September 3/4
1940 - Artie Shaw is widely regarded as one of jazz's finest clarinetists, as he led one of America's most popular big bands of the late 1930s and early '40s. He also had a little band, the Gramercy Five, and this was the day, 71 years ago, they recorded Summit Ridge Drive. His signature song was a 1938 version of Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine, one of the era's defining recordings, and if you go to our archive search engine, you will find this song in vie form, performed by Shaw.. Musically restless, he was also an early proponent of the so-called Third Stream, a music genre that blended classical and jazz. Shaw also recorded some small-group sessions that flirted with be-bop before retiring from music in 1954. The American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings. Have a listen to Artie Shaw, right here, 1940, and check out that high note C.
1942 - Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the so-called bobby soxers. His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives in Hoboken where he is said to have carried his own P.A. system, he eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four then with Harry James, then Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra remains one of the major king-pins of the entertainment industry during the past century. Accordingly, dear reader, here's a quick flick through his career, and some Sinatra music with gorgeous photos. In May 1941, Sinatra was at the top of the male singer polls in the Billboard and Down Beat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. On December 31, 1942, Sinatra made opened at New York's famous Paramount Theater, and the show prompted entertainment legend, Jack Benny, to comment: "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion...All this for a fellow I never heard of." When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, 35,000 fans caused a near riot outside the venue because they were not allowed in.
1955 - Former country and western band, Bill Haley & the Comets refused their first offer to tour outside the U.S. because of a fear of flying. Haley and his band turned down a $2,000 offer for a 15-date tour of Australia because of their fear. For a short period in time, and by default, Haley & the Comets were the most popular band in the world due to the fact that their cover song, Rock Around The Clock, was the first white mainstream rock'n'roll hit record. Founded in 1952, and continuing in various forms until Haley's death in 1981, the band was one of the earliest groups of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. From the end of 1954 until the end of 1956 the group would place nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.
1963 - This was the date that Frank Sinatra created his own indie record label, Reprise Records. For full details and video, go to our archive search engine. It is also the day, three years later, that Brit folk-rock singer, Donovan went to #1 on the US singles chart with Sunshine Superman, the song then hitting top of the charts all over the world. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
1969 - As the seventies drew to close, The Four Seasons' I've Got You Under My Skin, and old standard song given a modern treatment, was released. When I was a kid I used to love some of their songs, and here's a medley of their many hits, including that old standard. The quality's not that good on some, but here are The Four Seasons on a TV show called Popendipity, in 1967, performing a medley of Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, I've Got You Under My Skin.
1970 - This is the day that Rolling Stone magazine reported that British invasion group, Dave Clark Five, had broken up. Without question, one of the most underrated bands of the British beat boom of the sixties, the Dave Clarke Five sold more than 50 million records until their split in 1970. The group topped the UK charts in 1965 with their iconic pop song Glad All Over, and their distinctive thunderous production set the them apart. Their slick melodic sensibility masked their boom factor- make no mistake, until the Who emerged, the Dave Clarke 5 were the loudest group in the U.K. Drummer, songwriter and manager Dave Clark provided a perfect foundation for Mike Smith's soulful vocals. Reaching the Top Forty 17 times in just three years, with more appearances on the Ed Sullivan show than the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, the DC5 were an enormous pop phenomenon. Here's a brief rundown of their career plus their induction into the Hall of Fame.
1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK, and variations of those figures all over the world: Moody Blue was the #1 album while Way Down was #1 on the singles chart, and on this day just five years later, the sea change in rock music was epitomised by the
three day US Festival in San Bernardino, California. The lineup included Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Ramones, B52's, The English Beat, Gang Of Four, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, Jackson Browne. Apple Computers founder Steven Wozniak bankrolled the festival.
1940 - Artie Shaw is widely regarded as one of jazz's finest clarinetists, as he led one of America's most popular big bands of the late 1930s and early '40s. He also had a little band, the Gramercy Five, and this was the day, 71 years ago, they recorded Summit Ridge Drive. His signature song was a 1938 version of Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine, one of the era's defining recordings, and if you go to our archive search engine, you will find this song in vie form, performed by Shaw.. Musically restless, he was also an early proponent of the so-called Third Stream, a music genre that blended classical and jazz. Shaw also recorded some small-group sessions that flirted with be-bop before retiring from music in 1954. The American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings. Have a listen to Artie Shaw, right here, 1940, and check out that high note C.
1942 - Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the so-called bobby soxers. His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives in Hoboken where he is said to have carried his own P.A. system, he eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four then with Harry James, then Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra remains one of the major king-pins of the entertainment industry during the past century. Accordingly, dear reader, here's a quick flick through his career, and some Sinatra music with gorgeous photos. In May 1941, Sinatra was at the top of the male singer polls in the Billboard and Down Beat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. On December 31, 1942, Sinatra made opened at New York's famous Paramount Theater, and the show prompted entertainment legend, Jack Benny, to comment: "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion...All this for a fellow I never heard of." When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, 35,000 fans caused a near riot outside the venue because they were not allowed in.
1955 - Former country and western band, Bill Haley & the Comets refused their first offer to tour outside the U.S. because of a fear of flying. Haley and his band turned down a $2,000 offer for a 15-date tour of Australia because of their fear. For a short period in time, and by default, Haley & the Comets were the most popular band in the world due to the fact that their cover song, Rock Around The Clock, was the first white mainstream rock'n'roll hit record. Founded in 1952, and continuing in various forms until Haley's death in 1981, the band was one of the earliest groups of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. From the end of 1954 until the end of 1956 the group would place nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.
1963 - This was the date that Frank Sinatra created his own indie record label, Reprise Records. For full details and video, go to our archive search engine. It is also the day, three years later, that Brit folk-rock singer, Donovan went to #1 on the US singles chart with Sunshine Superman, the song then hitting top of the charts all over the world. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
1969 - As the seventies drew to close, The Four Seasons' I've Got You Under My Skin, and old standard song given a modern treatment, was released. When I was a kid I used to love some of their songs, and here's a medley of their many hits, including that old standard. The quality's not that good on some, but here are The Four Seasons on a TV show called Popendipity, in 1967, performing a medley of Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, I've Got You Under My Skin.
1970 - This is the day that Rolling Stone magazine reported that British invasion group, Dave Clark Five, had broken up. Without question, one of the most underrated bands of the British beat boom of the sixties, the Dave Clarke Five sold more than 50 million records until their split in 1970. The group topped the UK charts in 1965 with their iconic pop song Glad All Over, and their distinctive thunderous production set the them apart. Their slick melodic sensibility masked their boom factor- make no mistake, until the Who emerged, the Dave Clarke 5 were the loudest group in the U.K. Drummer, songwriter and manager Dave Clark provided a perfect foundation for Mike Smith's soulful vocals. Reaching the Top Forty 17 times in just three years, with more appearances on the Ed Sullivan show than the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, the DC5 were an enormous pop phenomenon. Here's a brief rundown of their career plus their induction into the Hall of Fame.
1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK, and variations of those figures all over the world: Moody Blue was the #1 album while Way Down was #1 on the singles chart, and on this day just five years later, the sea change in rock music was epitomised by the
three day US Festival in San Bernardino, California. The lineup included Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Ramones, B52's, The English Beat, Gang Of Four, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, Jackson Browne. Apple Computers founder Steven Wozniak bankrolled the festival.
