• 1899 ~ Russell Markert, Choreographer, founded and directed the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes
• 1905 ~ André Jovilet, French composer and conductor
• 1907 ~ Benny Carter, American jazz solo saxophonist, trumpeter, composer and arranger
• 1921 ~ Roger Nixon, American composer
• 1921 ~ Webb Pierce, Singer
• 1923 ~ Jimmy Witherspoon, Singer
• 1923 ~ Benny Goodman was 14 years old as he began his professional career as a clarinet player. He took a job in a band on a Chicago-based excursion boat on Lake Michigan.
• 1926 ~ Urbie (Urban) Green, Musician, trombonist who played with Cab Calloway
• 1932 ~ Mel Tillis, Singer, songwriter
• 1933 ~ Joe Tex (Arrington, Jr.), Singer
• 1934 ~ Bing Crosby became the first singer to record for the newly created Decca Records. His songs, Just A-Wearyin’ For You and I Love You Truly, were recorded as Decca number D-100.
• 1939 ~ Philip Balsley, Singer with The Statler Brothers
• 1941 ~ Les Brown and His Band of Renown paid tribute to baseball’s “Yankee Clipper”, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, with the recording of Joltin’ JoeDiMaggio on Okeh Records. From that time on, DiMaggio adopted the nickname, Joltin’ Joe.
• 1949 ~ Keith Carradine, Actor and composer, whose recording of I’m Easy reached No. 17 on the U.S. charts in 1976.
• 1950 ~ Andy Fairweather-Low, Musician, guitar, singer with Amen Corner
• 1958 ~ Harry (Harry Lillis III) Crosby, Singer and actor, son of Bing Crosby and Kathryn Grant
• 1958 ~ Chris Foreman, Musician, guitar with Madness
• 1960 ~ Tell Laura I Love Her, by Ray Peterson, wasn’t a big hit in Great Britain. Decca Records in England said the song was “too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.” They destroyed 25,000 of the platters this day.
• 1961 ~ The Edge (David Evans), Musician, guitar with U2
• 1974 ~ Roberta Flack received a gold record for the single, Feel Like Makin’ Love. Flack, born in Asheville, NC and raised in Arlington, VA, was awarded a music scholarship to Howard University in Washington, DC at the age of 15. One of her classmates became a singing partner on several hit songs. Donny Hathaway joined Flack on You’ve Got a Friend, Where is the Love and The Closer I Get to You. She had 10 hits on the pop charts in the 1970s and 1980s.
• 1975 ~ Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderly passed away
• 1997 ~ Duncan Swift, jazz pianist, died at the age of 74
• 2017 ~ Glen Campbell died at the age of 81. He was an American singer, songwriter, musician, television host, and actor.
• 1782 ~ Placidus Cajetan von Camerloher, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1797 ~ Franz Schoberlechner, Composer
• 1865 ~ Robert Kahn, Composer
• 1870 ~ Josef Strauss, Austrian composer, died at the age of 42
• 1896 ~ Jean Rivier-Villemomble France, Composer
• 1898 ~ Ernest Willem Mulder, Composer
• 1898 ~ Sara Carter, Vocalist/guitarist with the Carter Family
• 1903 ~ Theodore Karyotakis, Composer
• 1906 ~ Daniel Ayala Perez, Composer
• 1915 ~ Floyd McDaniel ~ blues singer/guitarist
• 1920 ~ Isaac Stern, American concert violinist
Read quotes by and about Stern
More information about Stern
• 1920 ~ Manuel Valls Gorina, Composer
• 1921 ~ Billy Taylor, Orchestra leader on the David Frost Show
• 1922 ~ Kay Starr (Katherine Starks), Pop Singer
• 1925 ~ Lovro Zupanovic, Composer
• 1926 ~ Albert Fuller, American harpsichordist
• 1926 ~ Norman Jewison, Director of Jesus Christ, Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof
• 1927 ~ Stefan Niculescu, Composer
• 1931 ~ Leon Schidlowsky, Composer
• 1931 ~ Ted Husing was master of ceremonies for the very first CBS-TV program. The gala show featured singer Kate Smith, composer George Gershwin and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker.
• 1935 ~ Kaye Stevens, Singer and comedienne on the Jerry Lewis Show
• 1938 ~ Anton Emil Kuerti, Composer
• 1938 ~ Paul Hindemith and Leonide Massines ballet premiered in London
• 1947 ~ Cat Stevens (Steven Demitri Georgiou) (Muslim name: Yusuf Islam), British folk-rock singer and songwriter
• 1948 ~ Donald Nichols Tweedy, Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1950 ~ Albert Riemenschneider, Composer, died at the age of 71
• 1958 ~ The last of Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts programs aired on CBS-TV. Many artists got their start on Talent Scouts, including Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, The McGuire Sisters and a singer named Connie Francis, who not only sang but played the accordion, as well.
