February 5, 1887 - OTELLO is an opera in four acts, written by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, and based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, 125 years ago today. After the completion and premiere of the opera Aida in 1871, Verdi decided that it was time for him to end his successful career as a composer of opera, though he was easily the most popular, and possibly the wealthiest, composer in Italy during the time. Following is Act lll, scenes 1 and 2 part 1. And do you recognise the singers, dear opera lover?
1940 - TUXEDO JUNCTION was a song composed by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash, and Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the song 72 years ago today. When the song became a #1 for Miller, Buddy Feyne had written lyrics Miller's arrangement. He slowed down the tempo, made it much more funkier, and added trumpet fills not found in the original recording. This is such a cool, cool song, with two versions of the song here, first one from the Glen Miller movie, second, and possibly the best you'll hear it sound because it is from the original '78 recording with the ambience and the twang of the studio in which it was recorded...in one take, no overdubbing. First up, the movie, dance scene on the screen above the recording studio, then the original and cleaned-up version.
1957 - TEDDY BOYS in England in particular loved Billy Haley and the Comets when they burst into our lives in 1956 with the first rock'n'roll white cross-over hit. It also happened to be the main soundtrack song on the break-through teen angst flick, Blackboard Jungle. So this was the day when Bill Haley arrived for his first British tour, and this is the song that took him there. The DVD The Legends of Rock & Roll states this clip is from Washington Square, a show hosted by Ray Bolger.
1958 - THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS AND SCIENCES (NARAS) formed a New York chapter, today, and is now better known as the Grammy Awards organisation. In the same year, the folk group Kingston Trio won a Grammy for their version of a song called Tom Dooley. Tom Dooley is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is best known today because of the hit version recorded by The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in Billboard, the Billboard R&B listing, and appearing in the Cashbox country music top 20. The song was selected as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc.
1967 - ROLLING STONES were not allowed to play their hit Let's Spend the Night Together, tonight, when they appeared on an ITV show in London, due in most part, to a Musicians' Union ban. the same thing happened a little earlier in the year on the Ed Sullivan Show in USA, when the group's lyrics were censored. The Stones weren't always the rebel-rousers they made out to be, compromising important creative lyrics for a TV promotion appearance. Instead of refusing to go on the shows, they sang, "Let's Spend Some Time Together". But this, dear reader, is the uncensored version from Top Of The Pops in 1967 and they didn't have to change the lyric.
1969 - THE MOVE were at #1 all over the world at this time, and on this very day on Brit charts, with Blackberry Way, the group's only British chart toper. Written by Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, Blackberry Way was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings from the group. It became the band's most successful single reaching #1 on the UK singles chart. Richard Tandy who would later play keyboards with Roy Wood's next band ELO, played harpsichord on the recording. Despite the success of the single, the style of psychedelically-tinged pop sat uneasily with bassist Trevor Burton, who left the group shortly after. The song is cited as being inspired by the Beatles' Penny Lane.
1971 - BLACK SABBATH started recording what would be their third album, Master Of Reality at Island Studios in London, England, today. The album is sometimes noted as the first 'stoner' rock album. Guitarist Tony Iommi, decided to downtune his guitar lower by three semi-tones, and bassist Geezer Butler also downtuned. The result was a noticeably 'darker' sound that almost two decades later would prove hugely influential on at least three of the biggest grunge acts, namely Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. The downtuning by Iommi was because he wanted a reduced string tension, thus making the guitar easier for him to play. From the album, this is the reformed black Sabbath in 199, with the smoking pot song, Sweet Leaf.
