• 1757 ~ Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist, died. He composed over 500 keyboard sonatas, using new techniques and achieving brilliant effects.
• 1796 ~ Franz Adolf Berwald, Swedish composer and violinst
• 1916 ~ Ben Weber, American composer and winner of the Thorne Music Award in 1965
• 1925 ~ Gloria DeHaven, Singer
• 1928 ~ Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor
• 1934 ~ Steve Lacy (Lackritz), Jazz musician, soprano sax
• 1941 ~ Sonny Dunham and his orchestra recorded the tune that was to become Mr. Dunham’s theme song. Memories of You was Bluebird record #11239.
• 1940 ~ Gary Stites, Singer
• 1943 ~ Tony Joe White, Country Singer
• 1945 ~ Dino Danelli, Musician, drummer with The (Young) Rascals
• 1946 ~ Andy Mackay, Musician, saxophone, woodwinds with Roxy Music
• 1947 ~ David Essex (Cook), Rock Singer
• 1940 ~ (John Donald) Don Imus, Radio DJ & talk-show host
• 1950 ~ Blair Thornton, Musician, guitar with Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• 1961 ~ Martin Gore, Musician with DePeche Mode
• 1966 ~ Frank Sinatra hit the top of the pop album chart with his Strangers in the Night. It was the first #1 Sinatra LP since 1960. The album’s title song had made it to number one on the pop singles chart on July 2nd.
• 1969 ~ Three Dog Night received a gold record for the single, One. It was the first of seven million-sellers for the pop-rock group.
• 2000 ~ Yoshimi Takeda, a former director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, died at the age of 67 of complications from cancer. He had been music director and resident conductor of the NMSO from 1974 to 1984, holding the post concurrently with that of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Takeda made his debut with the Tokyo Symphony in 1958. He began his U.S. career in 1962 as a Kulas Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra in a conductor advanced training program. He came to the NMSO in 1970 after six years as the Honolulu Symphony’s associate director.
• 2002 ~ Clark Gesner, who created the musical “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” died of a heart attack while visiting the Princeton Club in Manhattan. He was 64. Gesner’s well-known musical, based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip, opened in March 1967 in a New York theater and went on to tour nationally. The 14-song show featured Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown and Bob Balaban as Linus. It made a month-long leap to Broadway in the early 1970s, and was revived on Broadway in 1999. Gesner, who was born in Maine, attended Princeton and was active in the Triangle Club, the university’s theater troupe.
• 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”.
• 1858 ~ Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, conductor and composer. He taught fellow violinist Yehudi Menuhin for a short period.
• 1868 ~ Louis-Francois Dauprat, Composer, died at the age of 87
• 1901 ~ Fritz Mahler, Composer
• 1909 ~ John Edward “Teddy” Buckner, Trumpeter
• 1911 ~ Ginger Rogers, Dancer
Ginger and Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers at 92 years old, dancing with her 29-year-old great-grandson. The first minute or so is a bit of a slow intro.. but stick it out, she is incredible. Most of us would love to be able to move like this at 22, let alone 92! (You do have to wonder whether she has bionic knees).
• 1912 ~ Ray Barr, American pianist on the Vincent Lopez Show
• 1916 ~ Ludwig P Scharwenka, German Composer, died at the age of 70
• 1925 ~ Cal Tjader, Vibraharpist
• 1928 ~ Bella Davidovich, Soviet-born American pianist
• 1934 ~ The NBC Red radio network premiered the musical drama, Dreams Come True. It was a show about baritone singer Barry McKinley and his novelist sweetheart.
