Today in Music History for Nov. 17:
In 1938, singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who became Canada's most famous, and arguably most important, pop musician in the late 1960s, was born in Orillia, Ont. He was inspired to write his own material after listening to Bob Dylan and other urban folk musicians in the early '60s. His first hit in Canada came in 1965 with "I'm Not Saying." That same year, "Peter, Paul and Mary" took Lightfoot's composition "For Lovin' Me" into the U.S. top-30. When the folk music boom came to an end in the late '60s, Lightfoot easily made the transition to pop. In 1971, he made his first appearance on the Billboard chart with "If You Could Read My Mind," which went to No. 5. And in 1974, both his single and album "Sundown" topped the Billboard charts. Gordon Lightfoot's other international hits have included "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Carefree Highway." Between 1965-78, he won 15 Juno Awards, and in 1986 was inducted into the Canadian Recording Industry Hall of Fame.
In 1941, Gene Clark, singer and guitarist in the original lineup of "The Byrds," was born in Tipton, Mo. He had been with "The New Christy Minstrels" before joining "The Byrds," then called "The Jet Set," in 1964. Bob Dylan provided "The Byrds'" first hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man," which went to the top of the charts in 1965. Gene Clark departed after "The Byrds'" second hit, "Turn! Turn! Turn!," in 1966. He had had frequent disputes with group leader Roger McGuinn. As well, Clark suffered from a fear of flying. Clark, McGuinn and another former "Byrd," Chris Hillman, performed together in 1978 as the opening act on a Canadian tour by Eric Clapton, and recorded a couple of albums. Clark died of natural causes at his Los Angeles-area home on May 24, 1991.
In 1942, Bob Gaudio of "The Four Seasons" was born in New York City. Gaudio joined the band in 1960 and wrote their first hit, "Sherry," which went to No. 1 in 1962. Their other No. 1 records included "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man" and "Rag Doll." Gaudio left the group in the late 1970s to concentrate on writing and producing, but participated in a "Four Seasons" revival in 1980.
In 1946, Bob McBride, former lead singer of the Canadian jazz-rock band "Lighthouse," was born in Toronto. He became one of the country's biggest rock stars in the early 1970s as the front man for "Lighthouse," which had hits such as "One Fine Morning" and "Sunny Days." The band fired him in 1973 after his first of many suicide attempts. He descended into cocaine, then heroin addiction. In 1994, he received a 90-day jail sentence for twice robbing an Ottawa drug store for morphine. He died in a Toronto hospital on Feb. 20, 1998, after years of illness and drug abuse.
In 1968, Glen Campbell received gold records for both "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Gentle On My Mind."
In 1970, Elton John performed live over New York radio station WABC-FM. The performance, which took place in a recording studio, was released on the LP "11-17-70."
In 1971, "Faces" released "A Nod is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse," featuring top-20 single "Stay With Me."
In 1977, Neil Diamond's "I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight" LP was unveiled in a TV special, which also showed glimpses of his private life. The album contained the hit "Desiree" and the original "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," which in a newly recorded version by Diamond and Barbra Streisand, became a No. 1 hit in 1978.
In 1979, "Jethro Tull" bassist John Glascock died of a heart attack at age 26 after a long history of heart trouble. He had joined the band in 1976, replacing Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, but never toured with them because of his illness.
In 1984, as a prelude to their "Word of Mouth" tour, "The Kinks" appeared on "Saturday Night Live."
In 1986, singer Bette Midler gave birth to a baby girl at age 40.
In 1988, seven legendary rock 'n' rollers performed in an internationally-televised concert to raise funds to vaccinate African children. Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley and B.B. King played before 10,000 people at Rome's sports palace.
In 1988, Elton John and his wife of four years, Renate, announced they planned to divorce. John admitted to being bisexual before his marriage. The couple said they were parting amicably.
In 1992, the soundtrack for "The Bodyguard," Whitney Houston's film debut, was released. It would become the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, passing "Saturday Night Fever," selling more than 45 million copies worldwide. The highlight was Houston's cover version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which would rank among the all-time best-selling singles.
