Today in Music History for Dec. 21:
In 1672, Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran clergyman and prolific hymn writer, was born. Though a busy pastor, he found time to pen 900 hymns, the best remembered of them being "My Jesus, As Thou Wilt."
In 1934, jazz saxophonist Hank Crawford was born in Memphis, Tenn. He was the musical director for Ray Charles in the late 1950s and early '60s before embarking on a solo career. He died Jan. 29, 2009.
In 1940, rock singer and composer Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore. The oldest of four children, Zappa and his family moved to California while he was still in his teens. After graduation in 1958, he played with various lounge bands and began composing songs, one of which, "Memories of El Monte," was recorded by The Penguins of 鈥淓arth Angel鈥� fame. In 1964, Zappa took over an R&B band called "The Soul Giants" and turned them into "The Mothers of Invention." Their irreverent blend of satire and rock 'n' roll was featured on half a dozen albums in the '60s. Zappa began a solo career in the '70s, and made a surrealistic film of rock 'n' roll life called "200 Motels." All told, he released more than 50 albums, including "Jazz From Hell," which won a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental in 1988. Zappa died of prostate cancer on Dec. 4, 1993.
In 1946, guitarist Carl Wilson of "The Beach Boys" was born in Hawthorne, Calif. The three Wilson brothers -- the others were Dennis and Brian -- formed a group called "Carl and the Passions" with Mike Love and Al Jardine in 1961. The band's name was changed to "The Beach Boys" to take advantage of the surfing craze in southern California. Among their surfing hits for the Capitol label -- "Surfin U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl" and "I Get Around." "The Beach Boys" turned in a more experimental direction in 1966, recording "Good Vibrations," a No. 1 song that took six months to produce and was at the time the most expensive single ever made. Carl Wilson died in Los Angeles of lung cancer on Feb. 6, 1998.
In 1955, Lavern Baker recorded her R&B classic "Jim Dandy" in New York City.
In 1963, what was billed as "The Beatles' Christmas Show" took place at a theatre in Bradford, England. Among the others on the bill were "Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas," Cilla Black and Rolf Harris.
In 1964, "Rolling Stones" drummer Charlie Watts had a book, "Ode to a High-Flying Bird," published in London. Written in 1961 before "The Rolling Stones" were formed, it is a book of drawings and text about jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker.
In 1965, Canadian composer Claude Champagne died in Montreal at age 74. He was regarded by many to epitomize French-Canadian musical and artistic aspirations.
In 1968, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash performed together for the first time at a concert in California.
In 1968, Janis Joplin made her first appearance after leaving "Big Brother and the Holding Company." Joplin performed in Memphis at the "Yuletide Thing" event sponsored by the Stax-Volt record labels.
In 1969, "Diana Ross and the Supremes" made their last appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," singing "Someday We'll Be Together."
In 1970, composers Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber received gold records for the original cast album of "Jesus Christ, Superstar."
In 1970, Elvis Presley met U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office at the White House. They posed for a photo that Nixon aides hoped would boost the president's image with America's youth. All the singer wanted was a Drug Enforcement Agency badge for his collection. Presley, according to most accounts, was high on pills at the time and lectured Nixon on the evils of drugs, "The Beatles," hippies and communists. Nixon had Presley shown the door as soon as he'd presented him with the badge and made him an honorary federal agent.
In 1979, Willie Nelson's movie debut, "The Electric Horseman," which also starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, opened in North American theatres.
In 1979, Frank Zappa's "Baby Snakes" premiered on Zappa's 39th birthday. The film combined concert footage, backstage antics and animated clay figures.
In 1979, "Chicago," the "Eagles" and Linda Ronstadt played the first of two concerts to raise campaign money for California governor Jerry Brown, Ronstadt's then-boyfriend.
In 1988, what police called a lynch mob of pyjama-clad residents rushed the stage at a pre-dawn show by singer Kenny Loggins in Santa Barbara, Calif. Police shut down the 5 a.m. concert, which was to have been shown live on Japanese TV. The show, which did not have city permission, was being staged in front of Santa Barbara's historic Old Mission.
In 1989, accordion player Harry Hibbs, one of Newfoundland's most famous musical sons, died in Toronto of bone cancer. He was 47. Hibbs moved to Toronto in 1968, where his jigs and reels made him a fixture at the Caribou Club. His first album, "The Black Velvet Band," was a best-seller, as were several others, but his career had waned by the late 1970s.
In 1992, bluesman Albert King, a major influence on rock guitarists like Eric Clapton, died in Memphis, Tenn., after suffering a heart attack. He was 69. King, who claimed to be a distant cousin of B.B. King, recorded as early as 1953 but his career didn't take off until he signed with Stax Records in 1966. There, backed by the likes of "Booker T. and the M.G.'s" and "The Memphis Horns," he recorded classics like "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Crosscut Saw" and "Laundromat Blues."
In 1996, singer Tony Bennett was rushed to a hospital in Washington after his hernia erupted while visiting the White House for a holiday dinner. He had to have emergency surgery but recovered without problems.
In 2005, Elton John married his longtime partner, Canadian-born David Furnish, at a civil union ceremony in Windsor, England. It was the first day that same-sex partnerships became legal in Britain.
In 2005, singer Howie Day was arrested for rowdy behaviour on a flight from Dallas to Boston. He was sentenced to probation and rehab and was ordered to write letters of apology to the crew and passengers.
In 2008, the third leg of Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" tour ended in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The record-setting tour for a female or solo artist sold more than $280 million in tickets and played for more than 2.3 million people. A fourth leg, July-September 2009, bumped up the total to $408 million.
In 2010, 60 firefighters tackled a blaze at London's O2 Arena loading bay, which engulfed two tour buses belonging to "Kings of Leon." The Tennessee rockers were due to finish a European tour there but were forced to cancel. Six people were treated for smoke inhalation, but no one was hospitalized.
In 2011, Eva Hoeke, the editor of Dutch fashion magazine "Jackie," was fired after using a racial slur referring to Barbados-born Rihanna that set off a social media furor and prompted an outraged response from the singer.
In 2012, Lee Dorman, the bassist of psychedelic rock band "Iron Butterfly," was found dead in his car at his home in Orange County, Calif., of natural causes. He was 70. He was also a founding member of the rock group "Captain Beyond."
In 2012, "Rolling Stones" guitarist Ronnie Wood, 65, married his fiancee Sally Humphreys, 34, at a ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel.
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The Canadian Press
