Today in Music History for Nov. 15:
In 1920, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra made its debut at the Plantages Theatre under the direction of Alberta Weaver Winston. The orchestra folded in 1932, but a second Edmonton Symphony was formed in 1952.
In 1926, the National Broadcasting Company made its debut with a radio network of 24 U.S. stations. NBC had been formed by General Electric, Westinghouse and RCA, with David Sarnoff as its leading organizer. NBC was the first of the major radio networks, with the Columbia Broadcasting System following in 1927 and the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1934.
In 1932, pop singer Petula Clark was born in Epsom, England. Although she's best known in North America for her mid-1960s hits, she had been a major star in Britain since the early '50s. She expanded her career to Europe in 1961, and exploded on this side of the Atlantic in 1965 with her No. 1 hit "Downtown." Clark also made the top five with "I Know a Place," "My Love," "This is My Song" and "Don't Sleep in the Subway."
In 1932, Clyde McPhatter, whom producer Jerry Wexler called the "soul singer of all time," was born in Durham, N.C. He got his start in a gospel group, then joined Billy Ward's "Dominoes" as lead singer. In 1953, McPhatter formed "The Drifters" -- so-called because the members had drifted in and out of other groups. He sang lead on such "Drifters'" hits as "Money Honey" and "White Christmas." After a stint in the U.S. military, McPhatter began a solo career in 1956, scoring his biggest hit two years later with the million-selling "A Lover's Question." He entered the top-10 again in 1962 with "Lover Please." McPhatter died in 1972 at age 38 of complications from heart, liver and kidney disease.
In 1937, R&B singer Little Willie John was born in Camden, Ark. After signing with King Records in 1955, John first made the Billboard pop chart with the original recording of "Fever," which Peggy Lee took into the top 10 in 1958. In 1968, he died of pneumonia in the state prison in Walla Walla, Wash., while serving a term for manslaughter.
In 1950, Edmonton violinist Betty-Jean Hagen made her recital debut at Town Hall in New York. The recital was the result of winning the coveted Naumberg Award for violinists.
In 1956, Elvis Presley's film debut, "Love Me Tender," opened at theatres in the U.S. and Canada. A western, it had originally been called "The Reno Brothers" and had no music in it. But when Presley's box office potential became apparent, four songs, including "Love Me Tender," were hastily added. The title of the movie was also changed so it would get free publicity every time the record was played. Within three weeks, the film had recouped its $1 million cost.
In 1969, Janis Joplin was arrested in Tampa, Fla., for using vulgar and indecent language on stage. Police had asked her to make the crowd sit down and she refused. Joplin was released on $50 bond.
In 1980, John Lennon's last album of new songs, "Double Fantasy," was released, just three weeks before he was shot to death in New York. The LP topped the Billboard chart, and from it came a No. 1 single, "(Just Like) Starting Over."
In 1980, David Bowie opened on Broadway in the title role of "The Elephant Man."
In 1987, Jim Reid, singer for the British neo-psychedelic band "The Jesus and Mary Chain," was charged with assault after two men were bopped with a microphone stand at a Toronto concert. The men were hit after some concert-goers began yelling that the group's show was boring. Reid later pleaded guilty, but was given an absolute discharge after agreeing to make a donation to the Salvation Army.
In 1987, the "Grateful Dead" completed a series of three concerts in Long Beach, Calif. Seventy-nine "Deadheads" were arrested, mostly for drug offences. One police officer said the shows attracted "every weirdo from 200 miles around." Some of them, he said, were talking to trees and plants.
In 1988, singer Peggy Lee filed a $25 million suit in Los Angeles against Walt Disney Productions for marketing the videocassette of "Lady and the Tramp" without her permission. Lee provided the voice of four characters in the animated film.
