Today in Music History for March 12:
In 1946, singer-dancer-actress Liza Minnelli was born to actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. She made her professional debut at the age of three in a toddle-on role in the film "In the Good Old Summertime," directed by her father and starring her mother. But Liza soon dispelled notions that she was coasting on her parents' reputations. When she was 19, she became the youngest performer to win a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway musical "Flora, the Red Menace." Six years later, she was a star of the first magnitude, capturing an Oscar for her singing, dancing and acting in "Cabaret."
In 1950, the First Symposium of Canadian Contemporary Music opened in Vancouver. The works of 33 Canadian composers were presented during the four-day event, the largest festival of Canadian music prior to that at Expo '67.
In 1955, alto saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker died in the New York City apartment of Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter, worn out by the excesses of drugs and alcohol. He was only 35. Parker was the key figure of the bebop movement in jazz in the 1940s, and is considered by many to rank with Louis Armstrong as the greatest jazz soloist. Parker's innovations are still heard in much of the jazz being played today. But in the beginning, his experiments provoked mockery and abuse among many older musicians. Parker introduced harmonic and rhythmic changes, as well as a harder edge to jazz, that made his sound on alto sax unforgettable. With such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, he developed the bebop style in such New York after-hours clubs as Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's and moved jazz from the pop field into the realm of art. But this movement had an unfortunate side effect -- it alienated much of the jazz audience and it was years before the music again enjoyed a substantial following.
In 1958, singer Billie Holiday was sentenced to a year's probation in Philadelphia on a narcotics charge dating from two years earlier. She died in 1959.
In 1966, the Los Angeles band "Love" released their self-titled debut album. It was hailed as a classic in the new folk-rock style, and sold 150,000 copies. A single from it, "My Little Red Book," written by Burt Bacharch and Hal David, was a hit.
In 1969, "Mrs. Robinson" by "Simon and Garfunkel" was named Song and Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards, beating out "Hey Jude" by "The Beatles."
In 1969, George and Patti Harrison were charged with possession of 120 marijuana cigarettes following a raid on their home.
In 1969, Paul McCartney married American photographer Linda Eastman in a civil ceremony in London. Until Linda McCartney's death from cancer in 1998, the couple spent just one night apart.
In 1985, Eugene Ormandy, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 42 years, died in Philadelphia at age 85. He became the orchestra's principal conductor in 1938 and remained in the position until he retired in 1980. Ormandy developed the orchestra's lush, velvety sound, which made it one of the most popular orchestras in the world.
In 1987, A&M Records presented Special Olympics International with a cheque for $5 million. It was the first proceeds from the sale of "A Very Special Christmas," a collection of yuletide songs by such superstars as Bruce Springsteen, "U2," "Bon Jovi" and "Run-D.M.C."
In 1987, William Lee Golden was asked to leave country group "The Oak Ridge Boys" after 22 years. He was voted out by the rest of the band and replaced by Steve Sanders. Friction within the group had been rumoured since Golden grew a beard and waist-length hair and began cultivating a mountain-man image in the late 1970s. Golden filed a $40 million suit against the other group members, which was settled out of court. Golden returned to the band on New Years Eve 1995, replacing Sanders who had left the band earlier in the year.
In 1993, inventor Hugo Zuccarelli punched one of Michael Jackson's lawyers after a judge in Los Angeles dismissed his lawsuit against the singer.
In 1993, 1950s pop singer June Valli died of cancer in Fort Lee, N.J., at age 62. She was a featured performer on TV's "Your Hit Parade." Among her biggest recording successes was a cover version of "The Orioles" "Crying in the Chapel" in 1953.
In 1998, Cathay Pacific Airways banned "Oasis" lead singer Liam Gallagher following a disturbance on a February flight from Hong Kong to Australia. Passengers and crew said Gallagher and his entourage smoked, yelled obscenities and were generally obnoxious during the seven-and-a-half-hour flight.
In 1998, "Van Halen" played its first show with lead singer Gary Cherone, at the Billboard Live club in Los Angeles. Cherone was the hard rock band's third frontman, following David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Cherone's stint as lead was short-lived as he left the band amicably in November 1999. Hagar returned in 2003 but was then replaced by Roth in 2006.
In 1999, Yehudi Menuhin, world-renowned violinist, died in Berlin at the age of 82. He had performed around the world for 75 years. His debut -- at age seven -- came in San Francisco. A mere four years later, he played at New York's Carnegie Hall with the New York Symphony Orchestra. And by age 13, he had enthralled audiences in Berlin, Paris and London. Menuhin believed music could bridge the cultural gaps between East and West. His series of concerts in Moscow in 1945 promoted cultural exchanges between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Menuhin also toured India and brought Indian music and musicians to the West. But he didn't limit himself to classical music. Menuhin was an admirer of some of "The Beatles" early songs and performed jazz with Stephane Grappelli and Indian music with Ravi Shankar.
In 2000, Winnipeg's Chantal Kreviazuk won two Juno Awards, for Best Female Artist and Best Pop-Adult Album for "Colour Moving and Still."
In 2007, "Van Halen," "R.E.M.," Patti Smith and "The Ronettes" were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also inducted was "Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five," the first hip-hop act so honoured.
In 2010, Canada's musical effort to raise money for earthquake-ravaged Haiti was made available for download. Avril Lavigne, Drake, Nelly Furtado, Justin Bieber, Sam Roberts, Kardinal Offishall and Nikki Yanofsky were among the 57 artists performing a remixed version of K'naan's anthem "Wavin' Flag." It raised more than $1 million.
In 2012, longtime "Doobie Brothers" drummer Michael Hossack, whose work is heard on the hits "Listen to the Music" and "China Grove," died of cancer at age 65.
In 2013, Clive Burr, former drummer with heavy metal icons "Iron Maiden," died at age 56. He had been suffering from multiple sclerosis. He joined the band in 1979 and played on its first three albums — "Iron Maiden," ''Killers" and "The Number of the Beast." He contributed to the band's distinctive hard-driving sound on classic songs like "Run for the Hills," but left in 1982, before Iron Maiden became 1980s mega-stars.
In 2014, Idina Menzel's Oscar-winning "Let It Go" (from the animated film "Frozen") settled in at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first singer in the chart's history to have a top-10 hit and a Tony Award (in 2004 for her Broadway performance in Wicked).
In 2018, suspended music director emeritus James Levine, whose 46-year career at the Metropolitan Opera established him as a towering figure in classical music, was fired by the company after an investigation found evidence of sexual abuse and harassment. He debuted in 1971 and conducted 2,552 performances before stepping down in 2016 due to Parkinson's disease.
In 2018, Nokie Edwards, the influential lead guitarist for the "surf rock" pioneers The Ventures, died at age 82. The group helped create the driving, twangy surf sound that influenced the Beach Boys and were best known for the hits "Walk, Don't Run" and the theme for the TV show "Hawaii Five-O." The Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 2020, Canada's biggest celebration of homegrown music, the Juno Awards, was cancelled over the growing COVID-19 pandemic just a few hours before the show was set to kick off in Saskatoon. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television also called off the Canadian Screen Awards for March 29. New York's governor ordered all Broadway theatres to shut their doors over novel coronavirus concerns.
In 2024, American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen died. A statement from his wife Amy said Eric passed away in his sleep over the weekend at the age of 74, but no cause of death was given. The Ohio-born Carmen was the lead vocalist of the pop band The Raspberries and began a solo career in the mid-1970s. His power-ballad hit "All By Myself" was released in 1975, and in 1987, Carmen contributed to the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack with his hit single "Hungry Eyes."
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The Canadian Press