Tag Archives: pianist

May 27: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

• 1638 ~ Nicolas Forme, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1652 ~ Jacques Huyn, Composer, died at the age of 39

• 1690 ~ Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1708 ~ Jacques Danican Philidor, Composer, died at the age of 51

• 1738 ~ Bonaventura Furlanetto, Composer

• 1796 ~ James S McLean patented his piano

• 1799 ~ Jacques-François-Fromental-Elie Halévy, French composer whose five-act grand opera La Juive (1835) was, with Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, the prototype of early French grand opera.

• 1806 ~ Charles-Joseph Tolbecque, Composer

• 1819 ~ Julia Ward Howe, Battle Hymn of the Republic
More information about Howe

• 1822 ~ Joseph Joachim Raff, German composer and teacher, greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten in the late 20th century.

• 1822 ~ Henry Wylde, Composer

• 1840 ~ Niccolò Paganini Composer and violinist died at the age of 57. He wrote six concertos for violin.
Read quotes by and about Paganini
More information about Paganini

• 1849 ~ “Blind” Tom Bethune, Pianist and composer

• 1878 ~ Isadora Duncan, Dancer

• 1878 ~ Carlo Marsili, Composer, died at the age of 49

• 1884 ~ Bax Brod, Composer

• 1888 ~ Louis Durey, Composer

• 1891 ~ Claude Adonai Champagne, Composer

• 1900 ~ Leopold Godowsky, Jr., American musician and photographic technician primarily known as a co-developer of Kodachrome film (1935).

• 1902 ~ Celius Dougherty, Composer

• 1906 ~ First outlining of Gustav Mahler’s 6th Symphony

• 1907 ~ Felix de Nobel, Dutch orchestra leader

• 1908 ~ Harold Rome, Composer

• 1909 ~ Isador Goodman, Composer

• 1914 ~ Hugh Le Caine, Composer

• 1915 ~ Mario del Monaco, Italian opera singer famed for Verdi and Puccini

• 1928 ~ Thea Musgrave, Scottish composer, best known for her concertos operas and choral and other vocal works.

• 1929 ~ Donald Howard Keats, Composer

• 1930 ~ Eino Tamberg, Composer

• 1931 ~ Veroslav Neumann, Composer

• 1932 ~ Jeffrey Bernard, Singer

• 1935 ~ Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader

• 1935 ~ Elias Gistelinck, Flemish Composer

• 1939 ~ Don Williams, Country singer

• 1940 ~ Rene Koering, Composer

• 1942 ~ Priscilla Anne McLean, Composer

• 1947 ~ Liana Alexandra, Composer

• 1950 ~ Frank Sinatra made his TV debut as he appeared on NBC’s “Star-Spangled Review” with show biz legend, Bob Hope.

• 1957 ~ Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Dallion), Singer with Siouxsie and the Banshees

• 1957 ~ That’ll be the Day, by The Crickets and featuring Buddy Holly, was released by Brunswick Records. On September 14th, the tune became the most popular record in the U.S. It was the first hit for Holly and his group after two previous releases went nowhere on Decca Records in 1956.

• 1961 ~ Singer Johnny Cash turned TV actor. He appeared on the NBC drama, “The Deputy”.

• 1972 ~ “Applause” closed at the Palace Theater in New York City after 900 performances

• 1975 ~ Paul McCartney released Venus & Mars

• 1975 ~ Andre 3000. One half of the famous hip hop duo Outkast, Andre 3000 (born Andre Lauren Benjamin), began his music career in the 1990s. He and Big Boi (Antwan Andre Patton) formed the hip hop group Outkast in 1992 and released their debut album in 1994. Andre 3000 had continued success with Outkast, becoming one of the most well-regarded rappers of the 1990s and 2000s and has won 7 Grammys.

• 1983 ~ Arnoldus Christian Vlok van Wyk, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1988 ~ Melvin J “Cy” Oliver, American jazz composer and orchestra leader died at the age of 77

• 1994 ~ Red Rodney, Bebop-trumpeter died at the age of 66

• 1995 ~ C W Stubblefield, Music Promoter died at the age of 64

• 1995 ~ Ulysses Simpson Kay, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1996 ~ Albert “Pud” Brown, Clarinetist and saxophonist died at the age of 79

• 1996 ~ Ivan Sutton, Concert Promoter died at the age of 82

• 2017 ~ Gregg Allman, the soulful singer-songwriter and rock n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band with his late brother, Duane, and composed such classics as “Midnight Rider,” “Melissa” and the epic concert jam “Whipping Post,” died at age 69

May 26: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

• 1591 ~ Dirk Janszoon Sweelinck, Composer

• 1773 ~ Hans Georg Nageli, Composer

• 1782 ~ Joseph Drechsler, Composer

• 1832 ~ François-Louis Perne, Composer, died at the age of 59

• 1846 ~ Arthur Coquard, Composer

• 1853 ~ Monroe A Althouse, Composer

• 1856 ~ George Templeton Strong, Composer

• 1866 ~ Al Jolson, The first performer to sing in a sound movie ( The Jazz Singer)

• 1871 ~ Aime Maillart, Composer, died at the age of 54

• 1873 ~ August Conradi, Composer, died at the age of 51

• 1880 ~ John Curwen, Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1891 ~ Frederick Bowen Jewson, Composer, died at the age of 67.

