Tag Archives: video

July 9 ~ Today in Music History

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• 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 ~ Today in Music History

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• 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 ~ Today in Music History

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• 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 4 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. This declaration announced to the world that the 13 colonies would no longer be held by British rule. Today Americans celebrate by the flying of a flag, cooking at home (usually a cookout, also known as a barbecue), and watching a brilliant fireworks display.

• 1826 ~ Stephen Foster, American composer of songs
More information about Foster

• 1832 ~ It was on this day that America was sung in public for the first time — at the Park Street Church in Boston, MA. Dr. Samuel Francis Smith wrote the words, borrowing the tune from a German songbook. Ironically, and unknown to Dr. Smith at the time, the melody is the same as the British national anthem.

• 1895 ~ America the Beautiful, the famous song often touted as the true U.S. national anthem, was originally a poem written by Katherine Lee Bates. The Wellesley College professor’s poem was first published this day in the Congregationalist, a church newspaper.

• 1898 ~ Michael Aaron, Piano Educator

• 1900 ~ Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader Read quotes by and about Armstrong
More information about Armstrong

• 1909 ~ Alec Templeton, Pianist

• 1911 ~ Mitch Miller, American conductor, oboist, record company executive, producer, arranger for the Sing Along with Mitch LPs and TV show

• 1937 ~ Ray Pillow, Singer

• 1938 ~ Bill Withers, Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer

• 1942 ~ The Irving Berlin musical, This is the Army, opened at New York’s Broadway Theatre. Net profits of the show were $780,000.

• 1943 ~ Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson, Musician, guitarist, harmonica, singer with Canned Heat

• 1943 ~ The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker and Harry Barris, were reunited for the first time since the 1930s on Paul Whiteman Presents on NBC radio.

• 1948 ~ Jeremy Spencer, Musician, guitarist with Fleetwood Mac

• 1955 ~ John Waite, Singer

• 1958 ~ Kirk Pengily, Rock Musician

• 1985 ~ A crowd, estimated at one million, gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate the 209th anniversary of America’s independence. The Beach Boys were joined by Mr. T. on drums to really add some fireworks to the festivities. The Oak Ridge Boys, Joan Jett and Jimmy Page joined in the celebration.

• 1999 ~ Ronny Graham passed away

• 2001 ~ Maceo Anderson, a tap dancer and founding member of the Four Step Brothers, died in Los Angeles at the age of 90. The group tap danced all over the world, performing for the queen of England and the emperor of Japan. The Four Step Brothers also performed at Radio City Music Hall. The group started as a trio. In the mid-1920s, the group performed at the Cotton Club with Duke Ellington, who wrote The Mystery Song for them. Anderson began dancing as a child in the South. When he was six, he and his mother moved to a basement apartment in Harlem. He taught tap dance at his own school in Las Vegas and across the country until 1999.

July 3 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

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• 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

• 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 ~ Laura Branigan, Singer

• 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

• 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 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

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• 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.

July 1 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

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• 1586 ~ Claudio Saracini, Composer

• 1592 ~ Marc A Ingegneri, Italian violinist and composer, died

• 1662 ~ Simon Ives, Composer, died at the age of 61

• 1663 ~ Franz Xaver Murschhauser, Composer

• 1688 ~ Johann Ludwig Steiner, Composer

• 1691 ~ Marc’Antonio Pasqualini, Composer, died at the age of 77

• 1735 ~ James Lyon, Composer

• 1742 ~ Bohuslav Matej Czernohorsky, Czech monk and composer, died at the age of 58

• 1764 ~ Georg Christoph Grosheim, Composer

• 1784 ~ Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, composer, son of J.S. Bach, died
More information about Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

• 1805 ~ Georg Ritschel, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1883 ~ Manuel Gregorio Tavarez, Composer, died at the age of 39

• 1899 ~ Cavan O’Connor, Singer

• 1908 ~ Peter Anders, German opera singer

• 1910 ~ Marius Petipa, French ballet dancer and choreographer, died

• 1914 ~ Earle Warren, Alto sax player

• 1915 ~ Willie Dixon, Blues Musician

• 1917 ~ William Gillock, Educational Music Composer

• 1925 ~ Erik Alfred Leslie Satie, French composer, died at the age of 59
More information about Satie

• 1926 ~ Hans Werner Henze, German composer

• 1927 ~ Hans Eklund, Composer

• 1928 ~ Volker Wangenheim, Composer

• 1930 ~ Leslie Caron, Dancer

• 1933 ~ Strauss and von Hofmannsthal’s opera “Arabella,” premiered in Dresden
More information about Strauss

• 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
More information about Britten

• 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
More information about Fanny Brice

• 1967 ~ The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts 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” closesd 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

Summer Camp is Back. New Pop Song Released Each Week!

