Today in Music History for Dec. 3
In 1908, the Regina Orchestral Society, the forerunner to the Regina Symphony Orchestra, gave its first concert.
In 1925, "Concerto in F," by George Gershwin had its world premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall, with Gershwin himself at the piano.
In 1927, singer Andy Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa. With a string of gold albums, a hit TV series and the signature "Moon River," he was a voice of the 1960s known for his easy-listening style and his wholesome, middle-America appeal and was the antithesis of the counterculture that gave rise to rock and roll. He remained on the charts into the 1970s, hosting hugely popular Christmas television specials and becoming closely associated with the holiday standard "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." He died on Sept. 25, 2012, after a year-long battle with bladder cancer.
In 1932, rockabilly singer and songwriter Ralph Joseph (Jody) Reynolds was born in Denver, Colo. His lone hit, "Endless Sleep," sold more than a million copies in 1958, kicked off the melodramatic teen tragedy genre, including Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel," Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her," Dickey Lee's "Patches" and "The Shangri-Las'" "Leader of the Pack." He was inducted into Nashville's Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999. He died on Nov. 7, 2008.
In 1953, the musical "Kismet" opened on Broadway. It featured the song "Stranger in Paradise."
In 1960, "Camelot," Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe’s followup to their successful "My Fair Lady," opened on Broadway. It had premiered two months earlier at the O’Keefe Centre (now Sony Centre) in Toronto.
In 1963, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Walter Susskind, made its New York debut at Carnegie Hall. Soprano Lois Marshall appeared as soloist.
In 1966, "The Monkees" performed their first live concert, in Honolulu.
In 1968, Elvis Presley’s now famous comeback TV special was broadcast on NBC. Taped the previous summer, it included Elvis’ first appearance before an audience in more than seven years. The special was a powerful performance after years of mediocre movies.
In 1971, the Montreux Casino in Switzerland burned down during a performance by "Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention." The opening act was "Deep Purple," and the incident inspired their 1973 hit "Smoke on the Water."
In 1976, the 12-metre-long inflatable pig pictured on the "Pink Floyd" album "Animals" broke loose from its moorings in London. The pig rose to more than 5,000 metres before landing kilometres away in Kent, southeast of London.
In 1976, reggae singer Bob Marley, his wife Rita, their manager and a houseguest, were shot and slightly wounded by seven gunmen who broke into Marley’s home in Kingston, Jamaica.
In 1979, 11 young people either were asphyxiated or trampled to death in a rush for general admission seats at a "Who" concert at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The victims died when the crowd stampeded through two doors into the stadium. Multiple lawsuits were filed against the city, the coliseum and the promoters. The tragedy caused controversy about the use of general or festival seating for rock concerts, but the practice of selling tickets for unreserved seating continued.
In 1984, Kenny Rogers earned his 11th platinum LP -- signifying one million copies sold -- for "What About Me," setting a then-record for platinum LP awards.
In 1985, singer Barry Manilow made his acting debut in a TV movie based on his hit "Copacabana."
In 1985, singer Connie Francis was arrested for trespassing and kicking a policeman who removed her from a Delta Airlines plane at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. She was escorted from the jet when she refused to put out her cigarette during refuelling. Later the same month, Francis was taken to the Miami Health Centre after creating a disturbance at a resort hotel.
In 1992, Stevie Wonder was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Songwriters.
In 1994, a handwritten letter by ex-"Beatle" John Lennon, which bitterly attacked the wife of former bandmate Paul McCartney, sold at auction in Los Angeles for $92,000. The six-page letter, laced with grammatical errors and curses, urges Linda McCartney to "get off your high horse."
In 1997, country music group "Little Texas" announced that they planned to break up at the end of the year. They reunited in 2004 without lead singer Tim Rushlow and keyboardist/fiddler Jeff Huskins.
In 1997, Chatelaine magazine named Toronto singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan its Woman of the Year. She had organized one of the year’s most successful concert tours, Lilith Fair, a showcase for female artists.
In 1998, Canadian fiddle great Graham Townsend died of cancer in a Barrie, Ont., hospital. He was 56. Less than a month later, his widow, Eleanor Townsend, also a renowned fiddler, died in a fire at her home in Barrie. Police determined that the fire had been deliberately set.
In 1998, rapper Coolio was found guilty of stealing clothes from a boutique in Stuttgart, Germany, and punching the boutique owner. He was fined $30,000.
In 2003, veteran Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot was inducted to the inaugural Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in Toronto. Also inducted posthumously were Hank Snow, Alfred Bryan, Felix Leclerc and Madame Bolduc. A dozen songs were awarded the first spots in the hall, including Lightfoot’s "If You Could Read My Mind."
In 2009, Canadian singer Daniel Powter, whose hit "Bad Day" reigned on atop the Billboard pop charts for five weeks in 2006, was named as the decade's top one-hit wonder by Billboard. The magazine described one-hit wonders as acts whose second hit did not reach the top-25; they only included acts from 2000 to 2007.
In 2010, Katy Perry, along with "Heart," "Paramore," "Sugarland," "Grace Potter and the Nocturnals," Keri Hilson and Nicki Minaj performed at "VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, near San Diego. The show was broadcast on the network on Dec. 5.
In 2013, classic rock band "Boston" released "Life, Love & Hope," its first album in 11 years and the first since the tragic death of vocalist Brad Delp in 2007. Delp's vocals are featured on three tracks - on the previously unreleased "Sail Away" and the remastered "Someone" and "Didn't Mean to Fall in Love."
In 2014, Rolling Stones collaborator and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan died after suffering a stroke a day earlier. He was 69. He was a member of the British pop group Small Faces in the 1960s before it changed its name to Faces when Rod Stewart and Ron Wood joined in 1969. He went onto record and perform with the Rolling Stones, playing on the band's 1978 album "Some Girls," including the organ solo on the hit single "Miss You." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 2015, Scott Weiland, the magnetic frontman of the Stone Temple Pilots whose three-decade career in music also included solo albums and a spot in the supergroup Velvet Revolver, died at age 48. Weiland, who was dogged by substance abuse problems throughout his career, passed away in his sleep while on his tour bus at a stop in Bloomington, Minn., with his current band, Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts.
In 2015, Adele's "25" sold another 1.11 million copies in its second week of release, making it the first album in the Soundscan era to sell more than a million copies in two separate weeks. It sold a record 3.38 million copies in the first week.
In 2017, Metropolitan Opera suspended conductor James Levine after the New York Times published accounts from three accusers who said that Levine sexually abused them when they were teenagers. A fourth accuser later came forward.
In 2023, Myles Goodwyn, the award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter who shot to stardom as the former lead singer of April Wine, died at 75 in Halifax.
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The Canadian Press
