The Attic

1752 - Composer Justin Heinrich Knechtl was born.

1791 - The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote) premiered in Viena, Austria.

1840 - Composer Johan Severin Svendsen was born.

1852 - Composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was born.

1933 - The half-hour country music and comedy show “National Barn Dance” debuted on WLS in Chicago, IL.

1935 - The show “Porgy and Bess” opened for the first time in Boston.

1941 - “That Solid Old Man” was recorded by The Larry Clinton Orchestra.

1954 - Julie Andrews made her first Broadway appearance in “The Boy Friend.”

1961 - Bob Dylan played harmonica for the recording of Caroline Hester’s first Columbia album.

1965 - Donovan made his U.S. television debut on the show “Shindig!”

1969 - David Crosby’s girlfriend Christine Gail Hinton was killed in a car accident.

1971 - Yes started their first tour with Rick Wakeman in England.

1972 - Columbia Records announced that they were closing down four Hollywood studios.

1977 - Ringo Starr released the album “Ringo The Fourth.”

1987 - Roy Orbison recorded “A Black And White Night Live” at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, CA.

1988 - John Lennon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989 - Neil Young appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and performed “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

1989 - The Rolling Stones recorded the video for “Rock And A Hard Place” at Foxboro-Sullivan Stadium.

1991 - Liza Minnelli received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1993 - Kate Pierson of the B-52’s was arrested while staging a sit-in at the New York offices of Vogue. She was protesting the use of fur in ads and clothing.

1993 - David Crosby and George Harrison appeared on the fifth season premiere of “The Simpsons.”

1994 - Michael Stipe of R.E.M. signed a movie deal with New Line Cinema.

1997 - Randy Travis became the first artist to sign with DreamWorks Records Nashville.

1997 - Patty Loveless released her ninth album “Long Stretch of Lonesome.”

1997 - Bono appealed for the release of Mordecha Vanunu during a show in Tel Aviv, Israel. Vanunu had been imprisoned for being a nuclear secrets traitor.

1997 - The Rolling Stones released “Bridges To Babylon.”

1998 - Jonny Lang, Slash (Guns ‘n’ Roses), Joey Ramone (Ramones) and Rick Nelson (Cheap Trick) and others appeared on “The Drew Carey Show”. All the musicians were trying out for lead guitarist of Carey’s band.

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep30.htm

1654 - Composer Vincenz Lubeck was born.

1674 - Jacques Hotteterre was born.

1930 - Bing Crosby married Dixie Lee.

1947 - Dizzy Gillespie gave his first Carnegie Hall concert.

1954 - The movie musical “A Star Is Born” made its world premiere in Hollywood.

1956 - RCA Victor, by this day, had received 856,327 advance orders for “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley.

1962 - “My Fair Lady” closed after a 6½ year run on Broadway. The show, at the time, held the record for the longest-running musical.

1963 - The Rolling Stones opened their first English tour in London at the New Victoria. Also on the bill were Bo Diddley and the Everly Brothers.

1967 - “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was released by Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1967 - Mickey Hart joined the Grateful Dead.

1974 - John Lennon appeared on WNEW-FM in New York as a guest DJ.

1975 - Jackie Wilson fell into a coma. He never recovered.

1976 - Jerry Lee Lewis was charged with shooting a firearm within the city limits. He hit his bass player, Norman Owens, twice in the chest while attempting to shoot a soda bottle.

1977 - James Brown’s band walked out on him Hallandale, FL. They were complaining about being underpaid and overworked.

1984 - Prince’s single “Let’s Go Crazy” hit No. 1. He then held the No. 1 single, album and film simultaneously. Only the Beatles had accomplished the feat previously.

1989 - Bruce Springsteen stopped in a small salon in Prescott, AZ, and played a few songs with the band. He overheard a woman talking about financial problems concerning her medical bills. A week later she received a check for $100,000 from Springsteen.

1989 - Tony LeMans’ self-titled debut was released.

1994 - The Pointer Sisters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1996 - Alanis Morissette finished her first U.S. tour in Houston, TX.

1997 - Bobby Sheehan (Blues Traveler) was arrested for cocaine possession in Winnipeg. He was later released on $5,000 bond.

1998 - The family of Frank Sinatra filed suit against Ross Stores Inc. for copyright infringement. The suit alleged that an album of 75 songs, “The Sinatra Collection,” was unauthorized.

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep29.htm

Did I mention that I like this show? Read the rest of this entry »

Now that the AI-7 summer concert tour has ended, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how it did compared to prior years.

Not that Idol fangirls are competitive in any way — we know they’re not — (dodges lightning bolt), but some numbers you want to see just for the sheer hell of it.

Read the rest of this entry »

1928 - Glen Gray’s Orchestra recorded “Under a Blanket of Blue.” Kenny Sargeant performed the vocals.

1958 - “To Know Him Is To Love Him” by the Teddy Bears was released. The song was written and composed by 18-year old Phil Spector.