In 1989, an Atlanta judge granted Ringo Starr an injunction permanently banning the release of an album that the former "Beatle" drummer called embarrassing. Starr said he was drunk or on drugs most of the time when the album was recorded for producer Chips Moman in 1987. Starr was later ordered to pay Moman $80,000 for the costs of the recording session.
In 1990, Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian admitted that Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan didn't sing a note on their "Girl You Know It's True" album.
In 1991, French producer Jacques Morali, who formed the New York City disco group "The Village People," died of AIDS at age 44. "The Village People" hits in the late '70s included "Y.M.C.A." and "In the Navy."`
In 1993, Karen Carpenter's brother, Richard, pledged $1 million for a new performing arts centre at the singing duo's alma mater, California State University at Long Beach. Carpenter said the centre would pay tribute to his sister, who died of anorexia nervosa in 1983.
In 1996, Michael Jackson took a second stab at marriage, wedding nurse Debbie Rowe in a private ceremony in Sydney, Australia. The wedding came 11 days after Jackson confirmed that Rowe was six months pregnant with his child. The singer denied a tabloid report that the couple used artificial insemination and that Rowe was paid $528,000 to carry his child. The couple's son was born on Feb. 13. Jackson's previous marriage to Lisa Marie Presley lasted less than two years. She filed for divorce in January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences. His marriage to Rowe didn't last much longer -- they announced in October 1999 they'd agreed to divorce after less than three years as husband and wife.
In 1996, a 79-year-old jazz musician making her theatre debut as a spirit passing into heaven died on stage in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Deedie Ball performed in the play, then collapsed at the piano while playing a musical introduction to the next act. She had suffered a heart attack.
In 1997, composer and arranger Saul Chaplin died in Los Angeles from injuries he suffered in a fall. He was 85. Chaplin composed several songs that became pop standards, including "Until the Real Thing C omes Along" and "Anniversary Song." He also won three Academy Awards for scoring and arranging the musicals "An American in Paris," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "West Side Story."
In 1997, Shania Twain became the first country artist to debut at No. 1 on the Canadian album chart since the introduction of the sales-based Soundscan charts a year earlier. Twain's album "Come On Over" sold nearly 52,000 copies in this country during its first week of release. It also debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart in the U.S.
In 2003, Wesley Webb "Speedy" West, one of the major innovators on the pedal steel guitar in country music, died in Broken Arrow, Okla. He was 79. Taking a cue from recording star Alvino Rey, who introduced the pedal-steel guitar to pop audiences, West had a custom instrument that featured three necks and four pedals. West was the first country-music steel-guitarist to use pedals. He once claimed to have played on more than 6,000 records for 177 artists during his peak years in the 1950s and '60s -- everyone from country artists to pop stars like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore. He also recorded several highly-regarded albums under his name in collaboration with electric guitarist Jimmy Bryant.
In 2000, Michael Abram was acquitted of stabbing George Harrison in his home. Abram was found innocent by reason of insanity.
In 2004, rapper Dr. Dre was punched at the Vibe Awards by Jimmy "James" Johnson, who was then stabbed by rapper Young Buck.
In 2005, at the Country Music Awards, Lee Ann Womack won three trophies, including Album of the Year for "There's More Where That Came From."
In 2007, actress-singer Lindsay Lohan completed her jail sentence for drunken driving in a swift 84 minutes.
In 2010, "Hold My Hand," the first official song from Michael Jackson's posthumous album "Michael," was released. The song, featuring rapper Akon, was first recorded in 2007. Jackson died in June 2009.
In 2010, pop diva Christina Aguilera received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Hard Rock Cafe.
In 2014, British musicians gathered to form Band Aid 30 to record a new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to raise money to fight the Ebola crisis in Africa. Among the participants: One Direction, U2 frontman Bono, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Emeli Sande’ and Sinead O’Connor. The song was originally written in 1984 for Ethiopian famine relief and remade on two other occasions.
In 2015, P.F. Sloan, the songwriter behind such classic 1960s tunes as Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" and Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," died after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
