Today in Music History for Jan. 2:
In 1900, a company set up by Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, began manufacturing seven-inch, single-sided records at a plant in Montreal. Berliner had taken out a Canadian patent on his invention in 1897 and had begun manufacturing the talking machines at the Montreal facility. Berliner began manufacturing 10-inch discs in 1901, and 12-inch records two years later. Double-sided records were not introduced until 1908. The Berliner Company manufactured records in Canada for 20 years. It was taken over in 1924 by the Victor Talking Machine Company, the forerunner to RCA Victor.
In 1926, a Russian-born pianist, Vladimir Gorowitz, changed his name to Horowitz for his Western debut in Berlin. Vladimir Horowitz would make his U.S. debut two years later, developing into the century's greatest romantic pianist.
In 1946, Chick Churchill, organist with "Ten Years After," was born in Mold, England. The group, fronted by guitarist Alvin Lee, gained international fame at the Woodstock Festival, and their heavy blues-rock sound was featured on such songs as "Love Like a Man," "Hear Me Calling" and "I'm Going Home."
In 1971, George Harrison became the first former "Beatle" to hit No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with "All Things Must Pass."
In 1974, cowboy singer Tex Ritter died of a heart attack in Nashville at age 66. Most people remember him singing the title song for the Academy Award-winning film "High Noon" in 1952. He also made a number of cowboy movies of his own, and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1964.
In 1977, jazz pianist and composer Erroll Garner died at the age of 53. Garner was a self-taught musician who couldn't read music. But that didn't stop him from composing timeless music, such as the familiar "Misty."
In 1979, former "Sex Pistols" bassist Sid Vicious went on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. He didn't live to hear the verdict; he died of a heroin overdose exactly one month later.
In 1980, Quebec country singer Roland Lebrun died in Quebec City at the age of 60. His records were popular in his native province during the Second World War. In 1970, he received a special gold record award for sales exceeding one-million discs.
In 1980, "The Tubes" played their first concert without the elaborate stage show which had become their trademark. Before the performance at the Roxy in Los Angeles, lead singer Fee Waybill commented, "If we're not strong enough to make it on music alone, we may as well sell vacuum cleaners."
In 1980, New Orleans-born R&B singer Larry Williams, despondent over his fading popularity, committed suicide. He began as a valet for singer Lloyd Price before playing in Price's band. By 1956, he was recording on his own, and the following year had two million-sellers with the humorous novelty songs "Bony Moronie" and "Short, Fat Fannie." "The Beatles" were great admirers of Williams' music, and recorded several of his songs, including "Slow Down," "Bad Boy" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy."
In 1983, the musical play "Annie," based on the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip, closed on Broadway after 2,377 performances.
In 1989, jazz pianist Eddie Heywood, who composed and recorded the 1956 hit "Canadian Sunset," died in Miami Beach, Fla., at age 73. The Atlanta native was named a new star by "Esquire" magazine in 1945, the year he had a hit with "Begin the Beguine." Heywood was sidelined by problems with his hands but returned in the 1950s with "Canadian Sunset," also popular in a vocal version by Andy Williams, and "Soft Summer Breeze."
In 1997, Randy California, guitarist for the 1960s rock band "Spirit," drowned while swimming with his 12-year-old son off Molokai, Hawaii. He was 45. California was apparently caught in a riptide after pushing his son to shore. "Spirit" had a top-25 single in 1968, "I Got a Line on You," but were known primarily for their critically acclaimed albums, which blended hard rock, blues, country, folk and jazz.
In 2015, Little Jimmy Dickens, the diminutive singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, died at a Nashville-area hospital of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day. He was 94. His novelty songs, including "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," earned him a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.
In 2018, music producer Rick Hall, of FAME Recording Studios in Alabama and one of the creators of the "Muscle Shoals sound," died of cancer. He was 85. Hall helped make such hits as Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" and Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)." He also produced songs for The Osmond Brothers, Tom Jones, George Jones, Jerry Reed and Reba McEntire.
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The Canadian Press
