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1669 ~ Miquel Lopez, born. He died sometime in 1723
• 1671 ~ Francesco Stradivari, Italian violin maker • 1862 ~ The Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in "Atlantic Monthly". The lyric was the work of Julia Ward Howe. The Battle Hymn of the Republic is still being sung and to the tune of a song titled John Brown’s Body. • 1869 ~ Victor Herbert, Composer, cellist and conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. He composed operettas such as Babes in Toyland, Naughty Marietta and songs like Ah Sweet Mystery of Life (At Last I’ve Found You) • 1877 ~ Thomas Frederick Dunhill • 1904 ~ Enrico Caruso recorded his first sides for Victor Records. He did ten songs in the session and was paid only $4,000. • 1907 ~ Mozart Camargo Guarnieri • 1934 ~ Bob Shane, Singer with The Kingston Trio • 1937 ~ Don Everly born, Singer with his brother, Phil, in The Everly Brothers. Some of their hits were: Wake Up Little Susie, Bye Bye Love, Cathy’s Clown and All I Have To Do Is Dream • 1937 ~ Ray Sawyer, Singer with Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show • 1939 ~ Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded And the Angels Sing on Victor Records. The vocalist on that number, who went on to find considerable fame at Capitol Records, was Martha Tilton. • 1940 ~ Frank Sinatra sang Too Romantic and The Sky Fell Down in his first recording session with the Tommy Dorsey Band. The session was in Chicago, IL. Frankie replaced Jack Leonard as lead singer with the band. • 1941 ~ "Downbeat" magazine reported this day that Glenn Miller had inked a new three-year contract with RCA Victor Records. The pact guaranteed Miller $750 a side, the fattest record contract signed to that time. • 1949 ~ RCA Victor countered Columbia Records’ 33-1/3 long play phonograph disk with not only a smaller, 7-inch record (with a big hole in the center), but an entire phonograph playing system as well. The newfangled product, the 45- rpm, which started a revolution (especially with the new rock and roll music), soon made the 78-rpm record a blast from the past. • 1952 ~ Rick James (James Johnson), Singer • 1954 ~ Mike Campbell, Guitarist with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers • 1968 ~ Elvis Presley celebrated the birth of his daughter, Lisa Marie. Lisa Marie married and divorced the ‘Gloved One’, Michael Jackson, in the ’90s. • 1971 ~ The soundtrack album from the movie, "Love Story", starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw, with music by Frances Lai, was certified as a gold record on this day. • 2002 ~ Hildegard Knef, a smoky voiced actress and singer who starred in Germany's first post-World War II movie and scandalized church officials with a 1951 nude scene, died of a lung infection at a Berlin hospital. She was 76. Knef became a star for her role as a former concentration camp inmate returning home in Wolfgang Staudte's 1946 "Murderers Are Among Us." Knef, who sometimes went as Hildegrad Neff in the United States, appeared in More than 50 films, most of them made in Europe. She reportedly turned down a Hollywood studio contract after being told she would have to change her name and say she was Austrian, not German. She scandalized Roman Catholic authorities with a brief nude scene in the 1951 German film "The Story Of A Sinner." Her work in the United States included the role of Ninotchka in Cole Porter's Broadway musical "Silk Stockings" in the 1950s, and a supporting role in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." She launched a career as a singer in the 1960s and wrote a best-selling 1970 autobiography. She continued to act and sing almost until the end of her life, appearing as herself in the 2000 documentary "Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song" and in the 1999 German comedy, "An Almost Perfect Wedding." • 2003 ~ Latin jazz musician Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, a Cuban-born percussionist and bandleader known for his conga rhythms, died in Miami at age 85. He was best known for his 1963 recording of Herbie Hancock's song Watermelon Man, which became his first Top 10 hit. In 1959, Santamaria penned Afro Blue, which quickly became a jazz standard covered by stars such as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. Born in Havana, Santamaria performed at Havana's famed Tropicana Club before moving to New York City in the early 1950s, touring with the Mambo Kings and performing with Tito Puente and Cal Tjader. Santamaria recorded scores of albums in a career that spanned nearly 40 years, mixing rhythm and blues with jazz and hip-swaying conga. In 1977 he was awarded a Grammy for Best Latin Recording for his album "Amancer." In recent years, he divided his time between Manhattan and Miami. 2 
• 1714 ~ Gottfried August Homilius • 1789 ~ Armand-Louis Couperin • 1875 ~ Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-born American violinist and virtuoso/composer Some of his best known works are Caprice Viennois, Tambourin Chinois, Liebesfreud and La Gitana • 1901 ~ Jascha Heifetz, Russian-born American violinist Read quotes by and about Heifetz More information about Heifetz • 1911 ~ Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor • 1912 ~ Burton Lane (Levy), Composer of How Are Things in Glocca Morra, That Old Devil Moon, Look to the Rainbow, How About You, I Hear Music, Come Back to Me, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, How Could You Believe Me?; His Broadway musicals were Finian’s Rainbow (collaboration with Yip Harburg), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (collaboration with Alan Jay Lerner). He contributed songs to over 30 films: Babes on Broadway, Royal Wedding, Ship Ahoy, St. Louis Blues and credited with discovering Judy Garland • 1927 ~ Stan Getz (Stanley Gayetzby), American jazz tenor saxophonist • 1937 ~ Tom Smothers, Entertainer, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Steve Allen Show, Dick’s Brother • 1937 ~ Guy Lombardo and his orchestra recorded one of Guy’s most famous tunes. Boo Hoo was waxed on Victor Records and became one of the group’s all-time great hits. • 1940 ~ Alan Caddy, Guitarist with The Tornados • 1942 ~ Graham Nash, Singer with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young • 1947 ~ Peter Lucia, Drummer with Tommy James and The Shondells • 1949 ~ Ross Valory, Bass with Journey • 1959 ~ The Coasters tune, Charlie Brown, was released. The tune went to #2 and stayed there for three weeks, but didn’t make it to the top spot of the charts. A catchy song ("Fee fee fi fi fo fo fum. I smell smoke in the auditorium..."), it was on the charts for a total of 12 weeks. The song at number one, preventing Charlie Brown from reaching the top, was Venus, by Frankie Avalon. • 1996 ~ Gene Kelly passed away • 2001 ~ French pianist Nicole Henriot, who entered the Paris Conservatory at age 7 and went on to perform around the globe with conductor Charles Munch, died at the age of 75. Emerging on the world music scene after World War II, Henriot built her reputation on interpretations of works from Liszt to Prokofiev, and especially French composers such as Ravel,Fauré and Milhaud. She was most famous for her performances with Munch, music director of the Boston Symphony from 1949 to 1962. Munch, who died in 1968, was the uncle of Henriot's husband. Born in 1925, Henriot won the Paris Conservatory's first prize at age 13. During the war, Henriot gave aid to her brother, a member of the French Resistance. When Gestapo agents searched her home in 1944, she managed to destroy her brother's secret documents but was badly beaten. After the war, Henriot became the first French pianist to appear in Britain and began an international tour that took her from Scandinavia to Egypt. She made her American debut in 1948 as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Munch's direction. When Munch formed the Orchestra of Paris in 1967, Henriot was one of the fledgling orchestra's first soloists. In the 1970s and 1980s, Henriot devoted herself to teaching, and worked at the Conservatory of Liege, Belgium, and at the Walloon Conservatory of Brussels. • 2001 ~ Victor Norman, who founded the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and conducted the group for three decades, died at the age of 95. Colleagues said Norman was a visionary who needed to be as skilled in politics as he was in music to keep the symphony together. "He had this idea that a symphony orchestra could be created around here, when really it had been tried several times before, never with any kind of significant success," said Charles Frink, a New London composer who studied with Norman. Norman founded the New London Civic Orchestra in 1946. It merged with the Willimantic Orchestra in 1952 to become the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. He stepped down from the podium in 1980. In his retirement, Norman composed music. Two of his orchestral pieces were performed by the New Britain Symphony Orchestra and the Westminster Community Orchestra in Princeton, N.J. His memoirs, "Victor Norman: A Life in Music, a Lifetime of Learning," were published in 1999. 3 1736 ~ Johann Georg Albrechtsberger • 1809 ~ (Jacob Ludwig) Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn, German composer More information about Mendelssohn • 1900 ~ Mabel Mercer, British-born American cabaret singer • 1904 ~ Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer More information about Dallapiccola • 1911 ~ Jehan Alain, French organist and composer • 1928 ~ Frankie Vaughn (Abelson), Singer • 1929 ~ Russell Arms, Singer • 1940 ~ Angelo D’Aleo, Singer with Dion and The Belmonts • 1941 ~ Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded the classic, Amapola, on Decca Records. Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly joined in a vocal duet on this very famous and popular song of the Big Band era. • 1943 ~ Eric Haydock, Bass with The Hollies • 1947 ~ Melanie (Safka), Singer • 1947 ~ Dave Davies, Singer, guitarist with The Kinks • 1950 ~ Ed, Gene, Joe and Vic, The Ames Brothers, reached the #1 spot on the pop music charts for the first time, as Rag Mop became the most favorite song in the U.S. The brothers enjoyed many successes with their recording efforts. • 1959 ~ 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 28-year-old J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) and 17-year-old Ritchie Valens died in an airplane crash near Mason City, Iowa. February 3rd has been remembered as ‘The Day the Music Died’ since Don McLean made the line popular in his 1972 hit, "American Pie". Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holly in Lubbock, Texas, recorded That’ll Be the Day, Peggy Sue, Oh, Boy, Maybe Baby, and others, including It Doesn’t Matter Anymore (recorded just before his death, a smash in the U.K., non top-10 in the U.S.). Buddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in • 1986. A convincing portrait of the singer was portrayed by Gary Busey in The Buddy Holly Story, a made for TV movie. J.P. (Jiles Perry) Richardson was from Sabine Pass, TX. He held the record for longest, continuous broadcasting as a DJ at KTRM Radio in Beaumont, TX in • 1956. He was on the air for 122 hours and eight minutes. In addition to his smash hit, Chantilly Lace, Richardson also penned Running Bear (a hit for Johnny Preston) plus White Lightning (a hit for country star, George Jones). Richard Valenzuela lived in Pacoima, CA (near LA) and had a role in the 1959 film, Go Johnny Go. Ritchie Valens’ two big hits were Donna and La Bamba ... the last, the title of a 1987 film depiction of his life. La Bamba also represented the first fusion of Latin music and American rock. Of the three young stars who died in that plane crash, the loss of Buddy Holly reverberated the loudest over the years. But, fans of 1950s rock ’n’ roll will agree, all three have been sorely missed. • 1959 ~ Lol (Laurence) Tolhurst, Drummer, keyboard with The Cure • 1964 ~ The British group, The Beatles, received its first gold record award for the single, I Want To Hold Your Hand. The group also won a gold LP award for "Meet The Beatles". The album had been released in the United States only 14 days earlier. • 1971 ~ Lynn Anderson received a gold record for the single, Rose Garden. The Grand Forks, ND country singer was raised in Sacramento, CA. In addition to being a singer, she was an accomplished equestrian and California Horse Show Queen in 1966. • 2002 ~ Remo Palmier, a self-trained guitarist who was a fixture in the New York jazz scene in the 1940s, died at the age of 78, and had been suffering from leukemia and lymphoma, his wife said. Over the course of his career, Palmier played with jazz legends Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. Born Remo Palmieri in the Bronx, Palmier achieved his greatest fame performing with broadcaster Arthur Godfrey on CBS, and taught Godfrey how to play the ukulele. After Godfrey retired, Palmier released his own albums, "Windflower and "Remo Palmier". 1893 ~ Bernard Rogers, American composer • 1912 ~ Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-born American conductor • 1937 ~ Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra recorded A Study in Brown, on Decca Records. • 1941 ~ John Steel, Singer, drummer with The Animals • 1944 ~ Florence LaRue (Gordon), Singer with The Fifth Dimension • 1962 ~ Clint Black, Singer, actor • 1975 ~ Louis (Thomas) Jordan passed away • 1983 ~ Karen Carpenter passed away • 1987 ~ The show-biz world was saddened when Liberace died at his Palm Springs, CA estate. He was 67. Lee, as he was known, was the master of Las Vegas. Hundreds of thousands flock to his museum there (operated by his brother, George) to see Liberace’s garish suits, trademark candelabra, and learn of the myths behind this hugely successful star of television, stage and concerts the world over. More information about Liberace • 2001 ~ James Louis "J.J." Johnson, an influential jazz trombonist who later forged a career arranging and recording scores for motion pictures and television, died at the age of 77. The Indianapolis native, who began playing piano at age 11, was a perennial winner of "Down Beat" magazine's reader's poll as best trombonist. While he was praised by jazz aficionados, Johnson also made his mark in popular culture, writing and arranging music for such television shows as "Starsky and Hutch", "Mayberry, R.F.D." and "That Girl". His film music credits included "Cleopatra Jones" and "Shaft." During his long career, he performed with such jazz greats as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. While touring with jazz bands during the heyday of those ensembles, he played with the Clarence Love and Snookum Russell bands. He got his first big break with the Benny Carter band in 1942. • 2002 ~ Blues and jazz pianist Abie "Boogaloo" Ames died at the age of 83. Ames was born on Big Egypt Plantation in Cruger, Miss., on May 23, 1918. He began playing piano at the age of 5 and his style earned him the nickname "Boogaloo" in the 1940's. Ames moved to Detroit as a teen-ager and started a band, touring Europe with Louis Armstrong in 1936. Ames worked at Motown Studio and befriended other great musicians like Nat King Cole and Erroll Garner. In 1980, Ames moved to Greenville, where he became a regular performer at local clubs and festivals. Cassandra Wilson's forthcoming Blue Note CD tentatively titled "Belly of the Sun" is set to include Darkness in the Delta, a song written by Ames for the CD. Ames was named the 2001 winner of the Artist's Achievement Award of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts in the state of Mississippi. With his protege and 1990s musical partner Eden Brent, Ames performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 2000. Ames' last public performance was in October 2001 at the E.E. Bass Cultural Center in Greenville with another former student, Mulgrew Miller. • 2002 ~ David Stetler, a big band swing drummer who played with , Benny Goodman and Spike Jones , died of pneumonia. He was 79. A Seattle native, Stetler was discovered in high school by Lunceford. With a style close to that of Gene Krupa and Jo Jones, Stetler toured the country in the 1940s but returned to Seattle after his first son was born. He backed up national acts in local performances, including many during the world's fair in 1962. • 2003 ~ Charlie Biddle, a leader of Montreal's jazz scene in the 1950s and '60s who played bass with Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, died after a battle with cancer. He was 76. Biddle was a native of Philadelphia who moved to Canada in 1948. Over the next five decades, the World War II veteran and former car salesman became synonymous with jazz in Montreal. Biddle opened his own club, Uncle Charlie's Jazz Joint, in suburban Ste- Therese in 1958. He later performed in such legendary Montreal nightspots as The Black Bottom and the Penthouse, where he worked with the likes of Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Charlie Parker and Lionel Hampton. When there were no jobs in Montreal, Biddle played smaller Quebec cities with a group called Three Jacks and a Jill. Until recently, Biddle played four nights a week at Biddle's Jazz and Ribs, a Montreal landmark for nearly 25 years. Coincidentally, the club closed Tuesday for planned renovations, which included erecting a wall of fame to honor Biddle and others who have played at the club. In 1979, he organized the three-day festival that some say paved the way for the renowned Montreal International Jazz Festival. News Item about Charlie Biddle • 2003 ~ Jerome Hines, a bass vocalist who performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera during a career that spanned more than six decades, died. He was 81. Hines spent 41 years performing at the Met, more than any other principal singer in its history. He was known for his timbral richness, as well as the research he conducted into the historical and psychological background of the roles he portrayed. During his career at the Met, he portrayed 45 characters in 39 works, including title roles in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" and Mozart's "Don Giovanni," and Colline in Puccini's "La Boheme." He gave a total of 868 performances at the Met, retiring in 1987. He went on to perform with regional opera companies and at benefits. Hines, who became a born-again Christian in the 1950s, composed his own opera, "I Am the Way," about the life of Jesus. He sang the title role at the Met in 1968 and 93 times around the world. • 2003 ~ Saxophonist Cornelius Bumpus, a former member of the Doobie Brothers who had performed with Steely Dan since 1993, died en route to a series of performances in California. He was 58. Bumpus began his career at age 10, playing alto saxophone in the school band in Santa Cruz, Calif. In 1966, he spent six months performing with Bobby Freeman, and joined Moby Grape in 1977, writing one tune for the "Live Grape" album. Bumpus also recorded two solo albums and toured with his own band. Since performing with The Doobie Brothers in the early 1980s, Bumpus played with a number of bands, most recently with Steely Dan, which won the "Album of the Year" Grammy for its 2000 "Two Against Nature" release. His relations with his former Doobies bandmates turned contentious in the late • 1990s, when they sued him and several other musicians over their use of the Doobies name. A federal judge in 1999 ruled against Bumpus and the other musicians, ordering them not to use the name. 4 1893 ~ Bernard Rogers, American composer • 1912 ~ Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-born American conductor • 1937 ~ Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra recorded A Study in Brown, on Decca Records. • 1941 ~ John Steel, Singer, drummer with The Animals • 1944 ~ Florence LaRue (Gordon), Singer with The Fifth Dimension • 1962 ~ Clint Black, Singer, actor • 1975 ~ Louis (Thomas) Jordan passed away • 1987 ~ The show-biz world was saddened when Liberace died at his Palm Springs, CA estate. He was 67. Lee, as he was known, was the master of Las Vegas. Hundreds of thousands flock to his museum there (operated by his brother, George) to see Liberace’s garish suits, trademark candelabra, and learn of the myths behind this hugely successful star of television, stage and concerts the world over. More information about Liberace • 2001 ~ James Louis "J.J." Johnson, an influential jazz trombonist who later forged a career arranging and recording scores for motion pictures and television, died at the age of 77. The Indianapolis native, who began playing piano at age 11, was a perennial winner of "Down Beat" magazine's reader's poll as best trombonist. While he was praised by jazz aficionados, Johnson also made his mark in popular culture, writing and arranging music for such television shows as "Starsky and Hutch", "Mayberry, R.F.D." and "That Girl". His film music credits included "Cleopatra Jones" and "Shaft." During his long career, he performed with such jazz greats as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. While touring with jazz bands during the heyday of those ensembles, he played with the Clarence Love and Snookum Russell bands. He got his first big break with the Benny Carter band in 1942. 