Today in Music History for May 5:
In 1891, New York's Carnegie Hall, then called the Music Hall, had its opening night with a concert that included works conducted by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Walter Damrosch.
In 1908, the first Alberta Music Festival was held in Edmonton. It was the earliest musical competition of its kind in Canada.
In 1938, soul singer Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordville, Ark. One of the mainstays of the Stax-Volt label in Memphis during the late '60s, his best known recording is his 1968 million-seller "Who's Making Love?" He died on May 31, 2000.
In 1942, country superstar Tammy Wynette, was born Virginia Wynette Pugh in rural Mississippi, near Tupelo. "Stand By Your Man," which topped the country charts in 1968, was the biggest-selling single by a woman in country music history. Her other No. 1 hits included "The Ways to Love a Man," "He Loves Me All the Way," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "We're Gonna Hold On" -- a 1973 duet with George Jones. Wynette and Jones were married from 1969-75. Wynette died from a blood clot in her lungs at her Nashville home on April 6, 1998.
In 1968, "Buffalo Springfield" played its final show in Long Beach, Calif. There were reports of persistent squabbling between group members Stephen Stills and Neil Young. But Stills and Young would go on to form "Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young" with David Crosby and Graham Nash. "Buffalo Springfield" was together only two years and released just three albums, but their 1967 hit "For What It's Worth" became an anthem for the hippie generation.
In 1972, blues and folk singer, Rev. Gary Davis, died of a heart attack in Hammonton, N.J., at age 76. He had been singing on street corners and small clubs for more than 25 years. Davis' composition, "Samson and Delilah," was recorded by "Peter, Paul and Mary." And his finger-picked guitar style influenced such rock-era artists as Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal and Jorma Kaukonen.
In 1978, one person died in fighting between fans of rival soccer teams during a concert by the punk rock group "The Vibrators" in Preston, England.
In 1982, jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader, who may well have been the greatest non-Latino leader of Latin jazz groups, died in Manila, the Philippines. He was 56. Tjader played with pianists Dave Brubeck and George Shearing before going out on his own in the mid-1950s. Over the next three decades, he recorded dozens of albums, most of them in a Latin vein. Tjader even had a minor pop hit in 1965 with "Soul Sauce," a reworking of a Dizzy Gillespie tune.
In 1984, it was a marriage of rock singers as Jim Kerr of "Simple Minds" wed Chrissie Hynde of "The Pretenders." They divorced five years later.
In 1986, Cleveland was named as the future site for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It opened nine years later.
In 1987, six people were arrested and about 20 were injured after riot police in Milan, Italy, fired tear gas during clashes with rock-throwing fans locked out of a concert by singer Neil Young. The fighting began when the gates of a concert hall were closed after about 8,000 people entered for the free performance, financed by the Milan city council.
In 1987, Bryan Adams opened a North American concert tour in Shreveport, La., in support of his album "Into the Fire."
In 1990, artists like B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Roberta Flack, "The Moody Blues" and Randy Travis gathered in Liverpool for a hometown tribute to the late John Lennon.
In 1991, Carnegie Hall's 100th birthday celebration featured violinist Isaac Stern, tenor Placido Domingo, soprano Jessye Norman, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and conductor Zubin Mehta.
In 1992, the CBC announced the cancellation of "The Tommy Hunter Show" after 27 years as a weekly series. It was North America's longest-running network music show. Hunter, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman," was viewed by the CBC as appealing only to an older audience.
In 1993, Cher went to the capital of the former Soviet republic of Armenia aboard a chartered cargo jet carrying about $3-million worth of privately donated humanitarian aid. Cher, who's half Armenian, called on western countries to aid the people of Armenia, which was fighting an undeclared war with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
In 1995, Doug Phillips, lead singer of the 1960s California rock group "The Dartells," died at age 50. The band reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 with "Hot Pastrami," which was a reworked version of "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes," a 1960 recording by "Nat Kendrick and the Swans."
In 1996, members of "The Rankin Family" received honorary doctor of music degrees from Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.
In 1997, "Crosby, Stills and Nash" helped mark the 27th anniversary of the Kent State University shootings with a concert at the Ohio campus. The group performed their hit "Ohio," written by Neil Young after the killings of four students by National Guardsmen during an anti-war demonstration on May 4, 1970.
In 1997, Bruce Springsteen received the Polar Music Prize -- and $133,000 -- from King Carl Gustav of Sweden. Springsteen was cited for being an "uncompromising steward of the essential qualities of rock."
In 1998, a stage version of the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever" opened in London. Taking over John Travolta's role as disco king Tony Manero was Australian actor Adam Garcia. The stage version had most of the disco music from the movie plus two new songs written by the "Bee Gees."
In 1999, country superstar Garth Brooks was crowned Artist of the Decade at the Academy of Country Music Awards as well as the Entertainer of the Year. Tim McGraw won Male Vocalist, and his wife, Faith Hill, took home the Female Vocalist of the Year award. Canada's Shania Twain received a special honour -- one for world-class sales. Both "The Woman in Me" and "Come on Over" sold over 10 million copies.
In 2001, Boozoo Chavis, known as the king of zydeco music, died at age 70. He played a diatonic button accordion, making his music closer to zydeco's rural and Celtic roots than that of his contemporary, Clifton Chenier.
In 2008, Jerry Wallace, who shot to fame in the late 1950s with a pair of hit songs, including "Primrose Lane," died in Victorville, Calif., at age 79.
In 2010, music industry executive Bob Mercer died of lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 65. While working at EMI in the 1970s, he signed "Queen," the "Sex Pistols," Olivia Newton-John, Kate Bush and Marc Bolan. He successfully marketed the "NOW That's What I Call Music!" album compilation venture that has sold over 75 million albums in the U.S. since its 1998 debut.
In 2016, Montreal-born singer Andy Kim was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. He had top-10 hits with "Rock Me Gently," "Baby, I Love You," and he co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" and "Jingle Jangle" for The Archies.
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The Canadian Press