Today in Music History for Nov. 18:
In 1926, 1950s pop singer Dorothy Collins, whose real name is Margaret Chandler, was born in Windsor, Ont. She got her start in Canadian radio, then performed with bandleader Raymond Scott in the U.S. throughout the 1940s. In the following decade, she rose to fame as one of the stars of the "Hit Parade" TV show. She died of a heart attack on July 21, 1994, in Watervliet, N.Y.
In 1927, R&B singer Hank Ballard, originator of "The Twist," was born in Detroit. He recorded "The Twist" as the flip side of his 1958 hit "Teardrops on My Letter." But "The Twist" was not a hit until Chubby Checker made a million-seller out of it in 1960. Ballard and his group, "The Midnighters," first gained notice in 1954 for their sexually-explicit "Annie" trilogy -- "Work With Me Annie," "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fanny." The songs were banned on most radio stations. He died March 2, 2003.
In 1954, ABC radio and television banned "Mambo Italiano" by singer Rosemary Clooney for what it called "offensive lyrics."
In 1969, British bandleader Ted Heath died in Surrey, England, at age 69. The Heath orchestra recorded dozens of albums, many of them released on the London label in Canada and the U.S., and was considered one of the best big bands of the post-war era. Heath formed his band in 1944, and led it for 20 years until illness forced his retirement.
In 1970, Jerry Lee Lewis and his cousin, Myra Gale Brown, were divorced in Memphis after almost 13 years of marriage. Brown described their years together as a nightmare, and her litany of complaints included Lewis blaming her for the drowning death of their son, Steve, in 1962, as well as hitting her with a plate of spaghetti. Lewis' marriage to his 13-year-old cousin in 1957 caused a worldwide outcry, and his career nosedived for nearly a decade. The outcry was so great he was forced to abandon a British tour in 1958. Lewis's career did not begin to recover until he turned to country music in the late 1960s.
In 1971, blues singer and harmonica player Junior Parker died in Blue Island, Ill., after a series of operations for a brain tumour. He was 44. He is perhaps best known as the author of Elvis Presley's 1955 hit "Mystery Train." But her had a bunch of R&B hits of his own in the 1950s and '60s, including "Driving Wheel" and "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo."
In 1972, Danny Whitten, a former member of Neil Young's backing group, "Crazy Horse," died in Los Angeles of a heroin overdose. The bleak tone of Young's album "Tonight's the Night," recorded in 1973 but not released until two years later, was partly the result of Whitten's death.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen, upset with his publicity, tore down posters at a London theatre which proclaimed, "Finally, the world is ready for Bruce Springsteen."
In 1977, Canadian country singer Fred McKenna died in Toronto at the age of 43. The Fredericton-native began his career on "Don Messer's Jubilee" in 1958. He also appeared regularly on such TV shows as "Singalong Jubilee," "Countrytime" and "At the Caribou." McKenna, blind since birth, also toured extensively in Eastern Canada.
In 1987, "U2" opened for themselves as "The Dalton Brothers" at a Los Angeles concert. They disguised themselves in wigs and cowboy hats and claimed to be an early influence on the Irish rockers. The crowd, not seeing through the ruse, applauded.
In 1991, Arista Records and the Bertelsmann Music Group agreed to pay about $200,000 to settle lawsuits by disgruntled "Milli Vanilli" fans. More than two dozen suits were filed across the U.S. after the duo admitted they didn't sing on the album "Girl You Know It's True."
In 1992, lyric soprano Dorothy Kirsten, the first prima donna to spend 30 years with the Metropolitan Opera company, died in Los Angeles at age 82. She was best known for her roles in "Madame Butterfly," "Tosca," "Manon Lescaut" and "Girl of the Golden West." She retired in 1982 after learning her husband had Alzheimer's and established a foundation to support research on the disease and to develop methods of caring for patients.
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In 1993, rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested in New York for allegedly holding a woman down while his friend sodomized her. The arrest came less than three weeks after Shakur was charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta. Charges in the Atlanta case were dropped but Shakur was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman in New York and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.
