ Terry Garthwaite, American guitarist and singer

• 1944 ~ Bobby Rice, Singer

• 1945 ~ Debbie Harry, Singer

• 1947 ~ Jeff Hanna, Singer, guitarist with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

• 1950 ~ Patty Pointer, Singer with Pointer Sisters

• 1950 ~ Timotei Popovici, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1951 ~ Bonnie Pointer, Singer with Pointer Sisters

• 1957 ~ Peter Murphy, Singer with Bauhaus

• 1959 ~ Richie Sambora, Guitarist

• 1964 ~ 18-year-old Millie Small was riding high on the pop music charts with My BoyLollipop. Rod Stewart played harmonica. Millie Small was known as the ’Blue Beat Girl’ in Jamaica, her homeland.

• 1967 ~ Kenny Rogers formed The First Edition just one day after he and members Thelma Camacho, Mike Settle and Terry Williams left The New Christy Minstrels. The First Edition hosted a syndicated TV variety show in 1972.

• 1969 ~ David Bowie released Space Oddity in the UK for the first time. It was timed to coincide with the Apollo moon landing but had to be re-released before it became a hit, later in the year in the UK (but not until 1973 in the US).

• 1969 ~ Rolling Stones released Honky Tonk Woman

• 1973 ~ Alexander Vasilyevich Mosolov, Russian Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1980 ~ Boleslaw Woytowicz, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1984 ~ Karel Mengelberg, Composer, died at the age of 81

• 1993 ~ Mario Bauza, Cuban/American jazz musician ~ died at the age of 82

• 1994 ~ Charles “Lefty” Edwards, Saxophonist, died at the age of 67

• 1994 ~ Lex P Humphries, Drummer, died at the age of 57

• 1996 ~ Louis Gottlieb, Musician, died at the age of 72

• 1999 ~ Big band jazz singer Helen Forrest died

• 2001 ~ Herman Brood, an artist and musician in the Dutch rock scene for 30 years, died at the age of 55. Brood became a sensation with his 1978 hit single Saturday Night, which he wrote as leader of the band Wild Romance. Over 25 years, he recorded nearly 20 albums. He also appeared in Dutch movies.

• 2002 ~ Blues singer Rosco Gordon died of a heart attack. He was 74. Rosco was known for 1950s hits including Booted, No More Doggin’, Do the Chicken and Just aLittle Bit, which sold more than 4 million copies in covers by Etta James, Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Jerry Butler. His offbeat, rhythmic style influenced the early sounds of ska and reggae after he toured the Caribbean in the late ’50s. Gordon quit the music business in the 1960s and invested his winnings from a poker game in a dry cleaning business. He started his own record label in 1969 and returned to concert performances in 1981.

July 10, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1594 ~ Paulo Bellasio, Composer, died at the age of 40

• 1668 ~ Adam-Nicolas Gascon, Composer, died at the age of 45

• 1690 ~ Domenico Gabrielli, Composer, died at the age of 39

• 1697 ~ François Hanot, Composer

• 1759 ~ Eleanore Sophia Maria Westenholz, Composer

• 1778 ~ Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm, Austrian Composer and royal chaplemaster

• 1779 ~ Alois Basil Nikolaus Tomasini, Composer

• 1826 ~ Theodore Edouard Dufaure de Lajarte, Composer

• 1835 ~ Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer
More information about Wieniawski

• 1839 ~ Fernando Joseph Maria Sor, Composer, died at the age of 61
More information about Sor

• 1858 ~ Karl Flodin, Composer

• 1863 ~ Clement Clarke Moore passed away

• 1868 ~ Carlo Conti, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1882 ~ Ima Hogg, Texas art patron and founder of Houston Symphony

• 1882 ~ Riccadro Pick-Mangiagalli, Composer

• 1887 ~ Alfred Ernest Whitehead, Composer

• 1888 ~ Rafael Hernando, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1890 ~ Andre Souris, Composer

• 1894 ~ Jimmy Francis McHugh, Composer

• 1895 ~ Carl Orff, German composer
More information about Orff

 

Didn’t quite understand those words?

• 1900 ~ Elsie Evelyn Laye, English singer and actress

• 1900 ~ One of the most famous trademarks in the world, ‘His Master’s Voice’, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. The logo of the Victor Recording Company, and later, RCA Victor, shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone machine.

• 1904 ~ Isa Krejci, Composer

• 1913 ~ Ljuba Welitsch, Bulgarian opera soprano

• 1915 ~ Milt Buckner, Musician, piano, organ, composer

• 1916 ~ Dick Cary, Jazz musician: trumpet, arranger, first pianist in Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars, 1947 to 1948

• 1919 ~ Rusty Gill, American singer

• 1930 ~ Jacques Klein, Brazilian pianist

• 1933 ~ Jerry Herman, Composer, lyricist for such shows as Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles, Mame, Dear World, Mack and Mabel

• 1936 ~ Jan Wincenty Hawel, Composer

• 1936 ~ Billie Holiday recorded Billie’s Blues for Okeh Records in New York. Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw and Cozy Cole supported Holiday, instrumentally, on the track.

