Today in Music History for April 10:
In 787, the church of St. Corneille at Compiegne installed an organ at the request of Frankish King Pepin, in what is modern-day France. This is the first recorded mention of this musical instrument.
In 1928, saxophonist Fraser MacPherson, one of the most respected jazz musicians in Western Canada, was born in Winnipeg. A resident of Vancouver from 1948 on, he received international attention in 1975 with his album ``Fraser: Live at the Planetarium.'' He died of cancer in 1993.
In 1932, Nate Nelson, lead singer of ``The Flamingos,'' was born in Chicago. The R&B group scored their first U.S. hit in 1953 and hit the charts as late as 1970. ``I'll Be Home'' and ``I Only Have Eyes For You'' were two of their biggest hits. Nelson joined ``The Platters'' in 1962. He died in 1984.
In 1941, baritone Joseph Saucier, who is thought to be the first French-Canadian musician to have made recordings in this country, died in Montreal at age 72. He was one of the most admired Canadian singers in the early years of the 20th century.
In 1956, singer Nat King Cole was beaten up on stage by six vigilantes in Birmingham, Ala. The white audience did not interfere.
In 1957, Ricky Nelson sang for the first time on ``The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet.'' He performed ``I'm Walkin'.''
In 1958, R&B singer Chuck Willis died in an Atlanta hospital after stomach surgery. He was 30. At his last recording session two months earlier, he cut two songs whose titles became strangely ironic -- ``What Am I Living For'' and ``Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes.'' They became hits after his death. Willis was known as the ``King of the Stroll,'' a popular dance of the day. His 1957 hit ``C.C. Rider'' was considered the perfect stroll record.
In 1962, Stuart Sutcliffe -- original bassist for ``The Beatles'' -- died following a brain hemorrhage at age 21. Sutcliffe was invited in 1959 by fellow art student John Lennon to join his group, ``The Quarrymen,'' even though Sutcliffe couldn't play. He left the group in 1961.
In 1965, the English group ``Freddie and the Dreamers'' reached the top of the U.S. charts with ``I'm Telling You Now.''
In 1968, drummer Mickey Hart joined the ``Grateful Dead.''
In 1970, the prog-rock band ``Emerson, Lake and Palmer'' was formed when drummer Carl Palmer joined keyboardist Keith Emerson and singer-guitarist Greg Lake.
In 1970, ``The Doors'' lead singer Jim Morrison offered to display his genitals to a Boston audience. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek physically removed him from the stage. Morrison had been arrested in Miami a year earlier for ``lewd and lascivious behaviour'' during a performance.
In 1972, Isaac Hayes won the Oscar for Best Original Song for the ``Theme From Shaft.''
In 1986, Linda Creed, a songwriter considered among the pillars of the Philly Sound in soul music, died at her Pennsylvania home after a long illness. She was 37. Working with Thom Bell, Creed composed more than 20 hit songs for such artists as Teddy Pendergrass, Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis. She also wrote ``The Greatest Love of All,'' Whitney Houston's chart-topping 1986 hit.
In 1989, ``Alabama'' was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music. The country-rock band had 21 consecutive No. 1 hits, including ``Feels So Good,'' ``The Closer You Get'' and ``Roll On.''
In 1993, youths rioted outside a Jakarta stadium after being denied entrance to a ``Metallica'' concert. The Indonesian news agency reported 13 people were taken to hospital, and cars and houses were damaged. But independent reports said the rioting was much more serious. The Indonesian government said it would take more care in issuing rock concert permits.
In 1996, an ``Oasis'' concert ended abruptly in Vancouver shortly after it began when the British rock band walked off stage. Guitarist Noel Gallagher had been hit in the eye with a coin and his brother Liam was struck in the head by a shoe. Extra police were called in, but fans left peacefully.
In 1996, Quebec chanteuse Celine Dion performed the first concert at Montreal's Molson Centre.
In 1997, grunge pioneers ``Soundgarden'' announced it was breaking up after five albums that sold 20 million copies. The band got together in Seattle in 1984, and shot to the top of the Billboard album chart a decade later with ``Superunknown.'' They reunited in early 2010 and frontman Chris Cornell committed suicide in 2017.
