Today in Music History for April 14:
In 1759, German composer George Frideric Handel died at age 74 in London. He worked mainly in England and Italy, and his most famous work is ``The Messiah.'' Despite being totally blind for the last six years of his life, he occasionally conducted performances of his works.
In 1945, Ritchie Blackmore, lead guitarist with ``Deep Purple,'' was born in Weston-Super-Mare, England. Their early hits, such as ``Hush'' and ``Kentucky Woman'' from 1968, were remakes of earlier chart records. But after a 1969 reorganization, ``Deep Purple'' became an extremely popular heavy-metal act, relying almost entirely on original material. Blackmore left the band in 1975. The new lineup released one album before disbanding in 1976. A reunion took place in 1984 but Blackmore eventually left the band again in 1993.
In 1958, ``Catch a Falling Star'' by Perry Como became the first single certified as gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In 1962, Bob Dylan recorded seven songs, including ``Blowin' in the Wind,'' at Columbia Records studios in New York.
In 1964, Motown released a duet record featuring Mary Wells and Marvin Gaye. Both sides -- ``What's the Matter With You Baby'' and ``Once Upon a Time'' -- became hits. Wells later said Motown used her name to bolster Gaye's standing with the pop audience.
In 1969, ``The Monkees''' special, ``33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee,'' aired on NBC. The plot featured rock musicians Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll as mad scientists looking for something to rot the minds of young people.
In 1970, Stephen Stills broke his wrist in a car accident, resulting in the cancellation of a U.S. tour by ``Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.'' Stills drove into a parked vehicle while watching a police patrol car in his rear-view mirror.
In 1974, Pete Townshend appeared for the first time as a solo act at a concert in London, accompanied only by homemade tapes.
In 1976, Eric Faulkner of ``The Bay City Rollers'' nearly died after swallowing Seconal and Valium at his manager's house in Scotland.
In 1976, Motown Records announced a $13 million contract renewal for Stevie Wonder. At the time, it was the largest contract ever negotiated.
In 1980, a resolution was introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly to name Bruce Springsteen ``New Jersey Pop Music Ambassador to America'' with ``Born to Run'' as the ``unofficial 'rock' theme of our State's youth.'' It didn't pass the state Senate because the song was really about escaping from a New Jersey town.
In 1980, musician Gary Numan released ``The Touring Principle,'' a 45-minute concert video. It was the first commercially available home rock videocassette.
In 1983, Pete Farndon, former bass guitarist with the rock group ``The Pretenders,'' died of a drug overdose at his home in England. He was 30. He had been fired from the band in 1982.
In 1984, Michael Jackson made a six-figure contribution to establish a 19-bed cancer research unit at a New York hospital.
In 1989, former ``Byrds'' Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman filed suit in Tampa to prevent Michael Clarke from using the band's name. Clarke was ``The Byrds''' original drummer. But the suit claimed Clarke did not contribute to the group's distinctive sound, and accused him of false advertising and deceptive trade practices.
In 1989, Nova Scotia singer Rita MacNeil made her U.S. concert debut in Boston. The show, at the 1,200-seat Berklee Performance Centre, was a near sellout, with the audience giving her three standing ovations.
In 1989, the second World Music Video Awards were telecast live via satellite from Toronto, New York, London, Munich, Moscow, Hong Kong and Australia. The show reached an estimated 750 million viewers in more than 50 countries. For the first time, the broadcast was seen throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries.
In 1990, R&B singer Thurston Harris died of a heart attack in Pomona, Calif., at age 58. His only major hit, and still a favourite oldie, was ``Little Bitty Pretty One,'' which reached No. 6 in 1957.
In 1992, pianist Sammy Price, known as the ``King of Boogie Woogie,'' died at his Harlem home at the age of 83. During his seven-decade career, Price played with such jazz and R&B giants as Sidney Bechet, Lester Young and King Curtis.
In 1993, Joan Baez performed for 700 people in the war-torn Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Many fans wept as Baez sang ``Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'' and John Lennon's anti-war song, ``Imagine.'' The applause helped drown out the gunfire and sporadic shelling that continued throughout the concert.
