1931 – The first jazz album to sell a million copies was recorded. It was “Minnie The Moocher” by Cab Calloway. 1940 – Artie Shaw and his orchestra recorded “Frenesi”. 1945 – Bing Crosby recorded “Temptation” with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra. He had recorded it before on October 22, 1933, with Lennie Hayton’s orchestra. 1957 […]
1964 – “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles was released in the U.S. 1964 – The Beatles began their first film, “A Hard Day’s Night.” 1975 – Linda McCartney was arrested for personal possession of marijuana. Paul was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident but was not charged. 1977 – “The Barry […]
The Peggy Lee Estate has announced that Peggy Lee 100, a centennial celebration honoring one of the 20th century’s most important musical influences in the world of jazz and popular music. Throughout 2020, the 100th anniversary of Peggy Lee’s birth—May 26, 1920—will be commemorated around the globe with music releases, notable exhibitions, special events, programming […]
1954 – A U.S. Congresswoman introduced a bill to prohibit the distribution of “obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy” recordings. 1955 – LaVern Baker appealed to Congress in a letter to Michigan Representative Charles Digges Jr. The letter requested the revision of the Copyright Act of 1909. 1955 – Billboard reported that the 45rpm single format […]
1952 – The first musical choreography score was copyrighted. It was Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate”. 1953 – The musical “Wonderful Town” opened. It ran for 559 performances. 1957 – Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded “That’ll Be The Day.” The song would be their first hit. A previously recorded version, on July 22, 1956, […]
1940 – Frances Langford recorded “When You Wish Upon a Star.” 1956 – In Cleveland, OH, police invoked a 1931 ordinance barring people under the age of 18 from dancing in public unless accompanied by an adult. 1963 – Near London, the Rolling Stones took over as the Sunday house band at the Station Hotel. […]
Heaven’s Door™ Spirits, an ever-evolving collection of highly awarded American whiskeys co-created by Bob Dylan, has announced their expansion into the Alabama market, further growing their retail footprint across the US. “We are excited to launch in Alabama, 40 years after Bob Dylan recorded one of his most well-known albums, Slow Train Coming in Muscle […]
1959 – Elvis Presley appeared after hours at the Lido Club in Paris while on leave from the U.S. Army. 1959 – Ray Charles recorded “What’d I Say.” 1969 – Lulu and Maurice Gibb (Bee Gees) were married in England. 1974 – KISS released their first album “KISS.” 1974 – Yes played their first show […]
1955 – Little Richard sent his first audition tape to Specialty Records. 1960 – The Everly Brothers signed with Warner Bros. Records in a 10-year contract worth $1 million. 1964 – The first Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass concert was held, in Los Angeles, CA. 1966 – Brian Wilson began recording the Beach Boys’ […]
Little Steven, aka Steven Van Zandt, is commemorating today’s 30th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s historic release from a South African prison after 27 years in captivity with the announcement that his 1985 landmark protest album, Sun City, by Artists United Against Apartheid, the extraordinary supergroup brought together by Van Zandt, producer Arthur Baker and journalist […]