December 31, January 1, 2, 1764 - WOLFGANG Amadeus Mozart played for the Royal Family at Versailles in France, 247 years ago. And just to give you a hint of an idea of the genius of Mozart, involve yourself in these spectacular movie excerpts of his life.
1923 - TWENTIES popular singer Eddie Cantor opened in the lead role of Kid Boots today. In one of the earliest experiments with synchronised sound, Eddie Cantor did his vaudeville act of stand-up comedy and songs against a plain backdrop. If you wish to get a taste of what old-time Vaudeville was like, take a look at this fascinating and amusing talkie short, featuring Eddie Cantor, who delivers a six-minute routine consisting of several jokes, two songs, and one comic poem, performed before a black backdrop in an empty studio. It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't have captured him in front of a live audience - as it is, Eddie's jokes are met with eerie silence, but George Olsen's dance band was present off-camera to provide jaunty jazz accompaniment. This short captures Cantor's act at the point when his career was really taking off, when he was starring in the aforementioned Broadway musical comedy Kid Boots, produced by legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld. The film was made at the midtown Manhattan studio of Lee De Forest, pioneer of the sound-on-film process known as Phonofilm.
1929 - GUY Lombardo was a Candian-American violinist and band leader who formed the Royal Canadians with several musicians from his home town, including his three brothers. They group gained international success, and billed themselves as producing 'the sweetest music this side of heaven.' It is estimated the group sold between 100 and 300 million phonograph records during their long reign.
1941 - THE ANDREWS Sisters recorded Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy today, the song eventually becoming a classic. Following is a video of their version, taken from the 1941 Abbot and Costello movie, Buck Privates...great tap-dancing, pitch-perfect harmonies. I'd love to see a modern version of this today.
1953 - HANK Williams died today of drug and alcohol overdose, and some say, a broken heart, at the age of 29. Second video here is an audio of Hank's funeral with legendary Roy Acup at the helm. Preceding that is Hank himself, singing what some say is the best country song ever written, Lovesick Blues.
1961 - THE BEACH Boys played a show under this name for the first time at a Ritchie Valens memorial concert in Long Beach, California, half a century ago today. The Beach Boys formed in the same year and gained popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance. Brian Wilson's growing creative ambitions later transformed them into a more artistically innovative group that earned critical praise and influenced many later musicians, including the Beatles. The group was initially composed of singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson, his brothers, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. This core quintet was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 1988. The group has had 36 world Top 40 hits (the most of any American rock band) and 56 Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles. Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys as number 12 in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. According to Billboard, in terms of singles and album sales, The Beach Boys are the #1-selling American band of all time. The boys' father, Murray, got the group's first paying gig on New Year's Eve, 1961, at the Valens Memorial Dance in Long Beach, headlined by Ike and Tina Turner. The boys went home with $50 apiece. Following out take videos demonstrate clearly the magic of their harmonies. Final clip is of the Beatles' George Martin talking with Brian Wilson.
1962 - THE BEATLES auditioned for Decca Records in London, today, but failed the audition. The company opted for Brian Poole & the Tremeloes because the group was based in the south of England and not the north as were the Beatles. The following clip features Brian Poole and the Tremeloes two years later at a London concert promoted by music magazine Musical Express. I particularly like Brian's comb-over hair style. Here's two of their biggest hits. The Beatles by this time already ruled the music world.
1968 - JOHN Fogerty and his brothers' fortunes seem to change from this day when they changed their name from the Blue Velvets to Creedence Clearwater Revival. People forget just how big this band really was, in terms of record sales. CCR was definite singles band at a time when rock was evolving further and further away from the forces that had made the music possible in the first place. Creedence Clearwater Revival brought rock music back to its roots with their concise synthesis of rockabilly, swamp pop, R&B, and country. Though CCR was very much a group in their tight, punchy arrangements, their vision was very much that of the group's singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader John Fogerty. His classic compositions for Creedence both evoked enduring images of Americana, some reflected burning social issues of the day. The band's genius was their ability to accomplish this with the economic, primal power of a classic rockabilly ensemble. In effect, CCR, started the death of prog rock, in its first manifestation.
1968 - NEWARK, New Jersey police confiscated a shipment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album Two Virgins (The album featured a nude cover) today, thus starting the US Government's long and continued demonisation of John Lennon. Dear Reader, check out this 42-year-old home-made movie of Two Virgins, made by Lennon and Ono. Why would anyone want to destroy a music vifeo is the question I ask myself.