• 1898 ~ Ernst Bacon, Composer

• 1898 ~ Gerard Bertouille, Composer

• 1898 ~ Ernst Bacon, American composer

• 1905 ~ Hans Holewa, Composer

• 1912 ~ Jan Blockx, Belgian opera composer, died at the age of 61

• 1920 ~ Peggy Lee, American jazz singer and music composer. She had a career spanning 70 years, during which she recorded 1,100 masters and composed more than 270 songs. She began her music career in the 1940s as a singer for Benny Goodman’s big band. Her most famous recording is a version of Little Willie Johnson’s “Fever” which was nominated for 3 awards at the inaugural Grammys in 1959. She was also an actor and famously voiced several roles for Disney’s Lady and the Tramp while also co-writing all of the original songs in the film. Lee continued to perform throughout the 1990s despite health issues. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.

• 1924 ~ Johann Heinrich Beck, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1924 ~ Victor Herbert, Irish/US cellist/composer/conductor, died at the age of 65

• 1926 ~ Maria de Lourdes Martins, Composer

• 1933 ~ Jimmie (James Charles) Rodgers passed away

• 1937 ~ Yehuda Yannay, Composer

• 1937 ~ Lionel Hampton and his band recorded the classic, Flying Home, for Decca Records.

• 1938 ~ William Bolcom, American pianist, composer and writer
More information about Bolcom

• 1941 ~ Imants Kalnins, Composer

• 1942 ~ Lenny Kravitz, Musician

• 1942 ~ Ray Ennis, Musician, guitar, singer with The Swinging Blue Jeans

• 1943 ~ Levon Helm, Drummer

• 1944 ~ Verden Allen, Keyboards

• 1948 ~ Stevie Nicks, Singer and songwriter

• 1949 ~ Hank Williams, Jr, Singer

• 1949 ~ Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano

• 1950 ~ Antonina Neshdanova, Russian soprano (Bolshoi Theater), died

• 1954 ~ Liberace presented a three-hour, one-man concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 13,000 women and 3,000 men attended. The performance nearly broke the box office mark of 18,000 set by pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski.

• 1967 ~ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, by The Beatles, was released. It took the Fab Four only 12 hours to record their first album, “Please, Please Me”. It took them 700 hours to complete “Sgt. Pepper’s”.

• 1973 ~ Tippett’s 3rd Piano sonata, premiered

• 1993 ~ Cor de Great, Pianist, conductor and composer, died at the age of 78

• 1994 ~ Michael Jackson (35) and Elvis and Pricilla Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie (26) were married.

• 1995 ~ Ron Weatherburn, Jazz pianist, died at the age of 61

• 1996 ~ Matima Kinuani Mpiosso, Musician, died at the age of 45

• 2002 ~ Oscar Florentino Tellez, one of San Antonio’s best-known bajo sexto players who was a regular with the Grammy-winning Texas Tornados, died in a one-vehicle traffic accident near Cotulla. He was 56. Tellez, a native of Laredo, taught himself to play music as a small boy. By his teens, he had learned to play the bass, drums, accordion, the keyboard and the bajo sexto, a Mexican bass guitar that resembles a 12-string guitar. In Europe, Tellez was affectionately called the ‘Frito Bandito.’

• 2003 ~ Almir Chediak, a music producer who dedicated his life to preserving the memory of Brazilian popular music, was shot to death. He was 52. Chediak was best known for transcribing the music of Brazil’s top musicians such as Caetano Veloso and Antonio Carlos Jobim and publishing them in the form of songbooks. He was also a music professor who taught some of Brazil’s top stars, including Gal Costa, Tim Maia, Cazuza and Morares Moreira, and in recent years he had gone on teach a new generation of Brazilian musicians. He also wrote two music textbooks that took harmonic theory out of the conservatory and made it more accessible for popular musicians. His publishing company, Lumiar, also produced CDs of important Brazilian musicians.

May 25: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

Each year, May 25 is Towel Day.  Do you know why?

towel

Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans.