Posted by MaryO on

PM-SummerCamp

Summer is upon us which means BBQ cook outs, poolside hangouts and lots of ice cream! It also means less time by the piano, which means getting back into the groove of playing can be difficult come September.

We at JoyTunes want to keep you playing all summer long! To do so we are bringing back Summer Camp in Piano Maestro!

Each week, starting July 1st, we will release a new fun song for you to learn and play. Songs from artists such as

Colbie Caillat

Michael Buble

Florida Georgia Line and more!

Summer Camp songs can be found in the “summer camp” category in the Library.

Prizes will be rewarded to top players, we want to recognize your awesome playing!

Summer Camp is the perfect way to keep your piano practice up during this summer, as to not miss a beat.

The first song of Summer Camp will be Andy Grammer “Honey, I’m good”. Check out the (very cute!) video for the song to get a taste of what to look forward to!

via Summer Camp is Back. New Pop Song Released Each Week! | JoyTunes.

June 30 ~ Today in Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

 

• 1666 ~ Adam Krieger, German Composer, died at the age of 32

• 1669 ~ Mauritius Vogt, Composer

• 1722 ~ Jiri Antonin Benda, Composer

• 1723 ~ Christian Ernst Graf, Composer

• 1743 ~ Niels Schiorring, Composer

• 1792 ~ Francesco Antonio Rosetti, Composer, died

• 1818 ~ Edward John Hopkins, Composer

• 1819 ~ Ernst Ludwig Gerber, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1846 ~ Ricardo Drigo, Composer

• 1889 ~ Eugenio Terziani, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1890 ~ Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1896 ~ Wilfred Pelletier, Canadian conductor for Voice of Firestone

• 1908 ~ Lucino Tinio Sacramento, Composer

• 1914 ~ Natko Devcic, Composer

• 1917 ~ Lena Horne, American singer of popular music

• 1917 ~ “Buddy” Rich, American jazz drummer and bandleader

 

• 1918 ~ Stuart Foster, American singer

• 1921 ~ Gordon Reynolds, Musician

• 1923 ~ Claude Antoine Terrasse, Composer, died at the age of 56

• 1925 ~ Will Gay Bottje, Composer

• 1929 ~ Alexander Kelly, Pianist and teacher

• 1930 ~ June Valli, American singer on Your Hit Parade

• 1931 ~ James Loughran, British conductor

• 1932 ~ Martin Mailman, American composer

• 1936 ~ Pauls Dambis, Composer

• 1939 ~ Chris Hinze, Dutch flutist

• 1939 ~ Lindembergue Cardoso, Composer

• 1939 ~ Frank Sinatra made his first appearance with Harry James’ band. Sinatra was center stage at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, MD, where he sang My Love for You

• 1941 ~ Micki Grant, Composer

• 1941 ~ Mike Leander Farr, Record producer

• 1943 ~ Florence Ballard, Singer with the Supremes

• 1944 ~ Glenn Shorrock, Australian singer with Little River Band

• 1946 ~ Billy Brown, singer with Ray, Goodman, Brown

• 1946 ~ Michael Zadora, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1947 ~ Jasper van’t Hof, Dutch jazz pianist (Live in Montreux)

• 1951 ~ Andrew Scott, Welch rock guitarist

• 1951 ~ “Victor Borge Show,” last aired on NBC-TV
More information about Borge

• 1953 ~ Gote Carlid, Composer, died at the age of 32

• 1956 ~ “Pipe Dream” closed at Shubert Theater New York City after 245 performances

• 1956 ~ “Shangri-La” closed at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 21 performances

• 1959 ~ Lazare Saminsky, Composer, died at the age of 76

• 1960 ~ Clarence Cameron White, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1969 ~ Jan Evangelista Zelinka, Composer, died at the age of 76

• 1982 ~ “Lena Horne: Lady, Music” closed at Nederlander New York City after 333 performances

• 1983 ~ Bo Gentry, Songwriter and producer, died

• 1985 ~ Yul Brynner left his role as the King of Siam after 4,600 performances in The King and I at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. The show had run, on and off, for over 34 years and 191 performances.

• 1987 ~ Federico Mompou, Composer, died at the age of 94

• 1993 ~ “Les Miserables” opened at Point Theatre, Dublin

• 1995 ~ Phyllis Hyman, Rhythm and Blues Jazz singer, died at 45

• 1996 ~ “State Fair,” closed at Music Box Theater New York City after 118 performances

• 2001 ~ Chet Atkins, whose guitar style influenced a generation of rock musicians even as he helped develop an easygoing country style to compete with it, died at the age of 77.

