Today in Music History for Jan. 12:
In 1905, cowboy singer Tex Ritter was born in Texas. Most people remember him singing the title song for the Academy Award-winning film "High Noon" in 1952. He also made a number of cowboy movies of his own, and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1964. He died of a heart attack in Nashville on Jan. 2, 1974.
In 1925, the operetta "Rose Marie," with music by Rudolph Friml and Herbert Stothart and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and Otto Harbach, received its Canadian premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.
In 1928, Russian-born pianist Vladimir Horowitz made his U.S. debut with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham in a performance of Tchaikovsky's "B Flat Minor Concerto."
In 1941, British blues and boogie singer "Long John" Baldry was born in London. In 1961, he helped put together "Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated," a band that included future "Rolling Stones" Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. In fact, Baldry played with "The Stones" at their first concert under that name. Baldry led a number of his own groups in the 1960s, and among the personnel were such future stars as Rod Stewart and Elton John. Baldry moved to Canada in the late '70s and died in Vancouver in July 2005.
In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records (originally called Tamla Records) in Detroit.
In 1963, "Please Please Me" by "The Beatles" was released in Britain. It was the first "Beatles'" single to top the British charts, on Feb. 16. The song, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, was not released in North America until 1964. It reached No. 3 on the U.S. charts.
In 1963, Bob Dylan recorded a radio play for the BBC in London. Called "Madhouse on Castle Street," it included two songs by Dylan -- "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Swan on the River," a song that he never recorded again.
In 1965, the NBC television pop music show "Hullabaloo" made its debut. Featured acts included "The New Christy Minstrels" and comedian Woody Allen.
In 1968, "The Supremes" guest-starred on a "Tarzan" TV episode. They played nuns.
In 1969, "Led Zeppelin" released its self-titled debut album.
In 1979, drummer Aynsley Dunbar joined "Jefferson Starship." He had previously played with such groups as "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers," "The Mothers of Invention," "Journey" and his own "Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation."
In 1979, the "Bee Gees" -- the Australian singing trio of brothers Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb -- got their star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Their single "Too Much Heaven" was at the top of the charts at the time.
In 1986, singer Luther Vandross was slightly hurt in a Los Angeles-area car crash that killed one person and seriously injured three others.
In 1990, singer-actress Grace Jones was acquitted on a cocaine-possession charge in Kingston, Jamaica. She claimed the coke was put in her purse by her husband's jealous ex-girlfriend.
In 1991, Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" became the first album to generate seven top-5 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 when "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" reached No. 4. It would rise to No. 1 the following week.
In 1991, country singer Johnny Paycheck was released from an Ohio prison after serving two years of a seven-year sentence for shooting a man in a barroom. Ohio Governor Richard Celeste commuted Paycheck's sentence.
In 1992, "Rolling Stone" frontman Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall had their third child -- daughter Georgia May Ayeesha.
In 1993, the original members of "Cream" - Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce - reunited to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles. Also inducted: Ruth Brown, "Creedence Clearwater Revival," "The Doors," "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers," Etta James, Van Morrison, "Sly and the Family Stone" and Dinah Washington.
In 1995, Canadian Neil Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Other inductees included "Led Zeppelin," "The Allman Brothers Band," Al Green, Janis Joplin, "Martha and the Vandellas" and Frank Zappa.
In 1995, Ronnie Hawkins celebrated his 60th birthday with an all-star rockabilly bash at Massey Hall in Toronto.
In 1996, two members of the Ottawa heavy metal band "Misery" pleaded guilty in Portland, Maine, to assault after touching off explosions that nearly killed one man and left another with nerve damage.
In 1998, the surviving original members of "The Mamas and the Papas" performed together for the first time in 20 years as the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They sang "California Dreamin'" at the ceremony in New York. Also inducted were the "Eagles," "Fleetwood Mac," Santana, Lloyd Price and Gene Vincent.
In 1998, "Motley Crue" drummer Tommy Lee pleaded no contest to attacking a photographer outside a Los Angeles nightclub in 1996.
In 1999, George Harrison won a public apology and undisclosed damages from the publishers and author of a book called "All Dressed Up -- The Sixties and the Counter Culture." The book, published in Britain, claimed Harrison demanded sexual favours from a young woman in exchange for a charity donation.
In 1999, Britney Spears released her debut album, "...Baby One More Time."
In 2000, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne's wife, announced she was quitting as manager of "Smashing Pumpkins." She issued a statement saying she had to resign "due to medical reasons -- Billy Corgan was making me sick!"
In 2003, Maurice Gibb of the "Bee Gees" died of a heart attack in a Miami hospital at age 53. An autopsy revealed Gibb died because his bowel and small intestine were twisted, and that caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Gibb played bass and keyboard in the group, which included his brothers Robin and Barry. The "Bee Gees," short for the Brothers Gibb, had nine No. 1 songs, wrote dozens of hits for other artists, and sold more than 110 million records. The group's contributions to the "Saturday Night Fever" album in 1977 made it the best selling movie soundtrack ever, with more than 40 million copies sold. The "Bee Gees" became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won seven Grammy Awards. Originally from England, the brothers gained fame as a teen pop group in Australia, then returned to England in the '60s. They moved to South Florida in the late '70s.
In 2004, Randy VanWarmer, who recorded the 1979 pop hit "Just When I Needed You Most" and then had a successful career as a songwriter, died of leukemia. He was 48. He wrote "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)," a No. 1 hit by the country group "Alabama" in 1992; "I Will Whisper Your Name," a hit by Michael Johnson in 1988; and "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes" by "The Oak Ridge Boys" in 1984.
In 2010, former "Guns N' Roses" and "Rock Star Supernova" guitarist Gilby Clarke underwent surgery to correct injuries he suffered from a hit-and-run accident a week earlier. He was riding his motorcycle when a pickup truck hit him. He suffered three broken bones in his left foot and one in his right. He had another surgery a week later.
In 2011, The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the 1985 hit song "Money for Nothing" by the "Dire Straits" was deemed unacceptable for play on Canadian radio because of a gay slur in its lyrics after receiving a complaint from a listener of a station in St. John's, N.L. On Jan. 14, rock stations in Halifax (Q104) and Edmonton (K-97) protested by playing an unedited version of the song on repeat for a full hour. (In August, the council backtracked, saying that while the language in the song is inappropriate, it must be taken in context and that individual radio stations can decide what listeners want to hear.)
In 2011, "Santana" cancelled their first show in 40 years. A statement on the band’s website said Carlos Santana and members of the band had the flu.
In 2015, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that it placed Nashville's Music Row on its "National Treasure" list of historically significant sites to protect its cultural heritage threatened by development plans.
In 2023, Lisa Marie Presley died after being hospitalized in Los Angeles. Her mother, Priscilla Presley, made the announcement. Lisa Marie, who was 54, was the only child of Elvis Presley.
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The Canadian Press
