Today in Music History for Aug. 4:
In 1927, Jimmie Rodgers, often called the "Father of Country Music," made his first recordings in Bristol, Tenn. Under the supervision of Ralph Peer of Victor Records, Rodgers recorded "The Soldier's Sweetheart" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep." The record was an immediate success when it was released in October. The same sessions in Bristol produced the first recordings by "The Carter Family."
In 1939, New Orleans rock 'n' roller Frankie Ford was born in Gretna, La. He's remembered for his 1959 hit "Sea Cruise." The song had already been recorded by "Huey (Piano) Smith and the Clowns," but the vocal by "Clowns' " lead singer Bobby Marchan was erased and Ford's substituted. In the 1980s, Ford was earning a living playing songs like "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" in New Orleans cocktail bars.
In 1957, "The Everly Brothers" introduced their upcoming single “Wake Up Little Susie” on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” The song created a controversy, and some radio stations banned it.
In 1958, the first-ever Billboard Hot 100 chart was published, with Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" in the No. 1 spot.
In 1966, John Lennon's comment that "The Beatles" were more popular than Jesus Christ was widely reported in North America. The statement, actually made to a reporter several months earlier, caused a public outcry and several bonfires of "Beatle" records were burned. Lennon later apologized.
In 1970, "The Doors" lead singer Jim Morrison was charged in Los Angeles with public drunkenness after an elderly woman found him on her porch.
In 1973, jazz guitarist Eddie Condon died in New York of a bone disease at age 67. He was a champion of a style of music that can best be described as white Dixieland jazz. More renowned as a nightclub owner, impresario and record producer than as a musician, Condon's series of concerts at New York's Town Hall did much to revive interest in traditional jazz in the 1940s. Condon also operated his own club in New York for 22 years, beginning in 1945.
In 1975, "Led Zeppelin" lead singer Robert Plant and his family were seriously injured in a car accident while vacationing. The accident forced the band to postpone its U.S. tour.
In 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began work on the album "Double Fantasy." It went to No. 1 after its release in November, less than a month before Lennon was gunned down outside his New York apartment. "Double Fantasy" received the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
In 1980, jazz pianist, composer and arranger Calvin (Duke) Pearson died in Atlanta of multiple sclerosis. He was 48.
In 1984, "The Judds" reached No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart for the first time with "Mama He's Crazy."
In 1986, Expo chairman Jim Pattison gave retiring B.C. Premier Bill Bennett John Lennon's $2.3 million rainbow-coloured Rolls Royce. Bennett commented -- "I guess we'll have to have it repainted." Canadian singer-arranger-composer David Foster played his first solo concert at a tribute to Bennett.
In 1987, country singer Kenny Price, known as the "Round Mound of Sound" because of his girth, died of a heart attack in Florence, Ky. He was 56. Price was known to TV viewers as Elrod the sheriff on the "Hee-Haw" series. His peak as a recording artist was in the late 1960's when he had such top-10 hits as "Walking on New Grass," "Happy Tracks" and "My Goal For Today."
In 1988, singer Brenda Lee filed a $20 million suit in Nashville against MCA Records, alleging that the label had underpaid royalties. The suit stemmed from a 1962 contract, signed when Lee was 17. It was settled out of court.
In 1990, three bandits, armed with handguns and a phoney hand grenade, made off with $300,000 in merchandising receipts from a "New Kids on the Block" concert at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Police considered the holdup an inside job because the robbers had security passes to reach a backstage area.
In 1991, 43 people were hurt when a hailstorm caused a tent to collapse during a concert by "The Lettermen" in Snowbird, Utah. Among the injured was the 81-year-old mother of group leader and founder Tony Butala.
In 1992, Ralph Cooper, founder and MC of Amateur Night at the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem for more than 50 years, died in New York. He was about 80 years old. Cooper established Amateur Night in 1934, and those who got their start on the show included Ella Fitzgerald, "The Jackson Five," "Gladys Knight and the Pips" and Luther Vandross.
In 1996, 14 people were hurt when fans rushed the stage during a concert by the R&B band "Immature" in West Allis, Wis. A member of the band's entourage had shouted to the 3,000 people in the audience -- "Do you all wanna come on stage?" The show at the State Fair Park continued after the injured were treated.
In 2008, country music duo "Brooks & Dunn" received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The duo formed in 1991 and dominated the Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year award from 1992-1999 and 2001-2006. They are the biggest-selling duo in country music history with over 30 million records sold. (A week later, they announced that they were ending the duo. Their farewell tour ended Sept. 2, 2010.)
In 2008, Melissa Lawson, a Texas mother of five, was crowned the new "Nashville Star." The series, NBC's inaugural season after airing on cable's USA Network the previous five, had launched the careers of Miranda Lambert, Buddy Jewell, Chris Young and Canadian George Canyon.
In 2009, "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul announced she was quitting the show after eight years over a contract dispute. Her loopy, emotional critiques of contestants and on- and off-screen behaviour brought singular appeal to the hit TV show.
In 2009, actor Heath Ledger's last directorial work was released. The music video he directed, "King Rat" by "Modest Mouse," debuted on MySpace.com. The six-minute, animated video is both whimsical and dark, showing whales and dolphins aboard a ship, fishing for humans in the water. Ledger was 28 when he died in 2008.
In 2009, an education trust fund was created for the children of Donna Moore, the woman killed at the Big Valley Jamboree stage collapse in Alberta on Aug. 1. She was a single mother to two boys aged 10 and 16. Canadian country singer Johnny Reid donated $10,000 to the fund.
In 2010, Van Morrison, the Irish singer-songwriter whose long string of hits such as "Moondance" and "Brown Eyed Girl" landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, played a special concert at the Edmonton Folk Festival to raise money for the festival's endowment fund.
In 2012, "Marshall Tucker Band" guitarist Stuart Swanlund died in his sleep at his Chicago home. He was on hiatus from the band to deal with unspecified health issues and died of natural causes. He was 54. He joined the band in 1985 after it had split up and regrouped. He was the longest running member except for founding member Doug Gray. The group, which blends rock, country and gospel, is best known for its 1977 top-40 hit "Heard It in a Love Song."
In 2017, blues-rocker George Thorogood released "Party of One," his first-ever solo record without the Destroyers since their self-titled debut in 1977.
In 2017, "Despacito," the Spanish-language track by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, became the most viewed video on YouTube with 2.995 billion views, surpassing "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, which set the record in early July. (In the next few days, "Despacito" became the first video to surpass three billion views and by early 2018 it had reached five billion views.)
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The Canadian Press