Today in Music History for Nov. 4:
In 1740, English clergyman Augustus Toplady, who wrote the hymn "Rock of Ages," was born.
In 1847, composer Felix Mendelssohn died at Leipzig at age 38.
In 1921, Canadian singer-actress Phyllis Marshall was born in Barrie, Ont. She was the star of two CBC television shows in the 1950s, "The Big Revue" and "Cross-Canada Hit Parade." She died Feb. 2, 1996.
In 1940, rock singer and harmonica player Delbert McClinton was born in Lubbock, Texas. He played on Bruce Channel's 1962 No. 1 hit, "Hey Baby." During a British tour with Channel, McClinton taught some harmonica licks to John Lennon. The then-unknown "Beatles" were one of the opening acts on the tour. McClinton recorded half a dozen albums during the 1970s that sold poorly, despite good reviews. But his luck changed in 1980 with the album, "The Jealous Kind," which yielded the top-40 hit, "Giving It Up For Your Love."
In 1956, Edmonton-born violinist Betty-Jean Hagen made her debut with the New York Philharmonic under Dimitri Mitropoulos. Hagen performed Lalo's "Symphonic espagnole."
In 1961, Bob Dylan made his first major appearance outside New York's Greenwich Village when he played Carnegie Hall. Attendance was poor. In fact, most of those in the hall were friends of Dylan. He was reported to have sung badly and to have talked at length with the audience. Dylan had just been signed by Columbia Records and had yet to release his first album.
In 1963, "The Beatles" performed before the Queen Mother at the Royal Command Variety Performance in the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. John Lennon told the audience: "Those of you in the cheaper seats, clap; the rest of you can rattle your jewelry."
In 1964, Phyllis Marshall recorded the Juno Award-winning album "That Girl" with U.S. jazz stars Buck Clayton on trumpet and Buddy Tate on saxophone. Marshall died on Feb. 2, 1996.
In 1974, Elton John's "Greatest Hits" was released. The album consisted of classic singles that John and lyricist Bernie Taupin turned out between 1970 and '74. The album topped the Billboard chart for 10 weeks, selling more than 13 million copies in the U.S.
In 1976, a Bruce Springsteen concert at the New York Palladium was interrupted by a bomb threat. Springsteen joked that the threat could have come from his former manager, Mike Appel, with whom he was involved in a legal battle. An injunction granted to Appel prevented Springsteen from recording until May 1977, when the case was settled out of court.
Also in 1977, "Musicanada," a two-week presentation of Canadian contemporary classical music, began in France and Britain. A total of 41 works by 32 Canadian composers were presented in a dozen concerts in Paris and London.
In 1977, "The Last Waltz," the film of "The Band's" final concert, premiered in New York.
In 1978, Greg Reeves, former bass guitarist for "Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young," sued the band for $1 million because he claimed he hadn't been paid his fair share of record royalties.
In 1978, rock group "Boston" played the first of two shows in their hometown Boston Gardens. They was touring to support its second album, "Don't Look Back."
In 1984, Prince launched his "Purple Rain" tour in Detroit.
In 1985, "Boston's" lawyer sued the group's former label, Epic, for what was termed malicious prosecution. The legal troubles prevented release of "Boston's" third album until 1986.
In 1986, country singer Tammy Wynette checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers.
In 1989, "Listen to Your Heart" by Roxette became the first No. 1 single on the Billboard chart to be available only as a cassette. On the same day, there was a further sign of the imminent demise of vinyl records. "Touch Me Tonight - Best of Shooting Star" became the first album to enter the Billboard 200 Album chart without being available on vinyl.
In 1992, Elton John and Bernie Taupin signed a music publishing contract worth about $39 million. Warner-Chappell Music obtained the rights to the duo's compositions written after 1974, as well as to the songs from John's next six albums.
In 1993, Paul McCartney and John Lennon's "Yesterday" was honoured in London as the most-performed song in the catalogue of the performing rights society BMI. More than 2,500 versions of the song, including "The Beatles'" 1965 hit, had been played on U.S. radio and TV stations more than six million times.
In 1993, a British court awarded Elton John more than half-a-million dollars in damages against the "Sunday Mirror." The tabloid had falsely suggested he was on a bulimic "diet of death."
In 1994, Fred (Sonic) Smith, guitarist with the Detroit rock band "MC5," died in Detroit of heart failure at age 45. The group, although not commercially successful, paved the way for the punk bands of the 1970s. Many stores would not stock "MC5's" 1969 debut album "Kick Out the Jams" because of its profanity.
In 1995, Steve Sanders abruptly left "The Oak Ridge Boys" just before a concert in Fort Worth, Texas. Sanders and the country group came to a parting of the ways over the negative publicity generated by his court battles with his ex-wife. Sanders had joined "The Oak Ridge Boys" in 1987 as a replacement for the fired William Lee Golden. Golden would rejoin the group in January 1996.