5 1916 ~ Enrico Caruso recorded O Solo Mio for the Victor Talking Machine Company, which eventually became Victor Records, then RCA Victor. • 1921 ~ Sir John Pritchard, British conductor • 1928 ~ Singer Jessica Dragonette was seen on one of the first television shows. She was used only to test the new medium. She didn’t even get to sing. • 1930 ~ Don Goldie, Trumpeter on Basin Street Blues with vocals by Jack Teagarden • 1931 ~ Eddie Cantor’s long radio career got underway as he appeared on Rudy Vallee's "The Fleischmann Hour". • 1933 ~ Claude King, Singer • 1940 ~ One of the great classic songs of the Big Band era was recorded. Glenn Miller and his band played Tuxedo Junction at the RCA Victor studios in Manhattan. The flip side of the record (released on the Bluebird label) was Danny Boy. • 1941 ~ Barrett Strong, Singer, songwriter • 1942 ~ Cory Wells, Singer with Three Dog Night • 1943 ~ Charles Winfield, Musician with Blood, Sweat and Tears • 1958 ~ A year after its founding, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) formed a New York chapter. NARAS is better known as the Grammy Awards organization. • 1961 ~ The Shirelles were winding up their first week at #1 on the music charts with Will You Love Me Tomorrow. The song was at the top for two weeks. It was the group’s first #1 tune and the first #1 tune from the pen of a New York Brill Building songwriter who worked right down the hall from Neil Sedaka. She became a huge star in her own right with several #1 singles and albums in the 1970s. Her name: Carole King. • 1969 ~ Bobby Brown, Grammy Award-winning singer, married singer, Whitney Houston • 2003 ~ Clyde Douglas Dickerson, 80, a saxophone player who played for four decades at Washington area jazz clubs and held down a day job for 20 years as doorman at the Watergate Hotel, died after a stroke. Mr. Dickerson, known as "Watergate Clyde," appeared at such spots as Blues Alley, Pigfoot and One Step Down and at jazz joints along 14th Street NW. He freelanced for a number of decades as far away as Upstate New York and Ohio. He collaborated with pianist and trumpet player Jimmy Burrell at the old Crow's Toe at 10th and K streets NW, the Chaconia Lounge on upper Georgia Avenue NW and Today's in Rockville. Mr. Dickerson also played with performers who included Oran "Hot Lips" Page, the Mangione brothers, ex-Temptation David Ruffin and Rick James. He also appeared in a Lester Young tribute with Shirley Horn and saxmen Byron Morris and Ron Holloway. His last performance was on Capitol Hill, at Ellington's at Eighth, shortly before his death. Washington Post staff writer Eve Zibart wrote of Mr. Dickerson that he might once have thought of himself as a musician who worked hotels on the side, but over the years the occupations began to blur. "You take Rostropovich," Mr. Dickerson said of the National Symphony Orchestra conductor. "Slava gets up there, and whatever composer it is, he can read the score and tell what the composer felt, and he can get that out to the musicians. "It's the same with being a doorman: If you really know the general manager, you know how he feels about the hotel -- it's like his home, and the people coming in are like his personal guests. I'm the substitute for the general manager . . . playing the overture to the hospitality." Zibart interviewed him in 1988, his 16th year at the hotel, shortly after the Watergate management threw him a birthday party. It featured Gerard Schwarz, guest conductor of the Washington Opera and a trumpet virtuoso; pianist Christopher Norton; Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), sponsor of a bill recognizing jazz as a national treasure -- and a birthday cake topped by a saxophone. Mr. Dickerson was born in Bristol, Tenn. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. 6 1843 ~ The first minstrel show in America, "The Virginia Minstrels", opened at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. • 1903 ~ Claudio Arrau, Chilean pianist • 1929 ~ Rudy Vallee and his orchestra recorded Deep Night. It says in the fine print, under the artist’s name, that the tune was written by Vallee, himself. • 1943 ~ Fabian (Fabian Forte), Singer • 1943 ~ Frank Sinatra made his debut as vocalist on radio’s "Your Hit Parade" this night. Frankie had left the Tommy Dorsey Band just four months prior to beginning the radio program. He was described as, "...the biggest name in the business." • 1945 ~ Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter • 1947 ~ Alan Jones, Saxophone with Amen Corner • 1950 ~ Natalie Cole, Grammy Award-winning singer, Best New Artist in 1975 with This Will Be, I’ve Got Love on My Mind. She is the daughter of Nat ‘King’ Cole • 1966 ~ Rick Astley, Singer, songwriter • 1981 ~ Former Beatle, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison teamed up once again to record a musical tribute to John Lennon. The result of that session became All Those Years Ago. The song went to #2 on the pop music charts for three weeks. It was recorded on Harrison’s own Dark Horse label. 7 1818 ~ Henry Charles Litolff • 1883 ~ Herbert "Eubie" Blake, American jazz pianist, vaudevillian, songwriter and composer More information about Blake • 1920 ~ Oscar Brand, Folk singer, composer, music director of NBC-TV Sunday, host of Let’s Sing Out • 1921 ~ Wilma Lee Cooper (Leary), Country singer with husband, Stoney and the group, Clinch Mountain Clan with her daughter, Carol Lee • 1931 ~ The American opera, "Peter Ibbetson", by Deems Taylor premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. • 1941 ~ The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Frank Sinatra teamed to record Everything Happens to Me for Victor Records in New York City. • 1948 ~ Jimmy Greenspoon, Organist with Three Dog Night • 1949 ~ Alan Lancaster, Bass with Status Quo • 1959 ~ Brian Travers, Saxophone with UB40 • 1962 ~ (Troyal) Garth Brooks, American Grammy Award-winning singer: In Another’s Eyes (1998 with Trisha Yearwood), Friends in Low Places and The Thunder Rolls. His LP Ropin’ the Wind was the first LP in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s pop and country charts, The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses, Sevens, Double Live has sold over 80 million albums -- second only to The Beatles. • 1962 ~ David Bryan, Keyboards with Bon Jovi • 1964 ~ 3,000+ fans crowded the JFK airport in New York to receive the four stars of the music sensation, The Beatles. One word summarizes the reaction to The Beatles on their first US tour: hysteria. • 1969 ~ Tom Jones, ‘The Prince of Wales’, premiered on ABC-TV after the network acquired the rights to the singing sensation’s popular United Kingdom show. The network paid a British production company an estimated $20 million for those rights. And they cried in one of Tom’s hankies all the way to the bank. • 1974 ~ Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra received a gold record for the disco hit Love’s Theme. • 1985 ~ New York, New York became the official anthem of the Big Apple. The announcement was made by then New York mayor, Ed "How’m I Doin’?" Koch. Frank Sinatra fans rejoiced at the honor. • 2001 ~ Dale Evans died at the age of 88. She was an actress-singer who became "Queen of the West" by starring with husband Roy Rogers in 27 cowboy films and writing their theme song, Happy Trails. • 2002 ~ Bert Conway, an actor and director whose 60-year career included theater, movies and television, died of heart failure. He was 87. The son of vaudeville performers, Conway was born in Orange, N.J. He had a walk- on part in the original 1937 Group Theater staging of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" and later had the lead as a reform school youth in Lee Strasberg's production of "Dance Night." After serving in the Army in World War II, Conway went to Hollywood. He began directing plays in 1947. His work included the first interracial production of "Golden Boy" for the Negro Art Theater in Los Angeles. In 1950, he returned to New York to act in and direct plays. His work included an off-Broadway revival of "Deep Are the Roots" and appearances with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. He also appeared in several road company productions, had small roles in the movies "The Three Musketeers," "Little Big Man" and "The Arrangement," and on TV's "St. Elsewhere." 8  1932 ~ John Williams, American Academy Award-winning composer and conductor
More information about Williams • 1934 ~ Elly Ameling, Dutch Soprano • 1936 ~ Larry Verne, Singer • 1938 ~ Ray Sharpe, Singer • 1941 ~ Tom Rush, American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist • 1943 - Creed Bratton, Guitarist, banjo, sitar with The Grass Roots • 2001 ~ Leslie Edwards, a dancer and director at the Royal Ballet, died of cancer at the age of 84. Edwards made his debut in 1933 with the Vic-Wells Ballet. Except for a stint with the Ballet Rambert from 1935 to 1937, Edwards spent his entire career with Sadler's Wells Ballet, which became the Royal Ballet Company in 1956. He appeared in more than 70 roles at the Royal Ballet and was a key figure in its choreographic group, as well as working as ballet master to the Royal Opera for 20 years. Edwards was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1975, and a studio at the rebuilt Sadler's Wells Theatre was named for him. 9 1885 ~ Alban Berg, Austrian composer