• 1936 ~ Buddy Merrill, American guitarist on the Lawrence Welk Show
• 1939 ~ William Bell, American singer
• 1940 ~ Tony Jackson, British rock bassist, vocalist with the Searchers
• 1947 ~ Tom Boggs ~ rock drummer (Box Tops)
• 1948 ~ Pinchas Zuckerman, Israeli violinist, violist and conductor
• 1948 ~ Ruben Blades, Singer
• 1949 ~ Alan “Fitz” Fitzgerald, Rock keyboardist, vocalist
• 1949 ~ Ray Major, Rock guitarist
• 1952 ~ Stewart Copeland, Drummer
• 1956 ~ Ian Curtis ~ English rock vocalist (Joy Division-Transmission)
• 1972 ~ Giorgio Nataletti, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1972 ~ Max Zehnder, Composer, died at the age of 70
• 1981 ~ Harry Chapin, Folk vocalist, died in a car crash in New York. Chapin was 38. His hit songs included Taxi, W-O-L-D and the million-seller, Cat’s in the Cradle. He was a champion of the hungry and homeless and organized a massive effort to provide food for the needy. This was his legacy to the world; his work continues by other performers.
• 1984 ~ Billy Williams, Singer in Your Show of Shows, died at the age of 73
• 1985 ~ Wayne King, Orchestra leader, Wayne King Show, died at the age of 84
• 1986 ~ Columbia Records announced that after 28 years with the label, the contract of country star Johnny Cash would not be renewed. Cash recorded 13 hits on the pop music charts from 1956 to 1976, all but four on Columbia. The others were on Sam Phillips’ Memphis-based label, Sun. Cash’s biggest hit for Columbia was A Boy Named Sue in 1969.
• 1989 ~ Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor, died at the age of 81. He was one of the great conductors of the 20th century, dominating the post-war world of music in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio.
• 1994 ~ 3 Tenors, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras, perform in LA
• 1995 ~ Charles Bruck, Hungarian-French-American conductor, died at the age of 83
• 1996 ~ John Panozzo, Drummer, died at the age of 48
• 1738 ~ Antonio Maria Pacchioni, Composer, died at the age of 84
• 1779 ~ Clement Moore, Lyricist, author of ’Twas the Night before Christmas (A Visit from St. Nicholas) born
• 1782 ~ Farinelli, Italian singer, died at the age of 77
• 1782 ~ Richard Wainwright, Composer, died at the age of 33
• 1789 ~ Jacques Duphly, Composer, died at the age of 74
• 1795 ~ Marseillaise became the French national anthem
• 1798 ~ Gaetano Pugnani, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1810 ~ Jean-Baptiste Rey, Composer, died at the age of 75
• 1854 ~ Wincenty Studzinski, Composer, died at the age of 39
• 1857 ~ Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and Composer, died at the age of 66.
• 1905 ~ Dorothy Fields born, Composer, lyricist with Cy Coleman of Sweet Charity and Seesaw; with Jimmy McHugh – I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, I’m in the Mood for Love and On the Sunny Side of the Street. She was the daughter of comedian Lew Fields
• 1913 ~ Cowboy (Lloyd) Copas born. He was a country singer who was killed in a plane crash with singer, Patsy Cline
• 1915 ~ Ludwik Grossman, Composer, died at the age of 80
• 1929 ~ Hugo von Hofmannstahl, Austrian author and librettist, died. He was best known for his collaboration with composer Richard Strauss for whom he wrote the libretto to the opera “Der Rosenkavelier.”
• 1930 ~ Leopold von Auer, Hungarian-American violinist, died
• 1933 ~ Julian Bream, British guitarist and lutenist
• 1934 ~ Harrison Birtwistle, British composer
• 1940 ~ Tommy Dee (Thomas Donaldson) Singer and record company executive
• 1942 ~ Glenn Miller and his band recorded the classic Jukebox Saturday Night for Victor Records.
• 1945 ~ Peter Lewis, Guitarist, singer with Moby Grape
• 1946 ~ Linda Ronstadt, American singer of rock and popular music
• 1949 ~ “Miss Liberty” opened at Imperial Theater New York City for 308 performances
• 1952 ~ Singer Patti Page made her TV debut in a summer replacement series for Perry Como. The 15-minute program spotlighted Patti three times each week on CBS.
• 1959 ~ Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American Composer, died at the age of 78.
• 1960 ~ Lawrence Mervil Tibbett, baritone, died after surgery at 63
• 1966 ~ Singer Percy Sledge earned a gold record for When a Man Loves A Woman. It was his only song to make it to number one (5/28/66) and the only one of five to break into the top ten.
