December 16, 1770 - LUDWIG Van Beethoven was born today, so it is assumed, based on the fact that he was baptised on the 17th: in those days, in Bonn, Germany, it was common practice for babies to be baptised the day after their birth. Bonn was then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire. Beethoven moved to Vienna in his early 20s, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly attracted attention because of his reputation as a virtuoso piano player. As he gained fame in his later twenties his hearing began to deteriorate but he continued to compose, conduct, and perform - even after becoming completely deaf. He completely revolutionized orchestral music, taking it out of the Classical and into the Romantic era. It is said his stormy personality moulded much of his music, as did his progressive, democratic politics and his personal triumph over the deafness that struck him in midlife. One of his acknowledged masterpieces is the Ninth Symphony (Choral) with its famous Ode To Joy, which, in its entirety, is a little more than an hour in duration - and that is if it played too fast. Beethoven was a musical revolutionary and will always remain one of the most famous and influential of all composers. Following are two of his best known pieces: Sonata Claro de Luna (Moonlight Sonata) - is there a more beautiful piece of music than this? Following that legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein performs Beethoven's Ode to Joy with the Vienna Philharmonic. Stick with it.
1966 - JIMI Hendrix and his band Experience released their first single recording 45 years ago today. Hey Joe had been originally rejected by the Decca record label, and picked up by Polydor Records. Ironically, the song was never a major pop hit outside the UK at the time, but it has become one of Hendrix's most enduring songs, and a rock'n'roll classic. But he did not write the song. While claimed by the late Tim Rose to be a traditional song, or often erroneously attributed to the pen of American musician Dino Valenti (who also went by the names Chester or Chet Powers, and Jesse Farrow), Hey Joe was actually registered for copyright in the US in 1962 by Billy Roberts. Scottish folk singer Len Partridge has claimed that he helped write the song with Roberts when they both performed in clubs in Edinburgh in 1956. But it was the aforementioned folk rock singer Tim Rose’s slower version of the song that inspired the first single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
1967 - ROLLING Stones announced that Marianne Faithfull was the first signing to their Mother Earth label, today, but her career had already been in forward motion for a couple of years, with a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as Tears Go By. Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s, and during the first two thirds of that decade, she produced only two little-noticed studio albums. After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the highly acclaimed landmark album, Broken English. Faithfull's subsequent solo work, often critically acclaimed, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history. As a songwriter she co-wrote Sister Morphine, which is featured on the Stones' Sticky Fingers album. Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life would be reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best known songs: Sympathy for the Devil was in part inspired by The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, a book which Faithfull introduced to Mick Jagger. The song You Can't Always Get What You Want was written about Faithfull. Her career has now spanned five decades. Following are a few clips as we spotlight on Marianne Faithfull.
1970 - Five singles and five albums by Credence Clearwater Revival were certified gold in the US today, the singles being: Down on the Corner, Lookin out My Back Door, Travelin' Band, Bad Moon Rising and Up around the Bend. The LPs were Cosmo's Factory, Willy and the Poor Boys, Green River, Bayou Country and Creedence Clearwater Revival. One of the great rock'n'roll bands, and John Fogerty one of the great rock'n'roll singers and songwriters. Do you remember this song?
1971 - FRANK Zappa's 200 Motels film opened at London's Piccadilly Classic Cinema tonight. This is a weird movie, no question, but so, so far ahead of its time in terms of composition and far-outness! It's an American-British musical surrealist film co-written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville. Great soundtrack, too, which was released later that year. Here's the movie trailer.
1972 - MANY acts have done versions of this classic song from '72, including Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder and many more. But this is the original which hits #1 around the world from today, where it sat on top of US charts. It's a slow, sexy, mood-setter for romance, wine and sex. So they say. ;)
1988 - AMERICAN soul and disco singer Sylvester James died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco aged 41. Following a career of singing back up vocals for acts of the calibre of Aretha Franklin, Sylvester smashed into world charts with You Make Me Feel Mighty Real. It was one of the first cross-gender sexual songs of the disco era, and remains one of the best disco songs of the time. So if you want wiggling asses, bobbing boobs, trannies and outrageous disco shots, check out *this* video, dear reader.