On this day, fans carry a towel with them, as described in Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author.

Read more about Towel Day

tap-dance-day

Read more about National Tap Dance Day.

• 1688 ~ Christian August Jacobi, Composer

• 1726 ~ Giuseppi Paolucci, Composer

• 1765 ~ Pierre-Joseph Le Blan, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1767 ~ Ferdinand Franzl, Composer

• 1767 ~ Friedrich Johann Eck, Composer

• 1821 ~ Diederich Krug, Composer

• 1826 ~ Christian Friedrich Ruppe, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1847 ~ Alphonse Goovaerts, Composer

• 1878 ~ Bill “Bojangles” (Luther) Robinson, Vaudeville dancer, tap-dancing coach for Sammy Davis, Jr. and Shirley Temple
More information about Robinson

• 1878 ~ Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera “HMS Pinafore” premiered in London

• 1887 ~ Gas lamp at Paris Opera caught fire, 200 died

• 1889 ~ Hans Joachim Moser, German musicologist

• 1889 ~ Gilardo Gilardi, Composer

• 1889 ~ Sverre Jordan, Composer

• 1898 ~ Mischa Levitzki, Composer

• 1901 ~ Milenko Zivkovic, Composer

• 1902 ~ Helvi Lemmikke Leiviska, Composer

• 1904 ~ Kurt George Hugo Thomas, Composer

• 1912 ~ Eddie Maxwell, Singer

• 1914 ~ Paolo Giorza, Composer, died at the age of 81

• 1915 ~ Ginny Simms, Singer with Kay Kyser Band

• 1917 ~ Jimmy Hamilton, Saxophonist

• 1917 ~ Leon Felix Augustin Joseph Vasseur, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1919 ~ Gino Negri, Composer

• 1921 ~ Hal David, Oscar-winning songwriter with Burt Bacharach

• 1924 ~ Theodore Morse, Composer, died at the age of 51

• 1925 ~ Aldo Clementi, Composer

• 1926 ~ Miles Davis III, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He combined be-bop, modal chord progressions and rock rhythms to create ‘cool jazz’. He was one of the major influences on the art from the late 1940s.
Read quotes by and about Davis

• 1926 ~ Kitty Kallen, Singer

• 1928 ~ Frigyes Hidas, Composer

• 1929 ~ Beverly Sills, American soprano and opera administrator, chairperson of Lincoln Center; National Chair of March of Dimes’ Mothers’ March on Birth Defects

• 1934 ~ Gustav Theodore Holst, English Composer, died at the age of 59
More information about Holst

• 1936 ~ Tom T. Hall, Singer

• 1936 ~ Jan Levoslav Bella, Composer, died at the age of 92

• 1943 ~ Leslie Uggams, Singer

• 1943 ~ John ‘Poli’ Palmer, Musician, sax, flute, keyboard with Family

• 1946 ~ Patty Smith Hill, Songwriter (“Happy Birthday To You”) died at the age of 78

• 1947 ~ Jessi Colter (Mirian Johnson), Country singer

• 1947 ~ Mitch Margo, Singer with Cross Country and also The Tokens

• 1964 ~ Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov, Composer, died at the age of 92

• 1965 ~ Sonny Boy Williamson (Aleck Miller), Blues player, died at the age of 65

• 1971 ~ Mark Brunswick, Composer, died at the age of 69

• 1981 ~ Rosa Ponselle, US singer at the Metropolitan Opera, died at the age of 84

• 1984 ~ Piet Ketting, Dutch pianist, conductor and Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1986 ~ 30 million people worldwide joined in pop singer Bob Geldof’s “Race Against Time” to raise money for the starving in Africa.

• 2005 ~ Ruth Laredo, American pianist died at the age of 68

• 2018 ~ Piet Kee, Dutch organist and composer, died at the age of 90

May 24: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1610 ~ Giovanni Battista Chinelli, Composer

• 1677 ~ Alexandre de Villenueve, Composer

• 1736 ~ Juan de Sesse y Balaguer, Composer

• 1754 ~ Giacomo Conti, Composer

• 1762 ~ Joseph Umstatt, Composer, died at the age of 51

• 1767 ~ Joseph Ignaz Schnabel, Composer

• 1773 ~ Jan Zach, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1781 ~ Louis-Francois Dauprat, Composer

• 1826 ~ Friedrich Fesca, Composer, died at the age of 37

• 1830 ~ “Mary Had A Little Lamb” was written

• 1831 ~ Richard Hoffman, Composer

• 1831 ~ Benjamin Carr, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1841 ~ Tito Mattei, Pianist and Composer

• 1859 ~ Madame Caroline Miolan-Carvalho sang Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria in its first public performance.