In 1994, drummer Paul Hester abruptly quit Australian group ``Crowded House'' following an Atlanta concert. Hester cited the grind of touring, and said he felt himself drifting away from fellow band members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour. He also complained that his song ``Skin Feeling'' was only grudgingly included on ``Crowded House's'' album ``Together Alone.'' Hester committed suicide on March 26, 2005 in Australia.
In 1995, Burl Ives, whom poet Carl Sandburg once called ``the mightiest ballad singer of this or any other century,'' died at his home in Anacortes, Wash. He was 85. His folk hits in the '50s and '60s included ``The Blue Tail Fly,'' ``Little Bitty Tear,'' ``Funny Way of Laughin''' and ``Holly, Jolly Christmas.'' He also gained fame as an actor, winning an Oscar in 1958 for his supporting role in ``The Big Country.'' But he was best known for his stage and screen portrayals of ``Big Daddy'' in Tennessee Williams' ``Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.''
In 1999, British entertainer Anthony Newley, best known for his 1960s stage hit ``Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off,'' died of cancer at his Florida home. He was 67. His showcase song in ``Stop the World'' was ``What Kind of Fool Am I?'' He also co-wrote the show's score, as well as ``The Candy Man'' for Sammy Davis Jr. and the James Bond movie theme ``Goldfinger'' for Shirley Bassey.
In 2002, at the Juno Awards in St. John's, N.L. Diana Krall won for Best Artist, Best Album and Vocal Jazz Album for ``The Look of Love.'' Rock group ``Nickelback'' won Best Group, Best Single (``How You Remind Me'') and Best Rock Album (``Silver Side Up'').
In 2008, Taylor Swift won Video of the Year and Female Video for her smash ``Our Song'' while newcomer Kellie Pickler took home three awards during the Country Music Television awards.
In 2009, ex-Beatle George Harrison received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records building. Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, already shared a star with all four of the Beatles.
In 2010, country music legend George Strait set a Billboard record by becoming the first act on any Billboard chart to have a top-10 hit for 30 straight years when his song ``I Gotta Get to You'' reached No. 9 on Billboard's top country songs list. His first country top-10 hit was in 1981 with ``Unwound.'' (Strait extended the streak with ``Here For a Good Time'' in 2011, ``Love's Gonna Make It All Right'' in 2012 and ``Give It All We Got Tonight'' in 2013. The streak ended in 2014.)
In 2010, Peter Steele, the frontman and bassist for the heavy metal group ``Type O Negative,'' died at age 48.
In 2012, L.A. rockers Guns 'N Roses were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but lead singer Axl Rose refused to attend. Rod Stewart was supposed to be inducted with The Small Faces but missed it because he had the flu. (He missed his induction as a solo artist in 1994 because of a massive earthquake in Los Angeles.) Also inducted where the ``Red Hot Chili Peppers,'' New York hip-hop trio ``Beastie Boys,'' late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro and folk icon Donovan.
In 2013, songwriter George Jackson, co-author of ``Old Time Rock and Roll'' and hundreds of other soul, rock and R&B tunes, died at age 68.
In 2013, Chi Cheng, bassist for Grammy-winning rock band the Deftones, died at the age of 42 after struggling to recover from serious injuries suffered in a 2008 car crash. He had fallen into a coma but his condition improved to a semi-conscious state in 2009. He was left with a debilitating brain injury.
In 2015, high school sweethearts Robin Thicke and actress Paula Patton were divorced after nearly nine years of marriage.
In 2015, Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Percy Sledge, who soared from part-time singer and hospital orderly to lasting fame with 1966 classic ``When a Man Loves a Woman,'' died of liver failure. He was 74.
In 2017, session musician Bruce Langhorne, the person credited with inspiring Bob Dylan to write the song ``Mr Tambourine Man,'' died of kidney failure at his home in Venice, Calif. He was 78. Langhorne was a mainstay of the Greenwich Village folk rock scene in the 1950s and '60s. He played on Dylan's ``Bringing It All Back Home'' album and on albums by Joan Baez, John Sebastian and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.
In 2018, New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi, The Cars and four first-time nominees - Nina Simone, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Sister Rosetta Tharpe - were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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The Canadian Press
