Today in Music History for Nov. 23:
In 1889, the Pacific Phonograph Company, owned by Louis Glass, installed the world's first jukebox at his Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. It was an Edison cylinder phonograph with one song, rigged to accept nickels. Glass called his innovation a "Nickel-in-the-Slot" machine, and the idea gave birth to jukebox arcades.
In 1903, Italian tenor Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto." Caruso was the artist most responsible for transforming the phonograph from a novelty into a medium of home entertainment. His recordings brought him worldwide fame, and he was the first artist to have a million-selling record, "Vesti La Giubba (On With the Motley)" from the opera "Pagliacci." Caruso recorded the selection three times -- twice in 1903 and again sometime between 1906 and 1908. Caruso died in 1921.
In 1930, renowned Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam died in New York of liver cancer at age 45. He was considered one of the great interpreters of organ music during the 1920's, attracting both musicians and the general public to his recitals. Farnam, a native of Sutton, Que., often performed in Europe on some of the world's greatest organs.
In 1939, singer Betty Everett was born in Greenwood, Miss. Her 1964 recording of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" made Billboard's top-10. The song was later recorded by Cher for the 1990 movie soundtrack "Mermaids" and by Vonda Shepard for the "Ally McBeal" TV show. Everett died at 61 on Aug. 21, 2001.
In 1959, a spokesman for RCA Victor denied that Elvis Presley would change his musical style upon leaving the U.S. Army. Nethertheless, after his military service ended in March 1960, Presley became basically a middle-of-the-road singer and movie star rather than a rock 'n' roller.
In 1964, the BBC banned "The Rolling Stones" after the group arrived late for two radio shows, "Saturday Club" and "Top Gear."
In 1967, Canada's "Orford String Quartet" made its Carnegie Recital Hall debut. That New York appearance drew critical praise and marked the beginning of the quartet's international career. They toured extensively in North America and Europe. In 1974, it shared first prize in the European Broadcasting Union's string quartet competition.
In 1969, western swing fiddler and bandleader Spade Cooley died of a heart attack in Oakland, Calif. He was stricken during a benefit show put on by the Oakland County deputy sheriff. Cooley was serving time for murdering his wife in 1961 and was just two months away from parole. His recording of "Shame on You," with a vocal by Tex Williams, topped the country chart for nine weeks in 1945.
In 1974, singer and keyboards player Gary Wright left the British hard rock band "Spooky Tooth" for a solo career. He went on to have success with "Dream Weaver."
In 1974, the Private Stock label released Frankie Valli's "My Eyes Adored You." Valli, lead singer of "The Four Seasons," had recorded the song for Motown, but that company refused to put it out. That proved to be a major error, as "My Eyes Adored You" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1975.
In 1976, Jerry Lee Lewis was arrested outside Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis, where he had been caught brandishing a pistol and demanding to see Elvis. Lewis was charged with public intoxication and possession of a weapon.
In 1989, Paul McCartney began his first North American tour in 13 years, playing the first of five dates in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Calif. Scalpers got as much as $600 for tickets. McCartney opened with a couple of songs from his latest album, "Flowers in the Dirt," but the show was mainly "Wings" and "Beatles" oldies.
In 1992, Roy Acuff, the most influential figure in the history of country music, died in Nashville at age 89. Acuff and his band, "The Smoky Mountain Boys," exposed country music to a wide audience outside its traditional home in the rural U.S. south. Acuff joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, and appeared regularly until several months before he died. He was largely responsible for shifting the focus of the Opry from string bands to singers. Acuff rose to fame when radio was more important than records, so his chart hits were relatively few. But he made standards of songs like "The Wabash Cannonball," "The Great Speckle Bird," "Fireball Mail" and "Night Train to Memphis." Acuff formed Acuff-Rose Music, the first music publishing firm based in Nashville, with songwriter Fred Rose in 1942. Twenty years later, Acuff became the first living member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In 1994, singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce, who helped write hit songs for "The Monkees" and "Jay and the Americans," shot himself to death in his Nashville home. He was 55. Boyce and his songwriting partner, Bobby Hart, were appointed musical directors for "The Monkees" TV show in 1966. They penned several of the group's hits, including "Last Train to Clarksville." Earlier, they had written the top-five hit "Come a Little Bit Closer” for "Jay and the Americans." Boyce and Hart had a top-10 hit of their own in 1968 with "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite."