• 1937 ~ Sandy Stewart (Galitz), Singer

• 1937 ~ Attilio Brugnoli, Composer, died at the age of 56

• 1941 ~ Ian Whitcomb, Singer

• 1941 ~ Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton, pioneer jazz pianist, died in Los Angeles at 56
More about Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton

• 1943 ~ Jerry Miller, Musician, guitarist with Moby Grape

• 1943 ~ Arthur Finlay Nevin, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1947 ~ Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer and songwriter, son of legendary folk singer, Woody Guthrie

• 1948 ~ “Allegro” closed at Majestic Theater New York City after 318 performances

• 1948 ~ “Ballet Ballads” closed at Music Box Theater New York City after 62 performances

• 1948 ~ “Look Ma, I’m Dancin'” closed at Adelphi Theater New York City after 188 performances

• 1949 ~ Ronnie James Dio (Padavona), Singer, songwriter

• 1950 ~ “Your Hit Parade” premiered on NBC (later CBS) TV

• 1952 ~ Rued Immanuel Langgaard, Composer, died at the age of 58

• 1953 ~ Sidney Homer, Composer, died at the age of 88

• 1954 ~ Neil Tennant, Singer

• 1965 ~ The Beatles’ “Beatles’ “VI,” album went #1 and stayed #1 for 6 weeks

• 1965 ~ Rolling Stones scored their first #1, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

• 1967 ~ Bobbie Gentry recorded Ode to Billie Joe

• 1975 ~ Gladys Knight and the Pips Summer Series premiered on NBC-TV

• 1977 ~ Norman Paris, Orchestra leader, died at the age of 41

• 1977 ~ “Happy End” closed at MartBeck Theater New York City after 75 performances

• 1978 ~ Michel Gusikoff, Composer, died at the age of 85

• 1979 ~ Arthur Fiedler, Orchestra leader of the Boston Pops Orchestra, died at the age of 84
More information on Fiedler

• 1980 ~ Jessica Simpson, Pop singer who released her debut hit album “Sweet Kisses” in 1999 in Texas.

• 1982 ~ Maria Jeritza (Jedlicka) Austrian and American singer at the Metropolitan Opera, died

• 1983 ~ Werner Egk, German composer, died at the age of 82

• 2001 ~ James “Chuck” Cuminale, a musician whose quirky rock band Colorblind James Experience won acclaim in England in the late 1980s, was died at the age of 49. Although Cuminale’s band never achieved commercial success, it picked up a cult following in parts of Europe after John Peel, an influential radio personality in London, began playing its music in 1987.

• 2002 ~ Alan Shulman, a professional cellist who composed scores for orchestras and chamber groups, died at the age of 86. Shulman composed A Laurentian Overture, which premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 1952, as well as Cello Concerto and Neo-Classical Theme and Variations for Viola and Piano. Born in Baltimore, Shulman studied at the Peabody Conservatory and trained at the Juilliard School with cellist Felix Salmond and composer Bernard Wagenaar. He was a founding member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was formed in 1937. Shulman performed with the orchestra until 1942, when he joined the United States Maritime Service. He returned to the NBC Symphony in 1948, and continued to perform with the orchestra and its successor until 1957. Shulman formed the Stuyvesant String Quartet with his brother, violist Slyvan Shulman, in 1938, and played with several other chamber ensembles.

July 9, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1607 ~ God Save the King was first sung

• 1656 ~ Michelangelo Rossi, Italian opera Composer, buried. He was about 55

• 1713 ~ First performance of George Frederic Handel’s “To Deum” & “Jubilate”
More information about Handel

• 1747 ~ Giovanni Battista Bononcini, Italian opera composer, died at the age of 76

• 1755 ~ Gottlob Harrer, Composer, died at the age of 52

• 1774 ~ Giuseppi Maria Carretti, Composer, died at the age of 83

• 1791 ~ Nicolas Ledesma, Composer

• 1794 ~ Pascal Boyer, Composer, died at the age of 51

• 1805 ~ Henry John Gauntlett, Composer

• 1821 ~ Tommaso Sogner, Composer, died at the age of 58

• 1826 ~ Friedrich Ludwig Dulon, Flautist and composer, died at the age of 56

• 1839 ~ Carl Baermann, Composer

• 1841 ~ Carl Christian Lumbye, Composer

• 1855 ~ Johann P Zilcher, German composer

• 1879 ~ Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer, viola-player, pianist and conductor Respighi’s Pines of Rome is featured in Fantasia 2000.
More information about Respighi

• 1882 ~ Richard Hageman, Dutch and American pianist, composer and conductor

• 1883 ~ Adrien Louis Victor Boieldieu, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1898 ~ Marcel Delannoy, Composer

• 1900 ~ Robert Oboussier, Composer

• 1910 ~ Harold C Fox, Fashion designer and musician

• 1915 ~ David Diamond, American composer, winner of the Paderewski Prize in 1943

