December 15, 1944 - THIS was the sad day 66 years ago, when a single-engine plane carrying U.S. Army Major Glenn Miller disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel while en route to Paris. The true fate of the plane and its passengers has never been determined, but he was presumed dead. No mosh pit here, but what they have here is pure magic. Following is some Glenn Miller music, featuring Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle, Modernaires, & Tex Beneke. There's the great Jackie Gleason on bass and Caesar Romero on piano, with George Montgomery playing solo trumpet. Enjoy these three timeless pieces of music from the late, great Glenn Miller.
1943 - FATS Waller died of pneumonia on a train trip near Kansas City, Missouri, today. The American jazz musician, singer and composer wrote a glad bag filled with classic songs from the day, including Ain't Misbehavin, Your Feet's Too Big and The Reefer Song. In 1926 Waller was kidnapped at gunpoint in Chicago and driven to a club owned by gangster Al Capone. Inside the club he was ordered to perform at what turned out to be a surprise birthday party for Capone. This is one of Waller's many hits, The Joint Is Jumpin'.
1959 - EVERLY Brothers recorded Let It Be Me in New York City, today, the first time the brothers recorded outside of Nashville, and the first time they recorded with strings. This here's the song at the time, dear reader, but another live version a few decades later, showing they improved with age. Their harmonies influenced The Beatles' harmony style, no question about that.
1967 - BEACH Boys met Maharishi Yogi in Paris, today. and learned transcendental meditation, making it the Beatles and Beach Boys seeing the man who supposedly conned them all. A year later and Grace Slick appeared with Jefferson Airplane on the Smothers Brothers TV show, and this is the result.
1969 - JOHN Lennon gave his final live performance in England, 42 years ago today, at a UNICEF benefit in London's Lyceum Theatre. No visuals, but how about this version, a year later in NYC - this sizzling version of Cold Turkey.
1977 - SEX Pistols were denied visas to enter America, today, only two days before they were to appear on NBC's Saturday Night Live. More than a decade later, and James Brown was sentenced to a six-year jail term for leading police on a late-night, two-state car chase. He was released on February 27, 1991. Here he is, performing live a couple of weeks prior to his arrest, live in Rome in 1988.
1992 - DR. Dre's debut album The Chronic was released, but no videos are available, dear reader, sorry about that. It's now 1977, and the movie Spice World premiered around the world. Funny when you look back now, but isn't life funny - in general - when you look back. The Spice Girls were not the Supremes but they were fun for a while for a generation of girls...and some blokes. Right?
1998 - ANDREW Lloyd Webber was acquitted on charges that he had plagiarised a 20-year-old song to write the theme for The Phantom Of The Opera. And this was the song in dispute, the title song. Loved the play, loved the movie, loved this song. And adore this version from Sarah Brightman & Antonio Banderas, 23 years ago - a tribute to Webber musical night at the Royal Albert Hall.
1943 - FATS Waller died of pneumonia on a train trip near Kansas City, Missouri, today. The American jazz musician, singer and composer wrote a glad bag filled with classic songs from the day, including Ain't Misbehavin, Your Feet's Too Big and The Reefer Song. In 1926 Waller was kidnapped at gunpoint in Chicago and driven to a club owned by gangster Al Capone. Inside the club he was ordered to perform at what turned out to be a surprise birthday party for Capone. This is one of Waller's many hits, The Joint Is Jumpin'.
1959 - EVERLY Brothers recorded Let It Be Me in New York City, today, the first time the brothers recorded outside of Nashville, and the first time they recorded with strings. This here's the song at the time, dear reader, but another live version a few decades later, showing they improved with age. Their harmonies influenced The Beatles' harmony style, no question about that.
1967 - BEACH Boys met Maharishi Yogi in Paris, today. and learned transcendental meditation, making it the Beatles and Beach Boys seeing the man who supposedly conned them all. A year later and Grace Slick appeared with Jefferson Airplane on the Smothers Brothers TV show, and this is the result.
1969 - JOHN Lennon gave his final live performance in England, 42 years ago today, at a UNICEF benefit in London's Lyceum Theatre. No visuals, but how about this version, a year later in NYC - this sizzling version of Cold Turkey.
1977 - SEX Pistols were denied visas to enter America, today, only two days before they were to appear on NBC's Saturday Night Live. More than a decade later, and James Brown was sentenced to a six-year jail term for leading police on a late-night, two-state car chase. He was released on February 27, 1991. Here he is, performing live a couple of weeks prior to his arrest, live in Rome in 1988.
1992 - DR. Dre's debut album The Chronic was released, but no videos are available, dear reader, sorry about that. It's now 1977, and the movie Spice World premiered around the world. Funny when you look back now, but isn't life funny - in general - when you look back. The Spice Girls were not the Supremes but they were fun for a while for a generation of girls...and some blokes. Right?
1998 - ANDREW Lloyd Webber was acquitted on charges that he had plagiarised a 20-year-old song to write the theme for The Phantom Of The Opera. And this was the song in dispute, the title song. Loved the play, loved the movie, loved this song. And adore this version from Sarah Brightman & Antonio Banderas, 23 years ago - a tribute to Webber musical night at the Royal Albert Hall.
