Today in Music History for June 15:
In 1843, composer Edvard Grieg, whose strongly nationalist style led to his being known as "The Voice of Norway," was born.
In 1872, the Governor General's "Foot Guards Band" made its debut in Ottawa. The volunteer militia band participated in the opening of Madison Square Garden in New York in 1925 and at the opening of the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, N.Y., and Fort Erie, Ont., in 1937. The band still performs in the Ottawa area.
In 1920, the first radio broadcast of live music took place from Chelmsford, England. It featured Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba.
In 1920, Sam Sniderman, the founder of the legendary Sam the Record Man music store, was born in Toronto. Sniderman and his brother, Sid, opened a small store on College Street in Toronto in 1937 and together they built a chain of Sam the Record Man stores that spanned the country. He opened his flagship store on Toronto's Yonge St. in 1959. The iconic store with its huge flashing red neon record signs closed in 2007, seven years after he retired. A major promoter of Canadian music, Sniderman was named a Member of the Order of Canada, and inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. He also received a Governor General award and Honorary doctorates from Ryerson University and the University of Prince Edward Island. He died Sept. 23, 2012.
In 1937, Waylon Jennings, a leader of the 1970s outlaw country movement, was born in Littlefield, Texas. Along with Willie Nelson, Jennings spearheaded the movement away from heavy orchestral backing towards a leaner, harder sound that edged close to rock. Jennings met Buddy Holly in 1958, and ended up touring as Holly's bass player. Holly died in a February 1959 plane crash, along with Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), after Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson. Jennings signed with RCA in 1965, but by 1970 he was becoming disenchanted at being unable to choose his own material, musicians and production. On the 1972 album, "Ladies Love Outlaws," he was at last able to use his own band, "The Waylors," and to record current material such as "Three Dog Night's" "Never Been to Spain." His 1973 album, "Honky Tonk Heroes," solidified Jennings' reputation as a country outlaw. The 1976 album "Wanted -- the Outlaws" -- featuring Jennings, his wife, Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser -- became the first country LP to sell one million copies. Jennings also narrated -- and sang the theme song to -- the popular 1970s TV series, "The Dukes of Hazzard." After a long battle with diabetes-related health problems, he died at his Arizona home on Feb. 13, 2002.
In 1956, John Lennon met Paul McCartney for the first time, at a church bazaar in Liverpool.
In 1963, "Sukiyaki" became a hit on the American pop chart. It was the first Japanese song ever to go to No. 1 in the U.S.
In 1965, Bob Dylan recorded "Like a Rolling Stone" at Columbia Records' studios in New York. Dylan's turn to rock proved popular in this case, with the song reaching No. 2 on the Billboard chart.
In 1966, "The Beatles" released "Yesterday and Today" with its controversial "butcher" sleeve - a photo of "The Beatles" surrounded by bloody baby doll parts. The cover was changed to a more conventional photo, and the butcher version became a collector's item.
In 1967, singer and guitarist Peter Green left "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers" to form "Fleetwood Mac" with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Jeremy Spencer. Green abruptly left in 1970 due to his religious beliefs.
In 1968, Wes Montgomery, one of the most influential jazz guitarists, died of a heart attack at age 43. Pop-oriented, string-dominated LPs like "A Day in the Life," which made the top-20 and spent over a year on the Billboard pop chart, made him among the most widely known jazz musicians of the 1960s.
In 1969, the variety show "Hee Haw," a fast-paced mixture of country music and comedy skits, premiered on CBS-TV. It ran until September 1992.
In 1982, bassist Pete Farndon quit "The Pretenders." One day later, the group's guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott, died of a drug overdose. He was 25. Farndon, too, would die of drug excess -- on April 15, 1983, at age 30.
In 1986, more than two dozen of the world's top pop and rock musicians performed at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. It was the final concert of a U.S. tour which raised more than $3 million for Amnesty International. More than 50,000 people jammed the stadium to hear such stars as "The Police," "U2," Peter Gabriel and Bryan Adams.
In 1992, Bruce Springsteen began his first world tour in four years with a show in Stockholm, where 15,000 fans heard him run through songs from his "Lucky Town" and "Human Touch" albums. The tour and albums were Springsteen's first ventures without the "E Street Band."
In 1994, Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, who wrote the famous movie theme "Never on Sunday," died in Athens at age 69. Both "The Chordettes" and orchestra leader Don Costa had top-20 hits with "Never on Sunday" in 1960.
In 1994, Egyptian officials cancelled a Peter Gabriel concert at a resort near the Israeli border. Seven-thousand Israelis had been expected to cross the border for the show, and local officials on the Egyptian side feared there would be trouble.
In 1995, Jewish leaders demanded an apology from Michael Jackson over his song "They Don't Care About Us," which contained anti-Semitic slang words.
In 1996, George Martin, the producer of most of "The Beatles'" recordings, received a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours list. The Queen honoured the quartet in 1965 as MBE's -- members of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1996, Ella Fitzgerald, the jazz legend who was dubbed "America's First Lady of Song," died at her Beverly Hills, Calif., home at age 78. She had been suffering from complications of diabetes, which had led to the amputation of both her legs below the knees in 1993.
In 1996, country superstar Garth Brooks set sales records in eight Canadian cities as tickets went on sale for his summer tour. More than 300,000 tickets were sold the first day.
In 1996, Seattle rockers "Soundgarden" played before 500 contest winners at Vancouver's Town Pump.
In 1996, original "KISS" members -- Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley -- performed together in full makeup for the first time in 17 years, at KROQ's weenie roast in Irvine, Calif., as a warmup to their "Alive Worldwide Reunion Tour" that kicked off in Detroit on June 28.
In 1998, British girl group "Spice Girls" opened a 40-city North American tour in West Palm Beach, Fla. It was their first show without Ginger Spice -- Geri Halliwell -- who had quit two weeks earlier. The "Spice Girls" had sold 32 million albums in two-and-a-half years.
In 2001, Stompin' Tom Connors demanded an apology from the Canadian Country Music Association for inducting him into its Hall of Fame and making him a life member against his wishes. Connors had long accused the industry group of failing to support Canadian performers.
In 2010, Sarah McLachlan released "Laws of Illusion," her first studio album in seven years.
In 2010, a free concert in New York by up-and-coming Canadian rapper Drake and pop band "Hanson" was cancelled. Organizers were anticipating about 10,000 people but nearly 20,000 showed up and many became unruly.
In 2013, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West welcomed a baby girl, North, born about a month premature.
In 2014, Casey Kasem, radio host of the internationally syndicated "American Top 40" song countdown and the voice of animated TV characters like Scooby-Doo's sidekick Shaggy, died at a hospital in Gig Harbor, Wash. He was 82. He suffered from a form of dementia, and his three adult children from his first wife fought a bitter legal battle with Kasem's second wife, Jean, over control of his health care in his final months.
In 2017, Jay Z became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Other inductees included Motown founder Berry Gordy, R&B maestro Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds, songwriting duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, pop music great Max Martin and three members of Chicago - Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Peter Cetera.
In 2019, Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic "Romeo and Juliet" and the miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth," died at 96. While Zeffirelli was most popularly known for his films, his name was also inextricably linked to the theatre and opera. He produced classics for the world's most famous opera houses, from Milan's venerable La Scala to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and plays for London and Italian stages. From his out-of-wedlock birth on the outskirts of Florence on Feb. 12, 1923, Zeffirelli rose to be one of Italy's most prolific directors, working with such opera greats as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Maria Callas, as well as Hollywood stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Mel Gibson, Cher and Judi Dench.
----
The Canadian Press