• 1916 ~ Joe Liggins, American Composer

• 1918 ~ Herbert Brun, Composer

• 1924 ~ Leonard Pennario, Concert pianist and composer

• 1924 ~ Pierre Cochereau, Composer

• 1925 ~ Alan Dale, American singer

• 1927 ~ Ed Ames, Singer with The Ames Brothers

• 1927 ~ Jim McReynolds, Folk singer with his brother Jesse
More information about Jim McReynolds

• 1929 ~ Lee Hazlewood, Songwriter of The Fool, These Boots are Made for Walkin’; singer with Nancy Sinatra

• 1930 ~ Buddy Bregman, American orchestra leader of the Eddie Fisher Show

• 1933 ~ Nodar Kalistratovich Gabuniya, Composer

• 1934 ~ Otakar Zich, Composer, died at the age of 55

• 1935 ~ Mercedes Sosa, Argentinian singer

• 1936 ~ David Joel Zinman, American composer and conductor

• 1946 ~ Bon (Ronald) Scott, Singer with AC/DC

• 1947 ~ Jerney Kaagman, Dutch singer

• 1949 ~ Fritz Bennicke Hart, Composer, died at the age of 75

• 1949 ~ Benjamin Britten’s Jump Symphony premiered

• 1949 ~ “Cabatgata (A Night Spain)” opened at Broadway New York City for 76 performances

• 1951 ~ Jorgen Bentzon, Composer, died at the age of 54

• 1952 ~ John Tesh, Emmy Award-winning composer and pianist

• 1954 ~ Debbie Sledge, Rhythm and Blues Singer with Sister Sledge

• 1955 ~ Bill Haley & Comets’ Rock Around the Clock hit #1 on Top 100 chart

• 1956 ~ Douglas Moore and John Latouche opera “Ballad of Baby Doe” premiered

• 1956 ~ Dick Clark’s first appearance as host of American Bandstand

• 1957 ~ Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1959 ~ Marc (Peter) Almond, Singer

• 1959 ~ Jim Kerr, Singer with Simple Minds

• 1960 ~ Edward Burlingame Hill, Composer, died at the age of 86

• 1964 ~ Courtney Love, Rock Singer

• 1965 ~ Frank Bello, Musician, bass with Anthrax

• 1965 ~ Otis Redding recorded Respect

• 1967 ~ The Beatles’ All You Need is Love was released

• 1967 ~ Doors’ Light My Fire hit #1

• 1968 ~ Rock group “Yardbirds” disbanded

• 1972 ~ Paul McCartney appeared on stage for the first time since 1966 as his group, Wings, opened at Chateauvillon in the south of France.

• 1977 ~ Undercover Angel, by songwriter (turned pop singer) Alan O’Day, reached the top spot on the Billboard chart. It was not the first visit to the top of the pop music world for O’Day, though the million-seller would be his last as a singer. He wroteAngie Baby, a number one hit for Helen Reddy and the #3 hit, Rock And Roll Heaven, for The Righteous Brothers.

• 1978 ~ Aladar Zoltan, Composer, died at the age of 49

• 1978 ~ “Hello, Dolly!” closed at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City after 152 performances

• 1981 ~ Oscar van Hemel, Composer, died at the age of 88

• 1984 ~ Randall Thompson, American composer, died at the age of 85

• 1986 ~ A new Broadway showplace opened. It was the first new theatre on Broadway in

• 13 years. The Marquis Theatre, located at the corner of 46th Street and Broadway, seated 1,600 theatregoers.

• 1994 ~ Cornelius Boyson, Bassist, died at the age of 57

• 1994 ~ William “Sabby” Lewis, Jazz Pianist and Arranger, died at the age of 79

• 1994 ~ “Les Miserables” opened at Imperial Theatre, Tokyo

July 8, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1574 ~ Giovanni Battista Stefanini, Composer

• 1637 ~ Johann Georg Ebeling, Composer

• 1638 ~ Matteo Coferati, Composer

• 1681 ~ Georg Neumark, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1757 ~ Richard Wainwright, Composer

• 1819 ~ Vatroslav Lisinski, Composer

• 1857 ~ Rudolf Dellinger, Composer

• 1871 ~ Clement Harris, Composer

• 1878 ~ Harry Von Tilzer, Composer
More information about Von Tilzer

• 1876 ~ Josef Dessauer, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1882 ~ Percy Aldridge Grainger, Australian-born American pianist and composer. He is famed for his use of folk-song melodies and is best remembered for his Country Gardens and Molly on the Shore.

• 1885 ~ Hendrick Waelput, Flemish Composer and conductor (Blessing of Arms), died at the age of 39

• 1894 ~ Vladimir Nikitich Kashperov, Composer, died

• 1900 ~ George Antheil, American composer

• 1904 ~ Bill Challis, Arranger and pianist

• 1907 ~ Kishio Hirao, Composer

• 1907 ~ Florenz Ziegfeld staged the first Ziegfeld Follies at the roof garden of the New York Theatre.

