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Today-Music-History-Jul05
Today in Music History for July 5: In 1944, Robbie Robertson, guitarist with "The Band," was born in Toronto. First known as "The Hawks," "The Band" evolved from a group taken to Ontario from the U.S. by Ronnie Hawkins. The original members were gradually replaced by Canadian musicians, with the exception of drummer Levon Helm. "The Band" moved to the U.S. in 1965, where they became Bob Dylan's backup group. They continued to tour with Dylan until 1974, but at the same time launched a successful career of their own. "The Band" had a series of hit LPs and singles and performed at most of the major rock festivals, including Woodstock in 1969. "The Band's" last concert in 1976 was attended by a host of rock and blues performers and captured on film as "The Last Waltz." Robertson continues to record and produce. In 1950, rock singer Huey Lewis was born Hugh Cregg III in New York. He formed his six-man rock band, "The News," in San Francisco in 1980. The bar band made it big in the 1980s. "Huey Lewis and the News" first reached the charts in 1982 with "Do You Believe in Love" written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and taken from the soundtrack to the Michael J. Fox movie "Back to the Future." The band reached its peak in 1985 and '86 with "The Power of Love" and "Stuck With You." Other hits were "Workin' for a Livin'," and "I Want a New Drug." By the 1990s, their stardom had waned. In 1954, Elvis Presley, backed by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, recorded three songs at the Sun Records studio in Memphis. Two of the tunes, "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky," were released as Presley's first record. Both sides were local hits in the Memphis area. In 1956, Billie Holiday's autobiography, "Lady Sings The Blues," was published. In 1958, jazz purists were in a snit after Ray Charles performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. The elitists considered him a rock 'n' roll act. An album of Charles's performance came out in 1973. In 1965, "The Rolling Stones" held their first recording session in the U.S. at a studio in Los Angeles. In 1969, "The Rolling Stones" gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park in memory of Brian Jones, the group's former lead guitarist. Mick Jagger read an excerpt from the poems of Shelley and released thousands of butterflies over the park. Jones had been found dead in the swimming pool of his home two days earlier. In 1975, the Knebworth Pop Festival near London attracted 100,000 people to see such acts as "Pink Floyd" and "The Steve Miller Band." In 1978, EMI Records re-designed the album cover for "The Rolling Stones'" "Some Girls" after several celebrities, including Lucille Ball, complained about their likenesses appearing among the cheesecake pictures. In 1983, tenor Placido Domingo received a record 83 curtain calls for a performance of "La Boheme" in Vienna. In 1983, trumpeter and big band leader Harry James died in Las Vegas at age 67. He became famous with the Benny Goodman Band in the late 1930s before setting out, with Goodman's help and blessing, to form his own band. James had dozens of hit records in the 1940s, including his theme "Ciribiribin," "Two O'Clock Jump," "You Made Me Love You" and "I'll Get By." In 1989, the Alabama Supreme Court said the illegitimate daughter of Hank Williams should share in the country legend's songwriting royalties, estimated at more than $500,000 a year. The court ruled Cathy Dupree Adkinson's interests were not properly represented when Williams's estate was settled in 1968. The singer died in 1953. But a federal judge threw out the case in 1991, saying Adkinson -- who performs under the name Jett Williams -- waited too long to file suit. That decision was reversed on appeal, and a final, out-of-court settlement was reached in 1993. In 1992, Astor Piazzolla, one of Argentina's most popular composers of modern tangos, died two years after suffering a stroke. He was 71. The mayor of Buenos Aires held a public wake at the city council building. Piazzolla wrote revolutionary tangos that incorporated elements of jazz and classical music. He played the bandoneon, a kind of accordion that is the main tango instrument, and recorded several times with American jazz musicians. In 1994, "Hootie and the Blowfish" released their major-label debut, "Cracked Rear View." The album took almost a year to make it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and when it did, it knocked Michael Jackson's "HIStory" from the top spot. By mid-1996, "Cracked Rear View" had sold more than 13 million copies in the U.S., becoming one of the most successful debut albums ever. In 1994, a four-CD box set entitled "The Who -- Thirty Years of Maximum R&B" was released. In 1995, more than 100 "Grateful Dead" fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Mo. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. In 1997, "Lilith Fair," the all-female pop festival tour, kicked off in George, Wash. Organized by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan, the tour was one of the year's most successful. Others on the bill included Suzanne Vega, Paula Cole and Jewel. In 1997, the remaining members of John Lennon's original group, "The Quarrymen," reunited to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historic meeting between Lennon and Paul McCartney. In 1998, Julian Lennon accused Yoko Ono of cheapening his late father's legacy through commercialism, critical of the sale of John Lennon's art work in limited editions and the appearance of his image on ties and mugs. Julian's mother was Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon's first wife. In 2009, in the first full sales week after his death, Michael Jackson claimed every top-10 spot on Billboard's Top Pop Catalogue Album chart. His "Number Ones" collection was the top seller, followed by "Thriller." Solo albums occupied every position except No. 7, where the "Jackson 5's" "Ultimate Collection" album resided. In 2010, supergroup "Them Crooked Vultures" (Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme and John Paul Jones) played a benefit concert in London to raise money for "Eagles of Death Metal" bassist Brian O'Connor, who was diagnosed with cancer but had no medical insurance. In 2010, it was announced that singer Lady Gaga became the first living person to reach, and quickly exceed, 10 million friends on the social networking website Facebook. In 2010, Juno-nominated Montreal electronic artist Maxime Morin — a.k.a. DJ Champion — announced he was being treated for lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, and cancelled his entire concert schedule. In 2010, singer Cesare Siepi, who performed hundreds of times at the Metropolitan Opera and was well known for the role of Don Giovanni, died at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta after suffering a stroke more than a week earlier. He was 87. In 2011, Malcolm Forsyth, a Juno Award-winning Canadian composer whose works have been performed around the world, died at age 74. The South African-born musician had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010. With a catalogue that spans more than 140 pieces, including three symphonies, he was commissioned by the CBC, the Canadian Brass, Maureen Forrester and orchestras in Edmonton, Montreal and Cape Town. He won three Junos, received the Queen's Jubilee Medal, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2003. In 2015, the Grateful Dead played their final show, the last of three days of concerts at Chicago's Soldier Field to mark the band's 50th anniversary and pay tribute to the last place where Jerry Garcia performed with the Dead before he died in 1995. (The first song for the July 3rd show was "Box of Rain," the last song they had performed with Garcia.) ---- The Canadian Press
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