More information about Berg • 1909 ~ Carmen Miranda (Maria do Carmo Miranda Da Cunha), ‘Brazilian Bombshell’, singer, dancer, actress • 1914 ~ Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick), Actress, dancer, stripper, subject of Broadway show and film, Gypsy, sister of actress, June Havoc • 1914 ~ Ernest Tubb, Country Music Hall of Famer, headlined 1st country music show at Carnegie Hall • 1923 ~ Kathryn Grayson, Singer, actress in Kiss Me Kate, Show Boat, The Kissing Bandit, It Happened in Brooklyn, Anchors Aweigh • 1937 ~ Hildgarde Beherns, German Soprano • 1939 ~ Barry Mann, Songwriter, with Cynthia Weil on dozens of ’60s and ’70s ‘Brill Building’ hits, singer • 1940 ~ Brian Bennett, Drummer with The Shadows • 1941 ~ Carole King (Klein), American pop-rock singer and songwriter • 1944 ~ Barbara Lewis, Singer • 1963 ~ (James) Travis Tritt, Grammy Award-winnning singe • 1964 ~ Several days after their arrival in the U.S., The Beatles made the first of three record-breaking appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". The audience viewing the Fab Four was estimated at 73,700,000 people in TV land. The Beatles sang She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. One could barely hear the songs above the screams of the girls in the audience. • 1966 ~ Liza Minnelli brought her night club act to the Big Apple. She opened in grand style at the Persian Room of the Plaza Hotel in New York. • 1969 ~ A young lady named Roslyn Kind made her quiet TV debut this night on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Ed said she’s "...America’s teenager who wasn’t protesting or playing a guitar." She only appeared once. Her sister appeared many times. Roslyn Kind is the sister of Barbra Streisand. • 1970 ~ Sly and The Family Stone received a gold record for the single, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). Sly (Sylvester) Stewart was a DJ in Oakland, CA. • 1981 ~ Bill Haley died on this day in Harlingen, TX. He was 55. Haley, with his Comets, recorded what became known as the anthem of rock and roll: Rock Around the Clock, from the movie, "Blackboard Jungle". The song turned into a multimillion dollar hit and one of many hits Haley and the Comets had, including: Dim Dim the Lights, Razzle Dazzle, Crazy Man Crazy, Rock the Joint, See You Later Alligator and Shake Rattle & Roll. Bill Haley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. 10 1914 ~ Larry Adler, Composer of movie scores such as A Cry from the Streets, Genevieve, Great Chase More about Adler • 1927 ~ Leontyne Price, American soprano, Metropolitan Opera More information about Price • 1933 ~ The singing telegram was introduced by the Postal Telegraph Company of New York City. • 1940 ~ Roberta Flack, American pop-soul singer • 1944 ~ Peter Allen, Australian pop singer, songwriter and pianist • 1942 ~ Ted Fio Rito’s orchestra recorded Rio Rita for Decca Records in Los Angeles. Bob Carroll sang on the disc that became the group’s theme song. • 1946 ~ Donovan (Leitch), Singer • 1956 ~ Elvis Presley wiggled his way through Heartbreak Hotel this day for RCA Records in Nashville, TN. The record received two gold records, one for each side. The hit on the other side was I Was the One. • 1964, The Beatles, British super rock group, made their first American appearance on the Ed Sullivan TV show • 1966 ~ Billy Rose passed away • 2002 ~ Dave Van Ronk, a New York-born guitarist and singer who was at the forefront of the Greenwich Village folk boom, died at the age of 65. A prolific musician who was nominated for a Grammy, Van Ronk offered his home as a hangout for fellow musicians in the 1960s. Among them was a young Bob Dylan. "People were always stopping by," said Mitch Greenhill, his longtime manager. "He (Van Ronk) was one of the few guys who was working at a pretty high level who went out of his way to be friendly." Born in Brooklyn, Van Ronk started living in Greenwich Village by the time he was a teen-ager. His first album, "Ballads, Blues and a Spiritual" was released in 1957. He opened his home to Dylan when the artist arrived in New York in the 1960s. Inspired by a haunting version of House of the Rising Sun, released by Van Ronk, Dylan performed it on his debut album. They also appeared together in 1974 with other singers at a benefit for Chilean political prisoners. Asked over the years about his relationship with Dylan, Van Ronk always played down his influence on Dylan by saying, "He was as big an influence on me as I was on him," said Greenhill, who knew Van Ronk for more than 40 years. Van Ronk spent 40 years on tour, and made at least 26 albums. His most recent was last year's "Sweet and Lowdown," a return to his jazz roots. He received a Grammy nomination in 1996 for his record "From ... Another Time and Place." He was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers. 11 Peggy D.
• 1830 ~ Peter Arnold Heise • 1830 ~ Hans Bronsart Von Schellendorf • 1889 ~ John Mills, Guitarist, singer, bass with The Mills Brothers. He was father of the four Mills brothers and took youngest son John, Jr.’s place after his death in 1935 • 1908 ~ Josh White, ‘The Singing Christian’, blues/folk singer, guitarist • 1912 ~ Rudolf Firkušný, Czech composer • 1914 ~ Matt Dennis, Pianist, singer, recorded vocals for Paul Whiteman • 1916 ~ The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented its first concert. The symphony was the first by a municipal orchestra to be supported by taxes. • 1941 ~ Sergio Mendes, Brazilian jazz pianist and composer • 1935 ~ Gene Vincent (Craddock), Singer, actor • 1938 ~ Larry Clinton and his orchestra recorded Martha on Victor Records. Bea Wain was heard warbling the vocals on the tune. • 1939 ~ Gerry Goffin, Lyricist with Carole King and with Michael Masser • 1940 ~ Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett, Singer • 1940 ~ NBC radio presented "The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street" for the first time. The famous Blue network series included several distinguished alumni -- among them, Dinah Shore and Zero Mostel. The chairman, or host, of "The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street" was Milton Cross. He would say things like, "A Bostonian looks like he’s smelling something. A New Yorker looks like he’s found it." The show combined satire, blues and jazz and was built around what were called the three Bs of music: Barrelhouse, Boogie Woogie and Blues. • 1968 ~ The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York. It was the fourth arena to be named Madison Square Garden. The showplace for entertainment and sports opened with a gala show hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. • 2001 ~ Dame Sonia Arova, a Bulgarian-born ballerina who danced with Rudolf Nureyev, at his request, in his American debut, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74. Arova was knighted by King Olaf V of Norway, only the second woman to receive that distinction. During her years as founding artistic director of the State of Alabama Ballet, Dame Sonia Arova changed the face of dance in Birmingham. Through a stage career that lasted three decades and a teaching career that occupied three more, she lived and breathed ballet. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Arova began dancing at age 6. By 8, she was studying ballet intensively in Paris. When war broke out in 1940, she escaped the Nazis' advance with her English piano teacher in a harrowing flight during which their train was machine-gunned by German troops. Arriving in England, Arova was enrolled in an arts school and later joined the International Ballet. In 1965, Arova became artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet, moved to California in 1971 to co-direct the San Diego Ballet and in 1975 accepted a teaching position at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Maintaining her position at ASFA, she took over the newly formed State of Alabama Ballet in 1981 as artistic director, with her husband, Thor Sutowski, as artistic associate and choreographer. In 1996, the couple returned to San Diego, and she spent her last years with the San Diego Ballet. • 2003 ~ Moses G. Hogan, 45, a pianist and choral conductor known for his contemporary arrangements of spirituals, died of a brain tumor in New Orleans. He was editor of the Oxford Book of Spirituals, published in 2001 by Oxford University Press. The book has become the U.S. music division's top seller. Mr. Hogan also toured with his own singing groups, the Moses Hogan Chorale and Moses Hogan Singers. His arrangements, more than 70 of which have been published by the Hal Leonard publishing company, were performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, soprano Barbara Hendricks and countertenor Derek Lee Ragin. • 2003 ~ William L. "Weemo" Wubbena Jr., 72, a retired Army colonel who sang in Washington area barbershop quartets, died of cancer. Col. Wubbena was born in Marquette, Mich., and raised in Washington. He was a member of the Montgomery County chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. 12 1760 ~ Jan Ladislav Dussek • 1881 ~ Anna (Pavlovna) Pavlova, Russia’s premier ballerina • 1898 ~ Roy Harris, American composer • 1904 ~ Ted Mack (William Maguiness), TV host of The Original Amateur Hour, The Ted Mack Family Hour • 1914 ~ (Gordon) Tex Beneke, Bandleader, singer, tenor sax in the Glenn Miller Orchestra • 1918 ~ All theatres in New York City were shut down in an effort to conserve coal. • 1923 ~ Mel Powell, American jazz pianist and composer. One of his works is Mission to Moscow for Benny Goodman He was also Dean of Music at California Institute of Arts. • 1923 ~ Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director and producer of opera, theatre, film and television • 1924 ~ Bandleader Paul Whiteman presented his unique symphonic jazz at the Aeolian Hall in New York City. The concert marked the first public performance of George Gershwin’s <Rhapsody in Blue. The composer, himself, was at the piano this night. Distinguished guests included John Philip Sousa and Jascha Heifetz. • 1935 ~ Gene McDaniels (Eugene Booker McDaniels), Singer • 1939 ~ Ray Manzarek, Keyboards with The Doors • 1942 ~ Mildred Bailey recorded More Than You Know on Decca Records. • 1948 ~ Joe Schermie, Bass with Three Dog Night • 1964 ~ The Beatles played two concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City, concluding a very successful American tour. • 1968 ~ Singer and famed guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, received an honorary high school diploma from Garfield High School in Seattle, WA, where he had dropped out at the age of 14. • 1972 ~ Al Green's Let’s Stay Together knocked American Pie out of the top spot on the music charts. The record stayed at the top for one week, before giving way to Nilsson’s Without You. Green returned to his gospel roots in 1980 and is a minister in Memphis, TN. Green recorded 14 hit songs with six of them making it to the Top 10. • 1976 ~ Sal Mineo died 13 1778 ~ Fernando Sor, Guitar composer
