Today in Music History June 12:
In 1941, jazz keyboardist Chick Corea was born in Chelsea, Mass. He established himself as a major jazz figure with his work on Miles Davis's landmark jazz-rock albums "In a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew" in 1969. Corea continued his rock fusion experiments by forming the group "Return to Forever" in 1972, making extensive use of synthesizers. The group disbanded in 1976 and Corea focused mainly on playing acoustic piano.
In 1957, alto saxophonist and big band leader Jimmy Dorsey died in New York of cancer at age 53. Shortly after his death, his band scored high on the charts with "So Rare." Both Jimmy and his brother Tommy played with such bands as Jean Goldkette, Red Nichols and Paul Whiteman in the '20s and early '30s. "The Dorsey Brothers" had a joint band before Tommy split in 1935. Most of the band members stayed with Jimmy, and "The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra" became very popular in the early '40s. With featured vocalists Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly, the band's hits included "The Breeze and I," "Amapola" and "Green Eyes."
In 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" entered the Billboard country and western chart. The next week, the record debuted on the Billboard pop chart as well. After Lewis appeared on Steve Allen's TV show, it sold more than six million copies. It would eventually top both the country and R&B charts, and rise to No. 3 on the Hot 100 pop survey.
In 1965, Tex Ritter made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, nearly 30 years after beginning his career as a singing cowboy. He made more than 60 films, and was one of country music's biggest stars in the 1940s. The father of the late actor John Ritter died at age 67 in 1976.
In 1965, the Queen announced that "The Beatles" would be awarded the MBE -- Member of the Order of the British Empire. Some MBE holders were so upset they returned their medals. Nonetheless, "The Beatles" were honoured at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October. John Lennon later returned his medal in 1969 to protest British support for the Vietnam War.
In 1968, Canada's first full-time regional orchestra, the Atlantic Symphony, was formed with the support of committees in Halifax and Sydney, N.S., and Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton, N.B. The orchestra is based in Halifax.
In 1971, the South African Broadcasting Co. lifted its five-year ban on "The Beatles" records. The ban was occasioned by John Lennon's remark that "The Beatles" were more popular than Jesus Christ.
In 1978, country singer Johnny Bond died of a heart attack in Burbank, Calif. He was 63. Bond was a guitar-playing sidekick in western films starring Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. His hit recordings in the '40s and early '50s included "Cimarron," "Oklahoma Waltz" and "Sick, Sober and Sorry." Pop music fans remember Bond best for his 1960 top-30 hit "Hot Rod Lincoln."
In 1979, "The Kids Are Alright," the film and the album, were released by "The Who." The movie was a documentary of the group's early years.
In 1982, 750,000 people attended a rally for nuclear disarmament in New York City. It was the largest crowd ever to attend a political rally. Among the stars in attendance were James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Linda Ronstadt.
In 1988, a dozen of Canada's top songwriters were honoured in Vancouver for writing songs that had been played on Canadian radio at least 100,000 times since 1965. They included Gene MacLellan, Burton Cummings, Bryan Adams and Frank Mills. Gene MacLellan won three of the awards from the Performing Rights Organization of Canada, for writing the Anne Murray hit, "Snowbird," "Put Your Hand in the Hand," and "The Call." Burton Cummings also won three awards -- for "Stand Tall," "Break It to Them Gently" and "These Eyes."
In 1989, Memphis radio station WHBQ, the first ever to air an Elvis Presley record, announced it was banning all Presley music. As program director Ron Jordan put it, "we overdo the Elvis bit here." But Jordan was forced to rescind the order two days later after hundreds of Elvis fans called in protest. Presley's first single, "That's All Right," made its debut on WHBQ in 1954.
In 1989, Vivian Carter, the co-founder of Chicago's Vee-Jay Records, died of complications from diabetes. She was 68. Vee-Jay was the largest black-owned label of the '50s, with such artists as "The Spaniels," "The Dells" and Jimmy Reed. It was also the first U.S. label to release records by "The Beatles." Vee-Jay went bankrupt in 1966.
In 1992, k.d. lang cancelled a show in Owen Sound, Ont., after local beef farmers threatened to plug the parking lot at the concert with farm vehicles and tractor-trailer rigs. Lang, a vegetarian, had upset the cattlemen by appearing in a "Meat Stinks" ad campaign.
In 1994, "The Rolling Stones" arrived in Toronto to begin rehearsals for their Voodoo Lounge world tour. Sessions were held in an empty hangar at Pearson International Airport. Before the tour's official start on Aug. 1st in Washington, the band staged a surprise gig at a Toronto club.
In 2004, Terri Clark became the first Canadian female member of the Grand Ole Opry.
In 2009, Malawi's highest court overturned a lower court ruling and allowed Madonna to adopt her second child (Chifundo "Mercy" James) from the southern African country. On June 19th, Madonna and Mercy left Malawi on a private jet destined for London.
In 2009, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ashanti made her stage debut as Dorothy in a revival of "The Wiz," the soul-tinged musical version of the classic L. Frank Baum story, "The Wizard of Oz." She also played Dorothy in the 2005 made-for-TV movie, "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz."
In 2009, R&B singer Usher filed for divorce from Tameka Foster Raymond, less than two years after their glitzy wedding at a Georgia resort. They had two sons together. The divorce became final on Nov. 4.
In 2011, country music crossover star Shania Twain released her first new single in over six years, "Today is Your Day." The self-penned piano ballad was part of the finale of her reality show "Why Not? with Shania Twain."
In 2011, Carl Gardner, original lead singer of the R&B group "The Coasters," died at a Port St. Lucie, Fla., hospice following a long bout with congestive heart failure and vascular dementia. He was 83. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, "The Coasters" had a string of hits in the late 1950s, including "Searchin'," ''Poison Ivy" and "Young Blood." Their single "Yakety Yak" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 following its 1958 release. It also spent seven weeks as the No. 1 R&B song.
In 2011, the profane comedy "The Book of Mormon" took home nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was a considerable achievement for a pair of first-time Broadway playwrights, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the Emmy Award-winning "South Park."
In 2014, Ray Davies of The Kinks, Donovan and songwriters Jim Weatherly ("Midnight Train to Georgia"), Graham Gouldman ("For Your Love" and "Bus Stop") and Mark James ("Suspicious Minds") were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Davies, who was dealing with his sister's death, accepted the honour in a video.
In 2014, Grammy Award-winning singer Kelly Clarkson and music manager Brandon Blackstock celebrated the birth of their first child, daughter River Rose Blackstock.
In 2015, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl fell off the stage during the second song at a concert in Sweden and fractured his right fibula and dislocated his ankle. After receiving medical attention, he finished the show either sitting down or supporting himself on crutches. Grohl had surgery to repair the damage, and as a result, the band was forced to cancel its European tour.
In 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton," the hip-hop stage biography of Alexander Hamilton with a record 16 nominations, won 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical but fell just short of the 12-Tony record held by "The Producers."
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The Canadian Press