• 1969 ~ Just one day after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Duke Ellington and a portion of his band performed a 10-minute composition on ABC-TV titled Moon Maiden. The work featured piano, drums, bass and vocals.
• 1973 ~ Bad, Bad Leroy Brown reached the top spot on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming Jim Croce’s first big hit. Croce died in a plane crash two months later (September 20, 1973).
• 1976 ~ “Guys & Dolls” opened at Broadway Theater New York City for 239 performances
• 1994 ~ Dorothy Collins, Singer on Your Hit Parade, died at the age of 67
• 1995 ~ Edwin “Russell” House, Saxophonist, died at the age of 65
• 2000 ~ Iain Hamilton, the Scottish composer who turned Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” into an opera at the age of 78. Hamilton wrote four symphonies and dozens of orchestral and chamber works but is known best for his vocal music, which includes a cantata based on the poems of Robert Burns. “Anna Karenina” premiered at the English National Opera in 1981 to critical acclaim. His other operas include “Agamemnon”, “The Catiline Conspiracy”, based on a Ben Jonson play, and an adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play “The Royal Hunt of the Sun”. From 1961 to 1978 he was a professor of music at Duke University in North Carolina.
• 2001 ~ Norman Hall Wright, the last surviving writer who worked on the Disney film Fantasia 2000, died at the age of 91. Wright studied at the University of Southern California before being hired by Walt Disney Productions. He started as an animator but later became a writer, producer and director. Wright developed the story of The Nutcracker Suite sequence for Fantasia 2000. He also was responsible for a sequence in Bambi. He wrote several cartoon shorts for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy and also produced several Wonderful World of Disney television programs.
• 2002 ~ Gus Dudgeon, a respected music producer who worked on many of Elton John’s hit recordings, died in a car crash in western England. He was 59. Dudgeon produced Rocket Man,Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,Your Song,Daniel and Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. Dudgeon also produced David Bowie’s Space Oddity and worked with other stars, including Chris Rea and Joan Armatrading. But it was his partnership with Sir Elton in the 1970s for which he will be best remembered. Dudgeon began his career in the early 1960s as a tea boy, running errands at Olympic Studios in London before joining Decca Records. He engineered the Zombies’ classic She’s Not There and the groundbreaking Blues Breakers album by John Mayall with Eric Clapton, before moving into producing.
• 2015 ~ Theodore Meir Bikel, Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, and activist, died at the age of 91.
• 2023 ~ Tony Bennett died at the age of 96. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”.
Circus marches are called “screamers” because they are traditionally so high, loud & fast!! Circus Band members are often called “windjammers” because they jam so much wind into their instruments in the process of playing these screamers. Playing the circus requires incredible endurance & skills on your instrument. The windjammers play almost none stop and much of the music is really difficult!
The greatest circus bands were about 100 years ago in the heyday of the circus. At that time the big top band could be 25 or so, plus there were often sideshow musicians as well. Cowboy bands, women’s bands and bands of Blacks were often part of the sideshows.
Contemporary circuses are much smaller all the way around, and some don’t use live musicians at all, just “canned” music (recordings). Others carry 3 musicians, a drummer, a trumpet player and a keyboard (synthesizer) player. A few, like the Big Apple Circus, still have bands. The Big Apple Circus has 8 musicians on its bandstand: a conductor/trumpet, a person who plays alto sax and clarinet, one who plays tenor sax and flute, a violin, a trombone, a bass player, a keyboard player and a drummer.
In the “old days,” being a circus musician was one of the most strenuous jobs a musician could have. In the days before musicians’ unions, the windjammer would be expected to play for the circus parade, play a pre-show free concert for the townspeople, ballyhoo around the grounds before the big top show, play the show itself (nonstop for two or three hours!), play post-show concerts on the grounds or play sideshows. Then after everyone left, they helped take down the tents or do other chores around the grounds. It was a busy day and the pay was not very good, but it was an exciting life with lots of great music, and many musicians loved it!
THE MUSIC
Entry of the Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) was written in 1897 by, the Czechoslovakian composer, Julius Fucik (1872-1916). This march is a classic circus march & one that just about everyone will think, “Ah, circus!” when they hear it. Thunder and Blazes (as it is most frequently called) and Fucik’s Florentiner March are probably his most well-known marches.
Most circus marches follow the standard American military march form, but often abbreviated (no repeats in the second half):
Introduction (a bit longer than military marches)
First strain (repeated)
Second strain (repeated)
Trio (more mellow and the key changes)
Breakup strain (often called the dogfight in military marches)
Last strain
In a circus march, the last strain is often the same as the trio, but louder, and often the trio, breakup strain and last strain are not repeated like they are in a military march (in military marches, the trio and breakup strain are often reversed & the way they repeat may vary).