• 1967 ~ “Sweet Charity” closed at Palace Theater New York City after 608 performances
• 1972 ~ Elton John landed at the top spot on the Billboard album chart for the first time as Honky Chateau made it to the top for a five-week stay.
• 1978 ~ Bob Dylan performed before the largest open-air concert audience (for a single artist). Some 200,000 fans turned out to hear Dylan at Blackbushe Airport in England.
• 1980 ~ Henri Martelli, Composer, died at the age of 85
• 1982 ~ Bill (William E.) Justis (Jr.) passed away
• 1983 ~ Linda Ronstadt debuted as Mabel “Pirates of Penzance”
.1986 ~ Columbia Records dropped country legend Johnny Cash after 26 years
• 2000 ~ Canadian baritone Louis Quilico, who sang many of the most famous opera roles, died after complications from surgery. He was 75.
• 2000 ~ Singer Paul Young, who found fame with the band Mike and the Mechanics, died from what might have been a heart attack at the age of 53. The band just finished recording their fifth album and had planned to tour Europe this month.
• 2001 ~ Denes Koromzay, a violist who helped found the Hungarian String Quartet, died at the age of 88. Koromzay studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest when composer Béla Bartók was on the faculty. Though trained as a violinist, Koromzay was the violist in the group that founded the Hungarian String Quartet in 1935. He remained with the famed ensemble until it disbanded in 1972. For the next seven years, he performed with the New Hungarian Quartet, an ensemble at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. Koromzay moved to Boulder in 1962, when the Hungarian String Quartet was named resident ensemble at the University of Colorado. He returned to the university to teach viola and coach chamber music in 1980. He retired from the school in 1996.
• 1668 ~ Van Marco Cesti’s opera “Il Pomo d’Oro,” premiered in Vienna
• 1813 ~ Johann Friedrich Peter, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1844 ~ Johann Gansbacher, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1866 ~ C.C. Birchard, Music Publisher
• 1877 ~ Karl Erb, German tenor
• 1884 ~ John Francis Larchet, Composer
• 1889 ~ Carli Zoeller, Composer, died at the age of 49
• 1891 ~ Franco Casavola, Composer
• 1894 ~ Juventino Rosas, Composer, died at the age of 26
• 1898 ~ Guglielmo Marconi patented the radio
• 1903 ~ August Reissmann, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1906 ~ Harry Sosnik, American orchestra leader of the Jack Carter Show and Your Hit Parade
• 1909 ~ David Branson, Composer
• 1909 ~ Paul Constantinescu, Composer
• 1909 ~ Washington Castro, Composer
• 1913 ~ Ladislav Holoubek, Composer
• 1915 ~ Paul Williams, Jazz saxophonist and bandleader 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.
• 1921 ~ Ernest Gold, Composer
• 1921 ~ Charles Scribner Jr, Music publisher
• 1923 ~ Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) German composer, died at the age of 80
• 1924 ~ Carlo Bergonzi, Italian tenor
• 1926 ~ Meyer Kupferman, American composer
• 1928 ~ Donal Michalsky, Composer
• 1932 ~ Per Nørgård, Danish composer
More information about Nørgård
• 1934 ~ Roger Reynolds, Composer
• 1936 ~ Izydor Lotto, Composer, died at the age of 91
• 1939 ~ Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band. Frankie sang Melancholy Mood and From the Bottom of My Heart.
• 1942 ~ Roger McGuinn, Musician, guitarist and vocalist with the Byrds (1965 US & UK No.1 single ‘Mr Tambourine Man’). He was the only member of The Byrds to play on the hit, the others being session players. He toured with Bob Dylan in 1975 and 1976 as part of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, and later worked with fellow ex-Byrds Gene Clark and Chris Hillman to form “McGuinn, Clark and Hillman”.
• 1951 ~ Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-born composer, died in Los Angeles; he was best known for his 12-note serial method and his composition Verklaerte Nacht and his opera “Moses und Aaron.”
More information about Schoenberg
• 1942 ~ Stephen Jo Bladd, American drummer with the J Geils Band
• 1954 ~ Louise Mandrell, American country singer with the Mandrell Sisters
• 1958 ~ Karl Erb, German tenor, died on 81st birthday
• 1959 ~ Dedicated to the One I Love, by The Shirelles, was released. The tune went to number 83 on the Top 100 chart of “Billboard” magazine. The song was re-released in 1961 and made it to number three on the charts.
