bmusic - Newsletter No. 208

In 1875, one of the most popular operas ever written, Georges Bizet's "Carmen," premiered in Paris.

In 1917, a record containing "Livery Stable Blues" and "Original Dixieland One-Step" by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band was released in the US. The disc was to become the first big-selling jazz record. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band is generally regarded as being the first jazz band to make a record.

In 1931, singer and bandleader Cab Calloway recorded his theme song, "Minnie the Moocher," said to be one of the first million-selling jazz records.

In 1931, the "Star-Spangled Banner" officially became the US national anthem.

In 1960, Elvis Presley was discharged from the US Army. Presley made almost no personal or TV appearances following his two-year Army stint, concentrating instead on making movies.

In 1966, John Lennon was reported in a London newspaper as saying the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus Christ." Lennon later apologized for the remark.

In 1966, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles.

In 1966, the Who released the single "Substitute" on producer Robert Stigwood's Reaction Records in violation of their then-current deal with Brunswick Records in Britain. The legal battle that followed prevented the Who from releasing any new material for six months.

In 1967, Pink Floyd recorded their first single, "Arnold Layne." The song, about a man who steals garments from clotheslines, was a hit in Britain but not in North America.

In 1967, it was announced that brothers Steve and Muff Winwood were departing the Spencer Davis Group. Winwood went on to form the group Traffic.

In 1967, the Jeff Beck Group, featuring Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, made what press reports termed a disastrous debut in London. The band made only two albums and had several tours before breaking up.

In 1969, The Who's "Pinball Wizard" was released in Britain. It was the first public airing of a selection from the rock opera "Tommy," which would be performed in its entirety later in the year.

In 1970, Led Zeppelin performed in Denamrk using the name Nobs, due to the threat of legal action for use of the name by Count Evan von Zeppelin, a relative of the Zeppelin airship designer Ferdinand Zeppelin.

In 1970, Janis Joplin was fined US$200 in Tampa, Florida for using obscene language during a concert.

In 1970, Charles Manson released an LP called "Lie" to finance his defence in the Sharon Tate murderb trial. The album cover showed the cover of Life magazine, on which Manson had appeared, but the "F" was edited out to form the word "Lie.".

In 1971, Radio Hanoi opened its first broadcast of American rock music with Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The program was heard by US soldiers throughout Vietnam.

In 1971, the Rolling Stones announced they were moving to France to avoid British income taxes.

In 1973, Pink Floyd began a three-week US tour in Madison, Wisconsin. The band was promoting the newly-released "Dark Side of the Moon," which would turn out to be one of the most popular albums in rock history.

In 1977, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones was arrested at the Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto on heroin possession charges. He was eventually found guilty. In lieu of a jail sentence for Richards, the Rolling Stones played two concerts for the blind at the civic auditorium in Oshawa, east of Toronto, in April 1979.

In 1977, Bruce Springsteen dropped in to a Kiss recording session, where he contributed some guitar licks to the song "Love Gun."

In 1980, Buddy Holly's glasses and the Big Bopper's wristwatch, missing from their bodies when the pair perished in the February 3, 1959, plane crash, were found in old police files by the Mason City Sheriff.

In 1983, a Cleveland member of the Hell's Angels told a US Senate panel that the California branch of the biker gang had had a contract out on Mick Jagger ever since the Rolling Stones' disastrous appearance at Altamont in 1969. The biker said there already had been two planned attempts on Jagger's life. At Altamont in California, a Hell's Angel stabbed to death a young black man, Meredith Hunter, in front of the stage.

In 1983, Sony and Philips introduced their jointly-developed compact disc system.

In 1988, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth opened his "Skyscraper" world tour in Lakeland, Florida.

In 1989, lead singer J.P. Pennington announced his departure from the country band Exile. Pennington was the last original member of Exile, which began as a pop group in the mid-1960s.

In 1989, Pepsi Cola in the US said it would withdraw its Madonna TV ads from any station that showed the singer's new video, "Like a Prayer." The entire Madonna-Pepsi campaign was scrapped a month later. The video, which already had been banned in Italy, showed a scantily-clad Madonna kissing the naked feet of a statue in a church sanctuary and caressing a priest. Pepsi had paid the singer a reported US$5 million to star in a two-minute TV commercial, featuring the same music as the video but showing a more subdued Madonna.