More information about Sor • 1867 ~ Johann Strauss’ magnificent Blue Danube Waltz was played for the first time at a public concert in Vienna, Austria. • 1870 ~ Leopold Godowsky • 1873 ~ Feodor Chaliapin, Russian Bass • 1883 ~ (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner passed away More information about Wagner • 1895 ~ France, There's no business like show business, right? Well, this is where it all started. A patent for a machine "to film and view phronopotographic proofs" (in simpler words, a projector) was assigned to the Lumiere brothers of Paris. • 1904 ~ Wingy (Joseph Matthews) Manone, Trumpeter, singer, bandleader • 1914 ~ The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (known as ASCAP) was formed in New York City. The society was founded to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members. • 1918 ~ Oliver Smith, Scenic designer for Broadway Musicals such as On the Town, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot, The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly! and films Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Porgy and Bess, The Band Wagon • 1919 ~ "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, American country-music singer and songwriter • 1920 ~ Eileen Farrell, American soprano, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera. Also successful in singing and recording popular music and jazz • 1940 ~ Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines and his orchestra recorded the classic Boogie Woogie on St. Louis Blues on the famous Bluebird record label. • 1925 ~ Gene Ames, Singer with The Ames Brothers • 1929 ~ Jesse McReynolds, Guitarist, folk singer with Jim & Jesse • 1930 ~ Dotty McGuire, Singer with McGuire Sisters • 1944 ~ Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson), Bassist, singer with The Monkees • 1950 ~ Roger Christian, Singer with The Christians • 1956 ~ Peter Hook. Bass with Joy Division • 1957 ~ Tony Butler, Bass with Big Country • 1971 ~ The Osmonds, a family singing group from Ogden, Utah, began a five-week stay at the top of the pop music charts with the hit, "One Bad Apple". The song, featuring the voice of little Donny Osmond, also showcased the talent of Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond. The brothers were regulars on Andy Williams' TV show from 1962 to 1967. The group began as a religious and barbershop quartet in 1959. Together, the Osmonds scored with 10 singles in four years -- four of them were top ten hits. • 1976 ~ Lily (Alice) Pons passed away • 1990 ~ Musical highlight of glasnost when cellist/conductor Mstislav Rostropovich returned to Russia after a 16 year absence. Russian listeners cheered wildly when he played American favorite march, "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa • 2001 ~ Music critic George T. Simon, the original Glenn Miller Band drummer who swapped his sticks for a pen and eventually earned a Grammy for his acclaimed liner notes, died of pneumonia following a battle with Parkinson's disease at the age of 88. In 1937 Simon sat in with the fledgling Glenn Miller Band. But he opted for writing over drumming, and became editor-in-chief of Metronome magazine in • 1939. As a writer, Simon worked for the New York Post and the now-defunct New York Herald-Tribune. He also served as executive director of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Grammy Awards. In 1977, Simon won his Grammy Award for best album notes - his contribution to the collection "Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer." Simon was hand-picked by Crosby to write the liner notes for the release. • 2002 ~ Waylon Jennings, whose rebellious songs and brash attitude defined the outlaw movement in country music, died peacefully at his Arizona home after a long battle with diabetes-related health problems. He was 64. Jennings' list of hits spans four decades and includes country music standards like Good-Hearted Woman and Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, both duets with Willie Nelson. Jennings made 60 albums and had 16 country singles that reached No. 1. His "Greatest Hits" album in 1979 sold 4 million - a rare accomplishment in country music for that era. Jennings won two Grammy awards and four Country Music Association awards. Other hits include I'm a Ramblin' Man, Amanda, Lucille, I've Always Been Crazy, and Rose in Paradise. Jennings' deep, sonorous voice narrated the popular TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" and sang its theme song, which was a million seller. Jennings had been plagued with health problems in recent years that made it difficult for him to walk. In December 2002, his left foot was amputated. He traditionally wore a black cowboy hat and ebony attire that accented his black beard and mustache. Often reclusive when not on stage, he played earthy music with a spirited, hard edge. Some of Jennings' album titles nourished his brash persona: "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," "I've Always Been Crazy," "Nashville Rebel," "Ladies Love Outlaws" and "Wanted: The Outlaws." He often refused to attend music awards shows on the grounds that performers shouldn't compete against each other. He didn't show up at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year. He made occasional forays into TV movies, including "Stagecoach" and "Oklahoma City Dolls," plus the Sesame Street movie "Follow That Bird" and the B-movie "Nashville Rebel." 14  Happy Valentine's Day
• 1602 ~ Pier Francesco Cavalli, Italian opera composer • 1813 ~ Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Russian composer • 1882 ~ Ignace Friedman, Polish pianist and composer • 1894 ~ Jack Benny (Benjamin Kubelsky), The stingy, violin-playing, perennial-39- year-old comedian of radio, television and vaudeville • 1923 ~ Cesare Siepi, Opera basso • 1925 ~ Elliot Lawrence (Broza), Emmy Award-winning composer, conductor, arranger, musical director of Night of 100 Stars, Night of 100 Stars II, • 1993, 1994, 1995 Kennedy Center Honors; Tony Award: musical direction: How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying • 1931 ~ Phyllis McGuire, Singer • 1934 ~ Florence Henderson, Singer • 1946 ~ Gregory Hines, Dancer More about Hines • 1950 ~ Roger Fisher, Guitarist with Heart • 1957 ~ Lionel Hampton's only major musical work, "King David", made its debut at New York’s Town Hall. The four-part symphony jazz suite was conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos. • 1972 ~ "Grease" opened at the Eden Theatre in New York City. The musical later moved to the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway where it became the longest- running musical ever with 3,388 performances. A hit movie based on the stage play starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and produced the hit song, Grease, by Frankie Valli, You’re the One That I Want and Summer Nights by Travolta and Newton-John. • 1984 ~ British rocker Elton John married Renata Blauel in Sydney, Australia on this day. • 1998 ~ Frederick Loewe American composer of musicals, died More information about Loewe • 2003 ~ Jack Maher, 78, who served more than three decades as publisher of respected jazz magazine Down Beat and its parent company, Maher Publications, died. Down Beat began in 1934 to chronicle the comings and goings of touring swing bands. A previous owner forfeited the magazine to his printer, Mr. Maher's father, John Maher. After his father died in 1968, Jack Maher put up his own money to acquire Down Beat, outbidding Playboy founder and jazz aficionado Hugh Hefner. Mr. Maher was credited with transforming Down Beat into a leading forum on jazz, with a roster of writers that included Leonard Feather, Nat Hentoff, Dan Morgenstern and Ira Gitler. He changed a number of his father's policies, including one that had frowned on putting pictures of black musicians on Down Beat's cover. • 2004 ~ Joe McFarlin, whose late-night shows on WCCO radio featured big bands, swing and traditional jazz for a quarter-century, died. He was 78. McFarlin was as a nightly presence on 830 AM during the 1960s, '70s and '80s, attracting a following across the country. McFarlin retired from WCCO in 1992. Management and format changes had reduced his broadcast to about two hours on the weekends and he was forced to choose from a jazz-free play list. He served as a U.S. Navy signalman during World War II and was stationed in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. McFarlin began his radio career in 1947 at WREX in Duluth and worked at several other stations before moving to the Twin Cities in 1961, where he worked at KRSI before joining WCCO. 15 1571 ~ Michael Praetorius, German organist, composer and theorist
