Today in Music History for Aug. 20:
In 1920, the first commercial radio station in the United States, 8-MK in Detroit, began daily broadcasting. The station later became WWJ.
In 1924, Jim Reeves, billed as the country singer with the velvet touch, was born in Galloway, Texas. He was responsible as much as anybody for the marrying of country and pop music in the late 1950s. Although his first hit, "Mexican Joe" in 1952, was a country novelty record, Reeves' later successes were country only in the lyrics -- the backing was strictly pop. Hits such as "Four Walls," "He'll Have to Go" and "Am I Losing You" were in the forefront of the Nashville Sound, which blended his mellow voice with lush orchestrations and vocal choruses. RCA Victor continued to release new Jim Reeves recordings months - and even years - after his death in a plane crash on July 31, 1964.
In 1930, pianist Mario Bernardi, the first conductor of The National Arts Centre Orchestra, was born in Kirkland Lake, Ont. Bernardi became conductor of the newly formed orchestra in 1968. He was named music director of the National Arts Centre three years later.
In 1942, Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tenn., near Memphis. He played with R&B legends Booker T and Otis Redding while collaborating with songwriter David Porter on over 200 songs including Sam and Dave's "Soul Man." His 1969 album "Hot Buttered Soul" including the single "Walk On By" stayed on pop charts for over 80 weeks. Hayes' career-defining moment came with his theme song to the 1971 film "Shaft" which won him an Academy Award for Best Musical Score. Since 1990, Hayes appeared in various movies, although his most memorable character was "Chef" on the raunchy TV show "South Park." Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He died Aug. 10, 2008.
In 1948, Robert Plant, lead singer for heavy-metal pioneers "Led Zeppelin," was born in Bromwich, England. Plant and drummer John Bonham had played together in a band called "Bundle of Joy," and were invited in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page to join "The New Yardbirds," which became "Led Zeppelin" the following year. The band's debut album, recorded in less than two days, made the top-10. Their second LP did even better, topping the charts, and every "Led Zeppelin" album that followed sold at least one million copies. By 1975, "Led Zeppelin" was the most popular rock band in the world. Their hits, such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway to Heaven," are still played regularly on rock radio stations. Plant's 1988 solo album, "Now and Zen," was a big success. "Raising Sand," his collaboration with bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss, won Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammys.
In 1960, Connie Francis began work on her first movie, "Where the Boys Are." She also starred in the sequel, "When the Boys Meet the Girls."
In 1967, the New York Times reported on a new noise-reduction system for album and tape recording developed by R. and D-W Dolby. First used by a subsidiary of Elektra Records, the Dolby noise reduction system became the industry standard.
In 1969, Frank Zappa disbanded "The Mothers of Invention" following an eight-day Canadian tour during which he said people clapped "for all the wrong reasons." Zappa reformed "The Mothers of Invention" a year later.
In 1976, Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," about an ore carrier that sank on Lake Superior, was released as a single. The song, from the album "Summertime Dream," made it to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1981, Bruce Springsteen, Pat Benatar and other top rock stars performed at a benefit for Vietnam War veterans at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
In 1988, two people were crushed to death and two others seriously injured during "The Monsters of Rock" heavy metal festival at Donington Park Race Track in central England. About 80,000 fans had turned up for the event, headlined by "Iron Maiden."
In 1988, steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe, who composed "Steel Guitar Rag" and co-wrote the classic "San Antonio Rose," died in Tulsa, Okla., following a lengthy illness. He was 71. McAuliffe played with "Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys" from 1935-42, then formed his own western swing band after the Second World War.
In 1989, about 20,000 people ended a week-long 20th anniversary celebration of the Woodstock Festival at the festival's original site near Bethel, NY. They left behind a mountain of mud and empty beer cans. The unsanctioned gathering had only one serious incident - a stabbing. Folksinger Melanie was the only Woodstock veteran to show up. She performed from a makeshift stage.
In 1991, Freedom Williams of the dance music act "C & C Music Factory" fell face down in front of 2,500 fans at a show in Tucson, Ariz. His tape-recorded voice continued rapping and the crowd cheered, thinking the fall was part of the act. Williams spent a couple of days in hospital recovering from dehydration and exhaustion.
In 1992, Sting and his longtime girlfriend, actress and TV producer Trudie Styler, were married in a civil ceremony in London. The couple already had three children, ages eight, seven and two.
In 1994, police in Birmingham, Ala., arrested rapper Luther Campbell and eight dancers as they ran from a nightclub after a performance that included simulated sex acts. Campbell was charged with inciting to riot. The dancers, four women and four men, were charged with obscene, lewd and indecent conduct.
In 1996, the "Sex Pistols" faced a hostile crowd in Toronto when they played a club gig sponsored by a beer company. Disappointed concert-goers threw beer and flicked cigarettes on stage, prompting lead singer John Lydon to threaten one offender - "You're as dead as Jerry Garcia."
In 1999, bassist Bobby Sheehan of "Blues Traveler" was found dead of a drug overdose in his apartment in New Orleans. He was 31.
In 1999, musician Fatboy Slim married British TV personality Zoe Ball in London. They separated in 2003 but later reconciled.
In 2000, "Bon Jovi" was the last musical act to play at London's Wembley Stadium before it closed.
In 2001, Celine Dion and her husband Rene Angelil sued Quebec weekly "Allo-Vedettes" and a reporter for publishing a gossip column that said she likes to sunbathe topless.
In 2009, Larry Knechtel, a Grammy award-winning keyboard artist who accompanied leading musicians and combos from Elvis Presley and Ray Charles to Elvis Costello and the "Dixie Chicks," died at age 69. He earned a Grammy award for his arrangement of "Simon and Garfunkel's" "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and played keyboard on the "Dixie Chicks'" Grammy award-winning album "Taking the Long Way."
In 2010, Charles Haddon, lead singer of the British pop trio "Ou Est Le Swimming Pool," climbed a telecommunications mast behind the main stage after performing at the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium, and leaped to his death in the parking lot below.
In 2010, singer Wyclef Jean's high-profile bid for Haiti's presidency ended after election officials on the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation disqualified his candidacy, possibly because he had not lived in Haiti for the past five years as required.
In 2011, Ross Barbour, the last original member of "The Four Freshmen," died of lung cancer at his home outside Los Angeles. He was 82. He died just three months after another founding member, his cousin Bob Flanigan. Brian Wilson cited the vocal group as a major influence on the harmonies of "The Beach Boys."
In 2012, John Stockfish, bass player on Gordon Lightfoot hits such as "Sundown," "Black Day in July" and "Song for a Winter’s Night," died of natural causes at his home in Windsor, Ont. He was 69. He was the original bassist for the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter from 1965-69.
In 2014, Buddy MacMaster, the internationally celebrated fiddler who sparked a renewed appreciation for traditional Cape Breton music and inspired a new generation of talent, died at the age of 89. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2001.
In 2016, iconic Canadian rockers The Tragically Hip played their final show to a sold-out crowd at the K-Rock Centre in the band's hometown of Kingston, Ont. It was broadcast live by the CBC and more than 400 public screenings were held across the country. In late 2015, frontman Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and died Oct. 17, 2017. (Their 10-city tour raised more than $1 million for brain cancer research in Canada.)
In 2018, The Eagles' greatest hits album surpassed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the bestselling album of all-time.
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The Canadian Press