1969 - JIMI Hendrix introduced his new Band of Gypsys at a show that was recorded and later released as the live album Band of Gypsys. This is from a rarely seen excerpt from 1969, featuring Band of Gypsies on Britain's Lulu TV show. I think this is one of many great performances of Hendrix now floating around youtube and other places.
1975 - ELVIS Presley performed for 60,000 fans at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan today. He set a world record for earning $800,000 for a single concert by a single artist. Here's a piece of bootleg audio of that historic show, plus a few visuals...Elvis died just 18 months later.
1978 - BAUHAUS gave their performance debut in England today, the Northampton band having been formed in the same year. The group originally went by the name Bauhaus 1919, dropping the latter portion within a year of their formation. With their dark, gloomy sound and image, Bauhaus are generally considered the first gothic rock group. Like their name though, their music wasn't particularly original...leaning more towards their gothic image rather than being radical as their names suggests they should have been. Here they are with their Bowie cover and then their Bela Lugosi hit. Nevertheless they were a reasonably influential group.
1979 - EX-SEX Pistol, Sid Vicious went on trial for the October 1978 murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, today, the case opening in New York City. Vicious died of a heroin overdose while out on bail, thereby not living to hear the verdict. This is the whole sad story of the entire sordid affair.
1980 - LARRY Williams was found dead in his home in Los Angeles, California today. The gunshot wound to the head was never confirmed as the result of a murder or suicide. Here is his original version of one of his many hit records, Bad Boy, preceded by a credible cover version by The Beatles.
1982 - ABBA's final concert was held in Stockholm today. I think this video is actually from their final TV appearance. Whatever the case they were a phenomenon. For lots more Abba, go to our blog's archive search engine.
1983 - ANNIE the musical closed on Broadway at the Uris Theatre after 2,377 performances. And this is one of the best scenes from the movie, featuring the song, It's A Hard Knock Life, starring a young Alicia Morton in the starring role.
1985 - RICKY Nelson and six others died in an airplane crash near DeKalb, Texas, today. A fire had broken out on the plane. One of early pop rock's icons, he was a life-long performer. Here's news headlines of his death, and then a roundup of Nelson's career. It has never been confirmed whether or not the fire started from an accident of free-basing.
1985 - VH-1 premiered as an adult contemporary music video channel with Marvin Gaye's Star Spangled Banner video. Sadly, Marvin had died the previous year, an early death, by murder, shot by his father.
1993 - Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, NV, and this is she, live on the Jay Leno Show, live from Las Vegas.
1923 - TWENTIES popular singer Eddie Cantor opened in the lead role of Kid Boots today. In one of the earliest experiments with synchronised sound, Eddie Cantor did his vaudeville act of stand-up comedy and songs against a plain backdrop. If you wish to get a taste of what old-time Vaudeville was like, take a look at this fascinating and amusing talkie short, featuring Eddie Cantor, who delivers a six-minute routine consisting of several jokes, two songs, and one comic poem, performed before a black backdrop in an empty studio. It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't have captured him in front of a live audience - as it is, Eddie's jokes are met with eerie silence, but George Olsen's dance band was present off-camera to provide jaunty jazz accompaniment. This short captures Cantor's act at the point when his career was really taking off, when he was starring in the aforementioned Broadway musical comedy Kid Boots, produced by legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld. The film was made at the midtown Manhattan studio of Lee De Forest, pioneer of the sound-on-film process known as Phonofilm.
1929 - GUY Lombardo was a Candian-American violinist and band leader who formed the Royal Canadians with several musicians from his home town, including his three brothers. They group gained international success, and billed themselves as producing 'the sweetest music this side of heaven.' It is estimated the group sold between 100 and 300 million phonograph records during their long reign.
1941 - THE ANDREWS Sisters recorded Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy today, the song eventually becoming a classic. Following is a video of their version, taken from the 1941 Abbot and Costello movie, Buck Privates...great tap-dancing, pitch-perfect harmonies. I'd love to see a modern version of this today.
1953 - HANK Williams died today of drug and alcohol overdose, and some say, a broken heart, at the age of 29. Second video here is an audio of Hank's funeral with legendary Roy Acup at the helm. Preceding that is Hank himself, singing what some say is the best country song ever written, Lovesick Blues.