More information about Praetorius • 1797 ~ Heinrich Engelhard Steinway, German piano manufacturer More information about Steinway • 1847 ~ Robert Fuchs • 1905 ~ Harold Arlen, (Hyman Arluck) American composer of musicals and songs More information about Arlen • 1918 ~ Hank Locklin (Lawrence Hankins Locklin), Country singer • 1932 ~ George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on The Guy Lombardo Show on CBS radio. The couple was so popular that soon, they would have their own Burns & Allen Show. George and Gracie continued on radio for 18 years before making the switch to TV. All in all, they were big hits for three decades. • 1941 ~ Brian Holland, Songwriter • 1941 ~ Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded one of big band’s all time classics on this day. Take the "A" Train was recorded at Victor’s Hollywood studio and became the Duke’s signature song. • 1944 ~ Mick Avory, Drummer with The Kinks • 1951 ~ Melissa Manchester, Singer • 1958 ~ Get A Job, by The Silhouettes, reached the top spot on the music Tunedex. It remained at #1 for two weeks. Talk about sudden change in American popular music! One week earlier, the number one song was Sugartime, by The McGuire Sisters, a song that definitely was not classified as rock ’n’ roll. Get A Job was replaced by Tequila, an instrumental by a studio group known as The Champs. • 1959 ~ Ali (Alistair) Campbell, Guitarist, lead singer with UB40 • 1965 ~ This was a sad day in music, as singer Nat ‘King’ Cole died in Santa Monica, CA. The music legend was 45. • 1986 ~ Whitney Houston reached the #1 spot on the music charts. Her single, How Will I Know, replaced a song recorded by her first cousin, Dionne Warwick (That’s What Friends Are For). Whitney is the daughter of singer Cissy Houston. • 1992 ~ William Schuman passed away 16 1709 ~ Charles Avison • 1878 ~ Selim Palmgren, Composer • 1866 ~ David Mannes, American violinist and conductor; founder of the Mannes College of music • 1896 ~ Alexander Brailowsky, Pianist • 1901 ~ Wayne King, ‘The Waltz King’, saxophonist and bandleader • 1907 ~ Alec Wilder, American composer, arranger and songwriter • 1910 ~ Albert Heinrich Zabel died • 1916 ~ Bill Doggett, Musician • 1918 ~ Patti Andrews (Patricia Marie Andrews), Lead singer with The Andrews Sisters • 1935 ~ Sonny (Salvatore) Bono, Singer in the group Sonny and Cher. He later became mayor of Palm Springs, CA and a US Congressman • 1938 ~ John Corigliano, American composer More information about Corigliano • 1939 ~ Herbie & Harold Kalin, Singers, The Kalin Twins • 1942 ~ Shep Fields and his orchestra recorded Jersey Bounce on Bluebird Records. • 1956 ~ James Ingram, Singer • 1963 ~ The Beatles moved to the top of the British rock charts with Please, Please Me exactly one month after the record was released. It was the start of the Beatles domination of the British music charts, as well as the beginning of the British Invasion in America and elsewhere around the world. • 1968 ~ Elvis Presley received a gold record for his sacred album of hymns, How< Great Thou Art. Despite his popularity in the pop music world, Elvis won only 3 Grammy Awards -- one for this album, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1970; then for He Touched Me in 1972. He did, however, receive over a dozen Grammy nominations. 17 17 1653 ~ Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer
More information on Corelli • 1902 ~ Marian Anderson, American contralto Read quotes by and about Anderson More information on Anderson • 1904 ~ Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly was first performed at La Scala, world's most famous opera house in Milan, Italy. • 1909 ~ Marjorie Lawrence, Opera soprano: "One of the truest Wagnerian interpreters of our time, unchallenged for the stirring magnificence of her Brunnhilde and the tender simplicity of her Sieglinde, or the stately loveliness of her Elsa and the compelling malevolence of her Ortrud." • 1923 ~ Buddy (Boniface) DeFranco, Clarinetist, bandleader. He won all modern jazz music polls in the early 1950s • 1933 ~ Bobby Lewis, Pianist, singer • 1941 ~ Gene Pitney, Singer, songwriter • 1945 ~ Zina Bethune, Dancer, choreographer, actress • 1946 ~ Dodie Stevens (Geraldine Ann Pasquale), Singer • 1954 ~ Doris Day's single, Secret Love, became the #1 tune in the U.S. The song, from the motion picture, "Calamity Jane", stayed at the top of the music charts for three weeks. • 1962 ~ The Beach Boys started making waves with their first Southern California hit, Surfin’. Their new musical style swept the U.S. like a tidal wave when they hit nationally with Surfin’ Safari in August of this same year. • 1962 ~ Gene Chandler hit #1 with Duke of Earl on this day. The song stayed at the top for three weeks. It hit #1 on the rhythm & blues charts, as well. Duke of Earl was Chandler’s biggest hit out of a half-dozen he recorded. His only other million seller came with Groovy Situation in • 1970. Curtis Mayfield wrote several hits for Chandler, including Just Be True, What Now and Nothing Can Stop Me. Chandler’s real name is Eugene Dixon. He owned his own record label, Mr. Chand, from 1969 to • 1973, though Groovy Situation was recorded in 1970 for Mercury. • 1966 ~ Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler received a gold record from RCA Victor, for both the album and the single of The Ballad of the Green Berets. Sadler, who recorded one other single ("The "A" Team") for the label, had served in Vietnam until injuring a leg in a Viet Cong booby trap. • 1972 ~ Billie Joe Armstrong, Grammy Award-winning singer (1994), guitarist and songwriter with Green Day • 1998 ~ Bob Merrill passed away 18 1655 ~ Pietro Giovanni Guarneri, Italian violin maker
More information on Guarneri • 1735 ~ The first opera performed in America, known as either "Flora" or "Hob in the Well", was presented in Charleston, SC. • 1850 ~ Sir George Henschel, German-born British conductor, composer and baritone • 1927 ~ Singer Jessica Dragonette starred on radio’s "Cities Service Concerts" (sponsored by the oil company of the same name) and literally, "sang her way into radio immortality." She also sang on the "Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre" in the 1930s. In 1940 she starred on Pet Milk’s "Saturday Nite Serenade". Her many fans referred to her as the "first great voice of the air." • 1933 ~ Yoko Ono, Japanese-born American rock singer, songwriter and artist Widow of John Lennon More information on Ono • 1938 ~ One of the most famous and popular motion pictures of all time lit up the silver screen, as The Big Broadcast of 1938 was released to movie houses. The film featured Bob Hope and his version of what would be his theme song, Thanks for the Memory. The song received an Oscar for Best Song. Dorothy Lamour and W.C. Fields also had starring roles in the film. • 1941 ~ Herman Santiago, Singer with Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers • 1942 ~ The Mills Brothers waxed one of their three greatest hits. Paper Doll became Decca record #18318. In addition to Paper Doll, the other two classics by the Mills Brothers are: You Always Hurt The One You Love in 1944 and Glow Worm in 1952. • 1964 ~ "Any Wednesday" opened at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. The play established Gene Hackman as an actor. Don Porter and Sandy Dennis also starred in the show. • 2001 ~ Legendary singer and songwriter Charles Trenet, whose fanciful ballads and poetic love songs captured the hearts of the French for more than six decades, died of a stroke at the age of 87. Trenet, who wrote nearly 1,000 songs and gained world renown with the romantic ballad La Mer (The Sea), was decorated in 1998 by President Jacques Chirac as a Commander of the Legion of Honor - France's highest civilian honor. La Mer was recorded in 1946 and remade by American Bobby Darin as Beyond the Sea in 1960. Known as Le Fou Chantant (The Singing Fool), Trenet was known for his flashing smile, tilted-back hat and buttonhole carnation. Trenet spent several years in the United States after World War II, appearing in Broadway cabarets. He returned to France in 1951 and resumed a career that included five novels and lead roles in a dozen films. • 2003 ~ Jonathan Eberhart, 60, an award-winning aerospace writer who also was a folk singer and a founder in 1964 of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, died. By day, Mr. Eberhart was space sciences editor of the weekly newsmagazine Science News, covering space sciences and the development of the U.S. aerospace program. He worked there for more than 30 years before he retired in 1991. For three decades, he also was a fixture of the Washington folk music scene, performing and recording on his own and with the group Boarding Party. He helped folk singer Pete Seeger sail the sloop Clearwater on its maiden voyage and sang at performances along the route and on the record of sea chanteys made by the crew. He wrote songs -- including "Lament for a Red Planet," inspired by his coverage of NASA's Mars explorer mission for Science News -- and collected rare folk music and instruments from around the world. Among Mr. Eberhart's own records were "Life's Trolley Ride" on the Folk-Legacy label. He helped stage the Folklore Society's popular free summer festivals, which drew thousands of music lovers to Glen Echo Park and other venues. The gatherings started out as concerts at the Washington Ethical Society. They quickly grew into two-day, five-stage celebrations co-sponsored by the National Park Service. Hundreds of singers, dancers, musicians, storytellers and craftspeople came, along with thousands of visitors over a weekend. Mr. Eberhart was born in Evanston, Ill., and raised in Hastings-On-Hudson, N.Y. He attended Harvard University, working during the summer at Science News, and then joining the staff as a writer in 1964. Mr. Eberhart's contributions to the local music scene included a radio program on international folk music for WGTB. His search for international talent reached to more than 30 countries as well as Washington's own international communities. "It's easy to find a good banjo player," he said in an interview in The Washington Post, "but how do you find an Eritrean krar lyre player?" One of his investigative techniques was to ask cabdrivers speaking accented English where they were born and whether they knew someone who could play native instruments. The result would be festival or folklore society acts from Afghanistan or Iceland or Vietnam. Mr. Eberhart also wrote articles about music for publications that included Sing Out and liner notes for numerous recordings, notably the Nonesuch Explorer international series world music. • 2003 ~ Faith Marian Forrest, 83, a pianist who performed in recitals in Washington and elsewhere in the country and taught at her Kensington home, died of cancer. Mrs. Forrest was a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a graduate of Brooklyn College. She did graduate work in music at Columbia University. After moving to Washington in 1941, she was a secretary for the War Department. From 1942 to • 1946, she worked for the music department of the Library of Congress. Until the mid-1960s, she gave recitals, sometimes with her husband, clarinetist Sidney Forrest, at concert locations that included the Phillips Gallery as well as in Baltimore, New York and the Midwest. She taught piano during the summer for several decades at the Interlochen Arts Camps in Michigan and taught privately at home until last year. • 2003 ~ Johnny Paycheck, the carousing country music singer best remembered for his blue-collar anthem Take This Job and Shove It died. His 1977 hit about a factory worker bent on revenge against his boss still resonates with listeners and continues to get radio play, especially on Friday afternoons. Paycheck had nearly three-dozen hits, beginning with the hard-driving 1965 song A-11. He earned two Grammy nominations during his career, the first in 1971 for the single She's All I Got and the second in 1978 for Take This Job and Shove It. He had a powerful, expressive voice, distinctive inflection and a knack for delivering solid country emotion. Born Donald Eugene Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio, he picked up a guitar at age 6, and was performing and traveling on his own by age 15. He launched his career as a sideman to such stars as George Jones and Faron Young. He adopted the name Paycheck from a boxer. 19 1743 ~ Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer
