Today in Music History for Jan. 13:
In 1501, Christianity's first vernacular hymnal was printed in Prague, capital of the present-day Czech Republic. It contained 89 hymns in the Czech language.
In 1854, a patent for the accordion was issued to Anthony Faax of Philadelphia.
In 1864, Stephen Foster, one of the first composers of pop music, died in a New York City hospital after falling over a wash basin in a drunken stupor. In his pocket when he died was the manuscript for what became one of his most famous songs, "Beautiful Dreamer." Many of his songs -- including "Oh! Susanna," "Camptown Races" and "Old Black Joe" -- are written in black dialect. Foster gained much of his knowledge of blacks through his early experience in travelling minstrel shows. But he became embarrassed by his songs, primarily because of a contemporary review which called them "only skin deep, hummed and whistled without musical emotion." Stephen Foster also had little aptitude for business. Extreme poverty, coupled with excessive drinking, ruined his last years.
In 1885, renowned Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam was born in Sutton, Que. He was considered one of the great interpreters of organ music during the 1920s, attracting both musicians and the general public to his recitals. He often performed in Europe on some of the world's greatest organs. He died of liver cancer in New York on Nov. 23, 1930.
In 1925, actress-singer-dancer Gwen Verdon was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City. Forced in childhood to wear corrective boots because of badly bent legs, she took dance lessons to strengthen her legs. Verdon made her Broadway debut in 1950 and won four Tony awards over the next 25 years, starring in such classic musicals as "Can-Can," "Damn Yankees," "Sweet Charity" and "Chicago." Her best work was done with director-choreographer Bob Fosse, whom she married in 1960. She died on Oct. 18, 2000.
In 1964, Capitol Records released the first "Beatles" record in the U.S. "to see how it goes." "I Want to Hold Your Hand" became the group's fastest-selling single ever, with one million copies sold in the first three weeks. It stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.
In 1968, Johnny Cash recorded a live album at Folsom Prison. The LP was on the Billboard pop chart for 122 weeks, and from it came the chart-topping country single "Folsom Prison Blues."
In 1973, Eric Clapton came back from his three-year heroin addiction problem with a concert at the Rainbow club in London. His backing band included Pete Townshend, Ron Wood and Steve Winwood.
In 1973, "Aerosmith" released its self-titled debut album.
In 1974, Raoul Jobin, considered one of the greatest French tradition tenors of the 1930s and '40s, died in Quebec City at the age of 67.
In 1974, 37 people were injured in a melee outside the Tower Records store in Los Angeles after the crowd discovered that singer Steve Miller was not going to be at a post-concert party at the store. The organizers forgot to invite him.
In 1979, singer Donny Hathaway died in a fall from a hotel window in New York City. He was 33. His death was ruled a suicide. Hathaway was best-known for his duets with Roberta Flack, including "Where is the Love" and "The Closer I Get To You."
In 1980, conductor and arranger Andre Kostelanetz died at age 78. He backed Perry Como on some of his recordings for RCA in the 1940s, including the No. 1 "Prisoner of Love" in 1946.
In 1986, former members of the defunct punk band the "Sex Pistols" sued manager Malcolm McLaren for US$1.4 million. The suit was settled out of court.
In 1988, plans to erect a four-metre-tall statue of pop star Madonna in a bikini in the Italian village where her grandparents had lived, were dropped after strenuous opposition from the local mayor.
In 1992, Bryan Adams opened the North American leg of his "Waking Up the World" tour in Sydney, N.S. The Vancouver rocker used a pre-concert news conference to blast CRTC regulations which resulted in the songs on the album being denied Canadian content status. The broadcast regulator said the songs weren't Canadian because Adams wrote them with British producer Robert "Mutt" Lange. That meant they could be played a maximum of 18 times a week on Canadian radio stations.
In 1993, Ricky Van Shelton walked out of a TV special honouring the 35th anniversary of the Country Music Association because he couldn't sing an Elvis tribute in the required key. Van Shelton said producer Irving Waugh told him he would either sing in the Elvis segment as requested or not be in the program at all. The singer returned to his bus, and security officers escorted him from Opryland.
In 1994, 46 top country stars, including Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Willie Nelson, launched an advertising campaign designed to prevent the spread of AIDS, particularly in rural areas.
In 1995, "R.E.M." opened its first world tour of the decade with a sold-out show in Perth, Australia. The tour was to promote the band's "Monster" album.
In 1996, many Bruce Springsteen fans who lined up for concert tickets in Austin, Texas, were out of luck after ticket agencies paid 100 homeless people to camp out for tickets.
In 1996, Janet Jackson signed a four-album deal with Virgin Records worth an estimated $80 million.
In 1999, Kevin DuBrow, lead singer for the heavy metal band "Quiet Riot," told a judge in Charlotte, N.C., that he was broke. (He died of cocaine overdose in 2007).
In 1999, Jerry Hall filed for divorce from "Rolling Stone" frontman Mick Jagger after the singer fathered a child with a Brazilian model, Luciana Gimenez Morad.
In 2001, pianist-composer-comedian-writer Stan Freeman died in New York. He was 80. The classically-trained pianist achieved pop fame in 1951 for his harpsichord accompaniment to Rosemary Clooney's novelty hit, "Come On-a My House."
In 2003, musician Pete Townshend was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography in London. Townshend was later cleared of the charges.
In 2009, Ron Attfield, who played bass and rhythm guitar for his band, "The Pharaohs," regarded as the first rock ‘n’ roll band from Victoria to make it to the big time, died in Victoria at age 64.
In 2009, songwriter Kara DioGuardi made her debut as the fourth judge on "American Idol." She left the show after the 2010 season.
In 2010, singer Teddy Pendergrass died of colon cancer in suburban Philadelphia, where he had been hospitalized for months. He was 59. He became R&B's reigning sex symbol in the 1970s and '80s with his forceful, masculine voice and passionate love ballads and later became an inspirational figure after suffering a devastating car accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
In 2011, teen sensation Justin Bieber became the first Canadian to top the recently created Billboard Social 50 chart. It's based on a formula that included the number of friends, fans or followers on social networking sites, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and iLike.
In 2012, YouTube declared Burlington, Ont.-based band "Walk Off the Earth's" cover of Goyte's song "Somebody That I Used to Know" as the viral hit of the week, clearing 16 million views. The band performed the song with five members all clutching and playing the same acoustic guitar. (To date, it has over 1.15 billion views.)
In 2013, singer Justin Timberlake released the single "Suit and Tie" featuring Jay Z, his first musical offering since 2006's critically acclaimed album "FutureSex/LoveSounds."
In 2013, British neo-soul singer Adele won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for co-writing (with Paul Epworth) and performing "Skyfall," for the James Bond movie of the same name. Canadian film composer Mychael Danna won Best Original Score for "Life of Pi."
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The Canadian Press