Today in Music History for March 18:
In 1902, Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso recorded 10 songs on wax to become the world's first recording star.
In 1938, Charley Pride, the most successful black entertainer in country music, was born in Sledge, Miss. By the early 1970s, Pride had become RCA Victor's biggest-selling artist since Elvis Presley, with hits such as "Is Anybody Going to San Antone?" "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" and "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore." When his first record, "Snakes Crawl at Night," was released in 1965, there was almost no publicity and few people realized that Pride was black. But by the following year, Pride had gained a huge hit and a Grammy Award nomination for "Just Between You and Me." In 1967, he was introduced on the Grand Ole Opry by Ernest Tubb and in 1993 was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member. He has also won several Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
In 1941, Wilson Pickett, one of the great soul singers of the 1960s, was born in Prattville, Ala. Pickett joined a Detroit group called "The Falcons" in 1962, and sang lead on their hit, "I Found a Love." But Pickett, on the suggestion of "The Falcons'" producer, soon began a solo career. He signed with Atlantic in 1964, and had the first of his many hits with "In the Midnight Hour." His backing group on this record was "Booker T. and the MGs." Pickett's other successes included "Land of 1,000 Dances," "Funky Broadway," "Mustang Sally" and "I'm a Midnight Mover." In 1999, he came out with his first new CD in over a decade, called "It's Harder Now." He died on Jan. 16, 2006.
In 1965, "The Rolling Stones" ended a British tour by urinating on a gas station wall in Essex, England. The owner wouldn't let them use the restroom. They were fined five pounds each for insulting behaviour.
In 1970, Country Joe McDonald of "Country Joe and the Fish" was convicted of obscenity and fined $500 for leading a concert crowd in Worcester, Mass., in his famous "Fish Cheer." The cheer contains a four-letter word.
In 1978, California Jam Two was staged in Ontario, Calif. Like the first jam four years earlier, it was staged by ABC-TV and was filmed for later broadcast. Among the performers seen by the estimated 250,000 people in attendance were "Santana," Ted Nugent and "Aerosmith."
In 1982, singer Teddy Pendergrass was paralyzed from the waist down when his car hit a road divider and crashed into a tree in Philadelphia. Four years later, Pendergrass was seriously injured again when his hand-controlled van crashed into a utility pole in Philadelphia. He underwent surgery for a gashed liver and spent about two weeks in hospital. Pendergrass was lead singer for "Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes" before leaving for a solo career in 1976. He emerged as a major star and sex symbol before his accident. His first album sold a million copies, and his single hits included "I Don't Love You Anymore," "Close the Door" and "Two Hearts," a 1980 duet with Stephanie Mills. He died Jan. 13, 2010.
In 1982, "XTC" singer Andy Partridge walked off stage during a concert in Paris after only 30 seconds. He had long suffered from stage fright. The group only played one more show ever, in San Diego.
In 1988, trumpeter Billy Butterfield, a leading sideman during the swing era, died in North Palm Beach, Fla., of cancer at the age of 71. His lyrical trumpet was heard in the bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Bob Crosby and Les Brown. He also led his own orchestra for brief periods and recorded two hit albums with trombonist Ray Conniff in the early 1960s. Butterfield performed in the late '60s and early '70s with the "World's Greatest Jazz Band."
In 1990, Toronto rocker Alannah Myles won three Juno Awards -- Most Promising Female Vocalist, Album and Single of the Year. Myles's "Black Velvet" was No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart at the time. Her self-titled debut album became the best-selling debut ever for a Canadian pop artist.
In 1994, "The Rolling Stones" announced Darryl Jones as the replacement for Bill Wyman on bass. Wyman had said he would no longer tour with the group.
In 1994, police confiscated ammunition and four guns from singer Kurt Cobain of "Nirvana." His wife, Courtney Love, had called authorities because she was afraid Cobain was contemplating suicide.
In 1996, the "Sex Pistols" announced they were reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour.
In 1997, Taylor Hawkins replaced William Goldsmith as drummer for the "Foo Fighters." Goldsmith left over creative differences.
In 1997, thousands of people lined the streets in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn to watch the funeral procession for rapper The Notorious B.I.G. He was killed nine days earlier in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. The crowd cheered as the funeral cortege passed and skirmishes later broke out with police. Officers used pepper spray and arrested nine people on disorderly conduct charges.
In 1998, Elton John told a British TV interviewer that tributes to Princess Diana, killed in a car crash the previous August, should stop. He said it was time to give it a rest, and that planned events, such as a concert at the estate of Diana's family, were excessive. John's recording of "Candle in the Wind '97," which he performed at the princess's funeral, became at the time the best-selling single in history and raised millions for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
In 2001, John Phillips, the driving force behind the 1960s music group "The Mamas and the Papas," died of heart failure at age 65.
In 2002, the "Ramones," "Talking Heads," "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers," Brenda Lee and Isaac Hayes were among those inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also honoured at the New York ceremony were Chet Atkins, Gene Pitney and Stax records co-founder Jim Stewart.
In 2010, Mary Miller, the widow of country music legend Roger Miller, and Roger Miller Music Inc. won a protracted legal battle over the rights to "King of the Road" and some of his best known songs from 1964 onward. Those songs also include: "Dang Me," "Chug-A-Lug" and "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd." Also, the judge awarded her and the company a little more than $900,000 for royalties they should have received.
In 2010, "Court Yard Hounds," featuring sisters Emily Robison and Matie Maguire of the "Dixie Chicks," made their first appearance, at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
In 2016, Keith Emerson, co-founder of the classically-flavoured prog-rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 71. Emerson, a talented keyboardist and composer, teamed up with vocalist/guitarist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer in the 1970s to produce six platinum-selling albums.
In 2017, Chuck Berry, rock 'n' roll's founding guitar hero and storyteller who defined its joy and rebellion in "Johnny B. Goode" and other classics, died at age 90. He hit the Top 10 in 1955 with "Maybellene" and went on to influence generations of musicians from the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Among his other hits were "Roll Over Beethoven," ''No Particular Place To Go," ''Sweet Little Sixteen" and his only No. 1, the 1972 racy novelty "My Ding-A-Ling."
In 2017, Toronto rapper Drake released his 22-track album "More Life." He went on to break the his own record of online streams across all platforms in one week from a single album (385 million streams; "Views" had 245 million streams).
In 2018, country music journalist, publicist and songwriter Hazel Smith died in a Nashville hospital at age 83. Smith is credited with coining the term "outlaw country" in the 1970s for artists who were bucking Music Row trends. She came up with the movement's moniker while working as a publicist for Kinky Friedman and worked out of Tompall Glaser's studio with artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
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The Canadian Press