More information on Boccherini • 1878 ~ Thomas Alva Edison, famed inventor, patented a music player at his laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ. This music device is the one we know as the phonograph. Edison paid his assistant $18 to make the device from a sketch Edison had drawn. Originally, Edison had set out to invent a telegraph repeater, but came up with the phonograph or, as he called it, the speaking machine. • 1902 ~ John Bubbles (John William Sublett), An actor: Porgy and Bess (1935 Broadway version), films: Cabin in the Sky, Variety Show, A Song Is Born, No Maps on My Taps; dancer: credited with creating ‘rhythm tap’ • 1912 ~ Stan Kenton, American jazz pianist, composer and Grammy Award-winning bandleader • 1927 ~ Robert Fuchs • 1940 ~ "Smokey" Robinson, American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter • 1942 ~ If there was ever such a thing as a jam session, surely, this one was it: Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded I’ll Take Tallulah (Victor Records). Some other musical heavyweights were in the studio too, including Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers, Ziggy Elman and drummer extraordinaire, Buddy Rich. • 1981 ~ George Harrison was ordered to pay ABKCO Music the sum of $587,000 for "subconscious plagiarism" between his song, My Sweet Lord and the Chiffons early 1960s hit, He’s So Fine. 20 1791 ~ Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer
More information on Czerny • 1937 ~ Nancy Wilson, American jazz singer • 1941 ~ Buffy (Beverly) Sainte-Marie, Singer, songwriter, married to Jack Nitzsche • 1940 ~ Christoph Eschenbach, German pianist and conductor • 1940 ~ Larry Clinton and his orchestra recorded Limehouse Blues on Victor Records. • 1946 ~ Sandy Duncan, Dancer, actress • 1946 ~ J. (Jerome) Geils, Guitarist with The J. Geils Band • 1950 ~ Walter Becker, Bass, guitarist with Steely Dan • 1951 ~ Randy California (Wolfe), Singer, guitarist with Spirit • 1963 ~ Ian Brown, Singer with Stone Roses • 1974 ~ After a decade of marriage, Cher filed for separation from husband Sonny Bono. Not long afterwards, she filed for divorce and the accompanying alimony. This time she sang, I Got You Babe, for real ... before becoming a successful solo singer and movie actress in films such as "Moonstruck" (Best Actress Oscar in 1987). • 1975 ~ Brian (Thomas) Littrell, Singer with Backstreet Boys • 1982 ~ Singer Pat Benatar married musician-producer Neil Geraldo in Hawaii. 21 1836 ~ Léo Delibes, French composer
More information on Delibes • 1893 ~ Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist More information on Segovia • 1933 ~ Nina Simone, American jazz and soul singer More information about Nina Simone • 1943 ~ David Geffen, Tony Award-winning producer of Cats in 1983, M Butterfly in 1988, "Miss Saigon", Beetlejuice and Risky Business. Also a record executive: Geffen Records and a partner in Dreamworks film production company with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg. • 1944 ~ New York City Opera, first performance • 1958 ~ Mary Chapin Carpenter, Grammy Award-winning singer • 1991 ~ Dame Margot Fonteyn passed away 22 1817 ~ Niels Wilhelm Gade, Danish composer • 1834 ~ Albert Heinrich Zabel • 1857 ~ Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts • 1923 ~ Frederick A. Julliard set up a million-dollar fund to establish a music school. Today, Juilliard is one of the world's leading music and dance schools. • 1927 ~ David Ahlstrom, American composer • 1931 ~ Maurice Chevalier recorded Walkin’ My Baby Back Home for Victor Records in New York City. The same tune was recorded 21 years later by Nat ‘King’ Cole and Johnny Ray. It became a major hit for both artists. • 1945 ~ Oliver (Swofford), Singer • 1956 ~ Elvis Presley entered the music charts for the first time. Heartbreak Hotel began its climb to the number one spot on the pop listing, reaching the top on April 11, 1956. It stayed at the top for eight weeks. • 1958 ~ Roy Hamilton’s record, Don’t Let Go, became #13 in its first week on the record charts. The song was the first stereo record to make the pop music charts. 1958 was the year for several stereo recordings, including Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes by Chuck Willis, Yakety Yak by the Coasters, Born Too Late by The Poni-Tails, It’s All in the Game by Tommy Edwards and What Am I Living For by Chuck Willis. • 1965 ~ Filming began for The Beatles' second movie, "HELP!", in the Bahamas. • 1976 ~ Florence Ballard passed away • 2001 ~ Ray Hendricks, a singer of the Big Band era who performed with Benny Goodman and Betty Grable, died at the age of 88. His career took him to Hollywood and across the country with stars including Goodman, Grable, Hoagy Carmichael, Ben Bernie, Ray Noble and Sid Lippman. His earliest performances were on Spokane radio station KFPY. He soon set out for California with Bob Crosby, brother of Bing Crosby. After serving as a flying instructor in the Air Force during World War II, he returned to Spokane and formed his own orchestra. He continued playing local venues for several decades, but said he regretted not pushing his career after the war. • 2001 ~ Herbert Kupferberg, a music critic and a senior editor of Parade magazine, died at the age of 83. For more than 20 years, Kupferberg was an editor and critic for The New York Herald Tribune. After it folded in 1966, he joined Parade. He also wrote reviews for The Atlantic Monthly, and The National Observer. Kupferberg, born in New York in 1918, published several books including Amadeus: A Mozart Mosaic and Those Fabulous Philadelphians: The Life and Times of a Great Orchestra, a history of the Philadelphia Orchestra. 23 1648 ~ John Blow, Composer • 1685 ~ George Frederic Handel, German-born English composer Listen to Handel's music Read quotes by and about Handel More information about Handel • 1931 ~ Dame Nellie Melba died More information about Melba • 1937 ~ Bing Crosby sang with Lani McIntyre and his band, as Sweet Leilani was recorded on Decca Records. The Academy Award-winning song was featured in the movie Waikiki Wedding. • 1944 ~ Mike Maxfield, Guitarist with Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas • 1944 ~ Johnny Winter (John Dawson III), Musician • 1946 ~ Rusty Young, Steel Guitar with Poco • 1950 ~ Steve Priest, Bass with The Sweet • 1952 ~ Brad Whitford, Guitarist with Aerosmith • 1955 ~ Howard Jones, Singer • 1958 ~ David Sylvian (Batt), Guitarist, singer with Japan • 1963 ~ The Chiffons recording of He’s So Fine was released. It later rose to the #1 position on March 30th for a four-week stay. The song later became the center of one of the most publicized lawsuits in music history. The estate of songwriter Ronnie Marks won the suit against former Beatle George Harrison, saying that the song My Sweet Lord, was a note-for-note copy of He’s So Fine. The Chiffons also scored big with One Fine Day, Sweet Talkin’ Guy and others. • 1983 ~ The rock group, Toto, won Grammy Awards for the hit single, Rosanna, and the album, Toto IV, at the 25th annual ceremonies in Los Angeles. The group received four other awards to tie the 1965 record of six Grammies (Roger Miller). • 2001 ~ Guy Wood, a songwriter whose works include Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy, died Friday. He was 89. Wood wrote music for Radio City Music Hall and the children's television show Captain Kangaroo. His songs include Music of Love (aka The Bell Waltz), After All, Rock-a-Bye Baby, Till Then and My One and Only Love. Wood was born in Manchester, England, where he played saxophone in dance bands before moving to the United States in the early 1930s. He spent five years with the foreign-production divisions of Paramount and Columbia Pictures studios before leading his own band at the Arcadia Ballroom in New York from • 1939 to 1942. • 2003 ~ Rock musician Howie Epstein, bassist for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers for 20 years until ousted from the band last May, died. Epstein, who was 47, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the veteran rock band in 2001. He had battled legal and drug problems in recent years. Epstein, a Milwaukee native who previously played with John Hiatt and Del Shannon, joined the Heartbreakers in 1982. In addition to playing bass, he sang harmony. • 2003 ~ James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma performed on the 45th Annual GRAMMY(R) Awards telecast, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Four-time GRAMMY winner and consummate singer/songwriter James Taylor earned a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Taylor will be accompanied by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who has won 14 GRAMMY Awards throughout his career. Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as the Recording Academy, is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its makers. An organization of 18,000 musicians, producers and other recording professionals, the Recording Academy is internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, and is responsible for numerous groundbreaking outreach, professional development, cultural enrichment, education and human services programs. 