1938 - Boogie Woogie was a song recorded today, way back then, by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the 30s-40s big band era, Dorsey's smooth-toned trombone playing earned him the moniker 'sentimental gentleman of swing'. Jimmy Dorsey's young brother, Tommy forged his own career from the mid 30s,with 286 Billboard chart hits, 17 of which were #1. Boogie woogie is a style of piano-based blues that became popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but originated much earlier, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, then guitar, gospel, big band, - as we have with Tommy - and morphing into honky tonk and country and western music. It was an early influence thread - maybe even the bridge - into rock'n'roll.
1956 - Like Gracie, Bob Hope and thousands of entertainers, Anne Shelton became popular when she entertained troops at British military bases during the Second World War into the early fifties, and this is the day the one-time Glenn Miller singer hit #1 on Brit charts 55 years ago, with this little war time ditty, appealing for no more war.
1964 - As rock'n'roll began to infiltrate mainstream, television programmes around the world were devoted to promoting the music and the performers, and one such show in USA was Shindig! which premiered today, on the ABC Network. This is a look-see at the opening credits, starring Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, The Wellingtons, The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Sherman and Alan Sues.
1970 - It's 41 years ago today since Led Zeppelin won 'best group' category in the Melody Maker magazine readers' poll, beating the Beatles, who had won the award for the previous eight years. That night at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, Jimi Hendrix joined Eric Burdon on stage, and it turned out to be the guitarist's final public appearance.
1972 - Rod Stewart was on top of world charts today with Never A Dull Moment , as was three Dog A Night with the song, Black and White. On the same day in the UK, Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizard, Wild Angels, Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm appeared at Buxton Festival in Derbyshire, England. On the same day in 1977, 29-year-old former T Rex singer, Marc Bolan, was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, "When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess."
1979 - While it was not the first song to feature rapping, the Sugarhill Gang's 32-year-old Rapper's Delight is considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song is ranked #248 on rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. The original 15-minute song was recorded in a single take.
1989 - September 16, Gloria Estefan topped world charts with Don't Wanna Lose Young, and on there same day on the other side of the planet, in Sydney Habour, Australia, U2 jammed with B.B. King on a boat rented for the blues legend's 64th birthday. Same day three years later and the multi-talented Barbara Streisand made her first live appearance in six years at a fundraiser for the U.S. Democratic party. Do you remember early Streisand? How about this 44-year-old video of her singing Cry Me A River?
2004 - Post Libertines Brit group, Babyshambles, began a 20-date UK tour at Concorde 2, Brighton, today. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles become his main project, plus his solo work. The band received perhaps a little too much as attention from the British tabloid press as a result of Doherty's personal life.
2008 - Artists come and go, musicians come and go, and always remembered and adored, but the song remains, and one who wrote so many immortal songs was Norman Whitfield who died three years ago today, in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as I Heard It through the Grapevine, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, Cloud Nine, War, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, and this one from the Temptations.
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* Some of yesterday's readers came from:
Jyväskylä, Western Finland, Finland; Singapore, Singapore; Cremorne, New South Wales, Australia; Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland; Bondi, New South Wales, Australia; Los Angeles, California, United States;Seoul, Seoul-t'ukpyolsi, Korea, Republic Of; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Munhaktong, Kyonggi-do, Korea; Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia; Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa; Greenleaf, Wisconsin, United States; Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Republic OfKarachi, Sindh, Pakistan; Pialba, Queensland, Australia; Laval, Quebec, Canada; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Chicago, Illinois, United States; Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States; Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil; León, Castilla Y Leon, Spain; Milan, Lombardia, Italy; Munich, Bayern, Germany; Nambour, Queensland, Australia; Grenoble, Rhone-alpes, France; Thrissur, Kerala, India; Terre Haute, Indiana, United States; Newmarket, Ontario, Canada; Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia.
