1850 - Exactly 161 years ago today, Richard Wagner's opera, Lohengrin, was performed for the first time. Though this performance was almost 100 years later, it is Richard Wagner's Prelude to Act III of his opera from a TV broadcast, and filmed on March 20, 1948. The great Arturo Toscanini is conducting here, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, at Studio 8-H, New York City. Toscanini first performed Lohengrin with his school friends in Professor Carini's violoncello school at the conservatory of Parma. He collected a few nicknames at school, including genius and also scissors, due to his sometimes sharp criticism. This is a sharp performance of Wagner's Lohengrin.
1961 - This is the day Please Mr. Postman was released by American girl group, the Marvelettes. You no doubt know the Beatles version, but this was the original version of the song, the group's debut single, and notable as being the first Tamla/Motown song to reach #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, simultaneously getting to #1 on the R&B chart. Please Mr. Postman became a #1 hit again in early 1975, when The Carpenters' cover of the song also reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. William Garrett first wrote the song as a blues song, but was then reworked by the group. Motown Records creator Berry Gordy hired the group, named the group then hired Brian Holland and Robert Bateman to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team), was also involved in the final restructuring of the song. The Marvelettes recording features lead singer Gladys Horton and Instrumentation by the legendary Funk Brothers, including Marvin Gaye on drums and Glen campbell on guitar. Knockout record, a rock'n'roll iconic classic.
1963 - It's the start of the sixties, the sniff of revolution in the air, civil rights beginning to prick the collective conscience of a new generation, cultural and social barriers being smashed to smithereens with the new. Musicians and the arts took to the street stages and demonstrations, heralding the new. Folk singers Peter, Paul & Mary performed the Bob Dylan classic Blowin' In The Wind before Civil Rights marchers who had gathered in Washington to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak. As much as I'd love to give you P,P 7 M's version, I think we have to play the original here, don't you?
1964 - The Beatles went into the history books today, when they appeared on the front cover of LIFE magazine. This was when Life magazine was so strong around the world that instant cover inclusion meant instant iconic status. On the same day three years later, The Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company played at the wake of a Hell's Angels member who had been struck by a car in San Francisco, California. And on August 28, 1972, David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars made their debut at Carnegie Hall in New York. Check this out, dear reader, a total classic from a classic performer. There's A Star Man…with the great Mick Ronson...R.I.P
1978 - Devo released today their breakthrough Are We Not Men? We Are Devo LP, totally unique in so many ways. To give you an idea, here's a completely different perspective on the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, performed by Devo, bootleg-captured from a live 1978 TV show in Paris.
1984 - The Jacksons' Victory Tour broke the record for concert ticket sales, today in Texas. This is a way-back generation bootleg of a show from the Victory Tour, in Dallas, Texas, USA, on this day 27 years ago. Quality not that great…poor, but, hey, it's a bootleg.
1986 - Rock'n'roll soul woman, Tina Turner, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and accordingly here's a short clip of part of the ceremony, when mayor Tom Bradley was the presenter. And for all Tina Turner fans, we have a clip from the 1986 Princess Diana-Prince's Trust concert in London. Spot the stars.
1995 - Oingo Boingo announced today that they would break up following a series of Halloween shows in California. They were an American new wave band, best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy, famous Halloween shows. The band retired after this sold out farewell concert on Halloween 1995 at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles.
1961 - This is the day Please Mr. Postman was released by American girl group, the Marvelettes. You no doubt know the Beatles version, but this was the original version of the song, the group's debut single, and notable as being the first Tamla/Motown song to reach #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, simultaneously getting to #1 on the R&B chart. Please Mr. Postman became a #1 hit again in early 1975, when The Carpenters' cover of the song also reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. William Garrett first wrote the song as a blues song, but was then reworked by the group. Motown Records creator Berry Gordy hired the group, named the group then hired Brian Holland and Robert Bateman to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team), was also involved in the final restructuring of the song. The Marvelettes recording features lead singer Gladys Horton and Instrumentation by the legendary Funk Brothers, including Marvin Gaye on drums and Glen campbell on guitar. Knockout record, a rock'n'roll iconic classic.
1963 - It's the start of the sixties, the sniff of revolution in the air, civil rights beginning to prick the collective conscience of a new generation, cultural and social barriers being smashed to smithereens with the new. Musicians and the arts took to the street stages and demonstrations, heralding the new. Folk singers Peter, Paul & Mary performed the Bob Dylan classic Blowin' In The Wind before Civil Rights marchers who had gathered in Washington to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak. As much as I'd love to give you P,P 7 M's version, I think we have to play the original here, don't you?
1964 - The Beatles went into the history books today, when they appeared on the front cover of LIFE magazine. This was when Life magazine was so strong around the world that instant cover inclusion meant instant iconic status. On the same day three years later, The Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company played at the wake of a Hell's Angels member who had been struck by a car in San Francisco, California. And on August 28, 1972, David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars made their debut at Carnegie Hall in New York. Check this out, dear reader, a total classic from a classic performer. There's A Star Man…with the great Mick Ronson...R.I.P
1978 - Devo released today their breakthrough Are We Not Men? We Are Devo LP, totally unique in so many ways. To give you an idea, here's a completely different perspective on the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, performed by Devo, bootleg-captured from a live 1978 TV show in Paris.
1984 - The Jacksons' Victory Tour broke the record for concert ticket sales, today in Texas. This is a way-back generation bootleg of a show from the Victory Tour, in Dallas, Texas, USA, on this day 27 years ago. Quality not that great…poor, but, hey, it's a bootleg.
1986 - Rock'n'roll soul woman, Tina Turner, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and accordingly here's a short clip of part of the ceremony, when mayor Tom Bradley was the presenter. And for all Tina Turner fans, we have a clip from the 1986 Princess Diana-Prince's Trust concert in London. Spot the stars.
1995 - Oingo Boingo announced today that they would break up following a series of Halloween shows in California. They were an American new wave band, best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy, famous Halloween shows. The band retired after this sold out farewell concert on Halloween 1995 at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles.
