Today in Music History for Dec. 30:
In 1672, the first public concert was held in London. The musicians performed behind a curtain while patrons ate cakes and drank ale.
In 1904, Canadian soprano Pauline Donalda made her professional debut in Nice, France, in the opera Manon. Born in Montreal in 1882, Donalda was a leading international opera star during the early 1900s. She died in 1970.
In 1928, R&B superstar Bo Diddley (whose real name was Otha Ellas Bates but was later adopted and raised by his mother's cousin and assumed her surname becoming Ellas McDaniel) was born in McComb, Miss. He auditioned for Chess records in Chicago in 1955 with a song called "Uncle John." When the song was recorded -- the session was produced by legendary bluesman Willie Dixon -- the title was changed to the autobiographical "Bo Diddley." "I'm a Man," "You Can't Tell a Book By Its Cover" and "Road Runner" were some of the other Diddley classics. His hard-driving, rhythmic guitar style influenced some of the early recordings of "The Beatles," "The Rolling Stones" and "The Yardbirds." He died June 2, 2008.
In 1937, Paul Stookey of the folk trio "Peter, Paul and Mary" was born in Baltimore. The group, the brainchild of manager Albert Grossman, was largely responsible for attracting a wider audience to folk music in the early 1960s. "Peter, Paul and Mary" also brought Bob Dylan worldwide attention when they took his "Blowin' in the Wind" to No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1963. Among the trio's other hits were "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane." "Peter, Paul and Mary" broke up in 1970.
In 1942, Frank Sinatra, backed by "The Benny Goodman Orchestra," performed his first solo concert at the Paramount Theatre in New York. This show marked the beginning of the mass hysteria for Sinatra among teen girls, known as bobby-soxers. There was a near-riot in Times Square.
In 1944, "Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys" made their first guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. His western swing style, a combination of western and big band music, apparently was not favoured by the Opry management.
In 1946, Davy Jones, lead vocalist of "The Monkees," was born in Manchester, England. "The Monkees" guitarist, Mike Nesmith, was born on the same day in 1942. "The Monkees" were a musical group created by producer Don Kirshner for a television series based on "The Beatles'" film "A Hard Day's Night." With the help of the songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and plenty of studio musicians, "The Monkees" had a succession of pop hits in the 1960s -- among them, "I'm a Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer." Jones died on Feb. 29, 2012.
In 1977, what would have been the first U.S. concert by the "Sex Pistols" was cancelled in Pittsburgh after the punk rockers ran into visa problems. The group went to Europe and then to the U.S. after no music hall in their native Britain would book them. Two weeks after the Pittsburgh cancellation, the "Sex Pistols" broke up.
In 1979, "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" announced they were splitting up. The trio of Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer was enormously popular in the early 1970s with their classically-flavoured progressive rock. The trio regrouped in 1986, at first with drummer Cozy Powell substituting for Palmer. But Palmer himself later rejoined Emerson and Lake.
In 1979, composer and lyricist Richard Rodgers died in New York City at the age of 77. Collaborating with Lorenz Hart and later with Oscar Hammerstein II, Rodgers wrote Broadway musicals, many of which were made into movies, for more than 55 years. Among his greatest successes were "The Sound of Music," "The King and I," "South Pacific," "Carousel" and "Oklahoma."
In 1981, "XTC" played their first U.S. concert, in Philadelphia.
In 1991, a girl was born to Bruce Springsteen and wife Patty Scialfa. It was the couple's second child.
In 1992, singer Courtney Love sued her doctor and a Los Angeles hospital for $1 million. She accused them of leaking word of the heroin treatment she underwent while pregnant. Love, lead singer of the rock band "Hole," and husband Kurt Cobain, lead singer of "Nirvana," had a healthy baby four months earlier.
In 1993, lyricist Mack David, who wrote words for such memorable film tunes as "My Own True Love" from "Gone With the Wind" and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from "Cinderella," died in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 81. David also penned the words for "It Must Be Him," performed by Vicki Carr, and "Baby It's You," a top-10 hit for "The Shirelles" in 1961.
In 1994, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" edged Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" as the greatest pop song of all time in a poll by British music journalists and songwriters.
In 1995, Elton John was named a commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year's honours list. He was honoured for his service to music and to charity. John donated millions of dollars to AIDS research.
In 1998, Johnny Moore, former lead singer with "The Drifters," died on his way to hospital in London after suffering from breathing difficulties. He was 64.
In 1998, Orlandus Wilson, a founding member of "The Golden Gate Quartet," an influential gospel group, died in Paris at age 81.
In 1999, a mentally ill intruder stabbed former "Beatle" George Harrison at his estate in Henley-on-Thames. Michael Abram, 33, of Liverpool, was later found innocent by reason of insanity.
In 2001, jazz pianist Ralph Sutton, a leading practitioner of the stride piano style, died in Evergreen, Colo., at age 79.
In 2002, singer Diana Ross was arrested for drunk driving in Tucson, Ariz.
In 2008, Bernie Hamilton, the actor who played the no-nonsense police captain Harold Dobey on the 1970s TV series "Starsky and Hutch," died at age 80. Hamilton appeared in more than 20 films, including "The Young One," "The Devil at 4 O'Clock," "Synanon," "The Swimmer," "Walk the Walk" and "The Organization." After "Starsky and Hutch," Hamilton spent the next 20 years in the music business producing R&B and gospel records under the record label Chocolate Snowman.
In 2008, Canadian singing stars Celine Dion and tenor Ben Heppner were elevated to Companions of the Order of Canada, the highest of the three rankings.
In 2009, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" became the first music video inducted for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
In 2009, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean announced that music legends Burton Cummings of "The Guess Who" and Neil Young were among those named officers of the Order of Canada.
In 2010, "Boney M" singer Bobby Farrell was found dead in his hotel room in St. Petersburg, where the group was scheduled to perform. He was 61. Russian investigators later determined he died of heart disease and his death was not a criminal matter. "Boney M" was popular in the 1970s with hits including "Daddy Cool."
In 2012, Juno Award-winning post-hardcore rockers "Alexisonfire" wrapped up their farewell tour at Hamilton's Copp Coliseum.
In 2013, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, the singer-songwriters behind the enduring success of the country/rock band Blue Rodeo, were among new appointments to the Order of Canada.
In 2018, Burlington, Ont.-based band Walk off the Earth announced the death of keyboardist and vocalist Mike Taylor, saying he died "peacefully from natural causes last night in his sleep." Walk off the Earth shot to fame in 2012 when their cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" went viral.
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The Canadian Press
