Today in Music History for March 22:
In 1943, singer-guitarist George Benson was born in Pittsburgh. After years as a jazz guitarist, Benson signed in 1975 with Warner Brothers, who encouraged him to sing. The result was ``Breezin','' which became the top-selling jazz album ever. It included ``On Broadway,'' ``This Masquerade,'' ``Give Me the Night'' and ``Turn Your Love Around.''
In 1943, ``The Yardbirds'' vocalist-guitarist-harmonica player Keith Relf was born in Richmond, England. He's credited with being one of the first to use guitar feedback. Relf died of an electric shock while playing his guitar in his London home in 1976. He was 33.
In 1948, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in London. The son of a composer, he was teamed with lyricist Tim Rice in the late '60s to write a children's show for EMI Records -- the moderately-successful ``Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'' Lloyd Webber and Rice then wrote the rock opera ``Jesus Christ, Superstar.'' The 1970 double album sold 5.5 million copies in four years and became a hit stage show and film. With and without Rice, Lloyd Webber later penned ``Evita,'' ``Cats,'' a revised ``Joseph,'' ``The Phantom of the Opera'' and other shows. Lloyd Webber became Sir Andrew when he was knighted in 1992, and was named to the House of Lords in '97.
In 1952, Uncle Dave Macon, the first star of the Grand Ole Opry, died in Readyville, Tenn., at age 81. The singing banjo player joined the Opry in 1926. His recordings of songs he learned from Nashville-area river workers and haulers helped preserve valuable American folklore. Uncle Dave Macon was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966.
In 1956, Carl Perkins was injured in a car accident near Wilmington, Del. He was on his way to New York to perform on ``The Ed Sullivan Show,'' but was forced to spend several months in the hospital. By the time he recovered, Elvis Presley had covered Perkins' hit, ``Blue Suede Shoes,'' and Perkins' career was never the same.
In 1958, at the urging of his mother, Hank Williams Jr. made his stage debut. He was eight years old. It would take years and a near-fatal accident before he could develop a style of his own and come to terms with being the son of one of country music's greatest performers.
In 1963, ``The Beatles''' first album, ``Please Please Me,'' was released in the U.K. It was rushed to market to capitalize on the success of the title track. Ten of the album's 14 tracks - four were previously recorded and released - were recorded in a one-day marathon session on Feb. 11. The album didn't receive an official U.S. release until 1987.
In 1975, Canadian classical guitarist Liona Boyd made her New York debut at the Carnegie Recital Hall.
In 1977, country singer Stoney Cooper died at age 58. He and his wife, Wilma Lee, were considered among the most authentic singers of traditional West Virginia mountain music.
In 1986, singer Mark Dinning, who had a 1960 million-seller with ``Teen Angel,'' died at his home in Jefferson City, Mo. at the age of 52. ``Teen Angel'' was a ballad written by Dinning's sister, Jean, and told of a girl who returned to a stalled car to retrieve her boyfriend's high school ring, only to die when the vehicle was hit by a train.
In 1990, singer Gloria Estefan underwent surgery in New York, two days after her back was broken in a bus accident.
In 1991, Dave Guard, a founding member of ``The Kingston Trio,'' died in Concord, N.H., of cancer. He was 56. The Trio's late-'50s hits such as ``Tom Dooley'' and ``M.T.A.'' helped lead to the '60s folk revival. Dave Guard left the Trio in 1961, but never achieved similar success.
In 1994, singer-songwriter Dan Hartman died in Westport, Conn., of a brain tumour. He was 43. Hartman performed with ``The Edgar Winter Group'' in the 1970s, and was the lead singer on their top-20 hit ``Free Ride'' in 1973. In 1984, Hartman's recording of ``I Can Dream About You'' from the ``Streets of Fire'' soundtrack went to No. 6 on the Billboard pop chart.
In 1996, Don Murray, former drummer for ``The Turtles,'' died in Santa Monica, Calif., of complications from surgery. He was 50.
In 1996, a man claiming to have a bomb held a radio station manager hostage in the New Zealand city of Wanganui. He demanded to hear Kermit the Frog's ``Rainbow Connection.'' The bomb was a fake, and the man was charged with kidnapping.
In 1997, Paul McCartney's custom-made bass guitar went for US$200,000, and a grey suit worn on stage by John Lennon sold for $35,000, at a Tokyo auction of Beatles memorabilia. Lennon's son Julian bought his father's black cape and the Afghan coat he wore on ``The Magical Mystery Tour'' album cover. Julian donated them to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
In 1997, Marilyn Manson fell onstage during a performance in Honolulu and cut an artery in his hand. He was forced to stop the show.
In 1998, singer Sarah McLachlan capped a banner year with four Juno awards -- Best Album (``Surfacing''), Best Single (``Building a Mystery''), Female Vocalist of the Year and Best Songwriter with collaborator Pierre Marchand. In 1997 and early '98, McLachlan's all-women ``Lilith Fair'' was hailed as the North American tour of the summer, ``Surfacing'' spawned three top-10 singles, and she won two Grammy awards.
In 2010, Reba McEntire's latest album, ``Keep On Loving You,'' was certified gold by the RIAA. Every studio album McEntire had released since ``My Kind of Country'' in 1984, has gone gold or higher. It extended her lead as the female artist with the most RIAA sales certifications in country music history.
In 2011, out promoting his new album ``F.A.M.E.,'' singer Chris Brown threw a destructive tantrum in his dressing room after he was asked on-air by ``Good Morning America'' host Robin Roberts about his beating of then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. He later apologized, saying he got upset and needed to ``let out steam.''
In 2013, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac filed for legal separation from his wife of more than 17 years, Lynn Frankel Fleetwood, citing irreconcilable differences. (The divorce was finalized in November 2015.)
In 2016, Buffy Sainte-Marie's album ``It's My Way,'' Santana's ``Abraxas'' and Metallica's ``Master of Puppets'' were among 25 sound recordings preserved by the U.S. Library of Congress for its National Recording Registry. Songs on the list: Gloria Gaynor's disco anthem ``I Will Survive,'' Billy Joel's ``Piano Man,'' both the Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin versions of ``Mack the Knife,'' Julie London's ``Cry Me a River,'' ``Where Did Our Love Go'' by The Supremes, ``Mama Tried'' by Merle Haggard and ``''People Get Ready`` by The Impressions.
In 2016, rap pioneer Phife Dawg (born Malik Isaac Taylor), a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died from complications resulting from diabetes. He was 45.
In 2017, John (Sib) Hashian, former drummer for '70s rock band Boston, died while on the Legends of Rock cruise in the Caribbean. He was 67. He played on Boston's first two hit records, their self-titled debut album in 1976, featuring the hit song ``More Than a Feeling,'' and their second album, ``Don't Look Back.''
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The Canadian Press