The music sets the scene for the performer’s act. Different music is needed for different kinds of acts: the bareback riders galloping around the hippodrome need a lively tune, the trapeze artists want something more peaceful, and of course the clowns need music that sounds humorous (like trombone smears!).
In the early days of the circus, the band masters would take some of the European classical music and arrange it for the circus band. “The most obvious example would be the beautiful, flowing waltz music that is essential to the trapeze artists (‘flyers’ and ‘catchers’). The bandmaster and musicians must be precise in coordinating the music and the timing of the artists, requiring rehearsal with the artists and the musicians. Similarly, it may be interesting to note that the bareback riders perform in a smaller ring because of the gait of the horses. The centrifugal effect requires a ring of a certain diameter for timing. Thus, the conductor must follow the gait of the horses, whereas the aerialists depend on the tempo of the music for timing their act.”
Modern circuses also play a lot of popular tunes, jazz and other songs that people will recognize. You will likely hear fewer of the standard circus marches at a circus today.
The drummer has a particularly challenging and important role in the circus music. He/she must “play the tricks.” Usually the drummer is situated so that he can see the ring because it is his job to accent and intensify what is happening in the ring. This was true 100 years ago, and it is true today. If the act is getting tense, the drummer will get intense. If someone slides down a rope or vaults off the trampoline, there will be a cymbal crash or drum hit when the performer reaches the floor. Sometimes the cues come from the conductor or from the ringmaster, but sometimes it is the drummer who is really in charge!
Circus bands occasionally play a John Philip Sousa composition during the traditional Center Ring Concert, but his melodic marches are not the right structure for most circus acts.
Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever is never part of the regular program. It is reserved for emergency use – sometimes called the “Disaster March”. If a major problem happens — an animal gets loose, a high wind threatens the tent, or a fire breaks out — the band plays the march as a warning signal to every worker on the circus lot that something is wrong.
Charles Nelson Reilly – who grew up to be a famous actor, comedian, director and drama teacher – was attending the Ringling Bros. circus, in Hartford, on the day the big top burned to the ground. Listen as he recalled his memories of the fire.
For lesser problems, the 12th Street Rag was played to alert the clowns to come out and divert attention during the more common mishaps.
Edward F. Shevlin describes what goes on in the circus band as follows:
“Our music is usually by Karl King, Alexander, Fred Jewell, C. E. Duble and other old time circus bandmasters and musicians. Much of the music by these circus musician-composers is amenable to quick cut-offs and tempo changes as necessary to fit particular acts. Hence, Windjammers usually play two musicians to a stand so that when the conductor cuts to a new piece and tempo, one musician can quickly move the music to expose the next piece while the other continues without skipping a beat! We might quickly go from a march to a Samba or rhumba or galop; or from a waltz to an up-tempo march or galop for the “come down” when the aerialists quickly descend into the net or slide down a rope at the conclusion of their act . . .followed by that ubiquitous B-flat chord! The old circus bands would play anything from Ragtime to a Polonaise or a tone poem!”
*Information from an email from Edward F. Shevlin, a Windjammer who happened upon this page! Many thanks, Mr. Shevlin!
THE BANDWAGON
When the circus came to town, there was always a circus parade — the parade served to get the wagons filled with people, equipment, baggage, tents and animals to the location of the circus, but it also provided some free advertisement. The wagons were very elaborate & were intended to get people interested in the circus so they would come and see the acts. The band road on top of a bandwagon and inside the bandwagon was luggage, tents and other necessities.
Hey, have you ever heard the term, “jump on the bandwagon”? Here’s the story. In 1848, when Zachary Taylor won the Whig party nomination for president, Dan Rice, a famous clown whose attire inspired the image of Uncle Sam, invited Mr. Taylor to ride on the bandwagon that Dan Rice had. When the bandwagon arrived at the center of town, Dan Rice stopped his parade and made a very emotional speech supporting Zachary Taylor’s candidacy. Someone noted that Dan Rice was on Mr. Taylor’s bandwagon and the term stuck, so that to jump on the bandwagon means to get involved with whatever the issue is. “He jumped on the ecology bandwagon.” “She is definitely on the civil rights bandwagon.”
Below you will find some links to pictures of bandwagons.
The Columbia Bandwagon– purchased by James Bailey for the Barnum & Bailey Circus — and see this wagon hitched to FORTY horses!!! The picture including the wagon & the band is at the bottom of the page.
Most people pronounce this instrument “cal eye’ o pee”. Circus people pronounce it “cal’ ee ope” (last syllable like “rope”). What is a calliope?? It is a huge instrument made of whistles with a steam engine that blows steam through the whistles when you press the key. Most calliopes are played with a keyboard like a piano keyboard & each key controls one whistle. It is LOUD!!!! Some can be heard up to 3 – 5 miles! Don’t stand too close to one!