• 1871 ~ Francisco Salvador Daniel, Composer, died at the age of 40

• 1873 ~ Leo Delibes’ opera “Le Roi l’a Dit” premiered in Paris

• 1886 ~ Paul Paray, French conductor and composer

• 1881 ~ Mikulas Schneider-Trvavsky, Composer

• 1894 ~ William Joseph Westbrook, Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1903 ~ Hilding Hallnas, Composer

• 1904 ~ George Formby (William Booth), British singer and comic

• 1905 ~ Zdenek Blazek, Composer

• 1908 ~ Kresimir Fribec, Composer

• 1910 ~ Margers Zarins, Composer

• 1910 ~ Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Composer

• 1912 ~ Joan Hammond, British operatic soprano

• 1922 ~ Sadao Bekku, Composer

• 1924 ~ Victor Herbert, Irish/US cellist, composer and conductor, died at the age of 65

• 1930 ~ Hans-Martin Linde, Composer

• 1932 ~ Elaine Malbin, Opera singer

• 1933 ~ Dmitri Shostakovitch’s Preludes premiered in Moscow

• 1936 ~ Harold Budd, Composer

• 1937 ~ Archie Shepp, African-American tenor saxophonist, one of the first improvisers and composers in free jazz, and one of its most eloquent spokesmen.

• 1938 ~ Art Kassel’s orchestra recorded a song for Bluebird Records that may not have been a smash hit, but had a great title: So You Left Me for the Leader of a Swing Band.

• 1941 ~ Bob Dylan, America folk and rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. He moved from folk to rock music in the 1960s, infusing the lyrics of rock and roll, previously concerned mostly with boy-girl romantic innuendo, with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry. Hailed as the Shakespeare of his generation, Dylan sold more than 58 million albums.

• 1941 ~ Brian Dennis, Composer

• 1941 ~ Konrad Boehmer, Composer

• 1942 ~ Derek Quinn, Guitarist with Freddie and the Dreamers

• 1943 ~ James Levine, British conductor

• 1944 ~ Patti LaBelle (Holt), American soul-rock singer

• 1945 ~ Priscilla Presley, American actress and was wife of Elvis Presley

• 1948 ~ Benjamin Britten’s “Beggar’s Opera” premiered in Cambridge

• 1948 ~ Alfred Kastner, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1955 ~ Roseanne Cash, Singer, daughter of Johnny Cash

• 1963 ~ Elmore James, Blues guitarist, died at the age of 45

• 1966 ~ “Mame” opened at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 1508 performances

• 1968 ~ Bernard Rogers, Composer, died

• 1969 ~ The Beatles hit number one with Get Back. The song stayed parked at the top of the hit heap for five weeks.

• 1974 ~ Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington musician, composer, bandleader; passed away
More information about Ellington

• 1986 ~ Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All was starting week number two of a three-week stay at number one.

• 1995 ~ Mike Pyne, Jazz Pianist, died

• 1996 ~ Jacob R Druckman, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 2002 ~ BBC News Online Conductor Colin Davis and The London Symphony were recognized for their successful partnership on the orchestra’s new record label and popular tenor Russell Watson was the big winner at the third Classical Brit awards Thursday, BBC News reports. Davis won the award for Best Male Artist, his recording of Berlioz’s Les Troyens received the Critics’ Choice award and the London Symphony Orchestra’s recording of  Vaughan Williams’ “London” Symphony under Richard Hickox was named Best Ensemble/Orchestral Album at the ceremony, which took place in the Royal Albert Hall. In the only award voted for by radio listeners, Best Album, Watson beat Italian opera singer Cecilia Bartoli with his Encore disc. It was the second time Watson won Best Album. He also picked up an award for the biggest selling classical album in the UK. Bartoli won for Female Artist of the Year. The Contemporary Music award was won by Tan Dun, composer of the score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The Best Male Artist award recognizes Davis’ highly successful Berlioz CD series on the LSO Live label. During 2001, his interpretations of Symphonie Fantastique, La damnation de Faust and Les Troyenswere released to excellent reviews. Les Troyens won Grammys earlier this year for Best Opera and Best Overall Classical Recording. The LSO’s disc of Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 2 “A London Symphony” on Chandos was the first recording of the score in its original version.

• 2015 ~ Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter, died.  He recorded with a variety of famous musicians, bandleaders, and record labels since the 1950s.