1963 - “She Loves You” by the Beatles was played on the radio by Murry The K in New York. It is believed that this was the first time a Beatles song was played in the U.S.

1968 - Janis Joplin’s manager announced that she has left Big Brother and the Holding Company.

1972 - David Bowie sold out New York’s Carnegie Hall. It was his first sell out in the U.S.

1973 - The Rolling Stones appeared on U.S. television for the first time since 1967.

1975 - Jerry Garcia and Friends and Jefferson Starship gave a free show to 40,000 fans in San Francisco’s Lindley Park.

1976 - A&M Records sued George Harrison for failing to deliver his LP “33 1/3″ on time.

1979 - Jimmy McCulloch was found dead in London at the age of 26.

1987 - Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson were guests on the television show “$10,000 Pyramid.”

1989 - “Tales From Margaritaville” was published by Jimmy Buffet. It was a book of short stories.

1991 - The Garth Brooks album “Ropin’ the Wind” became the first country album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.

1995 - Bobby Brown’s car was riddled with bullets in Boston’s Roxbury section. The gun battle killed his sister’s fiancé.

1997 - The 103rd convention of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) was held in New York City, NY. The official debut of the DVD format was featured.

2001 - Courtney Love filed a claim against Geffen Records and two musicians from her late husband’s band, Nirvana. The suit was aimed at invalidating a 1997 agreement over the group’s body of work. Love claimed that she signed the deal while she was distressed.

2004 - In Beverly Hills, CA, a tribute concert to honor Ray Charles raised $15 million for Morehouse College Center for the Arts in Atlanta. The performers included Bill Cosby as the host, Stevie Wonder, Travis Tritt, Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers), James Ingram and Patti Austin. They sang Charles’ hits, such as “Georgia On My Mind,” “What I’d Say” and “Hit the Road Jack.” Charles had died of acute liver disease on June 10, 2004.

2004 - Randy Travis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep28.htm

1898 - Composer and musician Vincent Youmans was born.

1933 - “Waltz Time” debuted on NBC Radio. It stayed on the network until 1948.

1938 - Artie Shaw recorded “Nightmare.”

1938 - “Thanks for the Memory” was heard for the first time on the “The Bob Hope Show.”

1942 - Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time. Miller volunteered for the U.S. Army and disappeared December 15, 1944 over the English Channel.

1943 - “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and “Jingle Bells” were recorded by Bing Crosby, the Vic Schoen Orchestra and the Andrews Sisters.

1962 - “The New York Times” ran the story “Bob Dylan: A Distinctive Folk Song Stylist” after a concert at Carnegie Hall.

1964 - The Beach Boys appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. They performed “I Get Around.”

1972 - Rory Storme (Hurricanes) committed suicide in what appeared to be suicide pact with his mother. The Hurricanes were the group that Ringo Starr left in order to join the Beatles.

1973 - Rolling Stone magazine reported that Carlos Santana had changed his name to Devadip now that he was a disciple of Sri Chinmoy.

1979 - Elton John collapsed onstage while performing “Better Off Dead” at the Universal Amphitheatre. After a ten-minute delay John returned and completed the concert. He was suffering from exhaustion brought on by the flu.

1979 - The LP “Eat To The Beat” was released by Blondie.

1979 - The Police released, “Regatta de Blanc”, their second album.

1986 - Cliff Burton (Metallica) was killed when the band tour bus crashed in Sweden. Burton was 24.

1995 - The album “Wazbones” was released by Tigertailz.

1995 - Time Warner severed its ties with its rap label Interscope rather than release the debut album by Tha Dogg Pound.

2002 - Vince Neil pled guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly attacking a record producer in West Hollywood on April 28, 2002.

2004 - Record producer Phil Spector was charged with murder in the shooting death of Lana Clarkson at his mansion in 2003.

2004 - It was announced that Betrand Cantat of Noir Desir (Black Desire) would be leaving the next day for France. He had arranged to spend the remainder of his manslaughter sentence in a French prison. Cantat had beaten French actress Marie Trintignant to death in July 2003.

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep27.htm

1868 - Composer Henry Franklin Belknap Gilbert was born.

1892 - John Philip Sousa and his band played the “Liberty Bell March” in Plainfield, NJ.

1898 - George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, NY. His works include “Swanee” and “Rhapsody in Blue.”

1955 - Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were married. In 1959 they were divorced.

1957 - The musical “West Side Story” opened at the Winter Garden Theatre.

1961 - Bob Dylan started as opening act for the Greenbriar Boys. He stayed two weeks.

1964 - The Kinks released the song “You Really Got Me.”

1965 - The Beatles were decorated with the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth.

1968 - Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) was fined $150 for possession of marijuana.

1969 - “Abby Road” was released by the Beatles. It was their 13th album in the U.K. It was also their last album together as a group.

1969 - The Fillmore West opened in San Francisco, CA.

1970 - Tamla-Motown Records announced that the Jackson 5 had sold 10 million singles world wide in nine months.