• 1908 ~ Louis (Thomas) Jordan, Musician, alto sax, singer

• 1912 ~ Jacques Stehman, Composer

• 1907 ~ Billy Eckstine (William Clarence Eckstein), Pop Singer, band leader, bass-baritone singer

• 1927 ~ Carlo Franci, Composer

• 1928 ~ Norma Donaldson, Singer and actress

• 1931 ~ Louis W. Ballard, American composer

• 1931 ~ Jerry Vale (Genaro Vitaliano), Pop Singer

• 1935 ~ Steve Lawrence (Sidney Leibowitz), Pop Singer, married to singer Eydie Gorme

• 1941 ~ Philippe Gaubert, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1942 ~ Catherinus Elling, Composer, died at the age of 83

• 1946 ~ Aleksander V Aleksandrov, Russian composer and conductor, died at the age of 63

• 1948 ~ Raffi Cavoukian, Singer, songwriter: children’s songs

• 1949 ~ Riccadro Pick-Mangiagalli, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1951 ~ Pleas Ned Sublette, Composer

• 1957 ~ Henry Fevrier, Composer, died at the age of 81

• 1958 ~ The first gold record album presented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was awarded. It went to the soundtrack LP, Oklahoma!. The honor signified that the album had reached one million dollars in sales. The first gold single issued by the RIAA was Catch a Falling Star, by Perry Como, in March of 1958. A gold single also represents sales of one million records.

• 1961 ~ Andy Fletcher, Musician with Depeche Mode

• 1961 ~ Graham Jones, Musician, guitarist with Haircut 100

• 1961 ~ Julian Bautista, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1969 ~ Gladys Swarthout, Opera singer and actress (Ambush), died at the age of 64

• 1994 ~ Dominic Lucero, Dancer and singer, died

• 1996 ~ James Woodie Alexander, Songwriter and vocalist, died at the age of 80

• 2002 ~ Lore Noto, producer of “The Fantasticks,” the world’s longest-running musical, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 79. It was Noto, a former actor and artists’ agent, who saw the possibilities in a small one-act musical written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt when it was first produced in 1959 at Barnard College in New York. He commissioned the authors to expand the show, which eventually opened at the tiny Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village on May 3, 1960. It ran for 17,162 performances, closing Jan. 13 after a more than 40-year run. The musical, with book and lyrics by Jones and music by Schmidt, told an affecting tale of first love. A girl and boy are secretly brought together by their fathers and an assortment of odd characters including a rakish narrator, an old actor, an Indian named Mortimer and a Mute. Over the years, scores of performers appeared in the New York production. Among the musical’s better-known alums are its original El Gallo, Jerry Orbach, and such soap-opera stars as Eileen Fulton and David Canary. F. Murray Abraham, long before his Academy Award for “Amadeus”, played the Old Actor in the ’60s. Early in the show’s run, Noto went on in the role of the boy’s father and played the part, off and on, for 17 years.

July 7, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1860 ~ Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor
More information about Mahler
Grammy winner

• 1911 ~ Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian composer and conductor
More information about Menotti

• 1962 ~ Mary Ford (Iris Colleen Summers), Singer with Les Paul

• 1927 ~ Doc (Carl) Severinsen, Bandleader, trumpeter, The Tonight Show Band, The Doc Severinsen Band, played with Charlie Barnet and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras, owner of a trumpet factory

• 1927 ~ Charlie Louvin (Loudermilk), Country singer, joined Grand Ole Opry in 1955

• 1940 ~ Ringo Starr, British rock drummer and singer with The Beatles

• 1944 ~ Warren Entner, Musician, guitarist and singer with The Grass Roots

• 1950 ~ David Hodo, Singer with The Village People

• 1954 ~ Cherry Boone, Singer; daughter of singer Pat Boone, sister of singer Debby Boone

• 1962 ~ Mark White, Rock Musician

• 1962 ~ Orchestra leader David Rose reached the top spot on the popular music charts. The Stripper stayed at the pinnacle of musicdom for one week. Rose’s previous musical success on the charts was in 1944 with Holiday for Strings.

• 2001 ~ Folk singer Fred Neil, who had such hits as Everybody’s Talking, and Candyman, died at the age of 64. Neil started his music career in 1955 when he moved from St. Petersburg to Memphis, Tenn. He released his first single, You Ain’t Treatin’ Me Right/Don’t Put the Blame On Me, two years later. The singer became a cult favorite in New York City’s Greenwich Village folk scene after Roy Orbison released a blues recording of Neil’s Candyman in 1960. Neil released his first solo album, Bleecker & MacDougal, in 1965. After moving back to Florida, Neil took an interest in protecting dolphins. He frequently visited Kathy, the star of the television show Flipper, and wrote a song called The Dolphins, which was released on his 1967 album Fred Neil. In 1970, Neil co-founded the Dolphin Research Project to help curb the capture and exploitation of dolphins worldwide. His last big hit came in 1969 when the film Midnight Cowboy featured singer Harry Nilsson’s version of Neil’s Everybody’s Talking.