Atkins recorded more than 75 albums of guitar instrumentals and sold more than 75 million albums. He played on hundreds of hit records, including those of Elvis Presley (Heartbreak Hotel), Hank Williams Sr. (Your Cheatin’ Heart, Jambalaya) and The Everly Brothers (Wake Up Little Susie). As an executive with RCA Records for nearly two decades beginning in 1957, Atkins played a part in the careers of Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, Eddy Arnold and many others. “It’s impossible to capsulize his life – due to the profound impact he’s had as a wonderful human being and incredible member of our industry,” said Joe Galante, chairman of the RCA Label Group in Nashville. “His artistry and his influence as an industry leader have impacted so many. “There is no way to replace him nor what he has meant to music and our Nashville community.” Atkins helped craft the lush Nashville Sound, using string sections and lots of echo to make records that appealed to older listeners not interested in rock music. Among his notable productions are The End of the World by Skeeter Davis and He’ll Have to Go by Reeves. “I realized that what I liked, the public would like, too,” Atkins said in a 1996 interview with The Associated Press. ‘”Cause I’m kind of square.”

Chester Burton Atkins was born June 20, 1924, on a farm near Luttrell, Tenn., about 20 miles northeast of Knoxville. His elder brother Jim Atkins also played guitar, and went on to perform with Les Paul. Chet Atkins’ first professional job was as a fiddler on WNOX in Knoxville, where his boss was singer Bill Carlisle. “He was horrible,” Carlisle said at a tribute concert to Atkins in 1997. “But I heard him during a break playing guitar and decided to feature him on that.” Atkins’ unusual fingerpicking style, a pseudoclassical variation influenced by such diverse talents as Merle Travis and Django Reinhardt, got him hired and fired from jobs at radio stations all over the country. Atkins sometimes joked that early on his playing sounded “like two guitarists playing badly.” During the 1940s he toured with many acts, including Red Foley, The Carter Family and Kitty Wells. RCA executive Steve Sholes took Atkins on as a protege in the 1950s, using him as the house guitarist on recording sessions. RCA began issuing instrumental albums by Atkins in 1953. George Harrison, whose guitar work on early Beatles records is heavily influenced by Atkins, wrote the liner notes for “Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles.” Sholes put Atkins in charge of RCA Nashville when he was promoted in 1957. There, he helped Nashville survive the challenge of rock ‘n’ roll with the Nashville Sound. The lavish sound has been criticized by purists who prefer their country music raw and unadorned. Atkins was unrepentant, saying that at the time his goal was simply “to keep my job.” “And the way you do that is you make a hit record once in a while,” he said in 1993. “And the way you do that is you give the audience something different.” Atkins quit his job as an executive in the 1970s and concentrated on playing his guitar. He’s collaborated with a wide range of artists on solo albums, including Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Eric Johnson, George Benson, Susie Bogguss and Earl Klugh. At the time he became ill, Atkins had just released a CD, “The Day Finger Pickers took over the World.” He also had begun regular Monday night performances at a Nashville club. “If I know I’ve got to go do a show, I practice quite a bit, because you can’t get out there and embarrass yourself.” Atkins said in 1996. “So I thought, if I play every week I won’t be so rusty and I’ll play a lot better.”

Chet Atkins official site: http://www.misterguitar.com/

 

 

100-year-old Pianist is so Good he makes People Cry

Posted by MaryO on

Hokanson

It’s the kind of high-caliber performance you might usually see at the Seattle Symphony or on an even bigger stage. Yet the show put on Wednesday night took place inside a retirement home.

Randolph Hokanson is a world renowned pianist. He also happens to be a resident at a retirement community in Seattle.

“He’s very gifted. He studied with many famous people especially in the 1930s,” said Duane Funderburk, who studied under Hokanson himself. “I keep studying with him as much as I can.”

Funderburk was just one of many people who packed into a concert hall Wednesday afternoon to hear Hokanson perform.

“There was a full house. It was amazing,” said Hokanson. “I didn’t know I had that many friends.”

With each stroke of the keys, Hokanson has the unique ability to make his friends and fellow residents feel young again. Many in the crowd tapped their feet and bobbed their heads to the music.

Watch the video above to see this 100-year-old in his piano-playing groove.

“It’s sensational,” said Stuart Baker. “It makes me cry. It just makes the tears flow.”

No tears from Hokanson, though, who says he’s thrilled to still be playing the piano after marking a big milestone Monday.

“Yep! Yep! I was a hundred on Monday,” he said. “My birthday was on the 22nd.”

After 100 years spent making music and living life, we had to ask Hokanson about his secret to longevity. He says the piano definitely has something to do with it.

“You just keep doing what you love to do. That’s all. It’s very simple,” he said. “Anybody who has a great passion and can’t live without it, I think that helps you live. I think it keeps you well and happy and busy. It certainly has kept me busy.”

In addition to his career as a pianist, Hokanson also spent 35 years teaching music at the University of Washington. In more recent years, he divides his time between playing music and composing music and says he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.

“It’s really an inspiration to all of us who know him,” said Funderbunk.

via 100-year-old pianist is so good he makes people cry.