1849 - French violinist and composer Benjamin Louis Paul Godard was born in Paris, today, and entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1863. aged just 14 years old. Godard became opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and highly critical of his anti-semitism. His musical style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. In his lifetime, Godard wrote eight operas, among them, Valse for flute and orchestra, performed here by harp soloist, Eva-Nina Kozmus with the Youth Symphonic Orchestra Music School, and conducted by Matjaz Breznik.
1949 - Ralph Flanagan and his orchestra recorded You're Breaking My Heart, today, but his most famous recorded song remains his own composition, Hot Toddy, also recorded by many artists, including Chet Atkins, Rosemary Clooney, Red Foley and Julie London.
1962 - This is the day folk trio, Peter, Paul & Mary's If I Had A Hammer was released, and here they are performing the song a year later at the Newport Jazz Festival. The man who wrote the song, Pete Seeger, introduces the P, P & M version. This was the trio's second hit, the first being Lemon Tree. I have said it before, and I say it again, Mary was a stunning looking woman, with a talent and charisma to boot.
1966 - Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as their song, Pretty Flamingo, was climbing charts all over the world. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, The Mighty Quinn, a song written by Bob Dylan. Jones still performs with his own blues band, mostly around the UK, still plays brilliant harmonica, and has a weekly blues radio show on BBC2. I tune in to Jones every single week.
1973 - One of the world's greatest drumming influences was the sensational Gene Krupa, who played for the final time with the original Benny Goodman Quartet, 38 years ago today. Gene Krupa was born on January 15, 1909, and became the first superstar drummer in modern popular music, hitting his peak during the the 30s and 40s decades. He influenced many modern drummers in the jazz and rock genres, in particular Who drummer, Keith Moon. Krupoa was the first to use a bass drum pedal on recordings and invented the rim shot on a snare drum. More than swing king, Gene Krupa lived the rock’n’roll lifestyle decades before rock’n’roll, and once spent three months in jail for marijuana possession. He played with some of the stellar names of big band music from Bix Beiderbecke to Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. Let's celebrate one of the greats of modern music with his final show ever, and then go back to when he was at his peak.
1973 - The Doobie Brothers released China Grove today, reaching top of the charts around the world. When their drummer, John Hartman, arrived in California in 1969, he was determined to meet Skip Spence of Moby Grape, and join an aborted Grape reunion. Spence then introduced Hartman to singer, guitarist and songwriter Tom Johnston and the two proceeded to form the nucleus of what would become The Doobie Brothers. Years later, Johnston attributed the band's eventual name to friend and housemate Keith "Dyno" Rosen, who noted the guys' fondness for "doobies", slang for marijuana joints. They considered the new moniker an improvement over Pud. In the year of the song's release, this is the band's live version, taken from a German TV show.
1979 - English new wave music royalty Nick Lowe, married American country music royalty, Carlene Carter, in Los Angeles today. Lowe was referred to as the Jesus of Cool at the time, when post punk new wave music washed over pop music. Lowe's band, Rockpile, featured rocker-in-his-own-right, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams, Jake Riveriera, and here they all are, together, in a promo video for this classic hit, same year as the couple's marriage.
1986 - Bon Jovi released their Slippery When Wet album, today, the band's third studio album, which was an instant commercial success. The album features songs that are today considered as Bon Jovi's best known tracks; You Give Love A Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive. It spent eight weeks at #1 on Billboard 200. Slippery When Wet is the band's biggest-selling album, with more than 14 million copies sold in the United States, and over 29 million copies sold worldwide. So...let's tease out that hair, do a little dance, and get wet.
1984 - George Michael was at #1 on the UK singles charts, today, with his debut, post-Wham solo single Careless Whisper, a beautiful constructed song. George subsequently became the first person to reach #1 as a solo artist and as a member of a band in the same year. To find out more about George Michael and see plenty of videos, go to our archive search engine. On August 18 in 2003, Tony Jackson, original bassist with Merseybeat band the Searchers, died, aged 65, following long illnesses including arthritis and cirrhosis of the liver. Like many contemporaries including John Lennon and George Harrison, Jackson was inspired first by the uniquely British sound of "skiffle king" Lonnie Donegan, and then by Buddy Holly and other U.S. rock imports. He also provided lead vocals on the hits Sweets for My Sweet and Sugar and Spice for the Searchers.