• 2002 ~ Dorle Jarmel Soria, a writer and co-founder of the music label Angel Records, died. She was 101. Soria and her husband, Dario Soria, together founded Angel Records, which distributed some of the labels of EMI, a British company. The label released some 500 recordings, including the work of singer Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, pianist Walter Gieseking and conductor Herbert von Karajan. The company was eventually sold by EMI, and the Sorias went on to help found Gian Carlo Menotti’s Festival of Two Worlds in Italy. Before founding Angel, Soria had a career in journalism and worked for Arthur Judson, who was a concert manager for the New York Philharmonic. Soria wrote regularly for several music magazines, and had a weekly column for the Carnegie Hall program in the 1960s. She also published a book about the history of the Metropolitan Opera.

July 6, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

 

• 1865 ~ Emile Jacques-Dalcroze, Composer

• 1906 ~ Elisabeth Lutyens, British composer

• 1915 ~ Laverne Andrews, Pop Singer
More information about The Andrews Sisters

• 1915 ~ Dorothy Kirsten, Opera Singer

• 1925 ~ Merv Griffin, Entertainer

• 1925 ~ Bill Haley, American rock-and-roll singer, songwriter and guitarist with Bill Haley and His Comets

• 1932 ~ Della Reese (Delloreese Patricia Early), Pop Singer

• 1937 ~ Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-born Icelandic pianist and conductor
More information about Ashkenazy
Grammy winner

• 1937 ~ Gene Chandler (Eugene Dixon), Singer

• 1937 ~ The big band classic, Sing, Sing, Sing was recorded by Benny Goodman and his band. Sitting in on this famous Victor Records session was Gene Krupa, Ziggy Elman and Harry James.

 

• 1945 ~ Rik Elswit, Musician, guitarist and singer with Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

• 1954 ~ Nanci Griffith, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter

• 1957 ~ John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (Eddie Cochran) and ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ (Gene Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they’d been paying someone else to do for them.

• 1959 ~ Jon Keeble, Musician, drummer with Spandau Balle

• 1971 ~ Louis Armstrong, Jazz musician, died. His groups, the Hot Five and Hot Seven, from 1925 to 1927, had a revolutionary impact on jazz.

• 1971 ~ Karen and Richard Carpenter hosted the summer series, Make Your Own Kind of Music, on NBC-TV.

• 1973 ~ Otto Klemperer, German conductor particularly known for his interpretations of Beethoven, died.

• 1984 ~ Michael Jackson and his brothers started their Victory Tour in Kansas City, Missouri’s Arrowhead Stadium. The tour turned out to be a victory for the Jacksons when the nationwide concert tour concluded months later.

• 1998 ~ Roy Rogers, U.S. film actor known as “the singing cowboy”, died.

July 5, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1546 ~ Johann Steuerlein, Composer

• 1654 ~ Antonio Maria Pacchioni, Composer

• 1764 ~ Janos Lavotta, Composer

• 1847 ~ Agnes Marie Jacobina Zimmermann, Composer

• 1852 ~ Stefano Gobatti, Composer

• 1874 ~ Gerhard von Keussler, Composer

• 1877 ~ Wanda Landowska, Harpsichordist

• 1878 ~ Joseph Holbrooke, English pianist, conductor and composer

• 1897 ~ Paul Ben-Haim, Israeli composer and student of Middle Eastern folk music

• 1918 ~ George Rochberg, American composer and music editor

• 1924 ~ Janos Starker, Hungarian-born Grammy Award-winning American cellist.

• 1934 ~ Love in Bloom, sung by Bing Crosby with Irving Aaronson’s orchestra, was recorded for Brunswick Records in Los Angeles. The song was fairly popular, but became a much bigger success when comedian Jack Benny made it a popular standard.

• 1944 ~ Robbie Robertson, Musician, composer, guitarist with The Band

• 1950 ~ Michael Monarch, Musician, guitarist with Steppenwolf

• 1951 ~ Huey Lewis (Cregg), Rock Singer

• 1954 ~ Elvis Presley recorded That’s All Right (Mama) and Blue Moon of Kentucky. It was his first session for Sam Phillips and Sun Records in Memphis, TN.

• 1965 ~ Maria Callas gave her last stage performance, singing Puccini’s opera “Tosca” at London’s Covent Garden.

• 1969 ~ The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in Hyde Park, London, in memory of Brian Jones, who had died two days before.

• 1973 ~ Bengt Lagerberg, Rock Musician

• 1992 ~ Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian composer, died
More information about Piazzolla

• 1983 ~ Placido Domingo’s performance of Puccini’s opera La Bohème had one and one half hours of applause and 83 curtain calls at the State Opera house in Vienna, Austria.

• 2001 ~ Ernie K-Doe, a flamboyant rhythm and blues singer who had a No. 1 hit withMother-In-Law in 1961, died Thursday. He was 65. K-Doe, born Ernest Kador Jr., was one of many New Orleans musicians, including Fats Domino, Aaron Neville and The Dixie Cups, who landed singles at or near the top of the national charts in the 1950s and ’60s. He had a handful of minor hits, such as T’aint it the Truth, Come on Homeand Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta. But he was forever associated with his only No. 1 single. Mother-In-Law was produced by legendary New Orleans producer and songwriter Allen Toussaint, who also played piano for the recording. In 1995, K-Doe opened Ernie K-Doe’s Mother-In-Law Lounge near the French Quarter, where he performed on Sundays.