• 1961 ~ Lawrence Donegan, Musician, bass with Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
• 1965 ~ Neil Thrasher, Country Singer
• 1973 ~ Martian Negrea, Composer, died at the age of 80
• 1973 ~ The Everly Brothers called it quits during a concert at the John Wayne Theatre in Buena Park, CA. Phil Everly walked off the stage in the middle of the show and brother Don said, “The Everly Brothers died ten years ago.” The duo reunited a decade later for a short time.
• 1976 ~ Max Butting, Composer, died at the age of 87
• 1978 ~ Antonio Veretti, Composer, died at the age of 78
• 1985 ~ Duran Duran took A View to a Kill, from the James Bond movie of the same name, to the top of the record charts this day. The song stayed on top for two weeks. Live and Let Die by Wings and Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon — both James Bond themes — got only as high as number two on the record charts.
• 1985 ~ Live Aid, a rock concert masterminded by Bob Geldof, took place in London, Sydney, Moscow and Philadelphia and raised over 60 million dollars for famine in Africa.
• 1992 ~ Carla van Neste, Belgian violinist, died at the age of 78
• 1994 ~ Eddie Boyd, Blues vocalist and pianist, died at the age of 79
• 2023 ~ André Watts, pianist and Jacobs School professor, died at the age of 77. Watts made his national concert debut when he was 16 years old with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Shortly after, he was asked to substitute in place of Glenn Gould with the Philharmonic. That performance is credited with launching Watts’ career.
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.
• 1895 ~ Carl Orff, German composer More information about Orff
Didn’t quite understand those words?
• 1900 ~ Elsie Evelyn Laye, English singer and actress
• 1900 ~ One of the most famous trademarks in the world, ‘His Master’s Voice’, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. The logo of the Victor Recording Company, and later, RCA Victor, shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone machine.
• 1916 ~ Dick Cary, Jazz musician: trumpet, arranger, first pianist in Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars, 1947 to 1948
• 1919 ~ Rusty Gill, American singer
• 1930 ~ Jacques Klein, Brazilian pianist
• 1933 ~ Jerry Herman, Composer, lyricist for such shows as Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles, Mame, Dear World, Mack and Mabel
• 1936 ~ Jan Wincenty Hawel, Composer
• 1936 ~ Billie Holiday recorded Billie’s Blues for Okeh Records in New York. Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw and Cozy Cole supported Holiday, instrumentally, on the track.
• 1937 ~ Sandy Stewart (Galitz), Singer
• 1937 ~ Attilio Brugnoli, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1980 ~ Jessica Simpson, Pop singer who released her debut hit album “Sweet Kisses” in 1999 in Texas.
• 1982 ~ Maria Jeritza (Jedlicka) Austrian and American singer at the Metropolitan Opera, died
• 1983 ~ Werner Egk, German composer, died at the age of 82
• 2001 ~ James “Chuck” Cuminale, a musician whose quirky rock band Colorblind James Experience won acclaim in England in the late 1980s, was died at the age of 49. Although Cuminale’s band never achieved commercial success, it picked up a cult following in parts of Europe after John Peel, an influential radio personality in London, began playing its music in 1987.
• 2002 ~ Alan Shulman, a professional cellist who composed scores for orchestras and chamber groups, died at the age of 86. Shulman composed A Laurentian Overture, which premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 1952, as well as Cello Concerto and Neo-Classical Theme and Variations for Viola and Piano. Born in Baltimore, Shulman studied at the Peabody Conservatory and trained at the Juilliard School with cellist Felix Salmond and composer Bernard Wagenaar. He was a founding member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was formed in 1937. Shulman performed with the orchestra until 1942, when he joined the United States Maritime Service. He returned to the NBC Symphony in 1948, and continued to perform with the orchestra and its successor until 1957. Shulman formed the Stuyvesant String Quartet with his brother, violist Slyvan Shulman, in 1938, and played with several other chamber ensembles.
