Today in Music History for March 2:
In 1942, Charlie Christian, the man responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument rather than just a part of the rhythm section, died in New York of tuberculosis. He was only 25. Though Christian recorded for only three years, his single-string picking technique on the then-new electric guitar had a vast impact on both jazz and rock 'n' roll. Most of his recordings were with Benny Goodman's sextet, and he co-wrote such Goodman favourites as "Solo Flight," "Seven Come Eleven" and "Air Mail Special."
In 1950, singer Karen Carpenter was born in New Haven, Conn. "The Carpenters," Karen and her brother Richard, first gained notice in 1970 with their soft-rock cover version of "The Beatles" "Ticket to Ride." Later that year came their first chart-topping record, "Close to You." That was followed by a dozen other hits, including two other No. 1s, "Top of the World" in 1973 and "Please Mr. Postman" in 1975. On Feb. 4, 1983, she died at her parents' home in Los Angeles of a heart attack brought on by her running battle with anorexia nervosa. Her death at the age of 32 brought about more public awareness of the disease, characterized by a loss of appetite brought on by mental illness.
In 1962, Jon Bon Jovi, leader of the hard rock group which bears his name, was born in New Jersey. "Bon Jovi's" melodic chart-toppers as "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" made them America's hottest rock band in 1986. Albums such as "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" were multi-million sellers.
In 1964, "The Beatles" began work on their first feature film, "A Hard Day's Night." Shooting began in London under director Richard Lester.
In 1967, Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" was named Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The Song of the Year award went to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for "Michelle."
In 1969, "The Beatles" premiered their song "Let It Be" in a film clip shown on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1974, Roberta Flack won three Grammy Awards for "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Bette Midler won Best New Artist.
In 1975, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Los Angeles for marijuana possession.
In 1979, the three-day Havana Jam, sponsored by CBS Records and the Cuban government, began in the 5,000-seat Karl Marx Auditorium in Havana. Among the acts appearing were "Weather Report," Stephen Stills and Billy Joel. They were the first U.S. pop artists to appear in Cuba in more than 20 years.
In 1983, Sony and Philips introduced their jointly developed compact disc system. The CD is a digital medium in which sound waves are replicated as a series of binary numbers on the 12-cm disc. A laser in the CD player reads the digital information, which is then translated into sound. In contrast, vinyl records were traditionally recorded using analog technology, which replicates sound waves in the grooves of a record. The sound is transmitted through a needle vibrating in a groove via a cartridge to an amplifier. The major advantage of digital recording over analog is that it eliminates extraneous noise. In analog recording, a noise reduction mechanism is needed to minimize hisses and crackles. At a 1980 demonstration of the new product, renowned conductor Herbert von Karajan declared that "all else is gaslight." Within a decade of the CD's introduction, vinyl records had virtually disappeared from stores.
In 1984, Hollywood's Gold Star Recording Studios, where "The Beach Boys" and Phil Spector made most of their famous recordings, was closed. The building was eventually torn down to make room for a shopping plaza.
In 1987, "Trio," the much-delayed joint project by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, was finally released.
In 1988, at the Grammy Awards, Paul Simon won Record of the Year for "Graceland," the first time a winning record did not hit the top-40. "The Joshua Tree" by "U2" won Album of the Year.
In 1989, Madonna's Pepsi commercial premiered on TV. It was set to her new single “Like a Prayer.” The ad was pulled a few days later because of its controversial religious images.
In 1989, lead singer J.P. Pennington announced his departure from the country band "Exile." Pennington was the last original member, which began as a pop group in the mid-1960s.
In 1991, Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love" closed in New York after 377 performances. It was the shortest run of any Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway. It was said to be the most expensive play in Broadway history, costing about $2 million to open and running up expenses of $8 million by the time it closed. Little of the investment was recouped during the show's nearly 11-month run. The British production was much more successful, running for more than three years.
In 1993, "The Tonight Show" cancelled an appearance by Grammy-winning reggae artist Shabba Ranks after he expressed support for a song that advocated violence against gays. Ranks had apologized earlier in the day for the remarks made in a British TV interview the previous December. He had said the song "Boom Bye Bye" by Buju Banton was "most definitely right" because "if you forfeit the laws of God Almighty, you deserve crucifixion."
In 1994, Canadian composer and producer David Foster won four Grammy Awards for his work on Whitney Houston's hit soundtrack album "The Bodyguard." He won for Producer, Album and Record of the Year, as well as for Best Arrangement with Vocals.
In 1994, composer Walter Kent, who wrote the Second World War anthem "The White Cliffs of Dover," died in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills. He was 82.
In 1996, five members of Brazil's hottest rock band "Mamonas Assassinas" were killed in a plane crash in southern Brazil while returning from a sold-out concert in Brasilia. Thousands of fans lined the streets two days later as a firetruck carried the five coffins to a Sao Paulo cemetery.
In 1999, British singer Dusty Springfield, who recorded such 1960s hits as "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Wishin' and Hopin'," died at her home in Henley-on-Thames, England after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 59. Her death came 11 days before she was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her first hit came in 1964 with "I Only Want to Be With You."
In 2003, Hank Ballard, the singer and songwriter whose hit "The Twist" ushered a country-wide dance craze in the 1960s, died at age 75.
In 2006, former "Beatle" Sir Paul McCartney and his then-wife Heather Mills staged a high-profile, anti-hunt protest at the annual seal hunt on barren ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In 2006, singer Gary Glitter was convicted of obscene acts with two young Vietnamese girls. He was sentenced to prison.
In 2008, Canadian rock blues and jazz musician Jeff Healey, who won a Juno in 1990 for Entertainer of the Year, died at age 41 after a long battle with cancer that robbed him of his sight when he was a baby. Healey was best known for the classic tune "Angel Eyes" with "The Jeff Healey Band" and his role as Cody in the 1989 film "Road House."
In 2009, "Oasis" said China blocked what would have been the British band's upcoming debut in the country because lead singer Noel Gallagher took part in a free Tibet concert in 1997.
In 2009, rockers "U2" began a week-long stint as musical guests on CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" to promote their new CD, "No Line on the Horizon."
In 2010, Keyshia Cole and Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Daniel Gibson became proud parents after the R&B singer gave birth to a son, Daniel Hiram Gibson Jr.
In 2011, online casino GoldenPalace.com bought Justin Bieber’s hair for US$40,688. The Canadian pop sensation had cut his famous mop-top a week earlier and gave a lock of it to talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who put it on eBay to raise money for an animal charity.
In 2014, "Let It Go" from the Disney musical "Frozen" won the Oscar for Best Original Song. It was written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and sung by veteran Broadway songstress Idina Menzel.
In 2018, Canadian Country Music Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Prophet died at age 80. He recorded more than 25 albums and charted five singles during the 1970s on the Billboard Country charts, collecting accolades including the country male vocalist of the year Juno award in 1978 and 1979. His variety shows included CBC-TV's "Country Roads" (1973) and "The Ronnie Prophet Show" (1974), and CTV's "Grand Old Country" (1975-80).
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The Canadian Press