In 1993, "Pearl Jam" lead singer Eddie Vedder was booked in New Orleans on charges of battery, public drunkenness and disturbing the peace. Vedder and his friend, Chicago White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell, were involved in a bar brawl. Vedder was accused of spitting in a waiter's face. McDowell was knocked unconscious during the ensuing fight. Vedder was later cleared of all charges.
In 1994, "The Rolling Stones" became the first major rock group to broadcast a concert live over the Internet. Computer users who had the right software received poor quality sound and video of the first five songs from their show in Dallas.
In 1994, singer and bandleader Cab Calloway, whose trademark "hi-de-ho" scat singing was heard for more than 60 years, died in a Delaware nursing home at age 86. He first became famous in 1931 with his radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club in New York, where he replaced Duke Ellington. His trademark song was "Minnie the Moocher," and he said he came up with the famous "hi-de-ho" chorus because he couldn't remember the lyrics. He was introduced to a younger generation in 1980 with an appearance in "The Blues Brothers" movie. A decade later, he turned up in Janet Jackson's "Alright" video.
In 1997, police arrested singer Gary Glitter and questioned him about child pornography allegedly found on his computer. He later pleaded guilty to 54 charges of making indecent computer images of children.
In 1997, 15,000 screaming youngsters and their parents packed a mall parking lot in Leawood, Kan., for a free 40-minute concert by the teen pop group "Hanson." Schools in the Kansas City area reported a large number of students were absent that day. The three Hanson brothers had zoomed to the top of the charts with "MMMbop."
In 1999, Doug Sahm of "The Sir Douglas Quintet" and of "The Texas Tornados" died of natural causes in Taos, N.M. He was 58.
In 2003, Michael Kamen, the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer who fused hard-rock riffs with classical styling in albums for "Pink Floyd" and provided music for the "Lethal Weapon" and "Die Hard" movies, died from an apparent heart attack in his London home at age 55. He collaborated with a wide range of artists, from the London Philharmonic to "Aerosmith," "Metallica," Bryan Adams, Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Eric Clapton and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. Among his most famous collaborations was on the orchestral arrangements in "Pink Floyd's" 1979 album "The Wall." Kamen worked with singer Bryan Adams to help craft the movie theme songs "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" from "Robin Hood" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" from "Don Juan DeMarco." He received Oscar nominations for co-writing those songs.
In 2007, "Daughtry" won Favorite Pop-Rock Album for their self-titled debut, as well as Breakthrough Artist and Adult Contemporary Artist at the American Music Awards.
In 2009, an assault charge against "The Black Eyed Peas" manager Liborio Molina was dropped after the manager issued a written apology to blogger Perez Hilton. Molina was accused of punching Hilton — whose real name is Mario Lavandeira — outside a Toronto nightclub after the MuchMusic Video Awards in June.
In 2009, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights awarded singers Bono of "U2" and Wyclef Jean with the Ripple of Hope Award for their humanitarian work.
In 2009, songwriter Johnny Mercer was honoured in his hometown of Savannah, Ga., with the unveiling of his lifesize likeness cast in bronze. It was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated lyricist, who gave a poetic grace and a slangy tang to songs such as "Moon River" and "Jeepers Creepers." Mercer died on June 25, 1976.
In 2009, "Bon Jovi" captured another No. 1 album as "The Circle" took the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 163,000 copies its first week. It was the band’s fourth No. 1 album, after "Slippery When Wet" (1986), "New Jersey" (1988) and "Lost Highway" (2007). All told, the veteran rock group has racked up 10 top-10 albums and every one of its studio releases since 1986 has reached the top-10.
In 2012, Canadian teen singer Justin Bieber dominated the American Music Awards winning three awards: Favourite Pop/Rock Album for "Believe," Male Artist and the show's top award, Artist of the Year. B.C.-native Carly Rae Jepsen won Favourite New Artist.
In 2015, Willie Nelson became the first country artist to be awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
In 2016, big-voiced soul singer Sharon Jones died after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 60. Jones, and her retro-soul band the Dap-Kings, shepherded a soul revival with their 2002 debut "Dap-Dippin' With Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings," released when Jones was 46. Their sixth album, 2014's "Give the People What They Want," earned Jones her first Grammy nomination for best R&B album.
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