The calliope traditionally brought up the rear in a circus parade.
Most performing entities have some superstitions. One of the superstitions in circus bands is that you can not play Franz von Suppe’sLight Cavalry March. Quoting from Mr. Beal’s book:
“To play it on the circus lot means disaster and sudden death.”You may not believe this but most circus folks do, at least those who know the facts. Played once in Oklahoma, a train wreck followed and sixteen were killed. Played again, this time while [Merle] Evans was on tour with Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West, a blowdown followed and 38 fatalities resulted. [A blow down is a wind that destroys all or part of the tents.]
“And the last time Merle played it a cornet player died immediately after the performance. That was enough for Evans. He collected the parts, tied them up in a neat bundle, and dropped them over the nearest bridge…
“From that day to this the music of Suppe’s Light Cavalry march is taboo. Even its presence in the music trunk would be considered a serious menace to the life and safety of the circus musicians.”
A second superstition about the music played is that the only time you can play Home Sweet Home is during the very last performance of the season, the very last song. Otherwise, it could mean the immediate closing of the show.
Information from:
Beal, George Brinton. Through the Back Door of the Circus with George Brinton Beal. Springfield, Massachusetts: McLoughlin Bros., Inc., 1938. p. 1-20.
Some important Windjammers and composers of circus music
Karl King — Karl King was the bandmaster for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was one of the first composers to write for student bands. Learn about his music and his life.
The Great Circus Parade — here is a section of the Circus World Museum website dedicated to the circus parade that they put on every summer. (WMS students: The video we watched in Circus 2 was of this parade). http://www.circusparade.com/cwm.htm
Sounds of the Circus — This is the site of the South Shore Circus Concert Band which is ” one of the few bands in the country dedicated to preserving authentic music from the golden age of the American Circus.” The site includes pictures, CDs to purchase and a few RealAudio files for circus music. http://world.std.com/~tsh/circus.html
Screamers – Circus marches are called screamers because they are so loud, fast & often very high!
Windjammers – Circus musicians are often called windjammers because they jam so much wind into their instruments in the process of playing these screamers.
Ballyhooing – The dictionary defines the verb “ballyhoo” as a vigorous attempt to win customers. When not playing, the musicians went around the grounds & the town shouting about the circus & trying to get people to come to see it. Ex: “Come to the circus tonight! See flying trapeze artists and the ….”
Hippodrome – The hippodrome is the track around the inside of the ring where the horses were run.
Trombone Smears – Smear refers both to a trombone technique and to a type of music. The technique (officially called a glissando) where the trombonist pulls the slide in or out without tonguing and you get a smearing sound as the notes move up or down, rather than a distinct set of individual notes. Smear also refers to a type of music that includes and features these smear techniques. These pieces are often used as clown music. Henry Fillmore wrote many trombone smears and they had an African-American minstrel sound to them.
• 1933 ~ Strauss and von Hofmannsthal’s opera “Arabella,” premiered in Dresden.
• 1935 ~ James Cotton, blues vocalist
• 1939 ~ Louis Davids (Simon David), Cabaret performer/chorus performer, died
• 1941 ~ Twila Tharp, Choreographer
• 1941 ~ John Gould, British composer and musical comic
• 1942 ~ Andrae Crouch, Gospel Singer
• 1945 ~ Debbie Harry, American singer
• 1946 ~ June Montiero, American vocalist
• 1947 ~ Clarence Lucas, Composer, died at the age of 80
• 1950 ~ Edward Faber Schneider, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1954 ~ Fred Schneider, Singer for pop-punk band the B-52s
• 1956 ~ Elvis Presley appeared wearing a tuxedo on the Steve Allen Show
• 1960 ~ Benjamin Britten’s cantata “Carmen Baseliense,” premiered in Basel.
• 1963 ~ The Beatles recorded She Loves You & I’ll Get You
• 1964 ~ Pierre Monteux, French/American conductor, died at the age of 89
• 1965 ~ Claude Thornhill, Composer, died at the age of 55
• 1967 ~ “Funny Girl”, the story of Fanny Brice, closed at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 1348 performances.
