June 3 ~ Today in Music History

today

 

• 1657 ~ Manuel de Egues, Composer

• 1660 ~ Johannes Schenck, Composer

• 1661 ~ Gottfried Scheidt, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1736 ~ Johann Christoph Oley, Composer

• 1746 ~ James Hook, Composer

• 1750 ~ Frederic Thieme, Composer

• 1773 ~ Michael Gottard Fischer, Composer

• 1801 ~ Frantisek Jan Skroup, Composer

• 1804 ~ Jean-Engelbert Pauwels, Composer, died at the age of 35

• 1809 ~ John “Christmas” Beckwith, Composer, died at the age of 58

• 1828 ~ Jean Alexander Ferdinand Poise, Composer

• 1828 ~ Jose Inzenga y Castellanos, Composer

• 1829 ~ Alfonse Charles Renaud de Vilback, Composer

• 1832 ~ Alexander Charles Lecocq, Composer

• 1841 ~ Eduardo Caudella, Composer

• 1844 ~ Emile Paladilhe, Composer

• 1849 ~ Francois de Paule Jacques Raymond de Fossa, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1858 ~ Julius Reubke, Composer, died at the age of 24

• 1867 ~ Bela Anton Szabados, Composer

• 1868 ~ Lvar Henning Mankell, Composer

• 1872 ~ Heinrich Esser, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1875 ~ French composer Georges Bizet died at the age of 36, the same year his “Carmen” was first produced. It caused a scandal at first but went on to become one of opera’s most popular works.
More information on Bizet

• 1887 ~ Roland Hayes, American tenor

• 1887 ~ Emil Axman, Composer

• 1888 ~ Cark Reidel, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1890 ~ Henryk Oskar Kolberg, Composer, died at the age of 76

• 1893 ~ Assen Karastoyanov, Composer

• 1898 ~ Nikolai Afanisev, Composer, died at the age of 77

• 1899 ~ Johann Strauss Jr., Viennese conductor and composer of waltzes including “The Blue Danube”, died at the age of 73.
More information on Strauss

• 1904 ~ Jan Peerce (Jacob Pincus Perlemuth), Opera singer, tenor

• 1906 ~ Josephine Baker, American-born French jazz singer and dancer

• 1907 ~ Antonio Emmanvilovich Spadavecchia, Composer

• 1911 ~ Come Josephine in My Flying Machine hit #1

• 1913 ~ Josef Richard Rozkosny, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1922 ~ Ivan Patachich, Composer

• 1926 ~ Carlos Veerhoff, Composer

• 1926 ~ Janez Maticic, Composer

• 1927 ~ Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (Yakety Sax)

• 1931 ~ The Band Wagon, a Broadway musical, opened in New York City. The show ran for 260 performances.

• 1932 ~ Dakota Staton (Aliyah Rabia), Jazz singer

• 1939 ~ Beer Barrel Polka hit #1 on the pop singles chart by Will Glahe

• 1942 ~ Curtis Mayfield, American rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Grammy Award-winner, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, March 15, 1999

• 1944 ~ Mike Clarke, Musician, drummer with The Byrds

• 1946 ~ Ian Hunter, Singer, songwriter with Mott the Hoople

• 1949 ~ Stephen Ruppenthal, Composer

• 1950 ~ Suzie Quatro (Quatrocchio), Singer

• 1951 ~ Deniece Williams, Singer

• 1952 ~ Frank Sinatra recorded the classic Birth of the Blues for Columbia Records

• 1959 ~ Ole Windingstad, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1961 ~ Charles Hart, Lyricist: Phantom of the Opera

• 1961 ~ “Wildcat” closed at Alvin Theater NYC after 172 performances

• 1964 ~ The Hollywood Palace on ABC-TV hosted the first appearance of the first U.S. concert tour of The Rolling Stones. Dean Martin emceed the show. One critic called the Stones “dirtier and streakier and more disheveled than The Beatles.”

