Today in Music History for Sept. 16:
In 1857, the song "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted by Jane Pierpont of Boston. The song, originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh," was written for a Sunday school entertainment show.
In 1925, B.B. King, whose name symbolizes the blues to fans around the world, was born in Indianola, Miss. His guitar stylings, which borrow heavily from jazz, have influenced countless blues and rock guitarists, among them Mike Bloomfield and Eric Clapton. Riley B. King -- his full name -- was a disc jockey on a Memphis station in the early 1950s. He was known as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," from which came his nickname, B.B. He also began making records, scoring a No. 1 R&B hit in 1951 with "Three O'Clock Blues." Other hits during this period included "Woke Up This Morning'" and "Sweet Little Angel." In 1961, King signed with the ABC-Paramount company, where he released a string of albums, many of which are now considered blues classics. Among them -- "Live at the Regal," "Live in Cook County Jail," "Completely Well" and "Live and Well." From "Live and Well" came his only top-20 pop single, "The Thrill is Gone," which made it to No. 15 in 1969. He died May 14, 2015.
In 1946, banjoist Earl Scruggs first recorded with Bill Monroe and his "Blue Grass Boys." His three-fingered picking style became one of the trademarks of bluegrass music. Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left Monroe in 1948 to form their own group, "The Foggy Mountain Boys." Flatt and Scruggs's partnership lasted for more than 20 years.
In 1948, Kenney Jones, drummer for "The Who," was born in London. Jones joined "The Who" after original drummer Keith Moon died of a sedative overdose on Sept. 7, 1978. Jones had previously played with "Faces."
In 1949, J.J. Gagnier, conductor of "The Canadian Grenadier Guards Band" from 1913-47, died in Montreal at age 63.
In 1964, the rock 'n' roll TV show "Shindig" premiered on ABC. Guests on the first show were Sam Cooke, Bobby Sherman, "The Everly Brothers" and "The Righteous Brothers." The house band, "The Shindogs," included such musicians as Leon Russell and Delaney Bramlett. And among "The Shindig Dancers" was future actress Teri Garr. Such was the drawing power of the show that "The Beatles" were paid only $1,400 to appear during the first season -- at the height of Beatlemania. "Shindig" was cancelled in January 1966.
In 1965, Bob Dylan first rehearsed in Toronto with a local rock group called "Levon and the Hawks," later to become famous as "The Band." After two nights of rehearsal, Dylan and "The Hawks" left on an eight-month tour of Europe and North America. During that tour, Dylan alienated his folk music fans and unleashed a new sound that was dubbed "folk rock."
In 1966, the Metropolitan Opera officially opened its new opera house at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra." (There had been a student matinee performance of "La Fanciulla del West" on April 11 to test the theatre's sound quality.)
In 1970, a poll in Britain's "Melody Maker" magazine put "Led Zeppelin" as the most popular group. It was the first time in eight years that "The Beatles" had not topped the list.
In 1977, Marc Bolan, leader of the British band "T. Rex," died in a car crash in London at age 28. The car was driven by Gloria Jones, an American singer with whom Bolan was living. "T. Rex" generated immense fan hysteria in Britain between 1970-74, but could manage only one major hit in the U.S. -- 1971's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)."
In 1977, Maria Callas, the American-born prima donna famed for her lyric soprano and fiery temperament, died in Paris at age 53.
In 1979, what is generally considered to be the first rap record, "Rapper's Delight" by "The Sugar Hill Gang," was released. "Rapper's Delight" confounded the prevailing industry view that rap was an amateur fad with no commercial appeal. The record sold two million copies.
In 1979, a fire in California's Hollywood Hills destroyed 24 homes, including those of singer-actress Mackenzie Phillips and British bluesman John Mayall.
In 1988, on the eve of the second Canadian stop on the Amnesty International tour for human rights, British rock star Peter Gabriel used a Montreal news conference to criticize Canada's treatment of aboriginal people. Gabriel also expressed concern about proposed refugee legislation. Gabriel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman and Youssou N'Dour had appeared the previous night in Toronto.
In 1991, country singer Willie Nelson married makeup artist Ann-Marie D'Angelo. They met on the set of Nelson's 1986 movie "Red Headed Stranger."
In 1997, Gordon Lightfoot was among the winners of the annual Governor General's Awards for the performing arts. Quebec singer and actress Monique Leyrac was also honoured.
In 1998, members of "Mott the Hoople" reunited for a concert in London, their first concert in 24 years.
In 2003, Sheb Wooley, the man behind the 1958 joke single "Purple People Eater," died at age 82. He had suffered from leukemia since 1996. Born Shelby F. Wooley in Erick, Okla., he had roles in 60 movies, including "High Noon," "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Giant," "Distant Drums," "Man Without a Star" and "Hoosiers." He also wrote the theme song for the TV show "Hee Haw," and co-starred on "Rawhide" in the late '50s and early '60s.
In 2004, Izora Rhodes Armstead, who sang the 1983 dance club hit “It's Raining Men" as one-half of "The Weather Girls," died of heart failure at a hospital near San Francisco. Armstead, along with partner Martha Wash, started out as background singers for San Francisco disco diva "Sylvester" before forming "The Weather Girls." They recorded three albums before splitting up in 1985.
In 2008, Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," died at age 67. He was a longtime Motown producer who, during the 1960s and '70s, injected rock and psychedelic touches into the label's soul music. Many of his biggest hits were co-written with Barrett Strong, with whom he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
In 2009, Jay Z's "The Blueprint 3" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. It was his 11th No. 1 album, and that pushed him ahead of Elvis Presley as the solo act with the most No. 1 albums.
In 2009, nearly 40 years after breaking up, "The Beatles" were still breaking records for album sales. Most of the records that were broken were for most simultaneous titles in the top-selling charts by a single artist. On Billboard magazine’s pop catalogue chart, for example, the band had 16 titles in the top 50, including all 14 re-mastered CDs and two box sets. The re-mastered CDs coincided with the sale of "The Beatles: Rock Band" in various gaming platforms.
In 2009, Mary Travers, one-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio "Peter, Paul and Mary," died in Connecticut at age 72. She had battled leukemia for several years. Travers joined forces with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey in the early 1960s. The trio mingled their music with liberal politics, both onstage and off. Their version of "If I Had a Hammer" became an anthem for racial equality. Other hits included "Lemon Tree," "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Puff (The Magic Dragon.)"
In 2010, British singing sensation Susan Boyle performed hymns and sang with an 800-strong choir at an open-air papal Mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park. She also sang "I Dreamed a Dream," the "Les Miserables" song that catapulted her to fame on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent."
In 2010, Nancy Wilson of "Heart" filed for divorce from director Cameron Crowe. They had been married for 20 years and had twin 10-year-old boys. It became official on Dec. 8.
In 2012, singer-rapper Nicki Minaj and country music superstar Keith Urban were announced as the new judges for "American Idol," joining fellow newbie Mariah Carey and sole remaining original judge Randy Jackson. (Minaj, Carey and Jackson all left after the season.)
In 2019, Canadian jazz prodigy Vic Vogel died at age 84. He began playing the piano by ear at the age of five and rose to become one of Canada's jazz stalwarts. A message on his official Facebook page stated he died in Montreal "beside his true love, his Steinway piano.'' Vogel worked with artists like Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, Eartha Kitt, Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ann-Margaret.
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The Canadian Press