1800 - This was the day when Beethoven's Opus 21: Symphony No. 1 in C major was first performed for Baron von Swieten, an early benefactor of Beethoven. Music critics seem to agree that the symphony is indebted to Beethoven's predecessors, particularly his teacher Joseph Haydn, who had been teaching Beethoven for a decade at this time. (For details of Haydn's life and times and influence on Beethoven, go to our search engine on this page, top right, we featured him March 31 and at other times). Regardless, it is still clearly Beethoven's work, especially the frequent use of sforzandi and the prominent use of wind instruments. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in C, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in C and F, 2 trumpets in C, timpani and strings. Beethoven, along with Haydn, was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, and remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. Following Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven is justifiably considered one of the most important of a generation of young composers. Here is the symphony performed by New York City's Astoria Symphony, conducted by Silas Nathaniel Huff, and recorded live in October 2009. Superb!
1942 - Almost 70 years ago today, Glenn Miller and his world famous orchestra recorded American Patrol, one of Miller's dozens of hit songs. The American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era of the thirties and forties became one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the most respected swing Big Bands of his day. Miller's notable hit recordings include In the Mood, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo, A String of Pearls, Tuxedo Junction, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6-5000. While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. His body has never been found, but his band played on and has remained doing so to this day. For more Miller videos and information go to our archives. He figures often in the music soundtrack of our lives in *MUSICBACKTRACK*, and we have lots of Miller videos. However, for now, this is The Glenn Miller Band from 2005 with the song they recorded this very day.
1955 - Fred Astaire appeared on television for the first time on The Toast of the Town, today, with host, Ed Sullivan. The show morphed into the Ed Sullivan show. In the same year, Astaire starred in the hit comedy movie, Daddy Long Legs, and here's a scene.
1956 - Before he'd dyed his hair black, and with a stringless guitar as a prop, here's Elvis' debut screen test, but by this time a successful hit maker...funny as hell, here's the story and the vid.
And later that night, Elvis Presley performed on "The Milton Berle Show." The show was broadcast live from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock. Elvis played the songs Heartbreak Hotel, Money, Honey, and Blue Suede Shoes. Here's the actual footage of him singing Heartbreak Hotel.
1959 - As the fifties ended, there was a whiff of rebellion in the air, manifested in the new musical sounds of doo wop, rock'n'roll, soul, and rhythm'n'blues. When the new Coasters song, Charlie Brown, came along, the then staid and stiff BBC in England banned the song because it included the lyrics 'spit ball'. Under pressure of progress, two weeks later, the BBC reversed its position, which is just as well because a year later American rock'n'roll stars began touring the UK, including the Everly Brothers who made their British concert debut on this day. Three years later to the very day, a gorgeous, young, sexy 16-year-old Liza Minnelli made her Broadway debut on Broadway, NYC. In the world of pop music, in 1965 on this very day Sam The Sham and the Pharaoh released their gimmick song Wooly Bully and were never heard of again. And it is now exactly 42 years since the troubled Jim Morrison was arrested after a Miami, the arrest stemming from obscenity charges. My how times have changed. He was actively contesting the indecent exposure conviction when he died at age 27 in a bathtub in Paris from a heart attack, believed to have triggered by his drug use. He was pardoned just a few months ago, in December, 41 years later. He would have been 67
1964 - It's '64 and a very young American vocal group, The Beach Boys recorded I Get Around, (For more Beach Boy info and vids go to our search engine) and over in England, a year later, pop group Freddie & the Dreamers record another gimmick song, Do The Freddie. Just two years later to the day, future superstar Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic, one of rock's most authentic but short-lived bands, certainly one of the first - if not the first supergroups.
1967 - As The Beatles completed recording their revolutionary, land-mark album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the so-called 'summer of love' was in full swing, the rock festival Woodstock soon to change everything. On April 2, 1970, the movie of Woodstock premiered in Hollywood, and signalled to the world what Dylan had been singing for years...'the times are changing.'
1972 - When the Beatles split John Lennon and Yoko Ono went full-tilt into their own revolution, and at a news conference in New York 39 years ago today, the pair discussed their appeal of against the Immigration Department, who vigorously tried to deport Lennon. Two years later and a radio revolution began in the UK with pirate stations setting up shop on ships outside England's borders so they could play rock'n'roll music, and it was on this day in '74 that pirate radio station Piccadilly Radio flicked on the switch. Thid was also the day in 1977 that one of music's greatest, Stevie Wonder, released his tribute to a genius from another era in music, Duke Ellington. This is the unique genius of Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke.
1984 - And speaking of genius, this was the day that the life ended for Marvin Gaye, aged 44, who was senselessly shot dead by his father. So sad, so tragic.
And this is the song, among many great songs, that Gaye demonstrated his lyrical genius.
1978 - This is the day the Philadelphia Fury soccer team made its debut in the USA. The team was owned by music stars Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, James Taylor and others. A year later and Brit group, The Who, released the album The Kids Are Alright. We jump forward to 1987 and enigmatic Prince releases Sign O' The Times and the same day in 1989 soft drink company Pepsi Cola dismissed Madonna as a spokesperson after her Like a Prayer video was called "blasphemous" by the Vatican. What a bunch of hypocrites. Here's the advert, followed by a live performance of the song.
1991 - Dweezil Zappa, like his father, is a brilliantly accomplished musician, with an audacious sense of humour, and to prove it, here's a recording of him performing the Bee Gees song, Stayin' Alive, with Donny Osmond, recorded 20 years ago today...only audio, sorry.
1998 - Almost at the end of the nineties decade, and Rob Pilatus from Milli Vanilli died in a hotel room in Frankfurt, Germany, and on the same day, same year a new wing opened at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cleveland, and Dave Navarro left the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's 1999 and one of the concergoers at Black Crowes show later sued the band for $385,000, claiming he had suffered significant hearing loss at the show. Some people are dopes.