May 23: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1644 ~ Thomas Eisenhut, Composer

• 1696 ~ Johann Caspar Vogler, Composer

• 1737 ~ Louis François Chambray, Composer

• 1741 ~ Andrea Lucchesi, Composer

• 1750 ~ Carlo Goldoni’s “Il Bugiardo,” premiered in Mantua

• 1753 ~ Giovanni Battista Viotti, Violonist and composer

• 1756 ~ Nicolas-Joseph Hullmandel, Composer

• 1759 ~ Antoinio da Silva Leite, Composer

• 1794 ~ Isaak-Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer. One of the outstanding piano virtuosi of his era.
More information about Moscheles

• 1834 ~ Charles Wesley, Composer, died at the age of 76

• 1875 ~ Johann Wilhelm Mangold, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1887 ~ Ludwig Mathias Lindeman, Composer, died at the age of 74

• 1906 ~ Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright notably of “Peer Gynt”, died. Grieg set Peer Gynt to music.

• 1910 ~ Artie Shaw (Arthur Arschawsky), American jazz clarinetist, bandleader, composer and arranger
More information about Shaw

• 1912 ~ Jean Françaix, French composer and pianist whose music in a light neoclassical style displays the wit and clarity of the traditional Gallic spirit.

• 1918 ~ Abie “Boogaloo” Ames, Blues and jazz pianist, was born on Big Egypt Plantation in Cruger, Miss. He began playing piano at the age of 5 and his style earned him the nickname “Boogaloo” in the 1940’s.

• 1920 ~ Helen O’Connell, Singer, married to bandleader

• 1921 ~ Humphrey Lyttelton, English jazz musician, trumpeter and broadcaster

• 1921 ~ “Shuffle Along” first black musical comedy, opened in New York City.

• 1922 ~ Abie’s Irish Rose, opened at the Fulton Theatre in New York City. The play continued for 2,327 performances and numerous revivals as well. It is estimated that some 50,000,000 people have seen the play performed somewhere in the world.

• 1923 ~ Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist

• 1926 ~ Hans Koessler, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1928 ~ Rosemary Clooney, Singer, married to Jose Ferrer

• 1929 ~ Julian Euell, Jazz/studio musician, bass

• 1934 ~ Robert A. Moog, American electrical engineer; inventor of the Moog synthesizer
More information about Moog

• 1935 ~ Jackson Hill, Composer

• 1938 ~ Singer Ray Eberle signed on as vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for $35 a week. Eberle’s first session with Miller included Don’t Wake Up My Heart, for Brunswick Records.

• 1939 ~ Dmitri Shostakovitch was appointed professor at conservatory of Leningrad

• 1940 ~ Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, the Pied Pipers and featured soloist Frank Sinatra recorded I’ll Never Smile Again in New York for RCA. The tune remains one of Sinatra’s best-remembered performances.

• 1952 ~ Georg Alfred Schumann, Composer, died at the age of 85

• 1959 ~ “Party with Comden & Green” closed at John Golden New York City after 44 performances

• 1960 ~ Don and Phil, the Everly Brothers, enjoyed the day as their recording of Cathy’s Clown made it to number one on the hit music charts. The song stayed at number one for 5 weeks — a big hit for the duo.

• 1960 ~ “Finian’s Rainbow” opened at 46th St Theater New York City for 12 performances

• 1960 ~ Got A Girl by The Four Preps hit #24

• 1966 ~ Janet Jackson, Singer

• 1966 ~ The Beatles released “Paperback Writer”

• 1968 ~ Merle Kendrick, Orchestra leader, died at the age of 72

• 1968 ~ The Beatles opened the second Apple Boutique at 161 New Kings Road, London

• 1969 ~ Jimmy Francis McHugh, Composer, died at the age of 74

• 1975 ~ Singer B.J. Thomas received a gold record for the single with the extremely long title, (Hey, Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.

• 1987 ~ Karel Albert, Flemish Composer, died at the age of 86

• 1991 ~ William Sinnot, Scottish pop musician, died at the age of 30

• 1992 ~ Atahualpa Yupanqui, Argentinian singer, composer, poet and guitarist, died

• 1994 ~ Joe Pass, American jazz guitarist, died at the age of 65

• 1991 ~ Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (Unter dem Zimbelstern), died at the age of 95

May 22: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1722 ~ Johannes Schmidlin, Composer

• 1759 ~ Gervais-François Couperin, Composer

• 1780 ~ Jan Emmanuel Dulezalek, Composer

• 1783 ~ Thomas Forbes Walmisley, Composer

• 1813 ~ (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner, German composer
Read quotes by and about Wagner
More information about Wagner

Happy Birthday Wagner-Style

• 1820 ~ Alexander Ernst Fesca, Composer

• 1850 ~ Johann Schrammel, Composer

• 1852 ~ Emile Sauret, Composer

• 1865 ~ Enrique Morera, Composer

• 1879 ~ Eastwood Lane, Composer

• 1879 ~ Jean Emile Paul Cras, Composer

• 1884 ~ Alceo Toni, Composer

• 1885 ~ Julio Fonseca, Composer

• 1900 ~ Edwin S. Votey of Detroit, MI patented his pianola, a pneumatic piano player. The device could be attached to any piano. Batteries not included.