In 1995, Motown saxophonist and singer Junior Walker died of cancer in Battle Creek, Mich. He was 53. Walker's real name was Autry DeWalt Jr. His style, modelled on that of R&B saxophonists of the 1940s and '50s, in turn influenced such rock-jazz saxophonists as Tom Scott and David Sanborn. Walker and his band, "The All-Stars," had more than 20 hits, including "Shotgun" from 1965 and "What Does It Take (To Win Your Live)." Both made the top-five of the Billboard chart.
In 2006, jazz singer Anita O'Day died in her sleep at a convalescent hospital in Los Angeles where she was recovering from a bout with pneumonia. She was 87. She began her career in her teens and later recorded hits with Stan Kenton and Gene Krupa. She became famous for her renditions of songs like "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Let Me Off Uptown." O'Day released her last album, "Indestructible," in 2006. She was known as the "Jezebel of Jazz" for her drug and alcohol use. She suffered a 16-year heroin habit and had an alcohol problem. O'Day kicked drinking after a near-death experience in 1996.
In 2008, Chris Brown was the big winner with three American Music Awards (Artist of the Year, Pop-Rock Male Artist and R&B Male Artist). Other winners included: Kanye West (Rap-Hip-Hop Male Artist and Rap-Hip-Hop Album for "Graduation"), Rihanna (Pop-Rock Female Artist and R&B Female Artist), Alicia Keys (Album of the Year for "As I Am"), "Daughtry" (Band of the Year), Brad Paisley (Country Male Artist), Taylor Swift (Country Female Artist), Carrie Underwood (Country Album for "Carnival Ride"), "Rascal Flatts" (Country Group).
In 2008, the long-awaited "Guns N' Roses'" album "Chinese Democracy" was released. It was the first album of new material since 1991's "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II." The band, fronted by Axl Rose, has sold 90 million albums and made a splash in the '80s with the hits "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Paradise City" and "Welcome to the Jungle."
In 2009, at the SOCAN Awards gala, honours went out to Stompin' Tom Connors (lifetime achievement award for outstanding success throughout his music career), "Rush" (international achievement award after another successful year of touring), and Rita MacNeil (national achievement award for her success in the Canadian music industry over her career).
In 2011, Jimi Hendrix topped "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the top 100 guitarists of all time, beating out Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. The rest of the top-10 were: Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Eddie Van Halen, Duane Allman and Pete Townshend.
In 2012, Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber, dressed in his concert wardrobe consisting of overalls and a backwards hat, accepted the Diamond Jubilee Medal from Prime Minister Stephen Harper prior to his performance at Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa. Twitter quickly exploded with reaction, much of it critical of the Bieber's attire.
In 2015, thanks to his new album, "Purpose," Justin Bieber had 17 songs on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart (dated for the week ending Dec. 5), setting a one-week record among all acts, surpassing the previous record of 14 set by Drake and The Beatles. (In May 2016, Toronto rapper Drake charted 20 songs.)
In 2015, Canadian artists dominated the top-10 of Billboard's Hot 100 chart (dated the week ending Dec. 5), holding seven positions. Justin Bieber held No. 2 (Sorry), No. 4 (Love Yourself) and No. 5 (What Do You Mean?), rapper Drake was at No. 3 (Hotline Bling), R&B singer The Weeknd held No. 6 (The Hills), Shawn Mendes slipped to No. 7 (Stitches) and newcomer Alessia Cara took No. 10 (Here).
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