• 2003 ~ Johnny Cash made his last ever live performance when he appeared at the Carter Ranch. Before singing “Ring of Fire”, Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage: “The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and heaven. She came down for a short visit, I guess, from heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has.” Cash died on Sept 12th of that same year.

July 3, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1801 ~ Johann Nepomuk Went, Composer, died at the age of 56

• 1892 ~ Joseph Labitzky, Composer

• 1809 ~ Joseph Quesne, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1814 ~ Janis Cimze, Composer

• 1819 ~ Louis Theodore Gouvy, Composer

• 1846 ~ Achilles Alferaki, Composer

• 1850 ~ Alfredo Kiel, Composer

• 1854 ~ Leos Janácek, Czech composer, conductor and collector of Moravian folk songs. He is best known for his operas including “Jenufa” and “The Cunning Little Vixen” as well as for his orchestral piece “Taras Bulba.”
More information about Janácek

• 1855 ~ Piotr Maszynski, Composer

• 1860 ~ William Wallace, Composer

• 1862 ~ Friedrich Ernst Koch, Composer

• 1871 ~ Vicente Arregui Garay, Composer

• 1873 ~ Josef Michal Ksawery Jan Poniatowski, Composer, died at the age of 57

• 1878 ~ George M. Cohan, American songwriter, vaudeville performer, playwright and producer
Listen to Cohan’s music
More information about Cohan

• 1879 ~ Philippe Gaubert, Composer

• 1880 ~ Carl Schuricht, Composer

• 1891 ~ Stefano Golinelli, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1930 ~ Carlos Kleiber, German conductor

• 1930 ~ Pete Fountain, Jazz clarinetist

• 1940 ~ Fontella Bass, Singer

• 1941 ~ Cab Calloway and his orchestra recorded the standard, St. James Infirmary, for Okeh Records.

• 1945 ~ Johnny Lee, Country singer

• 1945 ~ Victor Borge was first heard on NBC radio. The network gave the comedian/pianist the summer replacement slot for Fibber McGee and Molly.
More information about Borge

• 1948 ~ Paul Barrere, Musician, guitarist with Little Feat

• 1952 ~ Daniel Zamudio, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1952 ~ Laura Branigan, Singer

• 1953 ~ Harry Belafonte was shown with actress Janet Leigh and film star Tony Curtis on the cover of Ebony magazine. It was the first time a black person and two Caucasians were seen together on a U.S. magazine cover.

• 1954 ~ “Wonderful Town” closed at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 559 performances

• 1955 ~ Neil Clark, Musician, guitarist with Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

• 1957 ~ Richard Mohaupt, German Composer (Bucolica), died at the age of 52

• 1958 ~ “Andy Williams Show” premiered on ABC (later on CBS & NBC)

• 1960 ~ Alfred Henry Ackley, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1961 ~ Vince Clarke, Songwriter, keyboards

• 1965 ~ Clarence Loomis, Composer, died at the age of 75

• 1966 ~ Andre Gailhard, Composer, died at the age of 81

• 1966 ~ Joseph Deems Taylor, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1969 ~ Brian Jones, guitarist (Rolling Stones), drowns to death at 25

• 1969 ~ Hermann Grabner, Composer, died at the age of 83

• 1971 ~ Jim Morrison, rock singer (Doors), died of heart failure at 27.  He co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of his death an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France to pay their respects.

• 1971 ~ The Newport Jazz Festival’s reputation was tarnished as gate crashers stormed the stage. The unruly mob forced the show to leave Newport, Rhode Island and move to New York City. Oh, and the artist the crowd got unruly over? Not Bob Dylan, not Miles Davis, but Dionne Warwick’s! She was singing What the World Needs Now is Love at the time of the incident.

• 1972 ~ Mississippi Fred McDowell, jazz artist, died at the age of 68

• 1973 ~ Charles Ancerl, Czech conductor (Prague/Toronto), died at the age of 63

• 1973 ~ Clint Holmes received a gold record for his hit single, Playground in My Mind.

• 1976 ~ Brian Wilson rejoined The Beach Boys, who were appearing at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, CA (before 74,000 fans). Wilson had been out of the group’s road tour schedule for 12 years.

• 1977 ~ Hugh Le Caine, Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1986 ~ Rudy Vallee, singer (Vagabond Dreams), died at the age of 84

• 1986 ~ Mikhail Baryshnikov, considered by many to be the world’s greatest ballet dancer, became a U.S. citizen in ceremonies at Ellis Island, New York Harbor.

• 1991 ~ Irina Nijinska, Russian/US dancer, died at the age of 77

• 1995 ~ Brad Lee Sexton, bass guitarist, died at the age of 47

• 2001 ~ Country guitar player Roy Nichols, who played in Merle Haggard’s band for 22 years and helped create the Bakersfield Sound, died after being hospitalized with kidney inflammation and a bacterial infection. He was 68. Nichols began recording with Haggard’s band The Strangers in 1963 and played with some of country music’s biggest names from the time he was 16 years old. “A lot of people may or may not know that he played for Johnny Cash on Tennessee Flat Top Box, the original version, and also on The Ballad of Ira Hayes,” Haggard told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. Haggard credits Nichols with jump-starting his own career and playing a key role in developing The Stranger’s distinctive sound.