• 1971 ~ Yehudi Menuhin performed on a 250-year-old Stradivarius violin at Sothby’s auction house. It sold for $200,000.

• 1978 ~ Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams combined their singing talents to reach the number one spot on the nation’s pop music charts with Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.

• 1986 ~ Arthur Charles Ernest Hoeree, Composer, died at the age of 89

• 1994 ~ Hub Matthijsen, Violinist/bandmaster, died at the age of 52

June 1 ~ Today in Music History

today

• 1893 ~ Allesandre Spontone, Composer

• 1653 ~ Georg Muffat, Composer

• 1755 ~ Frederico Fiorillo, Italian Violist and composer

• 1757 ~ Ignaz Playel, Austrian Composer and piano builder

• 1763 ~ Johann Caspar Vogler, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1765 ~ Friedrich Ludwig Seidel, Composer

• 1769 ~ Joseph Antoni Frantiszek Elsner, Composer

• 1771 ~ Ferdinando Paer, Composer

• 1776 ~ John George Schetky, Composer

• 1804 ~ Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer; “The Father of Russian Music”
More information about Glinka

• 1810 ~ Johann Paul Wessely, Composer, died at the age of 47

• 1826 ~ Carl Bechstein, German piano inventor

• 1826 ~ Hermann Zopff, Composer

• 1848 ~ Otto Valdemar Malling, Composer

• 1886 ~ Ernst Kurth, Austrian/Swiss musicologist

• 1892 ~ Samuel L M Barlow, Composer

• 1893 ~ Opera “Falstaff” was produced in Berlin

• 1898 ~ Edgar “Cookie” Fairchild, Bandleader for the Jerry Colonna Show

• 1898 ~ Lieb Glantz, Composer

• 1903 ~ Percy William Whitlock, Composer

• 1905 ~ Dinora de Carvalho, Composer

• 1909 ~ Szymon Goldberg, Polish/American violinist and conductor

• 1909 ~ Giuseppe Martucci, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1918 ~ Friedrich Richard Faltin, Composer, died at the age of 83

• 1918 ~ Jaroslav Novotny, Composer, died at the age of 32

• 1919 ~ Boris Lazarevich Klyuzner, Composer

• 1921 ~ Nelson Riddle, Grammy Award-winning orchestra leader and arranger of popular music for Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole

• 1926 ~ Vasily Mikhaylovich Metallov, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1929 ~ Yehudi Wyner, Composer

• 1934 ~ Pat (Charles Eugene) Boone, Singer, married to Red Foley’s daughter, Shirley

• 1935 ~ Alberto Cametti, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1941 ~ Edo de Waart, Dutch conductor

• 1942 ~ Ernest Pingoud, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1943 ~ Ely van Tongeren, Dutch guitarist and singer

• 1943 ~ Richard Goode, Concert pianist. In 1980 he won the Avery Fisher Award

• 1945 ~ Frederica Von Stade, American mezzo-soprano

• 1945 ~ Linda Scott, Singer

• 1946 ~ Carol Neblett, American soprano with the NYC Opera

• 1947 ~ Ron Wood, Guitar with Rolling Stones after 1975

• 1949 ~ Mike Levine, Rock keyboardist/bassist

• 1950 ~ Graham Russell, Singer with Air Supply

• 1955 ~ F Melius Christiansen, Composer, died at the age of 84

• 1959 ~ Celebrating a solid year at the top of the album charts was “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” on Columbia Records. The LP stayed for several more years at or near the top of the album charts. It became the all-time album leader at 490 weeks.

• 1960 ~ “Finian’s Rainbow” closed at 46th St Theater NYC after 12 performances

• 1961 ~ There was a new sound in the air this day. FM multiplex stereo broadcasting was enjoyed for the first time by listeners to FM radio in Schenectady, NY, Los Angeles and Chicago. The FCC adopted the standard a year later.