1993 - PREJUDICE and discrimination showed its ugly head again today, when stories began circulating about Michael Jackson's alleged improprieties with young boys. Without proof, without even any kind of investigation, St. Louis radio station KEZK announced that it would be no longer be playing the singer's records. Sadly, this trend took off and became the norm with matters pertaining to Michael Jackson - one of the most maligned artists of all time. Four years later, and American singer songwriter Nicolette Larson died aged 45 of complications arising from cerebral edema. Ms. Larson worked with Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys and The Doobie Brothers. She remains best known for her cover version of Neil Young's song, Lotta Love. Then we have Young's original.
1966 - JIMI Hendrix and his band Experience released their first single recording 45 years ago today. Hey Joe had been originally rejected by the Decca record label, and picked up by Polydor Records. Ironically, the song was never a major pop hit outside the UK at the time, but it has become one of Hendrix's most enduring songs, and a rock'n'roll classic. But he did not write the song. While claimed by the late Tim Rose to be a traditional song, or often erroneously attributed to the pen of American musician Dino Valenti (who also went by the names Chester or Chet Powers, and Jesse Farrow), Hey Joe was actually registered for copyright in the US in 1962 by Billy Roberts. Scottish folk singer Len Partridge has claimed that he helped write the song with Roberts when they both performed in clubs in Edinburgh in 1956. But it was the aforementioned folk rock singer Tim Rose’s slower version of the song that inspired the first single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
1967 - ROLLING Stones announced that Marianne Faithfull was the first signing to their Mother Earth label, today, but her career had already been in forward motion for a couple of years, with a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as Tears Go By. Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s, and during the first two thirds of that decade, she produced only two little-noticed studio albums. After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the highly acclaimed landmark album, Broken English. Faithfull's subsequent solo work, often critically acclaimed, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history. As a songwriter she co-wrote Sister Morphine, which is featured on the Stones' Sticky Fingers album. Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life would be reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best known songs: Sympathy for the Devil was in part inspired by The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, a book which Faithfull introduced to Mick Jagger. The song You Can't Always Get What You Want was written about Faithfull. Her career has now spanned five decades. Following are a few clips as we spotlight on Marianne Faithfull.
1970 - Five singles and five albums by Credence Clearwater Revival were certified gold in the US today, the singles being: Down on the Corner, Lookin out My Back Door, Travelin' Band, Bad Moon Rising and Up around the Bend. The LPs were Cosmo's Factory, Willy and the Poor Boys, Green River, Bayou Country and Creedence Clearwater Revival. One of the great rock'n'roll bands, and John Fogerty one of the great rock'n'roll singers and songwriters. Do you remember this song?
1971 - FRANK Zappa's 200 Motels film opened at London's Piccadilly Classic Cinema tonight. This is a weird movie, no question, but so, so far ahead of its time in terms of composition and far-outness! It's an American-British musical surrealist film co-written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville. Great soundtrack, too, which was released later that year. Here's the movie trailer.
1972 - MANY acts have done versions of this classic song from '72, including Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder and many more. But this is the original which hits #1 around the world from today, where it sat on top of US charts. It's a slow, sexy, mood-setter for romance, wine and sex. So they say. ;)
1988 - AMERICAN soul and disco singer Sylvester James died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco aged 41. Following a career of singing back up vocals for acts of the calibre of Aretha Franklin, Sylvester smashed into world charts with You Make Me Feel Mighty Real. It was one of the first cross-gender sexual songs of the disco era, and remains one of the best disco songs of the time. So if you want wiggling asses, bobbing boobs, trannies and outrageous disco shots, check out *this* video, dear reader.
1993 - PREJUDICE and discrimination showed its ugly head again today, when stories began circulating about Michael Jackson's alleged improprieties with young boys. Without proof, without even any kind of investigation, St. Louis radio station KEZK announced that it would be no longer be playing the singer's records. Sadly, this trend took off and became the norm with matters pertaining to Michael Jackson - one of the most maligned artists of all time. Four years later, and American singer songwriter Nicolette Larson died aged 45 of complications arising from cerebral edema. Ms. Larson worked with Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys and The Doobie Brothers. She remains best known for her cover version of Neil Young's song, Lotta Love. Then we have Young's original.