• 1967 ~ The Beatles’Sgt Pepper’s LonelyHearts Club Band, went #1 for 15 weeks
• 1968 ~ John Lennon’s first full art exhibition (You are Here)
• 1969 ~ John & Yoko were hospitalized after a car crash
• 1969 ~ Shelby Singleton bought Sun Records from Sam Phillips
• 1970 ~ Jimi Hendrix first recording session (New York City)
• 1972 ~ “Follies” closed at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 524 performances
• 1972 ~ “Hair” closed at Biltmore Theater New York City after 1750 performances
• 1973 ~ Mario La Broca, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1973 ~ “Jesus Christ Superstar”, by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice, closed at Mark Hellinger New York City after 711 performances
• 1978 ~ “Act” closed at Majestic Theater New York City after 233 performances
• 1982 ~ John Everett Watts, Composer, died at the age of 51
• 1982 ~ Shon Coco Palm, (Jacobo JM Palm), Curaçan Composer, died
• 1982 ~ ABC national music radio network scheduled premiere, but it never happened
• 1988 ~ Hellmuth Christian Wolff, Composer, died at the age of 82
• 1988 ~ Lex van Delden, Dutch Composer and writer, died at the age of 68
• 1995 ~ “Kiss of the Spider Woman” closed at Broadhurst New York City after 906 performances
• 1996 ~ Placido Domingo became art director of Washington Opera
• 2015 ~ Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer, died at the age of 88
• 2018 ~ Dame Gillian Lynne [Pyrke], British dancer, choreographer and actress, known for Broadway work on “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” died at the age of 92
• 1943 ~ Roger Ruskin Spear, English saxophonist, kazoo with The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
• 1945 ~ Little Eva (Boyd), Singer
• 1946 ~ “Are You with It?” closed at Century Theater New York City after 264 performances
• 1946 ~ “Billion Dollar Baby” closed at Alvin Theater New York City after 219 performances
• 1948 ~ Ian Paice, Musician, drums with Paice Ashton Lord
• 1953 ~ Jules van Nuffel, Composer, died at the age of 70
• 1955 ~ Bill Haley and His Comets reached the top of the pop music charts with Rock Around the Clock. The smash hit stayed there for eight straight weeks. The song was featured in the film Blackboard Jungle. Most consider the hit song the first rock ’n’ roll single.
• 1963 ~ “Little Me” closed at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City after 257 performances
• 1963 ~ The Beatles’ 1st song From Me to You hits UK charts
• 1964 ~ Milenko Zivkovic, composer, died at the age of 63
• 1966 ~ Arthur Meulemans, Belgian Composer, died at the age of 82
• 1968 ~ Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim peaked at #17
• 1969 ~ Shorty Long, Soul singer and pianist, died at the age of 29
• 1969 ~ Vesselin Stoyanov, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1970 ~ NBC presented an evening of exciting and entertaining TV with the award-winning Liza Minelli Special.
• 1980 ~ “Sweeney Todd” closed at Uris Theater New York City after 557 performances
• 1984 ~ Singer Bruce Springsteen kicked off his first U.S. tour in three years, before 17,700 fans at the Civic Center in St. Paul, MN. Music critics called the Boss, “the most exciting performer in rock.”
• 1992 ~ “Salome” opened at Circle in Sq Theater New York City for 9 performances
• 1994 ~ Kurt Eichhorn, Conductor, died at the age of 85
• 1994 ~ Ray Crane, Trumpeter, died at the age of 63
• 1998 ~ Horst Jankowski passed away
• 2001 ~ Kimo Wilder McVay, a veteran talent agent who promoted singer Don Ho into an international star, died at the age of 73. McVay introduced Ho, known for his song Tiny Bubbles, to tourist audiences in the 1960s at his Duke Kahanamoku’s nightclub in Waikiki. He represented Hawaii’s top talents in an up-and-down career that spanned nearly five decades, but slowed his work when diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago. McVay was the son of Navy Capt. Charles B. McVay III, who was found guilty at a court-martial trial of failing to steer a zigzag course to evade a Japanese submarine that sank the USS Indianapolis in 1945. The younger McVay’s years of trying to clear his father’s name resulted in congressional action last year to exonerate the Indianapolis’ skipper, who committed suicide in 1968.
• 2002 ~ Rosemary Clooney, the mellow-voiced singer who co-starred with Bing Crosby in “White Christmas” and staged a dramatic comeback after her career was nearly destroyed by drugs and alcohol, died. She was 74. Clooney soared to fame with her 1951 record of Come on-a My House, and became a star in television and films. Her career was sidelined by her marriage to Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer and the births of their five children. The pair divorced, and her attempts to return to performing were sabotaged by her erratic behavior. Having undergone a series of emotional upsets – she was devastated by Martin Luther King’s assassination, and was present in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Robert F. Kennedy was shot – the blond singer had a breakdown during a 1968 engagement in Reno. She underwent harrowing confinement in a psychotic ward, then began rebuilding her life, gradually resuming her career and reaching new heights as a singer. She performed a concert with Crosby in the Christmas of 1975 at the Los Angeles Music Center, and the pair continued on to Chicago, New York and London. Clooney won a new record contract, and singing dates poured in. In 1995, she received an Emmy Award nomination for guest actress in a drama series for her role on “ER” with her nephew, actor George Clooney. He is the son of her brother, former television news anchor Nick Clooney. In 1996, Clooney married Hollywood dancer Dante DiPaolo.
