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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dear Reader,
Friday March 23, and we go from the Pope to pop, to classical, to new wave and back again.
* Pope John Paul II had a dabble in pop music 13 years ago today when he released his debut album.
* Psychedelic Furs show us their pretty pink wares in 1980.
* Elvis at #1 with an old German folk song as he records a new hit with an old Italian folk song in 1960.
* Adam and the Ants show a new style of rock'n'roll new music, 31 years ago.
* It's 1963 and the Beach Boys look very...er...dapper performing this hit.
* We go way back to two John Lennon events; his marriage to Yoko Ono, shown here by Australian TV pop show host, Dick Williams, and the release of Lennon's book, In His Own Write.
* Former Creedence Clearwater Revival singer, John Fogerty shows us his solo style in 1985, on this day.
* We go classical once again with a debut of one of Haydn's pieces.
* And classical again, this time with the debut of Handel's Messiah in 1743.

* Scroll down to the bottom of the page for headlines from world's top publications: New York Times, Guardian, The Age, Rolling Stone, Spin, & many more. click on the glowing blue headlines for your daily dose.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

May 5, 2011

1891 - More than a century ago, one of the world's most famous, prestigious and iconic concert halls, had its first public performance. Now known as Carnegie Hall, it was then named The Music Hall. The first performer was Pyotr Llych Tchaikovsky, who led a five day celebration with his performance on opening night, exactly 120 years ago today. The five-day music festival followed guest of honor Tchaikovsky on opening night, and included his Piano Concerto No. 1 several days later. Andrew Carnegie’s new Music Hall was designed by William Tuthill, and it reflected the Gilded Age architectural tastes and engineering of the day. Since the Hall was built before the advent of structural steel construction, its walls are made of heavy brick and masonry, so that the full load of the structure could be supported. The Italian Renaissance design of the exterior reflects the eclectic architectural tastes of the period, which looked to European models of earlier centuries for inspiration. Tuthill deliberately chose to keep the styling and decorative elements simple, elegant, and functional, focusing his energies on designing an excellent acoustic environment.

1900 - Music industry magazine, The Billboard (later called Billboard), began weekly publication today, instead of its previous monthly release, something it did for six years, since its inception. And one of the songs on Billboard on the same day 62 years in the future, was the little Chris Montez ditty, Let's Dance. Couldn't find the original of this song, so we stumbled across this one, 11 years later, in 1973.

1968 - One of country rock's most influential and seminal bands, Buffalo Springfield, sadly performed their final concert in Long Beach, California, 43 years ago to the day. Strangely, it doesn't seem as if the final show was recorded, so we went back a year, to 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival, when Peter Tork from the Monkees introduced the legendary band. This is their most famous song, and following it is a mini doco on Buffalo Springfield's history.

1968 - Creedence Clearwater Revival were criticised by many music snobs, but for me they're one of the great rock'n'roll bands, due, in the main it has to be said, for the brilliant songs and the amazing rock'n'roll singing voice of the band's leader, John Fogerty. This was the day that one of their standout songs, Bad Moon Rising, was released. Fogerty has had a tough time of it in this treacherous business, he's survived, and is better now than ever before. For mine, Fogerty has one of the greatest voices in rock, right up there with Little Richard...not quite, perhaps, but certainly in the same league.

1969 - This was the day that singing superstar, Stevie Wonder met President Nixon at the White House. While President Nixon was sneaking secrets from WATERGATE, and waiting to be the first president to be impeached, 22-year-old Stevie Wonder was singing this song.

1984 - Some showbiz marriages are difficult to fathom, and I suppose it's not just restricted to showbiz marriages. This was the day in 1984, that Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde married Simple Minds' Jim Kerr. As proof that it just doesn't gel for me, I offer the following two concerts of both singers' bands, The Pretenders and Simple Minds. Both concerts were in Dortmund, German, and only months apart. Hynde and Ray Davies together I can understand, but she and Jim Kerr? Don't understand that one at all. What do you think?

1986 - It was announced today that Cleveland, Ohio, had been chosen as the city where the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame would be built. For those who haven't been to the Hall of Fame, howzabout these two little profile capsules.

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