Today in Music History for March 14:
In 1804, composer Johann Strauss was born in Vienna.
In 1922, orchestra leader Les Baxter was born in Mexia, Texas. In the 1950s, he was signed by Capitol Records as an arranger and recording artist. Baxter featured Latin American and jungle drum themes, as well as standard popular tunes. He had hits with "The High and the Mighty," "Unchained Melody" and "The Poor People of Paris," which went to No. 1 in 1956. Baxter died in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan. 15, 1996.
In 1933, record producer and arranger Quincy Jones was born in Chicago. He's best known as the producer of the "We Are the World" record for African famine relief and of Michael Jackson's multi-million-selling albums "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad." But he began as a jazz trumpeter, and at the age of 16, played some jam sessions in Seattle with Ray Charles. In the early 1950s, Jones began playing and arranging for such jazz greats as Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. After several years in Europe, he returned to the U.S. to become a vice-president of Mercury Records. He was the first black to hold such a high-level job in a major record company. In 1965, Jones began scoring movies, among them "The Pawnbroker," "In Cold Blood" and "In the Heat of the Night." He signed a contract with A&M records in 1969, turning out such hit albums as "Gula Matari," "Smackwater Jack" and "Body Heat." Beginning in the late '70s, he concentrated on producing hit records for such artists as "The Brothers Johnson," Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson. He was back on the charts with a vengeance in 1989 with the smash album "Back on the Block." It was a melting pot of such diverse musical forms as jazz, rock and rap, and among the many performers taking part were Ray Charles and Chaka Khan. "Back on the Block" won Quincy Jones six Grammy awards.
In 1971, "The Rolling Stones" played what was billed as a farewell concert in London. They then moved to France for several years to avoid British income taxes.
In 1972, Carole King won four Grammy Awards -- Record of the Year for "It's Too Late," Album of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Tapestry" and Song of the Year for "You've Got a Friend."
In 1972, California Gov. Ronald Reagan pardoned country star Merle Haggard, who had served nearly three years in San Quentin on a burglary charge.
In 1974, Stevie Wonder announced he would move to Africa to help the underprivileged on that continent. He said he would play a farewell tour of North America to raise money for Africans.
In 1976, jazz vocalist Flora Purim, recently released from Terminal Island in Long Beach, Calif., on a drug conviction, performed a concert for the prison's inmates.
In 1980, producer Quincy Jones got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on his 47th birthday.
In 1981, Eric Clapton was hospitalized in St. Paul, Minn., for an attack of bleeding ulcers. He had to cancel a 60-date U.S. tour.
In 1988, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin began their "Rat Pack" Reunion tour in Oakland, Calif. Sinatra had recently recovered from intestinal surgery and Davis from hip surgery. Illness soon forced Martin to drop out. Liza Minnelli was his replacement.
In 1990, MCA bought the last of the big independent music labels, Geffen Records. Geffen's roster included "Guns 'N' Roses," Don Henley, Cher, "Aerosmith" and "Whitesnake." Geffen's sole owner, David Geffen, received preferred shares in MCA worth about $550 million. Geffen had founded the company a decade earlier.
In 1991, one of rock 'n' roll's greatest songwriters, Jerome (Doc) Pomus, died in New York of cancer. He was 65. Pomus wrote the lyrics while partner Mort Shuman wrote the music for such classics as the "Dion and the Belmonts'" 1959 hit, "A Teenager in Love," "Save the Last Dance For Me" -- No. 1 for "The Drifters" in 1960 -- and "This Magic Moment," a hit for both "The Drifters" and "Jay and the Americans." Pomus and Shuman also collaborated with another great songwriting team, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, to compose such Elvis Presley hits as "Surrender," "Little Sister" and "His Latest Flame."
In 1995, Tupac Shakur's album, "Me Against the World," entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1. At the time, Tupac was serving a four-year prison sentence for sexual assault, becoming the first artist to have a No. 1 album while in jail.
In 1997, Canadian conductor, arranger and violinist Ivan Romanoff died in Toronto at age 83. He created CBC television's "Rhapsody," the first nationally telecast, multilingual musical variety program. It aired in 1958 and '59. Romanoff was also the host of several CBC Radio shows.
In 1997, thousands of fans in Corpus Christi mobbed the Texas premiere of "Selena," the film biography of the Tejano music star who was shot and killed two years earlier by the president of her fan club.
In 1988, a full-page ad in Billboard magazine celebrating Johnny Cash's best country album Grammy Award for "Unchained" showed the singer making an obscene gesture. The ad read -- "American Recordings and Johnny Cash would like to acknowledge the Nashville music establishment and country radio for your support." Cash hadn't had a hit in eight years, recorded for a label that concentrated on rock and rap, and -- like many older country stars -- was virtually ignored by radio.
In 1998, Ray Charles made what was billed as his first solo performance in 53 years as he played piano and sang on the U.S. cable television shopping channel QVC. Charles was hawking a book and CD set.
In 2005, "U2," "The Pretenders," Percy Sledge, Buddy Guy and "The O'Jays" were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Leon Russell, Dr. John and 1960s singer Darlene Love were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Canadian teen pop sensation Justin Bieber's concert-worn purple sneakers were enshrined at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
In 2012, Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" debuted atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart, his 10th No. 1 album and tied him with Elvis Presley for third-most, behind rapper Jay Z (13) and "The Beatles" (19). (In January 2014, he broke the tie when his "High Hopes" album debuted at No. 1.)
In 2012, Lionel Richie's country duets album "Tuskegee" debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart, joining Ray Charles as the only artist to ever top both the Billboard Country and the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
In 2012, Billboard's longest charting album, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," reached its 800th week on the 200 Album chart. It first entered after its release in 1973 and spent 741 consecutive weeks there before dropping off in April 1988. It re-entered the chart over the years after several re-issues and as of mid-February 2018, sits at a total of 937 weeks.
In 2013, Jack Greene, a longtime country music star who earned fame with the hit "There Goes My Everything," died in Nashville of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 83.
In 2021, Canadian artists walked away with a number of Grammy awards, in a night that had Canucks nominated in 23 of the 83 categories. Montreal-raised DJ Kaytranada won best dance recording for his song "10 per cent,'' and best dance or electronic album for "Bubba.'' Justin Bieber won best country duo or group performance for "10,000 Hours,'' a hit single recorded with country pair Dan and Shay. Music engineer Shawn Everett, who was raised in Bragg Creek, Alberta, won his sixth Grammy for Beck's "Hyperspace'' in the best engineered album, non-classical category. And Toronto-born guitarist Jim (Kimo) West's "More Guitar Stories'' took best new age album. Taylor Swift is the first female performer to win album of the year three times, while H.E.R. (her) won song of the year Billie Eilish picked up record of the year, although she told the audience that best new artist winner Megan Thee Stallion deserved the honour. Picking up her 28th statuette, Beyonce became the most decorated woman in Grammy history, and now ties Quincy Jones for second place among all Grammy winners.
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The Canadian Press