In 1991, Jani Lane, lead singer for the heavy metal band Warrant, fractured two ribs when he leaped into the audience during a show in Birmingham, England. The band was forced to cancel its European tour as the opening act for David Lee Roth.

In 1992, The Cure performed at a surprise 18th birthday party in Tustin, California for hemophiliac Martha Lopez. She was too ill to attend a concert by the British band.

In 1993, Van Halen paid the city of West Hollywood, California, $10,000 after 3,000 fans turned up at the Whisky nightclub where 200 tickets were being sold for a surprise concert. The city demanded payment for police used to control the crowd.

In 1994, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain went into a coma in Rome after an overdose of powerful sedatives combined with alcohol. At the time, the overdose was reported to be accidental. But after Cobain blew his head off with a shotgun blast at his Seattle home a month later, the Rome incident was revealed to be a suicide attempt, complete with a note.

In 1994, Barbra Streisand auctioned off part of her art collection for $5.7-million. The highest price paid at the New York sale was $1.98-million for "Adam and Eve," a 1932 Art Deco painting by Tamara de Lempicka.

In 1994, former Jefferson Airplane and Starship lead singer Grace Slick was charged with assault and pointing a shotgun at police at her home in Tiburon, California. Officers went there to investigate a report of a drunken woman firing a shotgun. One officer wrestled the weapon away from Slick. The gun wasn't loaded. Slick later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, and agreed to attend three months of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

In 1994, Frank Sinatra collapsed during a concert in Richmond, Virginia. The 78-year-old performer fell face down on stage while singing "My Way," his trademark song. Sinatra was conscious as he was taken away in a wheelchair, and was released from hospital after a few hours.

In 1994, the US Supreme Court ruled that copyright owners can not bar parodies of their songs. The case involved rap group 2 Live Crew's bawdy version of Roy Orbison's 1964 hit "Oh, Pretty Woman." The owner of the song, Acuff-Rose Music, had sued for copyright infringement. 2 Live Crew had sought permission to use the song and offered to pay royalties, but Acuff-Rose refused.

In 1994, the former wife of Axl Rose filed a lawsuit against him in Los Angeles citing a range of charges, including assault, sexual battery and false imprisonment. Erin Everly, the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers, married the lead singer of Guns N' Roses in April 1990. They separated the following year.

In 1994, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was put on probation for a year after pleading no contest to carrying a gun at Los Angeles International Airport.

In 1994, the British attorney general ruled out a new inquest into the death of Jimi Hendrix. The legendary guitarist died in London on September 18th, 1970, at age 27. The original inquest recorded an open verdict, meaning there was insufficient evidence to determine the cause of death. A pathologist concluded that Hendrix choked to death after drinking wine and taking an overdose of barbituates. His former girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, Hendrix's former girlfriend, had been campaigning for a new inquest, claiming he died earlier than officially recorded.

In 1995, REM drummer Bill Berry underwent surgery for a brain hemorrhage two days after falling ill during a concert in Lausanne, Switzerland. The remainder of the band's "Monster" world tour was postponed.

In 1996, Canadian singer Alanis Morissette won four major Grammy Awards, including album of the year and rock album of the year for "Jagged Little Pill." She also picked up trophies for best rock song and best female rock vocal performance, both for her single "You Oughta Know."

In 1996, Paul McCartney announced that the three surviving members of the Beatles had turned down a multimillion- dollar offer for a world tour. A group of American and German businessmen had offered McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison 225 million dollars for 22 concerts in the US, Europe and Japan.

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Births In 1923, old time country musician Arthel (Doc) Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina.

In 1942, Brian Jones, guitarist with the Rolling Stones, was born in Cheltenham, England. Jones began playing with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated in the early 1960's, and it was here that he met Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The three began to play on their own and by 1962 were calling themselves the Rolling Stones, after a Muddy Waters song. With the addition of bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts in 1963, the Rolling Stones were complete. In June 1969, Brian Jones announced he was leaving the group because of musical differences. He said he was going to form his own band, but less than a month later was found dead in the swimming pool at his home. The coroner's verdict - death by misadventure.

In 1944, rock singer Lou Reed was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was lead singer and songwriter of the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s, later turning into a successful solo artist.

In 1944, Jance Garfat, bass player with Dr. Hook, was born in California.

In 1944, r'n'b singer and songwriter Bobby Womack was born in Cleveland.

