Today in Music History for Oct. 9:
In 1929, singing cowboy Gene Autry made his first recordings during a visit to New York.
In 1937, Pat Burke, saxophonist and flutist with the mid-'60s British pop band "The Foundations," was born.
In 1940, John Lennon, who achieved worldwide success with "The Beatles" in the 1960s, was born in Liverpool, England. Lennon began recording on his own in 1968, shortly after meeting Yoko Ono, who became his second wife the following year. On Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was gunned down outside his New York City apartment building.
In 1944, John Entwhistle, bass guitarist with "The Who," was born in Chiswick, England. He died June 27, 2002, one day before the scheduled first show of the band's 2002 U.S. tour.
In 1948, singer-songwriter Jackson Browne was born in Heidelberg, West Germany. He first established his reputation as a songwriter, and such artists as Tom Rush, "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" and Linda Ronstadt recorded his tunes. Browne was also co-writer of the "Eagles" first hit, "Take It Easy." His first solo album in 1972 gave him one of his biggest hits, "Doctor My Eyes." Browne's 1976 album, "The Pretender," the release of which was delayed by the suicide of his wife, sold well over a million copies.
In 1964, "The Rolling Stones" announced the cancellation of a South African tour because of an anti-apartheid embargo by the British Musicians Union.
In 1966, John Lennon met Yoko Ono during her avant-garde exhibit at the Indica Art Gallery in London.
In 1973, Elvis and Priscilla Presley were divorced in Santa Monica, Calif. They'd been married since May 1, 1967, and had one child, Lisa Marie, born Feb. 1, 1968. The couple left the court arm-in-arm and kissed before Elvis drove away without her. In the divorce settlement, Priscilla received $750,000 plus an extra $4,200 a month for a year, $4,000 a month for Lisa, half the proceeds from the sale of the Presleys' Los Angeles home and five per cent of the stock in two music publishing companies.
In 1975, Sean Lennon, the only child of John and Yoko, was born in New York. Yoko had suffered two previous miscarriages.
In 1985, on the occasion of Sean Lennon's 10th birthday and what would have been the 45th birthday of his father, John Lennon, Yoko Ono dedicated "Strawberry Fields," a two-and-a-half acre garden memorial to the former "Beatle" in New York City's Central Park. Attending the ceremony were Mayor Ed Koch and several hundred invited guests.
In 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of "Phantom of the Opera" opened in London. The $2.9 million show, based on a 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux, drew a six-minute standing ovation from the first night audience.
In 1990, as many as one billion people listened to a simultaneous broadcast of John Lennon's peace anthem "Imagine," on what would have been his 50th birthday.
In 1992, Elton John became the first entertainer inducted into Madison Square Garden's Walk of Fame. He joined such sports figures as Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali in the New York Arena's walk, which honours those who have excelled in the building.
In 1996, Canadian country singer Colleen Peterson died of cancer in Toronto. She was 45. Peterson spent 18 years in Nashville, working as a backup singer for Charlie Daniels and making demo recordings for songwriters and producers who wanted to pitch songs to other performers. After returning to Canada in the 1980s, Peterson had a moderately-successful solo career, getting a good deal of radio play with her version of Willie Nelson's "Crazy." But she gained even wider fame in the 1990s as a member of "Quartette," with Sylvia Tyson, Cindy Church and Caitlin Hanford. The group's debut album in 1994 resulted in a Juno Award for vocal collaboration of the year.
In 1996, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Alanis Morissette's album "Jagged Little Pill" as having sold 13 million copies. That made the Ottawa singer's album, at the time, the best-selling ever by a female artist in the U.S. (Shania Twain now holds that distinction for "Come on Over"). The following month, Morissette became the first Canadian artist to reach double-diamond status in Canada as "Jagged Little Pill" passed the two-million sales mark.
In 2008, T.I. broke his own record on the Billboard Hot 100 with a 80-1 jump for his song "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna). T.I. had set the benchmark two weeks earlier with his song "Whatever You Like" with a 71-1 jump. But those records were short-lived because on Oct. 16, Britney Spears' comeback single "Womanizer" jumped 96-1. Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" did one better with a 97-1 jump on Jan. 29, 2009.
In 2009, New Jersey's native son Bruce Springsteen and his "E Street Band," was the final musical act to play at Giants Stadium. He opened with a new song called "Wrecking Ball." The show drew 60,000 people, lasted three hours and had seven encores. They closed the night with "Jersey Girl." The stadium was demolished after the 2009 NFL season and replaced by Meadowlands Stadium.
In 2009, singer Carly Simon sued Starbucks Corp., saying the coffee company's defunct music venture didn't adequately promote her 2008 album "This Kind of Love," dooming the record before it was even released.
In 2009, singer Avril Lavigne filed for divorce from "Sum 41" singer Deryck Jason Whibley, after three years of marriage. (The divorce became official in November 2010.)
In 2010, an auction of some 100 items of Michael Jackson memorabilia fetched more than $1 million, with a basketball autographed by the late singer and Michael Jordan netting US$245,000.
In 2010, the first annual Music New Brunswick Awards were presented in Moncton. Jessica Rhaye of Saint John won four awards, including Best Female Recording Artist, Folk Recording of the Year, Best Visual Artist and Best Video. Andy Brown of Fredericton came away with three awards — Best Recording Artist, Best Emerging Artist and Best Pop Recording of the Year for "False Alarm." Moncton country band "The Divorcees" won two awards for Best Anglophone Recording and Best Anglophone Songwriter.
In 2011, 69-year-old former "Beatle" Paul McCartney wed for a third time. He and Nancy Shevell, 51, were married at the venerable Old Marylebone Town Hall in London. It was the the same columned building where in 1969 he married his first wife Linda Eastman, whose life was cut short by breast cancer. McCartney's terribly unhappy marriage to Heather Mills ended in 2008 in an ugly public divorce.
In 2015, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield released his debut album, "Space Sessions: Songs From a Tin Can," the first album recorded at least partially off planet. He laid down guitar and vocal tracks while aboard the International Space Station in 2013. Once back on Earth, Juno Award-winning producer Robbie Lackritz was recruited to help finish the album.
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