• 1914 ~ Sun Ra (Herman Blount), American jazz composer and keyboard player who led a free jazz big band known for its innovative instrumentation and the theatricality of its performances. He passed away in 1993.

• 1916 ~ Gordon Binkerd, Composer

• 1924 ~ Charles Aznavour, French chanteur and composer

• 1924 ~ Claude Andre Francois Ballif, French composer

• 1926 ~ Elaine Leighton, Drummer, played with Billie Holiday

• 1928 ~ Jackie (Jacqueline) Cain, Singer

• 1930 ~ Kenny Ball, Musician, trumpeter, bandleader

• 1933 ~ John Browning, American pianist

• 1934 ~ Peter Nero (Nierow), Pianist

• 1950 ~ Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s lyricist

• 1966 ~ Iva Davies (1955) Guitarist, singer with Icehouse

• 1958 ~ Wedding vows were taken by rock ’n’ roll star, Jerry Lee Lewis and his thirteen-year-old cousin, Myra.

• 1965 ~ The Beatles got their eighth consecutive number one hit as Ticket to Ride rode to the top of the singles list. The song topped the charts for one week and became their eighth consecutive number one hit.

• 1966 ~ Bruce Springsteen recorded his very first song at the age of 16, along with his band, The Castilles. It was titled, That’s What You’ll Get. The song was never released.

• 2003 ~ The final manuscript of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was annotated by the composer, sold at auction for $3.47 million.

May 21: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1633 ~ Joseph de La Barre, Composer

• 1671 ~ Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia, Composer

• 1680 ~ Frederich Karl Erbach, Composer

• 1720 ~ Antonio Corbisiero, Composer

• 1722 ~ Wilhelm Gottfried Enderle, Composer

• 1841 ~ Joseph Parry, Composer

• 1867 ~ Marie Joseph Leon Desire Paque, Composer

• 1888 ~ May Aufderheide, Ragtime composer

• 1892 ~ The opera “I Pagliacci,” by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was performed for the first time in Milan, Italy.

• 1895 ~ Franz von Suppe, Austrian composer of light operas, notably “Poet and Peasant,” died.
More information about von Suppe

• 1898 ~ Karel Haba, Composer

• 1901 ~ Horace Heidt, Bandleader: Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights

• 1904 ~ “Fats” Waller, American jazz pianist, organist, singer, bandleader and composer
Listen to Waller’s music
More information about Waller

• 1905 ~ Edward Lockspeiser, Composer

• 1917 ~ Dennis Day (Eugene Denis McNulty), Singer

• 1924 ~ Robert Parris, Composer

• 1926 ~ Joseph Horovitz, Composer

• 1929 ~ Charles Wadsworth, Pianist

• 1930 ~ Tommy Bryant, Jazz/studio musician: bassist

• 1932 ~ Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Composer

• 1933 ~ Maurice André, French trumpeter

• 1935 ~ Terry Lightfoot, Clarinetist, bandleader with the New Orleans Jazzmen

• 1939 ~ Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer and conductor

• 1940 ~ Will Bradley and his orchestra recorded one of the best of the Big Band era. Ray McKinley played drums and did the vocal for the boogie-woogie tune, Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar. The song, on Columbia Records, was so long it took up both sides of the 78 rpm record.

• 1941 ~ Ronald Isley, Singer with The Isley Brothers

• 1944 ~ Marcie Blane, Singer

• 1948 ~ Leo (Gerard) Sayer, Pop-singer and songwriter. Some of his hits were YouMake Me Feel like Dancing and When I Need You

• 1959 ~ Gypsy opened. Ethel Merman played the lead role in the musical which opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. The popular show ran for 702 performances. It was based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous burlesque queen.

• 1973 ~ Vaughn Monroe passed away

• 1973 ~ The sensual Pillow Talk, by Sylvia (Sylvia Vanderpool), earned a gold record.