• 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
• 1742 ~ Johann Joseph Ignaz Brentner, Composer, died at the age of 52
• 1788 ~ Johann Christoph Vogel, Composer, died at the age of 32
• 1798 ~ Pierre Dutillieu, Composer, died at the age of 44
• 1806 ~ Napoleon Coste, Composer
• 1815 ~ Robert Franz, Composer
• 1831 ~ Joseph Joachim, Hungarian violinist, composer and conductor
Read more about Joachim
• 1852 ~ Hans Huber, Composer
• 1853 ~ Edwin Arthur Jones, Composer
• 1855 ~ Giovanni Agostino Perotti, Composer, died at the age of 86
• 1857 ~ Joseph Fischhof, Composer, died at the age of 53
• 1872 ~ Ludwig Friedrich Hetsch, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1874 ~ Oley Speaks, Composer
• 1876 ~ August W Ambros, Austria musicologist, died at the age of 59
• 1885 ~ Giuseppe Mule, Composer
• 1887 ~ Boleslav Vomacka, Composer
• 1890 ~ Edouard Gregoir, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1891 ~ Jose Inzenga y Castellanos, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1893 ~ Luciano Gallet, Composer
• 1893 ~ Nils Bjorkander, Composer
• 1895 ~ Kazimierz Sikorski, Composer
• 1902 ~ Richard Rogers, Academy Award-winning American composer for the musical theater
Read more about Rogers
• 1904 ~ Wlodzimierz Pozniak, Composer
• 1904 ~ Daniel Decatur Emmett passed away
• 1906 ~ Safford Cape, American/Belgian conductor, composer and music historian
• 1909 ~ Arnold Shaw, Composer
• 1910 ~ Gustave Leon Huberti, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1912 ~ Audrey Langford, Singing teacher
• 1912 ~ Sergiu Celibidache, conductor
• 1913 ~ George Walter Selwyn Lloyd, English Composer
• 1914 ~ Lester Flatt, Country music entertainer, guitar with Flatt and Scruggs
• 1917 ~ Willem “Wim” Sonneveld, Dutch singer and actor in My Fair Lady
• 1923 ~ Pete (Walter) Candoli, Musician, trumpeter
• 1936 ~ Giselher W Kleber, German opera composer
• 1925 ~ George Morgan, Singer
• 1930 ~ Nikolay Nikolayevich Karetnikov, Composer
• 1933 ~ Gunnar Reynir Sveinsson, Composer
• 1936 ~ Cathy Carr, Singer
• 1940 ~ As a summer replacement for blind, piano virtuoso Alec Templeton, the Quiz Kids was first heard on radio. The show continued on NBC until 1953.
• 1945 ~ Dave Knights, Musician, bass player with Procol Harum
• 1946 ~ Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Composer
• 1950 ~ Henry Balfour Gardiner, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1957 ~ Ede Poldini, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1979 ~ Paul Dessau, German Composer and conductor, died at the age of 84
• 1980 ~ José Iturbi, Spanish/American pianist, died at the age of 84
• 1980 ~ Yoshiro Irino, Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1981 ~ “Piaf” closed at Plymouth Theater New York City after 165 performances
• 1987 ~ “Dreamgirls” opened at Ambassador Theater New York City for 177 performances
• 1996 ~ Willard F. McMurry, Musician, died at the age of 89
• 1997 ~ “Master Class,” closed at Golden Theater New York City after 601 performances
• 1997 ~ “Steel Peer,” closed at Richard Rodgers Theater New York City after 76 performances
• 2001 ~ Rene Villanueva, a social activist who co-founded a pioneering Mexican folk music group, died at the age of 67. Villanueva was a co-founder of the group Los Folkloristas in 1966 and recorded more than 12 albums with the group, which helped spread and popularize the music of Mexico’s Indian and other traditional cultures. He left the group last year as his illness advanced, but he made a final recording last week with Indian musicians. Born in Oaxaca in 1933, Villanueva earned a degree in chemical engineering as well as studying painting and music. Once a member of the Mexican Communist Party, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Zapatista National Liberation Army in Chiapas and performed in concerts to support the rebel movement.