• 1964 ~ Rutkowski Bronislaw, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1966 ~ George Harrison was impressed by Ravi Shankar’s concert in London

• 1967 ~ The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released. One of the first critically-acclaimed rock albums, “Sgt. Pepper’s” became the number one album in the world and was at the top of the U.S. album list for 15 weeks.

• 1968 ~ Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson hit #1

• 1970 ~ Everything was Beautiful by Ray Stevens hit #1

• 1971 ~ “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” opened at Golden NYC for 31 performances

• 1972 ~ Dmitri Shostakovitch’s 15th Symphony premiered in West Berlin

• 1973 ~ George Harrison’s Living in the Material World went gold

• 1973 ~ Paul McCartney and Wings released Live and Let Die

• 1974 ~ Alanis Nadine Morisette, Singer

• 1974 ~ “My Girl Bill” by Jim Stafford hit #12

• 1975 ~ “Chicago” opened at 46th St Theater NYC for 947 performances

• 1980 ~ Barbra Streisand appeared at an ACLU Benefit in California

• 1988 ~ “Les Miserables” opened at Shubert Theatre, LA

• 1996 ~ Don Grolnick, Jazz musician, died at the age of 48

Igudesman & Joo – Rachmaninov Had Big Hands

Pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninov was possessed of both unusually large hands and a staggering lack of empathy when it came to writing piano music for other people.  Hyung-ki Joo is by no means the first pianist to have been confounded by the mammoth chords of his Prelude in C sharp minor (Op.3, No.2).

He probably is the first to have come up with this particular solution helped by his partner in crime, violinist Alek­sey Igudes­man.

May 27 ~ Today in Music History

today

 

• 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 patents 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
Read about Julia Ward Howe
Read about the 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 codeveloper 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

• 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

May 23 ~ Today in Music History

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. Read more about Abie “Boogaloo” Ames

• 1920 ~ Helen O’Connell, Singers, 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 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

Expose children to classical music whether they like it or not, says Nicola Benedetti

classical-music

All children should be compelled to learn about classical music in the same way they must do maths and science, Nicola Benedetti has argued.

Benedetti, the award-winning violinist, said all youngsters should be exposed to classical music, whether they like it or not.

Saying the concept of letting children do exactly what they want in other areas of education is “alien”, she admitted she is “bemused” by the current approach to teaching art and culture.

“It actually really upsets me when people say: ‘Kids hate listening to a symphony, why would we do that to them?’” she said, in an interview with Scotland on Sunday.

“I think, hang on a minute, if you were to turn round and say to a kids: ‘Would you like to play video games or would you like to have a maths lesson?’ Of course, they’re going to go for the video games.”

Benedetti is involved with the Sistema Scotland music education and its Big Noise Orchestra.

She added: “Needing the child’s approval for what they do in school is just such an alien concept when you’re talking about maths, science, history or English.

“But, suddenly, when you bring music into the mix, it’s: ‘Oh no, we can’t show them anything that they don’t instantly love because that would be like forcing children into something that they don’t want to do.’

“It just bemuses me.”

Read more at Expose children to classical music whether they like it or not, says Nicola Benedetti – Telegraph.

April 29 ~ Today in Music History

today

 

OCMS 1879 ~ Sir Thomas Beecham, English conductor. Founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1947 and did much to promote the works of Delius, Sibelius and Richard Strauss.
Read quotes by and about Beecham

. 1895 ~ Sir Malcolm Sargent, English conductor, born. He was in charge of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra from 1942 until 1948 and of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1950 until 1957.

OCMS 1899 ~ Duke Ellington, American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer
Read quotes by and about Ellington
More information about Ellington
Grammy winner

. 1913 ~ Donald Mills, Singer with The Mills Brothers.