• 1985 ~ Marvin Gaye’s last album was released. Dream of a Lifetime featured songs that critics considered too offensive, such as the controversial, pop version of The Lord’s Prayer. Three of the songs from the album were completed after Gaye’s death. Marvin Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

May 20: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1547 ~ Melchior Bischoff, Composer

• 1554 ~ Paulo Bellasio, Composer

• 1650 ~ Francesco Sacrati, composer, died at the age of 44

• 1751 ~ Domingo Miguel Bernaube Terradellas, Composer, died at the age of 38

• 1754 ~ Hans Gram, Composer

• 1782 ~ Carlo Giovanni Testori, Composer, died at the age of 68

• 1782 ~ Christoph Gottlieb Schroter, Composer, died at the age of 82

• 1812 ~ Gustav Adolf Mankell, Composer

• 1850 ~ Eaton Faning, Composer

• 1876 ~ John Owen Jones, Composer

• 1889 ~ Felix Arndt, Composer

• 1890 ~ Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor

• 1896 ~ Clara Josephine Wieck Schumann, Composer and pianist, died at the age of 76

• 1896 ~ The six-ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others. This incident inspired one of the more famous scenes in Gaston Leroux’s classic 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.

• 1900 ~ Gustav Heinrich Graben-Hoffman, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1903 ~ Jerzy Fitelberg, Polish composer

• 1910 ~ Jean-Baptiste Theodore Weckerlin, Composer, died at the age of 88

• 1913 ~ Ion Dumitrescu, Composer

• 1917 ~ Enyss Djemil, Composer

• 1920 ~ Hephzibah Menuhin, American pianist

• 1926 ~ Vic Ames (Urick), Singer with The Ames Brothers

• 1927 ~ David Frederick Barlow, Composer

• 1927 ~ Walter Aschaffenburg, Composer

• 1937 ~ Teddy Randazzo, Singer

• 1939 ~ Three Little Fishies, by Kay Kyser hits #1

• 1941 ~ Harry James and his orchestra recorded the classic You Made Me Love You for Columbia Records.

. 1942 ~ “I’ve Got A Gal in Kalamazoo” was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song made it to the top spot on the music charts for seven weeks, only being knocked off by Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.

• 1943 ~ Tison Street, Composer

• 1944 ~ Cipa Dichter, Brazilian pianist, wife of Misha Dichter

• 1944 ~ Joe (John Robert) Cocker, British rock-blues singer and songwriter

• 1946 ~ Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre), Entertainer

• 1952 ~ Warren Cann, Drummer

• 1960 ~ Sue Cowsill, Singer with The Cowsills

• 1961 ~ Hans Werner Henze’s opera “Elegy for Young Lovers,” premiered in Schwetzingen

• 1967 ~ The BBC banned The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” because of drug references

• 1970 ~ The Beatles’ “Let it Be” movie premiered in the United Kingdom

• 1975 ~ Jacques Stehman, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1979 ~ The first western pop star to tour USSR was Elton John

• 1984 ~ “On Your Toes” closed at Virginia Theater NYC after 505 performances

• 1986 ~ Bernard Naylor, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1991 ~ Julian Orbon De Soto, Composer, died at the age of 65

• 2000 ~ Jean-Pierre Rampal, who popularized the flute as a solo instrument and became one of classical music’s brightest stars, died in Paris. He was 78. The cause was a heart attack.
More information about Rampal

• 2002 ~ Sandor Konya, a tenor who spent much of his career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, died. He was 78. Born in Sarkad, Hungary, in 1923, Konya studied in Hungary, Italy and Germany before making a name for himself as a Wagnerian tenor and giving hundreds of performances at the Met in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He moved to Ibiza in the 1980s and started Pro Arte, a local foundation to promote the operatic arts with productions throughout the season, said Echarte, who is vice president.

• 2013 ~ Ray Manzarek, American musician and keyboardist (The Doors-Light My Fire, Unknown Soldier), died of cancer at the age of 74

May 17: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

• 1050 ~ Guido d’Arezzo, Italian music theorist, died. He is regarded as the inventor of modern musical notation (staff notation) that replaced neumatic notation.

• 1866 ~ Erik Satie, French composer and pianist
Read quotes by and about Satie
More information about Satie

• 1890 ~ Pietro Mascagni’s famous opera “Cavalleria Rusticana”, set in Sicily, was first performed in Rome.

• 1901 ~ Werner Egk, German composer and conductor

• 1918 ~ Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano. Famed for her singing of Wagner, she took part in the first pioneering commercial recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

• 1921 ~ Bob Merrill, Songwriter

• 1924 ~ Dick Hixson, Trombonist, studio musician

• 1932 ~ Jackie (John) McLean, Jazz musician: alto sax; composer, playwright; educator: University of Hartford, CT

• 1935 ~ French composer Paul Dukas, whose composition “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” featured in the Disney films “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” died

• 1938 ~ Pervis Jackson, Singer with The Spinners

• 1939 ~ The Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY was the scene of a memorable dual- network radio broadcast of Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Both NBC and Mutual carried the event, which was attended by 1,800 people in the casino ballroom.