• 2002 ~ Edmund Anderson, a former stockbroker and producer who was close friends with musician Duke Ellington, died. He was 89. Anderson and Ellington met in 1936 and remained friends until Ellington’s death in 1974. Anderson was said to have pressed Ellington to perform at Carnegie Hall, which he did for the first time in 1943. Anderson worked for his father’s brokerage, Anderson & Company, but had a strong interest in music and also produced broadcasts for radio, including a program known as “The Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Show.” He also composed music, including the love song Flamingo, written in collaboration with Ted Grouya and recorded by Ellington and his band.
• 1886 ~ Robert Herberigs, Flemish Composer and writer
• 1898 ~ Paul Muller-Zurich, Composer
• 1902 ~ Guy (Gaetano) Lombardo, Canadian-born American bandleader with The Royal Canadians: “The most beautiful music this side of heaven.”
• 1904 ~ Balis Dvarionas, Composer
• 1905 ~ Taneli Kuusisto, Composer
• 1910 ~ Edwin Gerschefski, Composer
• 1910 ~ Father’s Day was observed for the first time at Spokane, Wash., at the request of the the local YMCA and the Spokane Ministerial Association to earmark a Sunday to “honor thy father.” The idea originated in the mind of a Ms. John Bruce Dodd, a local housewife who was inspired by her admiration for the great job her father, William Smart, had done in raising his 6 children after his wife’s untimely and early death.
• 1912 ~ Jerry Jerome, American saxophonist
• 1913 ~ Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev, Russian Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1926 ~ DeFord Bailey was the first black to perform on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry
• 1927 ~ Karel Kupka, Composer
• 1930 ~ Jul Levi, Composer
• 1932 ~ First concert performed in San Francisco’s Stern Grove
• 1936 ~ Tommy DeVito, Singer with The Four Seasons
• 1939 ~ Al Wilson, Musician, drummer, singer with Show and Tell
• 1940 ~ Maurice Jaubert, Composer, died at the age of 40
• 1942 ~ Spanky (Elaine) McFarlane, Singer with Spanky and Our Gang
• 1943 ~ Sheik Of Araby by Spike Jones & City Slickers peaked at #19
• 1951 ~ Ann Wilson, Singer with Heart
• 1953 ~ Larry Dunn, Musician, keyboards with Earth, Wind & Fire
• 1956 ~ Doug Stone, Singer
• 1960 ~ Loretta Lynn recorded Honky Tonk Girl
• 1961 ~ Little Egypt (Ying-Yang) by Coasters peaked at #23
• 1962 ~ Paula Abdul, Singer
• 1965 ~ I Can’t Help Myself, by The Four Tops, topped the pop and R&B charts. The Tops, who had no personnel changes in their more than 35 years together were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
• 1966 ~ Marjan Kozina, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1984 ~ Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1988 ~ Zdenek Blazek, Composer, died at the age of 83
• 1994 ~ “She Loves Me” closed at Atkinson Theater New York City after 294 performances
• 1994 ~ “Twilight – Los Angeles 1992” closed at Cort New York City after 72 performances
• 1995 ~ Murray Dickie, Opera singer/director, died at the age of 71
• 1996 ~ Alan Ande Anderson, Opera director, died at the age of 78
• 1996 ~ Vivian Ellis, Composer, died at the age of 91
• 1997 ~ Bobby Helms, singer (Jingle Bell Rock), died at the age of 63
• 1997 ~ “Forever Tango!” opened at Walter Kerr Theater New York City
. 1787 ~ Franz Gruber, composer of Silent Night. The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in present-day Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. He had written the lyrics of the song “Stille Nacht” in 1816.
The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass. It is unknown what inspired Mohr to write the lyrics, or what prompted him to create a new carol.
. 1896 ~ Virgil Thomson, American composer, conductor and music critic
Read quotes by and about Thomson
More information about Thomson
. 1924 ~ Paul Desmond, was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group’s greatest hit, “Take Five”.
. 1925 ~ Derroll Adams, Country singer, played with Jack Elliott
. 1931 ~ Nat Adderley, Musician, cornet, mellophone, French horn, trumpet, brother of Cannonball Adderley
. 1941 ~ Percy Sledge, Singer
. 1949 ~ Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, by Johnnie Marks, appeared on the music charts and became THE musical hit of the Christmas season. Although Gene Autry’s rendition is the most popular, 80 different versions of the song have been recorded, with nearly 20,000,000 copies sold.
. 1955 ~ Following a summer at the top of the American pop charts, Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets became the #1 song in Great Britain.