. 1925 ~ Danny Davis (George Nowland), Grammy Award-winning bandleader with Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass. Best Country Instrumental Performance in 1969, Country Music Awards Instrumental Group of the Year 1969 to 1974

. 1927 ~ Carl Gardner, Singer with The Coasters

. 1931 ~ (Anthony James) Lonnie Donegan, Folk singer, musician: guitar, banjo

. 1933 ~ Rod McKuen, Singer, poet-song writer

. 1936 ~ Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and violinist

. 1936 ~ April Stevens (Carol Lo Tempio), Singer

. 1943 ~ Duane Allen, Singer with the Oak Ridge Boys

. 1947 ~ Tommy James (Jackson), Singer with Tommy James and The Shondells

. 1949 ~ Francis Rossi, Musician, guitar and singer with Status Quo

. 1968 ~ Hair made its way from Greenwich Village to Broadway. The show certainly opened eyes. It was the first time that actors appeared nude in a Broadway musical. Hair ran for 1,844 shows on and off Broadway. It was even more successful in its London run later. Big songs from the show: Hair (The Cowsills) and Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The 5th Dimension).

. 1969 ~ Sir Duke, Duke Ellington, celebrated his 70th birthday. He was honored with the presentation of the Medal of Freedom, the U.S. government’s highest civilian honor.

. 2001 ~ Opera diva Rita Nellie Hunter, a powerful soprano celebrated for her fine Wagnerian performances, died at the age of 67. Hunter, originally from Wallasey, England, was best remembered as the quintessential Brunnhilde of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, which she performed in London, New York, Germany and Sydney. Hunter’s agile voice led her through performances of Verdi’s “Aida,” and “Macbeth,” Puccini’s“Turandot” and Strauss’ challenging “Elektra.” Despite her remarkable voice, Hunter did not reach international stardom. Her physical size, at a time when the opera was seeking slimmer performers, and the fact that she sang roles primarily in English, kept her from achieving global fame. Hunter married tenor John Darnley Thomas in 1960, and after his death in 1994, took over management of his Singing Academy in Sydney.

April 27 ~ Today in Music History

today

. 1867 ~ Charles Gounod’s opera “Romeo et Juliette” was first performed, in Paris.

. 1894 ~ Nicholas Slonimsky, Russian-born American musicologist, musical lexicographer and composer

. 1871 ~ Sigismond Thalberg died.  He was a composer and one of the most famous virtuoso pianists of the 19th century.

. 1931 ~ Igor Oistrakh, Violinist

. 1932 ~ Maxine (Ella) Brown, Singer

. 1933 ~ Calvin Newborn, Jazz/blues guitarist, brother of piano wizard Phineas Newborn Jr.

. 1938 ~ Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded I Hadn’t Anyone ’til You for Victor Records. Jack Leonard was featured as vocalist.

. 1941 ~ Judith Blegan, American soprano

. 1944 ~ Cuba Gooding, Singer

. 1947 ~ Pete Ham, Musician, guitar, piano, singer

. 1948 ~ Kate Pierson, Musician, organ, singer with the B-52s

. 1959 ~ Sheena Easton, Singer

. 1959 ~ Lloyd Price’s song, Personality, was released. Price had 10 songs that made it on the nation’s pop music charts in the 1950s through early 1960s.

. 1970 ~ Mariah Carey, Singer

. 1976 ~ Maxine Nightingale received a gold record for the single, Right Back Where We Started From. Nightingale was in the productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Savages in the early ’70s. Right Back Where We Started From was a number two hit for two weeks in 1976.

. 1981 ~ Former Beatle Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach at the Marylebone Registry Office in London. Paul McCartney and wife Linda, George Harrison and Harry Nilsson were in attendance.

. 1999 ~ Jazz trumpet great Al Hirt died

. 2002 ~ Classical violinist Guila Bustabo died at the age of 86. Bustabo, born in Manitowoc, Wis., in 1916, toured Europe and Asia, performing under such conductors as Herbert von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwangler. Bustabo studied at the Juilliard School in New York before moving to Paris. During her career, she recorded concertos by Beethoven and Bruch with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. Bustabo was arrested in Paris after World War II, accused of being a Nazi sympathizer because she played under conductor Willem Mengelberg. Mengelberg had been affiliated with musical associations sanctioned by the Nazi Party. The accusation against Bustabo was eventually dropped.