1972 - T REX were on top of Brit charts exactly 40 years ago today, with Telegram Sam, the group's third UK #1, and taken from their album The Slider. It was number one for two weeks. The song is perhaps best known for bringing the term 'main man' into popular culture, and the lyrics feature numerous figures such as Bobby (who is a natural born poet who is just outta sight), Golden Nose Slim (who knows where you been), Jungle Faced Jake (make no mistake) and Purple Pie Pete. It also contains these lines Marc Bolan wrote to refer to himself: "Me I funk/but I don't care/I ain't no square/with my corkscrew hair, a line which industrial rock band KMFDM would borrow for their song "Me I Funk". The riff is similar in character to their massive hit from the previous year, "Get It On"
1940 - TUXEDO JUNCTION was a song composed by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash, and Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the song 72 years ago today. When the song became a #1 for Miller, Buddy Feyne had written lyrics Miller's arrangement. He slowed down the tempo, made it much more funkier, and added trumpet fills not found in the original recording. This is such a cool, cool song, with two versions of the song here, first one from the Glen Miller movie, second, and possibly the best you'll hear it sound because it is from the original '78 recording with the ambience and the twang of the studio in which it was recorded...in one take, no overdubbing. First up, the movie, dance scene on the screen above the recording studio, then the original and cleaned-up version.
1957 - TEDDY BOYS in England in particular loved Billy Haley and the Comets when they burst into our lives in 1956 with the first rock'n'roll white cross-over hit. It also happened to be the main soundtrack song on the break-through teen angst flick, Blackboard Jungle. So this was the day when Bill Haley arrived for his first British tour, and this is the song that took him there. The DVD The Legends of Rock & Roll states this clip is from Washington Square, a show hosted by Ray Bolger.
1958 - THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS AND SCIENCES (NARAS) formed a New York chapter, today, and is now better known as the Grammy Awards organisation. In the same year, the folk group Kingston Trio won a Grammy for their version of a song called Tom Dooley. Tom Dooley is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is best known today because of the hit version recorded by The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in Billboard, the Billboard R&B listing, and appearing in the Cashbox country music top 20. The song was selected as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc.
1967 - ROLLING STONES were not allowed to play their hit Let's Spend the Night Together, tonight, when they appeared on an ITV show in London, due in most part, to a Musicians' Union ban. the same thing happened a little earlier in the year on the Ed Sullivan Show in USA, when the group's lyrics were censored. The Stones weren't always the rebel-rousers they made out to be, compromising important creative lyrics for a TV promotion appearance. Instead of refusing to go on the shows, they sang, "Let's Spend Some Time Together". But this, dear reader, is the uncensored version from Top Of The Pops in 1967 and they didn't have to change the lyric.
1969 - THE MOVE were at #1 all over the world at this time, and on this very day on Brit charts, with Blackberry Way, the group's only British chart toper. Written by Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, Blackberry Way was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings from the group. It became the band's most successful single reaching #1 on the UK singles chart. Richard Tandy who would later play keyboards with Roy Wood's next band ELO, played harpsichord on the recording. Despite the success of the single, the style of psychedelically-tinged pop sat uneasily with bassist Trevor Burton, who left the group shortly after. The song is cited as being inspired by the Beatles' Penny Lane.
1971 - BLACK SABBATH started recording what would be their third album, Master Of Reality at Island Studios in London, England, today. The album is sometimes noted as the first 'stoner' rock album. Guitarist Tony Iommi, decided to downtune his guitar lower by three semi-tones, and bassist Geezer Butler also downtuned. The result was a noticeably 'darker' sound that almost two decades later would prove hugely influential on at least three of the biggest grunge acts, namely Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. The downtuning by Iommi was because he wanted a reduced string tension, thus making the guitar easier for him to play. From the album, this is the reformed black Sabbath in 199, with the smoking pot song, Sweet Leaf.
1972 - T REX were on top of Brit charts exactly 40 years ago today, with Telegram Sam, the group's third UK #1, and taken from their album The Slider. It was number one for two weeks. The song is perhaps best known for bringing the term 'main man' into popular culture, and the lyrics feature numerous figures such as Bobby (who is a natural born poet who is just outta sight), Golden Nose Slim (who knows where you been), Jungle Faced Jake (make no mistake) and Purple Pie Pete. It also contains these lines Marc Bolan wrote to refer to himself: "Me I funk/but I don't care/I ain't no square/with my corkscrew hair, a line which industrial rock band KMFDM would borrow for their song "Me I Funk". The riff is similar in character to their massive hit from the previous year, "Get It On"