In 1993, state authorities in Tennessee determined there was no criminal wrongdoing in the way royalties from the all-star tribute album "Common Thread -- The Songs of the Eagles" were being distributed. The project was designed to raise money for one of "Eagle" Don Henley's pet causes -- the preservation of Walden Woods, the inspiration for Henry David Thoreau's "Walden." The investigation began after The Associated Press reported that $46,000 of the money donated towards the Walden Woods project had instead gone to other causes.
In 1994, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Sunset Boulevard" opened at the Minkoff Theatre on Broadway. Glenn Close starred as fading silent screen goddess Norma Desmond.
In 1998, in what the record industry dubbed "Super Tuesday," Garth Brooks' "Double Live" was the clear winner among a plethora of superstar album releases. "Double Live" sold a record 1.09 million copies in its first week, breaking the previous mark of 950,000 set by "Pearl Jam's" “Vs.” in 1993. Others releasing albums on "Super Tuesday" included rapper Method Man, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Jewel and Seal.
In 2003, Don Gibson, who wrote and recorded country standards like "I Can't Stop Loving You," died in Nashville at the age of 75. He sang in a rich baritone and earned the nickname "the sad poet" for his songs about solitude and sadness involving love. Between 1958 and the mid-60s, Gibson's records and compositions, including "Sweet Dreams" and "Oh Lonesome Me," were hits for himself and many other performers. More than 700 artists recorded "I Can't Stop Loving You." Ray Charles had the big pop version in 1962. Gibson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 2006, singer Chris Robinson of "The Black Crowes" filed for divorce from actress Kate Hudson. They had been married six years.
In 2008, rock band "Nickelback" (international achievement), country artist Ray Griff (lifetime achievement for outstanding success throughout his musical career), folk musician Ron Hynes (national achievement recognizing his success within Canada) and the late Oscar Peterson (special achievement for his immeasurable contributions to the Canadian music industry) were honoured at the SOCAN awards gala.
In 2008, Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa sued Michael Jackson, charging he took US$7 million as an advance on an album and an autobiography that he never produced. Jackson claimed the money was a gift. On Nov. 24, the two sides reached a confidential settlement just before Jackson was scheduled to testify.
In 2008, Irving Brecher, who wrote vaudeville one-liners for Milton Berle and scripted Marx Brothers movies, the TV and radio hit "The Life of Riley" and the Oscar-nominated musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," died. He was 94.
In 2009, the cover to a "Beatles" album that never was made was sold at Bonhams auction house in Los Angeles. An untitled 1968 painting by artist Jim Dine showed toothbrushes in a cup with the words "John," "Paul," "George" and "Ringo" emanating from the tops of the brushes. Capitol Records commissioned the painting. It had been in the private collection of former Capitol Records president Sal Ianucci.
In 2010, rocker Chris Daughtry and his wife, Deanna, became new parents after a surrogate gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy, Adalynn Rose and Noah James. The couple have two other children, Hannah and Griffin.
In 2010, the cast of "Glee," the Fox TV musical series about a high school glee club, overtook James Brown (91) for second place for most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100. (In February 2011, the "Glee" cast surpassed Elvis Presley's record of 108 and at the end of its run in 2015, finished with 207 appearances. Only one of those songs though is an original recording (Loser Like Me) with the others being updates of songs made popular by other artists.)
In 2010, part of Broad Street in front of Philadelphia International Records, the home of the Philly Sound, was renamed "Gamble and Huff Walk" in honour of songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The duo were responsible for such hits as "Love Train," "If You Don’t Know Me By Now" and "Back Stabbers."
In 2010, singer-poet Patti Smith's memoir about life in New York City in the 1960s, "Just Kids," won the National Book Award for nonfiction.
In 2010, with her CD "The Gift" debuting on top of the Billboard 200 Album chart, singing sensation Susan Boyle had a No. 1 album in the U.S. and the U.K. simultaneously for the second time in less than a year. She became the first woman to reach the milestone achieved previously by "The Beatles" in 1969 and "The Monkees" in 1967.
In 2011, Gary Garcia, of the duo "Buckner and Garcia" and best known for their 1982 hit "Pac-Man Fever," died. He was 63.
In 2014, Jimmy Ruffin, the Motown singer whose hits include "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" and "Hold on to My Love," died in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 78. Ruffin was the older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, who died in 1991 at age 50.
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The Canadian Press