• 1942 ~ Taj Mahal (Henry St. Claire Fredericks), Entertainer, songwriter, singer

• 1944 ~ Paul Crossley, concert pianist

• 1949 ~ Bill Bruford, Drummer

• 1971 ~ Jordan Knight, Singer with New Kids on the Block

• 1971 ~ The musical, Godspell, opened this night at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. Godspell featured the song Day by Day (a top-15 hit in 1972). The rock musical that featured Robin Lamont played for 2,124 performances and was the third longest-running off-Broadway production at the time.

• 1975 ~ NBC-TV paid a whopping $5,000,000 for the rights to show Gone with the Wind just one time. It was the top price paid for a single opportunity to show a film on television.

• 1975 ~ Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album was released and certified a platinum record on the very same day. It was the first album to be certified a million-seller (in this case, a two-million seller) on the first day of release.

• 2002 ~ John de Lancie, an oboist whose talent as a player and teacher helped create a new repertoire for his instrument, died from leukemia. He was 80. De Lancie’s style became a signature of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he joined in 1946 and served as principal from 1954-77. He was then appointed director of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia conservatory whose graduates include Leonard Bernstein. Students of Mr. de Lancie also occupy principal chairs in Boston, Montreal and Minneapolis. As a 24-year-old soldier stationed in Germany during World War II, de Lancie approached Richard Strauss about writing a concerto for oboe. The 81-year-old Strauss said he had not considered such a work, but went on to create a score that joined the standard repertoire. De Lancie entered the Curtis Institute at 14 to study with the legendary French oboist Marcel Tabuteau. De Lancie entered the Army in 1942 and played in the Army Band. While stationed in Paris, he met his wife, Andrea. They had two children; Christina, a playwright, and John de Lancie, an actor who played the character Q on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

. 2012 ~ Disco queen, singer, Donna Summer who had reportedly been battling cancer died at the age of sixty-three. The artist had won five Grammys and was nominated for twelve more and had influence dance music and many artists throughout her career.

. 2013 ~ Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was inducted as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Dylan was unable to attend the event but had stated he was honored and lucky to receive the membership.

May 16: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

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• 1892 ~ Richard Tauber (Ernst Seiffert), Austrian-born British tenor. He sang a wide range of music and was as equally at home in opera, notably Mozart, as in Austrian operetta.

• 1913 ~ Woody (Woodrow Charles) Herman, American jazz clarinetist, bandleader and composer

• 1919 ~ (Walter) (Wladziu Valentino) Liberace, American concert pianist and showman. His trademark was a candelabra on his piano.
More information about Liberace

• 1922 ~ Eddie Bert, Jazz musician, trombone

• 1929 ~ The first Academy Awards were presented on this night, hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. de Mille. This first awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. It attracted an audience of 200 people.

• 1929 ~ Paul Whiteman and his orchestra backed Bing Crosby for the tune, Sposin’, which ‘Der Bingle’ recorded for Columbia Records. Betty Carter (Lillie Mae Jones) (1930) Jazz singer: toured with Lionel Hampton & Miles Davis

• 1930 ~ Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist/composer

• 1946 ~ The Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun, at New York’s Imperial Theatre. One of the most successful shows presented on a Broadway stage, the show ran for 1,147 performances.

• 1947 ~ Barbara Lee, Singer with The Chiffons

• 1947 ~ Darrel Sweet, Drummer, singer

• 1953 ~ Bill Haley and His Comets made it to the Billboard music charts for the first time with Crazy Man Crazy. The tune went to number six and became the first rock ’n’ roll record to make the pop music chart.

• 1965 ~ The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd, a Broadway musical starring Anthony Newley, made its premiere at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. Cyril Ritchard appeared in the production which entertained audiences for 231 performances.

• 1966 ~ Janet Jackson, Singer

• 1990 ~ Jim Henson, the famous creator who of the Muppets, a cast of puppets including Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, Elmo, Ernie and Bert, died at the age of 54.

• 1990 ~ The entertainer who could do it all, Sammy Davis, Jr., died this day, in Beverly Hills, California, USA. From vaudeville at age three (with his father and uncle) to the star of Broadway’s “Mr. Wonderful”, from Las Vegas nightclubs to hit records, the actor, singer, dancer, impersonator, and musician performed his way into the hearts of young and old everywhere. The world mourned the passing of Sammy Davis, Jr. at age 64 of throat cancer.

• 1993 ~ Marv Johnson passed away.  He was an American R&B and soul singer.

• 1995 ~ Lola Flores, fiery Spanish dancer and singer, died. She made many films but was best known for her flamenco movements and passionate songs.

• 2010 ~ Hank Jones, American jazz pianist and composer, died at the age of 91