• 2001 ~ Scott Merrill, a Broadway star who also played Macheath in the 1954 production of “The Threepenny Opera”, died at the age of 82. Merrill received positive reviews for his performance in “The Threepenny Opera” by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, and performed at the Theater de Lys in Greenwich Village. His role as Macheath was his first nondancing part in New York, where he also attracted notice in shows such as “Bloomer Girl,” “Paint Your Wagon” and a revival of “Pal Joey.” His first role in New York was in “Lady in the Dark,” with Danny Kaye, Gertrude Lawrence and Victor Mature. Merrill was born in Baltimore, Md.
• 2002 ~ Author William F. Dufty, who co-wrote Billie Holiday’s autobiography and became Gloria Swanson’s last husband, died from complications from cancer. He was 86. Dufty was a playwright, musician, ghostwriter of about 40 books, head speechwriter to Hubert Humphrey and reporter and editor at the New York Post. Dufty, who became good friends with jazz singer Holiday, helped write her autobiography “Lady Sings the Blues”. In 1975, he also wrote “Sugar Blues”, a popular nutrition book about the dangers of sugar in the diet. He became friends with Yoko Ono and former Beatle John Lennon after translating a Japanese book that launched the macrobiotic food revolution, Georges Ohsawa’s “You Are All Sanpaku”. Dufty married Swanson, a silent screen star, in 1976, and the marriage lasted until her death in 1983.
• 2016 ~ Scotty Moore, American guitarist (for Elvis), died at the age of 84
• 1679 ~ Pablo Bruna, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1718 ~ Wenzel Raimund Pirck, Composer
• 1745 ~ Johann Nepomuk Went, Composer
• 1789 ~ Philipp Friedrich Silcher, Composer
• 1805 ~ Stephen Elvey, Composer
• 1812 ~ John Pike Hullah, Composer
• 1814 ~ Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Composer, died at the age of 61
• 1819 ~ Carl Albert Loeschhorn, Composer
• 1821 ~ August Conradi, Composer
• 1829 ~ Louis-Sebastien Lebrun, Composer, died at the age of 64
• 1832 ~ Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisla, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1933 ~ Vladislav Ivanovich Zaremba, Composer
• 1850 ~ Jacob Adolf Hagg, Composer
• 1859 ~ Mildred Hill, American organist, pianist and teacher, composed Happy Birthday To You along with Patty Smith Hill, her younger sister, who wrote the lyrics. The first title was Good Morning to All.
• 1885 ~ Arthur Harmat, Composer
• 1885 ~ Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter applied for a patent for the gramophone. The patent was granted on May 4, 1886.
• 1889 ~ Carlotta Patti, Italian soprano, died
• 1889 ~ Whitney Eugene Thayer, Composer, died at the age of 50
• 1898 ~ Tibor Harsanyi, Composer
• 1908 ~ Hans de Jong, Musician and conductor
• 1909 ~ Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Composer
• 1910 ~ Karel Reiner, Czech composer and pianist
• 1911 ~ V K Narayana Menon, Composer
• 1915 ~ Hendrik W van Leeuwen, Musician
• 1916 ~ Hallvard Olav Johnsen, Composer
• 1917 ~ Ben Homer, Composer and songwriter
• 1922 ~ George Walker, American composer and pianist
• 1954 ~ Elmo Hope, Pianist, The Elmo Hope Trio
• 1924 ~ Rosalie Allen (Julie Bedra), Country singer and yodeler
• 1925 ~ (Jerome) ‘Doc’ Pomus, Songwriter, Atlantic Records co-owner, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
• 1931 ~ Alojz Srebotnjak, Composer
• 1931 ~ Ryszard Kwiatkowski, Composer
• 1932 ~ Hugh Wood, Composer
• 1934 ~ Anna Moffo, Opera Singer with the Metropolitan Opera from 1959 until 1969
• 1942 ~ John Howard McGuire, Composer
• 1942 ~ Frank Mills, Musician, piano, composer of Music Box Dancer
• 1954 ~ Bruce Johnston (1944) Grammy Award-winning songwriter in 1976, with The Beach Boys
• 1944 ~ Werner Wehrli, Composer, died at the age of 52
• 1946 ~ Daria Semegen, Composer
• 1946 ~ Janice Giteck, Composer
• 1954 ~ Francis L Casadesus, French violinist, composer and conductor, died at the age of 83
• 1955 ~ “Julius LaRosa Show,” debuted on CBS-TV
• 1959 ~ West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein, closed after 734 performances on Broadway. The show remains one of the brightest highlights in Broadway history.