1961 - THE BEACH Boys played a show under this name for the first time at a Ritchie Valens memorial concert in Long Beach, California, half a century ago today. The Beach Boys formed in the same year and gained popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance. Brian Wilson's growing creative ambitions later transformed them into a more artistically innovative group that earned critical praise and influenced many later musicians, including the Beatles. The group was initially composed of singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson, his brothers, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. This core quintet was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 1988. The group has had 36 world Top 40 hits (the most of any American rock band) and 56 Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles. Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys as number 12 in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. According to Billboard, in terms of singles and album sales, The Beach Boys are the #1-selling American band of all time. The boys' father, Murray, got the group's first paying gig on New Year's Eve, 1961, at the Valens Memorial Dance in Long Beach, headlined by Ike and Tina Turner. The boys went home with $50 apiece. Following out take videos demonstrate clearly the magic of their harmonies. Final clip is of the Beatles' George Martin talking with Brian Wilson.
1962 - THE BEATLES auditioned for Decca Records in London, today, but failed the audition. The company opted for Brian Poole & the Tremeloes because the group was based in the south of England and not the north as were the Beatles. The following clip features Brian Poole and the Tremeloes two years later at a London concert promoted by music magazine Musical Express. I particularly like Brian's comb-over hair style. Here's two of their biggest hits. The Beatles by this time already ruled the music world.
1968 - JOHN Fogerty and his brothers' fortunes seem to change from this day when they changed their name from the Blue Velvets to Creedence Clearwater Revival. People forget just how big this band really was, in terms of record sales. CCR was definite singles band at a time when rock was evolving further and further away from the forces that had made the music possible in the first place. Creedence Clearwater Revival brought rock music back to its roots with their concise synthesis of rockabilly, swamp pop, R&B, and country. Though CCR was very much a group in their tight, punchy arrangements, their vision was very much that of the group's singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader John Fogerty. His classic compositions for Creedence both evoked enduring images of Americana, some reflected burning social issues of the day. The band's genius was their ability to accomplish this with the economic, primal power of a classic rockabilly ensemble. In effect, CCR, started the death of prog rock, in its first manifestation.
1968 - NEWARK, New Jersey police confiscated a shipment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album Two Virgins (The album featured a nude cover) today, thus starting the US Government's long and continued demonisation of John Lennon. Dear Reader, check out this 42-year-old home-made movie of Two Virgins, made by Lennon and Ono. Why would anyone want to destroy a music vifeo is the question I ask myself.
1969 - JIMI Hendrix introduced his new Band of Gypsys at a show that was recorded and later released as the live album Band of Gypsys. This is from a rarely seen excerpt from 1969, featuring Band of Gypsies on Britain's Lulu TV show. I think this is one of many great performances of Hendrix now floating around youtube and other places.
1975 - ELVIS Presley performed for 60,000 fans at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan today. He set a world record for earning $800,000 for a single concert by a single artist. Here's a piece of bootleg audio of that historic show, plus a few visuals...Elvis died just 18 months later.
1978 - BAUHAUS gave their performance debut in England today, the Northampton band having been formed in the same year. The group originally went by the name Bauhaus 1919, dropping the latter portion within a year of their formation. With their dark, gloomy sound and image, Bauhaus are generally considered the first gothic rock group. Like their name though, their music wasn't particularly original...leaning more towards their gothic image rather than being radical as their names suggests they should have been. Here they are with their Bowie cover and then their Bela Lugosi hit. Nevertheless they were a reasonably influential group.
1979 - EX-SEX Pistol, Sid Vicious went on trial for the October 1978 murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, today, the case opening in New York City. Vicious died of a heroin overdose while out on bail, thereby not living to hear the verdict. This is the whole sad story of the entire sordid affair.
1980 - LARRY Williams was found dead in his home in Los Angeles, California today. The gunshot wound to the head was never confirmed as the result of a murder or suicide. Here is his original version of one of his many hit records, Bad Boy, preceded by a credible cover version by The Beatles.
1982 - ABBA's final concert was held in Stockholm today. I think this video is actually from their final TV appearance. Whatever the case they were a phenomenon. For lots more Abba, go to our blog's archive search engine.
1983 - ANNIE the musical closed on Broadway at the Uris Theatre after 2,377 performances. And this is one of the best scenes from the movie, featuring the song, It's A Hard Knock Life, starring a young Alicia Morton in the starring role.
1985 - RICKY Nelson and six others died in an airplane crash near DeKalb, Texas, today. A fire had broken out on the plane. One of early pop rock's icons, he was a life-long performer. Here's news headlines of his death, and then a roundup of Nelson's career. It has never been confirmed whether or not the fire started from an accident of free-basing.
1985 - VH-1 premiered as an adult contemporary music video channel with Marvin Gaye's Star Spangled Banner video. Sadly, Marvin had died the previous year, an early death, by murder, shot by his father.
1993 - Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, NV, and this is she, live on the Jay Leno Show, live from Las Vegas.