2003 - It is now eight years since pop superstars, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera toured the world under the tour name, Justified and Stripped. One of the tour's legs kicked off today, at New York’s Nassau Colisseum, following previous cancellations, due to the collapse of a massive lighting rig...let's check out Christina and Justin, separately, but on the same tour.
1949 - Ralph Flanagan and his orchestra recorded You're Breaking My Heart, today, but his most famous recorded song remains his own composition, Hot Toddy, also recorded by many artists, including Chet Atkins, Rosemary Clooney, Red Foley and Julie London.
1962 - This is the day folk trio, Peter, Paul & Mary's If I Had A Hammer was released, and here they are performing the song a year later at the Newport Jazz Festival. The man who wrote the song, Pete Seeger, introduces the P, P & M version. This was the trio's second hit, the first being Lemon Tree. I have said it before, and I say it again, Mary was a stunning looking woman, with a talent and charisma to boot.
1966 - Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as their song, Pretty Flamingo, was climbing charts all over the world. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, The Mighty Quinn, a song written by Bob Dylan. Jones still performs with his own blues band, mostly around the UK, still plays brilliant harmonica, and has a weekly blues radio show on BBC2. I tune in to Jones every single week.
1973 - One of the world's greatest drumming influences was the sensational Gene Krupa, who played for the final time with the original Benny Goodman Quartet, 38 years ago today. Gene Krupa was born on January 15, 1909, and became the first superstar drummer in modern popular music, hitting his peak during the the 30s and 40s decades. He influenced many modern drummers in the jazz and rock genres, in particular Who drummer, Keith Moon. Krupoa was the first to use a bass drum pedal on recordings and invented the rim shot on a snare drum. More than swing king, Gene Krupa lived the rock’n’roll lifestyle decades before rock’n’roll, and once spent three months in jail for marijuana possession. He played with some of the stellar names of big band music from Bix Beiderbecke to Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. Let's celebrate one of the greats of modern music with his final show ever, and then go back to when he was at his peak.
1973 - The Doobie Brothers released China Grove today, reaching top of the charts around the world. When their drummer, John Hartman, arrived in California in 1969, he was determined to meet Skip Spence of Moby Grape, and join an aborted Grape reunion. Spence then introduced Hartman to singer, guitarist and songwriter Tom Johnston and the two proceeded to form the nucleus of what would become The Doobie Brothers. Years later, Johnston attributed the band's eventual name to friend and housemate Keith "Dyno" Rosen, who noted the guys' fondness for "doobies", slang for marijuana joints. They considered the new moniker an improvement over Pud. In the year of the song's release, this is the band's live version, taken from a German TV show.
1979 - English new wave music royalty Nick Lowe, married American country music royalty, Carlene Carter, in Los Angeles today. Lowe was referred to as the Jesus of Cool at the time, when post punk new wave music washed over pop music. Lowe's band, Rockpile, featured rocker-in-his-own-right, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams, Jake Riveriera, and here they all are, together, in a promo video for this classic hit, same year as the couple's marriage.
1986 - Bon Jovi released their Slippery When Wet album, today, the band's third studio album, which was an instant commercial success. The album features songs that are today considered as Bon Jovi's best known tracks; You Give Love A Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive. It spent eight weeks at #1 on Billboard 200. Slippery When Wet is the band's biggest-selling album, with more than 14 million copies sold in the United States, and over 29 million copies sold worldwide. So...let's tease out that hair, do a little dance, and get wet.
1984 - George Michael was at #1 on the UK singles charts, today, with his debut, post-Wham solo single Careless Whisper, a beautiful constructed song. George subsequently became the first person to reach #1 as a solo artist and as a member of a band in the same year. To find out more about George Michael and see plenty of videos, go to our archive search engine. On August 18 in 2003, Tony Jackson, original bassist with Merseybeat band the Searchers, died, aged 65, following long illnesses including arthritis and cirrhosis of the liver. Like many contemporaries including John Lennon and George Harrison, Jackson was inspired first by the uniquely British sound of "skiffle king" Lonnie Donegan, and then by Buddy Holly and other U.S. rock imports. He also provided lead vocals on the hits Sweets for My Sweet and Sugar and Spice for the Searchers.
2003 - It is now eight years since pop superstars, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera toured the world under the tour name, Justified and Stripped. One of the tour's legs kicked off today, at New York’s Nassau Colisseum, following previous cancellations, due to the collapse of a massive lighting rig...let's check out Christina and Justin, separately, but on the same tour.