• 2001 ~ Grand Ole Opry star Johnny Russell, whose song Act Naturally was recorded by Buck Owens and The Beatles, died of leukemia, diabetes and other ailments at the age of 61. Russell once said that it took him two years to get someone to recordAct Naturally, co-written with Voni Morrison. When Owens recorded a version in 1963, it went to No. 1 on the country charts. Two years later, it was recorded by the Beatles, with Ringo Starr singing the vocal. In 1989, Starr and Owens recorded a duet of the song that was nominated for Grammy and Country Music Association awards. Russell’s own recording career took off in the 1970s. His biggest hit was the working class anthem Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer, which went to No. 4 in 1973 and was nominated for a Grammy. Russell joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1985, and over the years became its regular closing act. A jolly, 275-pound man, he would joke to audiences in his opening line: “Can everybody see me all right?” Russell also wrote the No. 1 hit Let’s Fall to Pieces Together, recorded in 1984 by George Strait, and Making Plans, which was recorded by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt on their Trio album in 1987.

July 2, 2016 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1581 ~ Johann Staden, Composer

• 1589 ~ Guillaume van Messaus, Composer

• 1636 ~ Daniel Speer, Composer

• 1663 ~ Thomas Selle, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1714 ~ Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer of operas including “Orfeo ed Euridice” and “Alceste”
More information about Gluck

• 1737 ~ François Leonard Rouwyzer, Composer

• 1746 ~ Hardenack Otto Conrad Zinck, Composer

• 1763 ~ Peter Ritter, Composer

• 1778 ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1793 ~ Antoine Prumier, Composer

• 1794 ~ Franz Xaver Thomas Pokorny, Composer, died at the age of 65

• 1814 ~ Atale Therese Annette Wartel, Composer

• 1857 ~ Francesco Spetrino, Composer

• 1878 ~ François-Emmanuel-Joseph Bazin, Composer, died at the age of 61

• 1880 ~ Albert Szirmai, Composer

• 1887 ~ Marcel Tabuteau, French oboist with the Philadelphia Orchestra 1915 to 1954

• 1892 ~ Jack Hylton, English orchestra leader and impresario

• 1895 ~ William Rockstro, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1900 ~ Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” premiered in Helsinki
More information about Sibelius

• 1904 ~ Carl Weinrich, Composer

• 1906 ~ Robert Levine Sanders, Composer

• 1910 ~ Earl Hawley Robinson, Composer

• 1910 ~ William Douglas Denny, Composer

• 1911 ~ Felix Mottl, Composer, died at the age of 54

• 1918 ~ Sheikh Imam Elissa, Player and singer

• 1922 ~ Genrikh Matusovich Vagner, Composer

• 1924 ~ Rick Besoyan, Composer

• 1925 ~ Marvin Rainwater (Marvin Kalton Percy), American country singer

• 1925 ~ Yasushi Akutagawa, Composer

• 1926 ~ Billy Usselton, Saxophonist

• 1926 ~ Lee Allen, American tenor sax

• 1927 ~ Brock Peters, American actor and singer

• 1929 ~ Ruby Keeler starred in Flo Ziegfeld’s production of Show Girl which opened in New York City. Critics liked the show.

• 1930 ~ Ahmad Jamal, American jazz pianist

• 1933 ~ David Benjamin Lewin, Composer

• 1935 ~ Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and professor at SUNY-Stony Brook

• 1936 ~ Tom Springfield, Folk singer with the Springfields

• 1939 ~ Paul Williams, Singer with The Primes and The Temptations

• 1940 ~ Bertram Shapleigh, Composer, died at the age of 69

• 1942 ~ Mike Abene, Composer of the score to Goodbye, New York

• 1942 ~ Jo Stafford joined Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra for Manhattan Serenade, which was recorded for Victor Records, in Manhattan.

• 1945 ~ James Orville Fulkerson, Composer

• 1949 ~ “High Button Shoes” closed at Century Theater New York City after 727 performances

• 1951 ~ Joe Puerta, Musician, bass, singer

• 1952 ~ Henriette H Bosmans, Dutch cello player, pianist, composer, died at the age of 56

• 1955 ~ “7th Heaven” closed at ANTA Theater New York City after 44 performances

• 1955 ~ “Almost Crazy” closed at Longacre Theater New York City after 16 performances

• 1955 ~ “Lawrence Welk Show” premiered on ABCIn Welk’s 24-piece band was the ’Champagne Lady’, Alice Lon.
More information about Welk

• 1956 ~ Elvis Presley recorded Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel

• 1960 ~ “Once Upon a Mattress” closed at Alvin Theater New York City after 460 performances

• 1971 ~ Edward Ballantine, Composer, died at the age of 84

• 1972 ~ “Fiddler on the Roof” closed at Imperial Theater New York City after 3242 performances

• 1973 ~ Betty Grable, U.S. actress, singer and World War Two pin-up girl, died. Her films included “How To Marry A Millionaire,” “Down Argentine Way” and “Tin Pan Alley.”