. 1872 ~ Sergei Diaghilev, Russian impresario; founder of the Ballets Russes
More information about Diaghilev
. 1873 ~ Max Reger, German composer
Read quotes by and about Reger
More information about Reger
. 1900 ~ Charles-Louis Hanon, French piano pedagogue and composer, died
More about Hanon’s exercises
. 1917 ~ Dinu Lipatti, Rumanian pianist and composer
More information about Lipatti
. 1923 ~ Janine Dacosta, French pianist
. 1930 ~ Ornette Coleman, American jazz alto saxophonist and composer
More information about Coleman
. 1941 ~ Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded one of their biggest musical successes. It became one of Decca Records’ all-time greats. Green Eyes featured vocalists Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly.
. 1946 ~ Ruth Pointer, Singer from The Pointer Sisters
. 2001 ~ Cuba-born entertainer Tony Alvarez of “El Show de Olga y Tony” died at age 85. Alvarez was best known for the television and radio programs he hosted with his wife, singer Olga Chorens. He began his career in Cuba in the 1940s as a singer and model, starring in a tango program on Channel Azul. In the 1960s, Alvarez and Chorens moved to Puerto Rico, where they began “El Show de Olga y Tony.” They later moved to New York, where they performed on WABC-TV, WPIX-TV and WNJU-TV from 1965 to 1972.
. 2001 ~ Elena Del Rubio, whose 60-year singing career with her sisters as the Del Rubio Triplets got a boost with campy covers of 1980s tunes, died of cancer. She was believed to be in her 70s. “It was a terrible blow to me,” said Milly, the only surviving sister. “Now I’m left alone.” Another triplet, Eadie, died in 1996. The sisters lived together in a mobile home overlooking the ocean. The trio that promoted itself as “3 Gals 3 Guitars 1 Birthday” performed for six decades in showcases ranging from television comedy to retirement homes. The three were in their 60s when they hit the Hollywood scene, dressed in identical miniskirts, go-go boots and big blonde hairdos. Calling themselves “song stylists,” the sisters’ diverse acts included mariachi strolling, country western music, Hawaiian-Calypso and holiday theme music.
. 2001 ~ Randall Hylton, a bluegrass performer who wrote Room at the Top of the Stairs, died in St. Thomas Hospital after suffering an aneurysm. He was 55. Hylton, who played guitar in the fingerpicking style of Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, was known for his ability to instantly write songs to fit any occasion. The 6-foot-6-inch performer also told jokes, did impersonations and could do guitar tricks, such as playing a song backward or two songs at once. Hylton’s songs were performed by more than 150 singers, including Ralph Stanley, Vern Gosdin, Mac Wiseman, Leo Kottke and Lester Flatt.
. 2001 ~ Herbie Jones, a jazz musician who worked with Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, died of complications from diabetes. He was 74. Jones, a jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator, toured five continents with the Ellington band. His recorded arrangements for the band were El Busto, Cootie’s Caravan, The Prowling Cat and The Opener, and he contributed to Ellington’s first and second Sacred Concerts. After leaving the Ellington band, Jones became the first director of Arts and Culture Inc., a New York City alternative school, and as a volunteer directed the Bugle Corps of the Police Athletic League in Harlem. In Ellington’s 1973 memoir, “Music Is My Mistress,” he called Jones “a great asset” to his orchestra in the 1960s. Jones often played first trumpet but rarely soloed.
. 2015 ~ Peter Katin died. He was a British classical pianist and pedagogue.
• 1741 ~ George Frederick Handel completed his The Messiah. It took the composer just 23 days to complete the timeless musical treasure which is still very popular during the Christmas holiday season.
• 1814 ~ Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M’Henry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as reflected in the now-famous words of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”
• 1888 ~ Michael Haydn (1737) Austrian composer
1760 ~ Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer
More information about Cherubini
• 1814 ~ Frances Scott Key, an attorney in Washington, DC, was aboard a warship that was bombarding Fort McHenry (an outpost protecting the city of Baltimore, MD). Key wrote some famous words to express his feelings. Those words became The Star-Spangled Banner, which officially became the U.S. national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931.
• 1910 ~ Lehman Engel, American composer, conductor and writer
• 1927 ~ Gene Austin waxed one of the first million sellers. He recorded his composition, My Blue Heaven, for Victor Records.
• 1941 ~ Priscilla Mitchell, Singer
• 1946 ~ Pete Agnew, Bass, singer with Nazareth
• 1947 ~ Jon ‘Bowzer’ Bauman, Singer with Sha Na Na
• 1950 ~ Paul Kossoff, Guitarist with Free
• 1954 ~ Barry Cowsill, Singer with The Cowsills
• 1959 ~ Morten Harket, Singer with a-ha
• 1964 ~ Mary Howe, American composer and pianist (Sand), died at the age of 82
• 1973 ~ Donny Osmond received a gold record for his hit single, The Twelfth of Never. The song, released in March of 1973, was one of five which turned gold for the young Osmond. His other solo successes were Sweet & Innocent, Go Away Little Girl, Hey Girl and Puppy Love.