24 1766 ~ Samuel Wesley • 1771 ~ John Baptist Cramer • 1832 ~ Chopin's first Paris concert • 1842 ~ Arrigo Boito, Italian composer, librettist and poet • 1858 ~ Arnold Dolmetsch, British music antiquarian and musician • 1932 ~ Michel Legrand, Academy Award-Winning composer for Best Original Score: Yentl in 1983, Brian’s Song, Ice Station Zebra • 1934 ~ Renata Scotto, Italian soprano. She made her operatic debut at age 18 and is best known for performances as Violetta in La Traviata, Cio-Cio- San in Madama Butterfly, Mimi (and the occasional Musetta) in La Bohème, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Francesca in Francesca da Rimini. She is also an opera director. • 1940 ~ Frances Langford recorded one of the classic songs of all time -- and one that would become a Walt Disney trademark. When You Wish Upon a Star was recorded on Decca Records during a session in Los Angeles. Many artists have recorded the song, including pop diva Linda Ronstadt (with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra in the early 1980s). One can hear the song not only on record, but as the theme in the opening credits of any Disney movie, video and TV program and those "I’m going to Disneyland/World!" commercials, too. • 1942 ~ Paul Jones, Harmonica, singer with Manfred Mann • 1947 ~ Rupert Holmes, Songwriter: over 300 songs & jingles, singer, producer • 1947 ~ Lonnie Turner, Bass, singer with The Steve Miller Band • 1964 ~ The musical, "What Makes Sammy Run", opened in New York at the 54th Street Theatre. Making his Broadway debut in the show was Steve Lawrence. The production ran for 540 performances. • 1985 ~ Yul Brynner reprised his role in "The King and I" setting a box office record for weekly receipts. The show took in $520,920. • 1990 ~ Johnnie Ray died • 1991 ~ Webb Pierce passed away 25 1727 ~ Armand-Louis Couperin • 1890 ~ Dame Myra Hess, British pianist • 1929 ~ Tommy Newsom, Musician: tenor sax, arranger, composer, back-up conductor for NBC’s Tonight Show Band • 1943 ~ George Harrison, British rock singer, guitarist and songwriter
and former member of The Beatles group
• 1952 ~ The complete choreographic score of Cole Porter’s "Kiss Me Kate" became the first musical choreography score given a copyright. The work was the effort of Hanya Holm. • 1953 ~ The musical, "Wonderful Town", opened at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. The show was based on the book, "My Sister Eileen", and the ran for 559 performances. • 1957 ~ Buddy Holly and The Crickets traveled to Clovis, NM, to record That’ll Be the Day (one of the classics of rock ’n’ roll) and I’m Looking for Someone to Love. Both songs were released on Brunswick Records in May of that year. • 1963 ~ Please Please Me was the second record released in the U.S. by The Beatles. Some labels carried a famous misprint, making it an instant, and valuable, collector’s item. The label listed the group as The Beattles. • 1966 ~ Nancy Sinatra was high-stepping with a gold record award for the hit, These Boots are Made for Walkin’. • 1986 ~ We are the World captured four Grammy Awards. The song, featuring More than 40 superstar artists gathered at one time, was awarded the Top Song, Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance and Best Short Video Awards. • 2001 ~ Ann Colbert, a manager of classical musicians, died at the age of 95. Colbert founded Colbert Artists Management Inc. Her clientele included the Juilliard String Quartet; conductors Sir Georg Solti, Christoph von Dohnanyi and Richard Bonynge; singers Dame Joan Sutherland, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; and musicians Alfred Brendel and the late Jean-Pierre Rampal. Colbert moved to the United States from Berlin in 1936 and started the management company with her husband, Henry Colbert, in 1948. She retired in 1991, leaving the company to her longtime associate, Agnes Eisenberger. The company has retained Colbert's name. • 2003 ~ Walter Scharf, 92, a composer who earned 10 Academy Award nominations and worked on more than 200 movies and television programs, including "Funny Girl," "Mission: Impossible" and "White Christmas," died in Los Angeles. He received Oscar nominations for the scores for such films as "Mercy Island" (1941), "Hans Christian Andersen" (1952), "Funny Girl" (1968), "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971) and "Ben" (1972). He won an Emmy for his work on a National Geographic television special and a Golden Globe for "Ben," whose theme song helped launch singer Michael Jackson's solo career. 26 1770 ~ Anton Reicha • 1802 ~ Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables and many other works • 1879 ~ Frank Bridge • 1922 ~ Dancing to jazz music and tango bands was criticized in Paris. It seems that dancing was detracting the French from their postwar reconstruction, according to "La Revue Mondiale". • 1928 ~ "Fats" (Antoine) Domino, American rock-and-roll pianist and singer. His works include: Ain’t That a Shame, Goin’ Home, I’m in Love Again, Blue Monday, I’m Walkin’ and Blueberry Hill • 1930 ~ Lazar Berman, Soviet pianist • 1932 ~ Johnny Cash, American country-music singer guitarist and songwriter. He is married to June Carter. Some of his songs are: Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, Don’t Take Your Guns to Town, A Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire. More information about Cash • 1945 ~ Mitch Ryder (William Levise), Singer with Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels • 1947 ~ Sandie Shaw (Goodrich), Singer • 1950 ~ Jonathan Cain, Keyboard with Babys • 1954 ~ Michael Bolton, Grammy Award-winning singer. Some of his songs are: When a Man Loves a Woman and How Am I Supposed to Live Without You • 1961 ~ John-Jon (John Andrew Foster), Musician with Bronski Beat • 1972 ~ Harry Nilsson started his second week at number one with that toe- tapping ditty, Without You. The whiny love song stayed at the top for a total of four weeks. • 1977 ~ The Eagles’ New Kid in Town landed in the top spot on the pop music charts for one week beginning this day. • 1983 ~ Charley Pride’s Why Baby Why topped the country charts. The song was written by George Jones (who found national fame with his own version in • 1955) and Darrell Edwards. Legend has it that inspiration for the song came when Edwards overheard a couple squabbling in their car in Orange, TX. • 2003 ~ Otha Turner, 94, who created his own niche in blues music with an ethereal mix of early American colonial drums and West African flute, died in Como, Miss. His recording Everybody Hollerin' Goat was rated among the Top 10 blues releases in 1997 by Rolling Stone magazine. Members of a Senegalese drum troupe performed with Mr. Turner on the album. Mr. Turner was presented with a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Award, the Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award and the Charlie Patton Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival. 27 1873 ~ Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor, sang nearly 70 roles; appeared
in nearly every country of Europe and North and South America
Read quotes by and about Caruso
More information about Caruso • 1883 ~ Oscar Hammerstein of New York City patented the first practical cigar- rolling machine. If Oscar’s name sounds familiar, it should. Hammerstein’s grandson later made his mark by writing some of the best- known music in the world, teaming up frequently with Richard Rodgers. • 1887 ~ Lotte Lehman, Singer • 1897 ~ Marian Anderson, Opera diva • 1923 ~ Dexter Gordon, American jazz tenor saxophonist • 1927 ~ Guy Mitchell (Al Cernick), Singer, actor • 1935 ~ Mirella Freni, Italian soprano • 1936 ~ Chuck Glaser, Singer with Glaser Brothers • 1948 ~ Eddie Gray, Guitarist with Tommy James & The Shondells • 1951 ~ Steve Harley (Nice), Singer with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel • 1954 ~ Neal Schon, Guitarist with Santana; Journey • 1955 ~ Garry Christian, Singer with The Christians • 1970 ~ Simon and Garfunkel received a gold record for the single, Bridge Over Troubled Water. • 2003 ~ Tom Glazer, 88, the balladeer, guitarist and songwriter who, along with Burl Ives, Josh White, Pete Seeger and others, helped spark national interest in folk music in the 1940s, died. Mr. Glazer wrote songs for children, including a hit 1963 parody, On Top of Spaghetti, that won him National Critics' and Parent Magazine awards. He also acted, sang and wrote for movies and TV. He was singer-narrator for the film, Sweet Land of Liberty, and composed the score for the Andy Griffith film A Face in the Crowd. Mr. Glazer was a native of Philadelphia who attended the City College of New York. As a young man, he played tuba and bass in military and jazz bands and worked at the Library of Congress. He began singing with a group while living in Washington, and was invited by Eleanor Roosevelt to perform at the White House. Mr. Glazer became a full-time musician in 1943 and, over the years, hosted three radio series. He also wrote books about music, including a number of songbooks. His song Because All Men Are Brothers, based on the Passion Chorale by J. S. Bach, was recorded by the Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary. Other hits included, Old Soldiers Never Die for Vaughn Monroe, More for Perry Como, Til We Two Are One for Georgie Shaw, and A Worried Man, recorded by the Kingston Trio. His song, The Musicians was used on the "Barney" television show for children; Bob Dylan recorded his Talking Inflation Blues. • 2003 ~ Fred Rogers, who gently invited millions of children to be his neighbor as host of the public television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for More than 30 years, died. He was 74. From 1968 to 2000, Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, produced the show at Pittsburgh public television station WQED. The final new episode, which was taped in December 2000, aired in August 2001, though PBS affiliates continued to air back episodes. Rogers composed his own songs for the show and began each episode in a set made to look like a comfortable living room, singing "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...", as he donned sneakers and a zip-up cardigan. His message remained simple: telling his viewers to love themselves and others. On each show, he would take his audience on a magical trolley ride into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where his puppet creations would interact with each other and adults. Rogers did much of the puppet work and voices himself. He also studied early childhood development at the University of Pittsburgh and consulted with an expert there over the years. Rogers' show won four Emmy Awards, plus one for lifetime achievement. He was given a George Foster Peabody Award in 1993, "in recognition of 25 years of beautiful days in the neighborhood." |