In 1944, opera star Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

In 1946, Matthew Fisher, the original organist with Procul Harum, was born in England.

In 1948, jazz guitarist Larry Carlton.

In 1948, Chris Squire, bass player with the group Yes, was born in London.

In 1948, British rockabilly singer Shakin' Stevens, whose real name is Michael Barratt.

In 1951, rock singer/guitarist Chris Rea.

In 1955, Neal Schon, vocalist and guitarist with the hard-pop band Journey, was born in San Mateo, California. The group's fourth LP, "Infinity," sold a million copies in 1978. Three years later, "Escape" became Journey's first number-one LP. A single from it, "Open Arms," hit number two on the Billboard chart. Journey is said to be the first rock band to inspire a video game - "Journey - Escape" was in the arcades in late 1982.

In 1958, pop singer Andy Gibb, the younger brother of the Bee Gees, was born in Brisbane, Australia. His brothers often supervised his recording sessions, and Andy came up with the number-one hits "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" in 1977 and "Shadow Dancing" in '78. Andy Gibb was the host of the "Solid Gold" TV show from 1981 to mid-1982. He died on March 10th, 1988 in Oxfordshire, England of a heart condition.

In 1959, Johnny Van Zant of the revived Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In 1962, Jon Bon Jovi, singer of the band which bears his name.

In 1963, dance music singer Taylor Dayne, whose real name is Leslie Wunderman.

In 1972, basketball star and sometime rapper Shaquille O'Neal.

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Deaths In 1942, Charlie Christian, the man responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument rather than just a part of the rhythm section, died in New York of tuberculosis. He was only 25.

In 1963, country singers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed when their small plane crashed near Camden, Tennessee. The three were returning to Nashville from Kansas City, where they had participated in a benefit concert for the widow of a disc jockey. The DJ, Cactus Jack Call, had been killed in a car crash.

In 1963, Jack Anglin of the country duo Johnnie and Jack died in a car accident while en route to a memorial service for singer Patsy Cline.

In 1979, British rocker Mike Patto, of the group Boxer, died of throat cancer at the age of 36.

In 1984, Joey Vann of the Duprees died of a heart attack at the age of 40.

In 1986, Richard Manuel, the pianist for the rock group, the Band, was found hanged in the bathroom of his motel room in Winter Park, Florida. The 42-year-old Manuel had performed with other members of The Band in Winter Park the previous night.

In 1987, musical comedy star Danny Kaye died at the age of 74. He made less than 20 movies in a 26-year film career, but two of them, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" in 1946 and "White Christmas" in 1952, are considered classics. Kaye also performed show stopping production numbers in "On the Riviera," "Knock on Wood" and "Merry Andrew.".

In 1992, rock 'n' roll recording pioneer Al Silver died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at age 78. Silver founded Herald Records in the mid-1950's which later formed a partnership with Jack Angel and Mercer Ellington's Ember records. The labels were home to such classic recordings as "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins, "Get a Job" by the Silouettes and "Shake a Hand" by Faye Adams. The latter was signed thanks largely to Silver's partner in the merge, Jack Angel.

In 1993, guitarist Carlos Montoya, who helped transform flamenco from Spanish folk music into an internationally popular style, died in Wainscott, New York. He was 89.

In 1996, Minnie Pearl, the first country comedian to become world-famous, died in Nashville of complications from a stroke. She was 83. Pearl, whose real name was Sarah Cannon, spent more than 50 years on the Grand Ole Opry and 20 on the TV show "Hee-Haw." Her trademarks were a wide-brimmed straw hat with the price tag still attached and her greeting - "Howdyyyyy! I'm just so proud to be here."

In 1996, all five members of one of Brazil's top rock bands, Mamonas Assassinas, died in a plane crash as they were returning to Sao Paulo from a concert in Brasilia.

In 2003, the Doo-Wop singer responsible for writing and recording the original "The Twist", Hank Ballard, passed away from throat cancer. He was also a member of The Royals who later changed their name to The Midnighters.

In 2004, guitarist John McGeoch died in his sleeep at the age of 48. He was a member at one time or another for UK post-punk legends of the Seventies and early 80's Magazine, Visage, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Armoury Show and PiL. Edge from U2, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood all cite McGeoch as an influence.
When McGeoch died he was working as a nurse and doing the odd bit of music for TV.

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