Today in Music History for May 8:
In 1929, Metropolitan opera tenor Edward Johnson sang on the final evening of the first music festival held in his hometown of Guelph, Ont. He was accompanied by the Vogt Choir of Guelph and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
In 1940, singer Rick Nelson was born in Teaneck, N.J. His parents, Ozzie and Harriet, had a popular radio show, and Ricky joined the cast at the age of eight. The show moved to TV in the 1950s, and its popularity helped land Ricky a recording contract. He had more than 35 records on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from 1957-63, including "Poor Little Fool" and "Travellin' Man." In the late '60s, he became Rick Nelson and turned to a more country-oriented style. His autobiographical song "Garden Party" was a top-10 record in 1972. Nelson, his fiancee and five of his band members died in a Texas plane crash on New Year's Eve, 1985.
In 1943, Paul Samwell-Smith, bass player with "The Yardbirds," was born in Twickenham, England. The group, whose blues-based, guitar-dominated rock 'n' roll laid the foundations of heavy metal, gave the rock world Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
In 1946, Glenn Gould first appeared as a pianist with an orchestra. The 13-year-old played the first movement of Beethoven's "Concerto Number Four" with the Toronto Conservatory of Music Orchestra.
In 1962, Jamaican Chris Blackwell launched Island Records, opening an office in London. Its first release was "Darling Patricia" and "Twist Baby" by Owen Gray. Island would become famous as the label that spread reggae, and particularly the music of Bob Marley, around the world.
In 1965, Bob Dylan made one of the earliest videos when he filmed a promotional clip for his current single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues." It shows him flipping through cards with words and short phrases while standing in an alley in London.
In 1967, Laverne Andrews of "The Andrews Sisters" died of cancer at age 51. Laverne and sisters Patti and Maxine burst on the recording scene in 1937 with the million-seller "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon." Customers bombarded baffled dealers with requests for the record under such quaint variations of the title as "Buy a Beer Monsieur Shane" and "My Mere Bits of Shame." Their other hits included "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
In 1968, George D. Hay, the originator of the "Grand Ole Opry" broadcasts over station WSM in Nashville, died in Virginia Beach, Va., at age 72. The program, originally called "The Barn Dance," was first broadcast on Nov. 28, 1925.
In 1972, keyboard player and singer Billy Preston became the first rock performer to headline at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
In 1974, Graham Bond, a pioneer British R&B musician, died after jumping in front of a London underground train. He was 36. He formed the "Graham Bond Organization" in 1963 with drummer Ginger Baker and guitarist Jack Bruce, later members of the super-group "Cream." Fusion guitarist John McLaughlin is another "Graham Bond Organization" alumnus.
In 1976, Willie Nelson visited Bob Dylan's "Rolling Thunder Review" when it played Houston, Texas. They performed a duet on "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." The concert was a benefit for former boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who had been jailed for murder. While backstage, Nelson was served with a subpoena for a grand jury investigation into drug trafficking. Carter's murder conviction was later overturned and the original indictment against him was finally dismissed for good on Nov. 26, 1988.
In 1981, the self-titled debut album by the Canadian rock band "Loverboy," was certified gold in the U.S.
In 1982, Neil Bogart, former head of Casablanca Records, died of cancer at age 39. A prime music industry mover during the disco era of the 1970s, Bogart guided the careers of Donna Summers and "KISS." He later formed Boardwalk Enterprises which helped give former "Runaway" Joan Jett solo success.
In 1986, actor-singer Herschel Bernardi died of a heart attack at age 62. She was best-known for his long-running role as Tevye in the musical "Fiddler on the Roof."
In 1987, Meredith Willson's "The Music Man," the first American musical ever staged in China, opened at the Tianchao Theatre in Beijing. The production was translated into Chinese. The all-Chinese cast, many of them from the Beijing Opera, appeared to have little difficulty dealing with the trappings of American culture in the play.
In 1990, a judge in Los Angeles ordered Frito-Lay and an advertising agency to pay singer Tom Waits almost US$2.5 million. The agency had hired a Waits imitator to sing a jingle praising Frito-Lay's corn chips.
In 1991, Rudolf Serkin, one of the world's great concert pianists, died in Guilford, Vt., at age 88. He was renowned for his interpretations of Bach.
In 1991, Epic Records released "Pearl Jam's" first U.S. promo single, with the songs "Alive" and "Wash" and a cover of "The Beatles'" "I've Got a Feeling."
In 1992, "Genesis" kicked off a 50-city tour -- its first in five years -- in Dallas. The high-tech show poked fun at TV evangelists, with giant screens showing Phil Collins singing "Jesus He Knows Me" inside a cartoon television.
In 1996, Canadian folk singer Joni Mitchell and conductor and composer Pierre Boulez were jointly awarded the Polar Music prize at a ceremony in Stockholm.
In 1996, several hundred fans lined up outside an Ottawa club, Barrymore's, to get into what was billed as a surprise appearance by "The Tragically Hip." The Kingston, Ont.- band was promoting their album, "Trouble at the Henhouse," which was released three days later.
In 1998, a Los Angeles judge dismissed a copyright suit by Barbie doll maker Mattel over the pop song "Barbie Girl" by the Danish group "Aqua."
In 1998, the three surviving "Beatles" and John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, won a legal battle to block the CD release of a recording the band made at the Star Club in Hamburg in 1962. The drunken performance had already been released on a vinyl LP in 1977. George Harrison testified during the case before the British High Court.
In 2008, country music superstar Eddy Arnold, a pioneer of the Nashville Sound, died near Nashville, Tenn., at age 89. Arnold was known for a sound that was a crossover between pop and country, with hits such as "Make the World Go Away."
In 2009, MusiCares, the charity arm of the Recording Academy, honoured Anthony Kiedis of the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" for his commitment to helping other drug addicts.
In 2010, "Broken Social Scene" celebrated the launch of its new album, "Forgiveness Rock Record," by playing four free shows at four different Toronto indie record stores.
In 2011, guitarist Cornell Dupree, who played on Aretha Franklin's "Respect," died at age 68. He played on literally thousands of recording sessions. He also played on Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Memphis Soul Stew" by King Curtis. He was part of Franklin's touring band in the late 1960s and mid-70s. He also played on records by Paul Simon, Roberta Flack, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton and Joe Cocker.
In 2012, singer-songwriter Paul Simon and cellist Yo-Yo Ma won the 2012 Polar Music Prize, Sweden's most prestigious award for musicians. Handed out since 1992, it is typically shared by a pop artist and a classical musician.
In 2012, Jermaine Paul, the 33-year-old background singer from Harriman, N.Y., was declared the winner of NBC's singing competition "The Voice." Paul, who was coached by country singer Blake Shelton, was awarded the show's grand prize of $100,000 and a record deal with Universal.
In 2013, East Coast producer Bill Langstroth, who hosted the CBC-TV country music series "Singalong Jubilee," died at age 81. He married Anne Murray in 1975 and had two children together. They divorced in 1998. In 2011, he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of fame.
In 2015, after 34 years of inducting musicians into the Blues Hall of Fame, a building to honour them opened in Memphis, Tenn. Eric Clapton, Little Richard and Tommy Brown were inducted.
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The Canadian Press