1974 - “Walls and Bridges” was released by John Lennon. He would not release any more new material for almost 6 years.

1975 - “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” opened in theaters.

1979 - The Clash released their first U.S. single. It was their remake of Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought The Law.”

1984 - The Prince song “Purple Rain” was released.

1986 - Mick Jagger’s “Running Out Of Luck” was released by CBS-Fox Video.

1988 - “Talk Is Cheap” was released by Keith Richards. It was his first solo album.

1991 - “It’s Been A Long Time” was filmed by Southside Johnny at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.

1997 - The initial 300,000-unit shipment of Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997″ sold out in Japan on its first day of release.

1996 - Prince released “The Gold Experience.”

1998 - Prince slipped and pulled a ligament while onstage in Atlantic City, NJ. The remainder of the U.S. tour was postponed.

1998 - MTV Russia debuted at midnight. The first video shown on the network was Mummy Troll’s “Vladivostock 2000.”

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep26.htm

As a public service, I have collected assorted information about the venues on Blake’s upcoming A.D.D. tour for your perusal…you never know when you might suffer a traumatic loss of musical taste and decide to seek out some noise.

In several instances, I’ve only provided an address and phone number for the venue because that’s pretty much all I could find doing an admittedly cursory search, but occasionally, I hit paydirt.

Read the rest of this entry »

1683 - Frendh Composer Jean-Phillip Rameau was born.

1906 - Russian Composer Dimitri Shostakovich was born.

1934 - Henry Busse recorded “Hot Lips” with his orchestra.

1953 - Liberace made his debut at Carnegie Hall for a sellout crowd.

1954 - Elvis Presley appeared live on “Grand Ole Opry” and performed “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

1964 - Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, turned down an offer of 3 1/2 million pound offer to sell his management contract.

1965 - The half hour Saturday morning cartoon “The Beatles” premiered on ABC-TV. The show ran until September 7, 1969.

1967 - The Beatles record “Fool On The Hill” in London at Abbey Road Studios.

1969 - John Lennon recorded “Cold Turkey.” The backing band included Eric Clapton, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr and Klaus Voorman.

1970 - Ringo Starr released “Beaucoups of Blues.”

1971 - “Peace Train” by Cat Stevens was released.

1975 - Jackie Wilson collapsed while performing “Lonely Teardrops” at the Latino Casino in Cherry Hill, NJ. He had suffered a heart attack that caused brain damage. He was 41 years old. He died in 1984 after spending the rest of his life in hospitals.

1976 - The Wings play a benefit show to raise money for the restoration of water-damaged art treasures in St. Marks Square in Venice.

1979 - The LP “The Long Run” was released by the Eagles.

1979 - The musical “Evita” opened on Broadway. The work was the third collaboration of Tim Rice and Andre Lloyd Weber.

1979 - The single “I’m The Man” was released by Joe Jackson.

1980 - John “Bonzo” Bonham, of Led Zeppelin, died of asphyxiation on his own vomit due to consumption of alcohol. The group decided to disband when they determine that their drummer cannot be replaced.

1981 - A concert by the Rolling Stones was recorded at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The footage from the tour was later released as “Lets Spend the Night Together.”

1990 - Little Richard Boulevard is named for the star in Macon, GA.

1990 - Dave Grohl, formerly with Washington DC’s Scream, joined Nirvana.

1995 - Miriah Carey’s “Fantasy” became only the second single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first artist to accomplish this feat was Michael Jackson with “You Are Not Alone.”

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep25.htm

1940 - “Flinging a Wing-Ding” was recorded by Bob Chester.

1942 - Glenn Miller ended his broadcasts for Chesterfield Cigarettes so he could go to World War II.

1955 - Judy Garland made her TV debut on the “Ford Star Jubilee” on CBS.

1957 - “Mister Rock and Roll” debuted at the Paramount in New York City, NY.

1968 - The Vogues receive a gold record for “Turn Around Look at Me.”

1977 - “The Love Boat” debuted on ABC-TV. The theme song was sung by Jack Jones and was written by Paul Williams and Charles Fox.

1977 - The first Elvis Presley convention took place in Memphis, TN.

1977 - “Come Sail Away” was released by Styx.

1982 - Prince’s “1999″ single was released.

1984 - Paul McCartney released “No More Lonely Nights.”

1988 - Graham Parker opened a solo acoustic tour.

1988 - James Brown was arrested in Georgia after a two state car chase.

1989 - Prince made an appearance on the 15-year anniversary of Saturday Night Live.

1991 - Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was released.

1993 - Guns N’ Roses reached a settlement with their former drummer Steven Adler. Adler had been kicked out of the band for not kicking his heroin habit.

1994 - Eric Clapton performed on the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.”

1998 - Steven Adler was sentenced to 150 days in jail for two counts of battery and probation violation (from a 1997 conviction).

1998 - Elvis Presley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1998 - Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) threw out the first pitch at the Expos-Cardinal game in St. Louis, MO.

http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep24.htm