Today in Music History for March 9:
In 1942, Mark Lindsay, lead singer with "Paul Revere and the Raiders," was born in Cambridge, Idaho. It was Lindsay's appeal to teenyboppers that helped the group climb the charts in the mid-1960s with such hits as "Kicks," "Hungry" and "Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?"
In 1944, Canadian blues legend Richard Newell (a.k.a King Biscuit Boy) was born in Hamilton, Ont. The two-time Juno nominee was a pioneer on the blues music scene in Canada and was best known for his mastery of the harmonica. He was a member of Canadian rock icons "Crowbar" and also shared the stage with Muddy Waters, Joe Cocker, Etta James and Ronnie Hawkins. He died Jan. 5, 2003. He received a special posthumous lifetime achievement award at the Maple Blues Awards in 2011.
In 1945, rock guitarist Robin Trower was born in London. He joined "Procul Harum" in 1967 after the group's hit single, "A Whiter Shade of Pale." But his hard rock style -- heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix -- at times seemed unsuited to the group's classical-rock direction, and Trower left in 1971. He first formed a short-lived group called "Jude," then a trio with bassist Jim Dewar and drummer Reg Isadore. With the 1974 album "Bridge of Sighs," Trower became a rock guitar hero on both sides of the Atlantic. He continued recording throughout the 1970s, and in 1981 began collaborating with ex-"Cream" bassist and singer Jack Bruce.
In 1961, "I Want a Guy," the first "Supremes" single under that name, was released.
In 1972, Allen Klein presented UNICEF with the first cheque of $1.2 million from the proceeds of George Harrison's Bangladesh concert and LP.
In 1974, the Grand Ole Opry played its last Saturday night show at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The Opry moved to a modern auditorium at Opryland, a multi-million-dollar amusement park on the outskirts of the city.
In 1974, "Bad Company" performed its first concert in England. The band was made up of former members of "Free," "King Crimson" and "Mott the Hoople."
In 1976, "The Who" drummer Keith Moon collapsed on stage during a concert in Boston. The incident briefly halted the band's tour.
In 1985, "Tears Are Not Enough" by "Northern Lights," the Canadian record in aid of Ethiopian famine relief, was released. The song was written by Bryan Adams and his regular songwriting partner, Jim Vallance.
In 1987, "U2's" "The Joshua Tree," which sold nearly six-million copies in the U.S. alone, was released.
In 1993, Michael Jackson twisted his ankle and had to use crutches and a wheelchair on stage at the Soul Train music awards show in Los Angeles. He performed "Remember the Time," sitting in the chair as other performers danced around him.
In 1993, swing-era bandleader Bob Crosby, younger brother of Bing, died in La Jolla, Calif., at age 80.
In 1993, at the People's Choice awards, Garth Brooks and Whitney Houston were named Favorite Male and Female Musical Performers. "Alabama" won for Favorite Musical Group.
In 1995, Terry E. Gray, a member of the rap group "Da Lench Mob," was acquitted of murder in Torrance, Calif. Gray, whose stage name was "T-Bone," was charged in a 1994 bowling alley shooting in Los Angeles that left one man dead and another wounded.
In 1996, David Clayton-Thomas of "Blood, Sweat and Tears," John Kay of "Steppenwolf," Denny Doherty of "The Mamas and the Papas," Zal Yanovsky of "The Lovin' Spoonful" and rock guitarist Dominic Troiano were inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame. At the same ceremony in Toronto, Ronnie Hawkins was honoured with the Walt Grealis Achievement Award for his contribution to the development of the Canadian music industry.
In 1996, "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the 15th week, a record for the rock era. It was extended to a 16th week before being displaced by Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me."
In 1997, rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24. The rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace and was also known as "Biggie Smalls," was the second high-profile rapper to be gunned down in six months. Tupac Shakur had been killed in Las Vegas the previous fall. Wallace was shot while sitting in his vehicle outside a party following the Soul Train Music Awards. Wallace built his gangsta rap persona around his real-life past as a crack dealer in Brooklyn, N.Y. His debut album, "Ready to Die," sold more than a million copies, and the follow-up, "Life After Death... 'Til Death Do Us Part," released two weeks after he was killed, was a chart-topper. Wallace and Shakur were East Coast-West Coast rivals, and their deaths added fuel to reports of a deadly feud between the two camps.
In 1999, Harry Somers, one of Canada's leading composers for more than 50 years, died of cancer at his Toronto home. He was 73. Somers' best known work is the bilingual opera "Louis Riel," which was premiered by the Canadian Opera Company in 1967.
In 2000, composer Jean Coulthard died in Vancouver at age 92.
In 2004, Alf Bicknell, chauffeur to "The Beatles" at the height of their fame and inspiration for the song, "Baby You Can Drive My Car," died at age 75 at his home in Oxford. He started working for "The Fab Four" in 1964, during the filming of "Help."
In 2005, Chris LeDoux, a world champion bareback rider who parlayed songs about cowboys he knew on the rodeo circuit into a successful country music career, died from complications of liver cancer. He was 56.
In 2007, Brad Delp, the lead singer for "Boston," a huge rock sensation in the 1970s, was found dead in his Atkinson, N.H., home. He had committed suicide. He was 55. Delp sang vocals on "Boston's" 1976 hits "More Than a Feeling" and "Long Time."
In 2010, "Pink Floyd" sued its longtime label EMI Group Ltd. for digitally selling individual tracks "unbundled" from their original albums. EMI claimed the rule applied only to physical albums, not the Internet. A British High Court sided with the band. After an unsuccessful appeal, EMI reached a new five-year deal with the band in January 2011.
In 2010, "Love Never Dies," the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's global hit "Phantom of the Opera," premiered in London amid mixed reviews.
In 2011, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Clapton's personal collection of 75 guitars and 55 amps were sold at auction for US$2.15 million. The proceeds went to benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre founded by Clapton in 1998.
In 2012, 76-year-old country and early rock music legend Jerry Lee Lewis wed for the seventh time, marrying his 61-year-old caregiver Judith Brown. She was formerly married to Lewis' cousin, Rusty, whose older sister, Myra Gale Brown, married Lewis in 1957 when she was 13 and was his third wife. The marriage caused shockwaves for Lewis' career.
In 2016, legendary Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and musician Ray Griff died at the age of 75. The Canadian Country Music Association Hall-of-Famer was one of Canada's most prolific songwriters, penning upwards of 2,000 tunes and having more than 750 of his songs recorded by such artists as Tennessee Ernie Ford, Crystal Gayle, Conway Twitty, Eddy Arnold, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wayne Newton, Dolly Parton, Mel Tillis, Loretta Lynn and George Jones. He also recorded more than 30 albums and produced other artists such as Dick Damron and Jason McCoy.
In 2021, conductor James Levine died at the age of 77. Levine ruled over New York's Metropolitan Opera for more than 40-years, conducting more than 25-hundred performances until he was forced out by general manager Peter Gelb in 2016 due to Parkinson's disease. Levine became music director emeritus and remained head of the Met's young artists program, but was fired in 2018 after reports of sexual misconduct dating to the 1960s.
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The Canadian Press