• 1962 ~ Two albums of melancholy music by Jackie Gleason received gold record honors. Music, Martinis and Memories and Music for Lovers Only got the gold. Both were issued by Capitol Records in Hollywood.
• 1963 ~ Brenda Lee inked a new recording contract with Decca Records. She was guaranteed one million dollars over the next 20 years.
• 1964 ~ Daniel Lazarus, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1964 ~ Jan & Dean released Little Old Lady From Pasadena
• 1964 ~ Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman were married. It did not turn out to be one of Hollywood’s most enduring marriages. The couple broke up 38 days later.
• 1969 ~ Richard Vance Maxfield, Composer, died at the age of 42
• 1970 ~ Mariah Carey, Singer
• 1970 ~ The Jackson 5: Marlon, Tito, Jackie, Randy and Michael, jumped to number one on the music charts with The Love You Save. The song stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks. It was the third of four number one hits in a row for the group. The other three were I Want You Back, ABC and I’ll Be There. In 15 years (from 1969 to 1984), The Jackson 5/Jacksons had 23 hits, scored two platinum singles and one gold record.
• 1970, The newly formed Queen featuring Freddie Mercury (possibly still known as Freddie Bulsara) on vocals, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Mike Grose on bass played their first gig at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England. They were billed as Smile, Brian and Roger’s previous band, for whom the booking had been made originally. Original material at this time included an early version of ‘Stone Cold Crazy’.
• 1971 ~ “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” closed at Golden New York City after 31 performances
• 1971 ~ Promoter Bill Graham closed the Fillmore East in New York City. It was a spin-off of San Francisco’s legendary rock ’n’ roll palace, Fillmore West. The New York City landmark laid claim to having hosted every major rock group of the 1960s.
• 1975 ~ Robert Stolz, Austrian Composer, died at the age of 94
• 1976 ~ “Pacific Overtures” closed at Winter Garden New York City after 193 performances
• 1980 ~ Steve Peregrin Took, Percussionist, died at the age of 31
• 1981 ~ Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes returned to #1 slot
• 1982 ~ “Dancin'” closed at Broadhurst Theater New York City after 1,774 performances
• 1982 ~ “Play Me a Country Song” opened & closed at Virginia Theater New York City
• 1992 ~ Allan Jones, Vocalist and actor in Show Boat, died of lung cancer at the age of 84
• 1992 ~ Stefanie Ann Sargent, Guitarist, died at the age of 24
• 1993 ~ “Falsettos” closed at John Golden Theater New York City after 487 performances
• 1995 ~ Lionel Edmund “Sonny” Taylor, musician, died at the age of 70
• 1995 ~ Prez “Kidd” Kenneth, blues singer/guitarist, died at the age of 61
• 2001 ~ Chico O’Farrill, the Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer who composed ballads and fiery, big band bebop for such greats as Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie, died at the age of 79. Born Arturo O’Farrill in Havana, the trumpeter was most renowned as a composer and arranger of extended jazz pieces. He became one of the creators of Afro-Cuban jazz, dubbed Cubop, a melding of big-band Cuban music with elements of modern jazz. O’Farrill toiled largely in obscurity for more than 50 years. But like the musicians of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, he had recently enjoyed a renaissance. His comeback began in 1995, with the release of his album “Pure Emotion,” a Grammy nominee for best Latin jazz performance. He released two other acclaimed albums, “Heart of a Legend” in 1999 and last year’s “Carambola.”
• 2002 ~ John Entwistle, the bass player for veteran British rock band The Who, died in Las Vegas at age 57, just one day before the group was set to begin a North American tour in the city, officials said.
More information about Entwistle
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