In 1998, an appeals court in San Francisco ruled ``The Kingsmen'' were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from their 1963 recording of ``Louie Louie.'' The band's contract gave them nine per cent of the profits or licensing fees, but never received a cent from two companies who held the recording rights.
In 1999, Paul McCartney joined such stars as Elvis Costello, George Michael and Chrissie Hynde to perform ``Let It Be'' at a London charity concert. The show honoured McCartney's wife, Linda, who died of breast cancer a year earlier.
In 2002, Charles Dutoit resigned after 25 years as artistic director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Musicians had accused Dutoit of abusive conduct.
In 2009, Billy Bob Thornton and his band ``The Boxmasters'' cancelled their remaining Canadian tour dates amid the fallout from a belligerent appearance on C小蓝视频 radio's ``Q.'' The actor apparently took issue with host Jian Ghomeshi for kicking off the interview with references to Thornton's career as a Hollywood actor, director and screenwriter. Thornton also referred to Canadian audiences as ``mashed potatoes but no gravy.''
In 2010, Kenny Rogers taped a star-studded TV special at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in 小蓝视频icut to mark his 50 years in the music business.
In 2010, the Vatican finally made peace with ``The Beatles,'' saying their drug use, ``dissolute'' lives and even John Lennon's boastful claim that the band was bigger than Jesus, were all in the past. The Vatican newspaper ``L'Osservatore Romano'' also paid tribute to the ``Fab Four'' in its weekend editions with two articles and a front-page cartoon reproducing the crosswalk immortalized on the cover of the band's album ``Abbey Road.'' The tribute marked the 40th anniversary of the band's breakup.
In 2011, ``U2's'' ``360 Degrees Tour'' became the most successful tour of all time with a sold-out show in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It surpassed ``A Bigger Bang'' tour by ``The Rolling Stones,'' which had grossed US$554 million from 2005-2007. When the tour ended in July, it had amassed $736 million.
In 2011, after nearly five decades of singing about a war that continued to haunt a generation of Americans, Bob Dylan finally played Vietnam. Only about half of the 8,000 seats at the hall in Ho Chi Minh City were filled. His song list had to be approved but no restrictions were put on his set list.
In 2012, ``Bee Gees'' star Robin Gibb was too ill to attend the London premiere of his first classical work, ``The Titanic Requiem.'' He composed the symphonic piece with his son, Robin-John Gibb, and was scheduled to perform a new song, ``Don't Cry Alone.'' Gibb had intestinal surgery in March, and was hospitalized in late 2011 for stomach and colon problems. (He died on May 20.)
In 2012, Latin crooner Marc Anthony made his breakup from singer-actress Jennifer Lopez official by filing for divorce months after the superstar couple announced their separation after seven years of marriage.
In 2013, ``When I Was Your Man'' topped the Billboard Hot 100 giving Bruno Mars his fifth No. 1, faster than any male since Elvis. It took Mars three years and two months while Elvis took two years and seven months. Also, it became just the second song featuring only piano and vocals to reach No. 1 (Adele, ``Someone Like You'' in 2011).
In 2014, theatrical rock act KISS, punk rockers Nirvana and Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were joined by the blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates, British rocker Peter Gabriel, 1970s folkie Cat Stevens and the absent country-rock siren Linda Ronstadt, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and doesn't travel much.
In 2016, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams announced he was cancelling an upcoming performance in Bolixi, Miss., protesting the state's new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples. The move came a day after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band cancelled a show in Greensboro, N.C., because of the state's new law blocking anti-discrimination rules for the LGBT community.
In 2018, singer-songwriter Tom Cochrane honoured the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team and those affected by the tragedy in Saskatchewan by performing a reworked acoustic version of his song ``Big League'' to open the broadcast of TSN's NHL playoff preview special. (He released the song a week later with all the proceeds going to the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation.)
In 2024, prolific jazz composer Phil Nimmons died at the age of 100. His family said Nimmons died peacefully in his sleep on Friday at his home in Thornhill, Ont. Daughter and Canadian Music Centre CEO Holly Simmons said her father's accolades include the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2002, the Order of Canada and a Juno Award. The clarinetist's education included stints at the University of British Columbia, the Juilliard School of Music in New York, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
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The Canadian Press