In 1995, Michael Jackson premiered his single "Earth Song" in a live performance on a German TV game show. About 10,000 fans who couldn't get tickets watched his appearance on two large outdoor screens in the western city of Duisburg.
In 1996, Paul Anka filed a malpractice lawsuit against his dentist after the singer's crown came loose and flew into the audience during a show in Las Vegas. Anka's suit said he tried to keep singing "even with the gaping hole in his teeth," but had to end the concert after one song.
In 2001, one of Canada's most famous music venues, the El Mocambo in Toronto, closed. "The El Mo" is best known for being where "The Rolling Stones" taped part of their "Love You Live" album in 1977. It re-opened in late 2002 under new management.
In 2008, "The Deftones" bassist Chi Cheng was seriously injured in a car crash. He fell into a coma but improved to a semi-conscious state in 2009. He was left with a debilitating brain injury. (He died April 13, 2013).
In 2008, Jheryl Busby, the former president and chief executive of Motown Records who helped foster the careers of "Boyz II Men," Johnny Gill and Queen Latifah, died. He was 59.
In 2008, classic rock band "Yes" began a tour with replacement lead singer Benoit David, a Montreal-based musician who fronted a "Yes" tribute band. Bassist Chris Squire found him on the Internet after a friend sent him a YouTube clip with David's performance. "Yes" had cancelled their anniversary tour in June after lead singer Jon Anderson suffered acute respiratory failure and was ordered by doctors to rest for six months. (Benoit was also replaced in 2011 after having to rest his voice on doctor's orders).
In 2008, Byron Lee, a bandleader who helped introduce Jamaican music to an international audience and founded one of the island's first ska bands, died of cancer. He was 73. He founded the band "Byron Lee and the Dragonaires" in 1956 at age 20 and recorded several ska and calypso songs, including "Tiny Winey." The band soon signed with the West Indies Recording Limited label owned by future Prime Minister Edward Seaga. Lee bought the label in 1964. His Kingston studio would later attract musicians including "The Rolling Stones" and Eric Clapton.
In 2009, R&B singer Usher's divorce from Tameka Foster Raymond became final. They were married just over two years and had two sons together.
In 2009, Taylor Swift became the first artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to debut five tracks in the top-30 in a single week thanks to all the new songs on her recently reissued "Fearless" (Platinum Edition) CD. "Jump Then Fall" and "Untouchable" debuted in the top-20, giving her a record eight overall. (As of mid-2015, she extended the record to 22.)
In 2009, "No Doubt" sued Activision Publishing Inc. over a feature in the recently released "Band Hero" game that allowed players to control virtual band members and have them sing other artists' songs. The lawsuit claimed a feature allowed players to have lead singer Gwen Stefani perform suggestive lyrics from "The Rolling Stones" hit "Honky Tonk Women." The suit also noted a virtual version of bassist Tony Kanal can be made to sing the band's hit "Just a Girl," but with Stefani's voice. (In 2012, the lawsuit was settled out of court.)
In 2009, country star Brad Paisley's bid for an 11th straight No. 1 single stalled when "Welcome to the Future" bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard Country singles chart. Earlier in May, he joined "Alabama," George Strait, Ronnie Milsap, Earl Thomas Conley, Sonny James, Conway Twitty, and Buck Owens as the only country acts in Billboard history ever to achieve 10 consecutive chart-toppers.
In 2010, rapper Lil Wayne was freed from jail after serving eight months of a year-long sentence. He pleaded guilty in October 2009 of attempted criminal possession of a weapon and imprisoned in March 2010. In October, his new CD "I Am Not a Human Being" reached No. 1 on Billboard's album chart, making him the first artist in 15 years to release a No. 1 CD while serving time.
In 2010, at the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards, musical legend Buffy Sainte Marie was awarded Best Music Video for the politically charged song "No No Keshagesh." "Winnipeg's Most" took home two prizes: Best Duo or Group and Best Rap or Hip-Hop CD. Single of the Year went to country music's Shane Yellowbird for "Barefeet on the Blacktop."
In 2015, at the CMAs, Nashville veteran songwriter Chris Stapleton cleaned house and won all of the awards he was nominated for, including Album of the Year (Traveller), Male Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. Little Big Town won Vocal Group and Single of the Year for "Girl Crush," which also won Song of the Year for its songwriters (Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey). Other winners: Miranda Lambert (sixth consecutive Female Vocalist), Luke Bryan (Entertainer of the Year), Florida Georgia Line (Vocal Duo).
In 2016, veteran rockers Bon Jovi released "This House is Not For Sale," the first studio album without former lead guitarist Richie Sambora, and the first with his replacement, Toronto-born Phil X.
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The Canadian Press