• 1985 ~ The first MTV Video Music Awards were presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Cars won Best Video honors for You Might Think and Michael Jackson won Best Overall Performance and Choreography for his Thriller video.
• 2002 ~ Jazz saxophonist and bandleader Paul Williams, whose 1949 Rhythm and Blues hit, The Huckle-Buck, was covered by Frank Sinatra, died, at the age of 87. Williams scored one of the first big hits of the R&B era in 1949 with The Huckle-Buck, based on Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time.” It was the biggest-selling record in the Savoy label’s 60-year history, topping the R&B charts for 14 weeks, and spawned vocal versions by Sinatra and others. The Huckle-Buck was one of three Top 10 and five Top 20 R&B hits Williams scored for Savoy in 1948 and 1949. Other Top 10 hits were 35-30 in 1948 and Walkin’ Around in 1949. Williams was later part of Atlantic Records’ house band in the ’60s and directed the Lloyd Price and James Brown orchestras until 1964. After leaving the music business temporarily, he opened a booking agency in New York in 1968. Born July 13, 1915, in Birmingham, Alabama, Williams played with Clarence Dorsey in 1946, and then made his recording debut with King Porter in 1947 for Paradise before forming his own band later that year. Saxophonists Noble “Thin Man” Watts and Wild Bill Moore, trumpeter Phil Guilbeau, and vocalists Danny Cobb, Jimmy Brown, Joan Shaw, and Connie Allen were among Williams’ band members.
• 2009 ~ Patrick Swayze, American actor, dancer, and songwriter (Dirty Dancing), died at the age of 57
• 1886 ~ Pietro Yon, Italian composer
More information about Yon
• 1899 ~ Russell Markert, Choreographer, founded and directed the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes
• 1905 ~ André Jovilet, French composer and conductor
• 1907 ~ Benny Carter, American jazz solo saxophonist, trumpeter, composer and arranger
• 1921 ~ Roger Nixon, American composer
• 1921 ~ Webb Pierce, Singer
• 1923 ~ Jimmy Witherspoon, Singer
• 1923 ~ Benny Goodman was 14 years old as he began his professional career as a clarinet player. He took a job in a band on a Chicago-based excursion boat on Lake Michigan.
• 1926 ~ Urbie (Urban) Green, Musician, trombonist who played with Cab Calloway
• 1932 ~ Mel Tillis, Singer, songwriter
• 1933 ~ Joe Tex (Arrington, Jr.), Singer
• 1934 ~ Bing Crosby became the first singer to record for the newly created Decca Records. His songs, Just A-Wearyin’ For You and I Love You Truly, were recorded as Decca number D-100.
• 1939 ~ Philip Balsley, Singer with The Statler Brothers
• 1941 ~ Les Brown and His Band of Renown paid tribute to baseball’s “Yankee Clipper”, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, with the recording of Joltin’ JoeDiMaggio on Okeh Records. From that time on, DiMaggio adopted the nickname, Joltin’ Joe.
• 1949 ~ Keith Carradine, Actor and composer, whose recording of I’m Easy reached No. 17 on the U.S. charts in 1976.
• 1950 ~ Andy Fairweather-Low, Musician, guitar, singer with Amen Corner
• 1958 ~ Harry (Harry Lillis III) Crosby, Singer and actor, son of Bing Crosby and Kathryn Grant
• 1958 ~ Chris Foreman, Musician, guitar with Madness
• 1960 ~ Tell Laura I Love Her, by Ray Peterson, wasn’t a big hit in Great Britain. Decca Records in England said the song was “too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.” They destroyed 25,000 of the platters this day.
• 1961 ~ The Edge (David Evans), Musician, guitar with U2
• 1974 ~ Roberta Flack received a gold record for the single, Feel Like Makin’ Love. Flack, born in Asheville, NC and raised in Arlington, VA, was awarded a music scholarship to Howard University in Washington, DC at the age of 15. One of her classmates became a singing partner on several hit songs. Donny Hathaway joined Flack on You’ve Got a Friend, Where is the Love and The Closer I Get to You. She had 10 hits on the pop charts in the 1970s and 1980s.
• 1975 ~ Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderly passed away
• 1997 ~ Duncan Swift, jazz pianist, died at the age of 74
• 2017 ~ Glen Campbell died at the age of 81. He was an American singer, songwriter, musician, television host, and actor.
Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment
1760 ~ Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer
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