• 1979 ~ Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices.

• 1982 ~ Paul Rovsing Olsen, Composer, died at the age of 59

• 1984 ~ Ramiro Cortes, Composer, died at the age of 50

• 1984 ~ Epic Records set a record as two million copies of the Jacksons’ new album, Victory, were shipped to stores. It was the first time that such a large shipment had been initially sent to retailers. The LP arrived just days before Michael and his brothers started their hugely successful Victory Tour.

• 1987 ~ Michael Bennet, Choreographer of A Chorus Line, died at the age of 44

• 1990 ~ Snooky Lanson (Roy Landman) passed away

• 1992 ~ Edith Valckaert, Belgian violinist, died at the age of 42

• 1992 ~ Jose Monje, Spanish flamenco singer, died

• 1994 ~ Marion Williams, Gospel singer, died at the age of 66

• 1995 ~ “Rose Tattoo” closed at Circle in the Square New York City after 80 performances

• 2002 ~ Ray Brown, a legendary jazz bassist who played with Dizzy Gillespie,Charlie Parker and his one-time wife Ella Fitzgerald in a career that spanned a half century, died in his sleep in Indianapolis. He was 75. Brown was in Indianapolis for an engagement at the Jazz Kitchen. Brown, whose fluid sound helped define the bebop era, started his career in the

• 1940s and performed during jazz’s Golden Age with Gillespie, Parker and BudPowell. He was a founder of bebop and appeared with Gillespie in the 1946 film “Jivin’ in Be-Bop.” Brown later became musical director and husband of singer Ella Fitzgerald. They divorced in the early 1950s. Ray Matthews Brown was born in Pittsburgh in 1926 and moved in 1945 to New York. While playing in Gillespie’s Big Band in 1946 and 1947, he became Fitzgerald’s music director – and, in the late 1940s, her husband. Brown played with an early edition of what became the Modern Jazz Quartet, recording with the Milt Jackson Quartet in 1951. He subsequently was a founding member of the Oscar Peterson’s Trio, which ranked among jazz’s most popular groups of the ’50s and ’60s. Among his recordings is the solo effort Something for Lester.

• 2002 ~ Experimental composer Earle Brown, whose visually elegant scores and collaborative spirit pushed traditional musical composition, died at his home in Rye, N.Y. He was 75. Brown worked with composer John Cage and became known for his graphic scores. One of their most famous works is “December 1952.” Brown believed in allowing musicians much freedom in playing his compositions, describing “December 1952” as “an activity rather than a piece by me, because of the content being supplied by the musicians.” Brown’s music was highly influential in Europe and he was repertory director of an important series of new-music recordings that included works by 49 composers from 16 countries between 1960 and 1973. He taught at Yale University, the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and at the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals.

Book: Technology is key to piano

Posted by MaryO on

Piano-Maestro-End-Game

Piano teacher Leila Viss isn’t only about Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. For her, it’s also about easing her students into using the iPad application “Piano Maestro.”

Viss, a piano performance and pedagogy graduate of University of Denver, first set up a studio in her home after she graduated in 1990. Ever since, she’s blossomed into a teacher who incorporates a different kind of approach in her lessons.

It all began with her mentor, Elaine Emeigh, who’s a piano teacher in Littleton.

“I wanted to continue her legacy, so I started having labs during my private lessons,” Viss said.

The Centennial resident’s students are now urged to stay for an extra 30 minutes after each lesson to spend time doing something on the computer — whether it be reviewing concepts, studying piano history or reinforcing lessons, she said.

“When I graduated, the Internet was just coming around. Now I have my own website, blog, and my whole idea of how I communicate has completely changed. It was a hassle over the years using technology; you were booting up the computer, putting in a CD-ROM, and then when the iPad came along, it made everything so much easier,” Viss said.

Her book, “The iPad Piano Studios, Keys to Unlocking the Power of Apps,” came out in 2013 and reflects her appetite for using apps to practice note names, inspire creativity and compose with her students. Viss considers herself to be a writer and also contributes to the Clavier Companion, a nationally known premiere piano magazine.

The owners of private applications company, JoyTunes, contacted Viss after reading her blog a year ago.

With more than 4 million users, the company’s apps are a hit, Viss said.

“Joytunes is changing the face of music education by transforming the way people learn music, enabling anyone to play a musical instrument,” JoyTunes head of brand Nadia Hitman said. “By combining music methodologies with the latest in gaming features and instant feedback, the learning process is significantly shortened for millions of children, adults and teachers already using the apps.”

Hitman said all of their applications recently became free for teachers and their students, and many of the apps are still available for purchase to anyone.

“Speaking on their (JoyTunes’) behalf, and mobile technology — Piano Maestro is unbelievably amazing,” Viss said. “You set it up on the piano (doesn’t have to be digital) and choose from like 2,000 songs in the library. You press play and the student follows along with the piano. After that, you get evaluated and receive immediate feedback. You can get up to three gold stars.

via Technology is key to piano | Centennialcitizen.net.