April 26 ~ Today in Music History

today

 

. 1813 ~ Fredrich von Flotow, German composer
More information about von Flotow

. 1886 ~ Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett), American blues, jazzand vaudeville singer

. 1900 ~ Joseph Fuchs, American violinist

. 1924 ~ Teddy Edwards (Theodore Marcus), Jazz musician, tenor sax

. 1936 ~ Carol Burnett, Entertainer

. 1938 ~ Duane Eddy, Singer

. 1938 ~ Maurice Williams, Singer, songwriter

. 1941 ~ Claudine Clark, Singer

. 1942 ~ Bobby Rydell, American rock-and-roll singer and drummer

. 1970 ~ The musical, Company, opened on Broadway. It ran for 705 performances at the Alvin Theatre in New York City. Company starred Elaine Stritch.

. 1975 ~ On top of the Billboard popular music chart was B.J. Thomas, with the longest title ever for a number one song. (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song was number one for one week, though it took that long just to say the title.

. 1978 ~ An updated version of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper appeared on television. In the lead role (his first TV special), was former Beatle, Ringo Starr. He sang new versions of Act Naturally, Yellow Submarine and With a Little Help from My Friends.

. 1984 ~ Count Basie (William Basie), U.S. jazz pianist and big band leader who led his orchestra from 1937, died.

April 22 ~ Today in Music History

today

. 1858 ~ Dame Ethel Smyth, British composer

. 1912 ~ Kathleen Ferrier, British contralto singer, born. Best known for her emotional performances of Gustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” (“Song of the Earth”).

OCMS 1916 ~ Yehudi Menuhin, American violinist
Read quotes by and about Menuhin
More information about Menuhin

. 1921 ~ Candido (Camero), Musician: bongos, congas, tres, bass: over 100 recording credits with famous jazz, Latin and R&B artists

. 1922 ~ Charles Mingus, American jazz double-bass player, pianist, composer and bandleader

. 1936 ~ Glen Campbell, Grammy Award-winning singer

. 1940 ~ The first all-Chinese commercial radio program was broadcast over KSAN radio in San Francisco, CA. Later, KSAN would become a pioneer in playing ‘underground rock’ music.

. 1943 ~ Mel Carter, Singer

. 1950 ~ Peter Frampton, Singer, guitarist

. 1956 ~ Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut on this night at the Frontier Hotel. With Heartbreak Hotel at the top of the pop charts, one can imagine the excitement generated by the new ‘King of rock and roll’. Even with a number one hit, Elvis was not yet well-received by the middle-aged audience. Management of the Frontier was so unimpressed, they gave Elvis his walking papers after one week of a two-week engagement.

. 2001 ~ Jazz pianist-composer Isaac Cole, brother of the late singer Nat King Cole who worked on his niece Natalie’s multiple Grammy-winning 1991 album, died of cancer. He was 73. Ike Cole said he may have benefited from being compared with his more famous brother, who died in 1965 of lung cancer at 45, but that he disliked being accused of “trying to live off the name.” Ike Cole said he decided against changing his name because, shortly before dying, Nat asked him not to. He and brother Freddy toured in 1990 with a show saluting their famous brother. Ike Cole had played a bass drum in an Army band but in 1957, he formed the Ike Cole Trio in Chicago, where he was born, and went on the road. Winning major TV exposure, he soon was booked steadily for Las Vegas shows. His trio also regularly toured Japan, Australia and Europe as well as the United States. Though he often sang a medley of his older brother’s hits, Ike primarily was a jazzman. He played keyboard when Natalie Cole recorded her late father’s songs for a 1991 album that won three Grammys.