Today in Music History for Nov. 7:
In 1920, accordionist Gaby Haas, once proclaimed as "Canada's Mr. Polka," was born in Czechoslovakia. He became a Canadian citizen in 1943. Haas's broadcasts on the CBC national network from 1946-55 established him as a popular oldtime and country music performer. With his band, "The Barndance Gang," he recorded nearly 50 albums, mostly of polkas and waltzes. He died Nov. 22, 1987.
In 1942, singer Johnny Rivers was born John Ramistella in New York City. He received his stage name from disc jockey Alan Freed. Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Rivers hit the charts regularly, usually with cover versions of old blues and rock 'n' roll songs. Among them were "Memphis," "Poor Side of Town," "Secret Agent Man" and "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu." Behind the scenes, Rivers was responsible for discovering "The Fifth Dimension" and songwriter Jimmy Webb. He also played guitar on "The Fifth Dimension's" records.
In 1943, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort MacLeod, Alta. Many of her early compositions became hits for other artists. Mitchell's first two LPs, and Judy Collins' top-10 recording of Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" in 1968, brought Mitchell international fame. In 1969, she won a Grammy Award for best folk performance for her LP "Clouds." Her albums generally have been more successful than her singles, although she's had hits with "Big Yellow Taxi," "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" and "Help Me," which made it to No. 7 on the Billboard chart in 1974. Mitchell's later albums have had a decided jazz flavour. In 1978, she collaborated with the dying jazz bassist and composer Charlie Mingus, and the resulting album was released six months after his death. Like much of her more recent work, it sold poorly. But she rebounded strongly in 2000 with "Both Sides Now," which won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.
In 1951, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner were married. She filed for divorce in 1954.
In 1955, Canadian singer-songwriter Shirley Eikhard was born in Sackville, N.B. Her early performances were compared with those of Anne Murray, who was the first to record one of Eikhard's songs, "It Takes Time," in 1971. Another of Eikhard's songs, "Pickin' My Way," was recorded as the title tune of an LP by guitarist Chet Atkins.
In 1959, Chilean composer and conductor Alberto Guerrero died in Toronto at the age of 73. He founded and conducted the first symphony orchestra in the Chilean capital of Santiago, before moving to Toronto in 1919. Guerrero joined the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1922 and became recognized as one of Canada's leading teachers.
In 1960, Alvin Pleasant Carter, head of country music's "Carter Family," died in Kingsport, Tenn. at the age of 68. The original "Carter Family" consisted of A.P., his wife Sarah, and her cousin Maybelle. The recordings they made for Victor in the 1920s and '30s influenced generations of country artists. "Wildwood Flower," recorded in 1928, was their most popular tune, said to have sold a million copies.
In 1968, Jim Morrison asked fans at a "Doors" concert to stand up. Police charged him with inciting a riot.
In 1969, "The Rolling Stones" opened their first U.S. concert tour in three years with a stop in Denver. The group had ceased performing because of repeated drug arrests and other problems.
In 1974, rocker Ted Nugent won the National Squirrel Shooting Archery Contest by hitting a squirrel at 150 yards with a bow and arrow.
In 1977, the soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" was released.
In 1979, "The Rose," which starred Bette Midler as a Janis Joplin-like rock star, opened in the U.S. and Canada.
In 1986, rock star Prince made a surprise appearance at a high school football game in Hawthorne, Calif., to crown the homecoming queen.
In 1986, Bruce Springsteen's first authorized live album was previewed on radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. The five-record, five-cassette or three-compact disc set went on sale three days later.
In 1988, a jury in San Francisco ruled that former "Creedence Clearwater Revival" lead singer John Fogerty did not copy one of his own songs when he wrote his 1984 hit "The Old Man Down the Road." Fantasy Records, which owns the rights to many of Fogerty's earlier songs, had alleged the song was essentially the same as Fogerty's 1970 composition "Run Through the Jungle," recorded by "CCR."
In 1990, Tom Clancy, founder of the Irish folk group "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem," died in Cork, Ireland, of stomach cancer. He was 67. The group hit its peak during the folk music boom of the 1960s. The most popular of their more than 40 albums was "In Person at Carnegie Hall," released in 1963.
In 1991, Prince Gideon Israel, who was known as Carter Cornelius when he was leader of the 1970s pop group "Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose," died in Dania, Fla., of a heart attack. He was 43. The group had a million-seller in 1971 with "Treat Her Like a Lady," and another one the following year with "Too Late to Turn Back Now." Gideon went into seclusion in 1976 with the founder of a Miami-based religious sect whose followers adopted the name Israel.
In 1992, Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" topped Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the 13th straight week. It was the first single to remain at No. 1 for 13 weeks since Patti Page's "Tennessee Waltz" in 1950.
In 1993, Diana Ross was honoured in London by the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful female pop artist of all time.
In 1995, the world's third-largest music publishing company was created when Michael Jackson merged his music catalogues with those of Sony Music Publishing. None of Jackson's own songs were included in the deal. But Jackson, through his company ATV, held the rights to 251 "Beatles" tunes, R&B classics such as "Lucille" and "Long Tall Sally," plus numerous other hits. Jackson was said to have entered the merger because he needed the money after his settlement of child molestation allegations. His reported take in the deal -- close to $100 million.
In 1995, rap star Flavor Flav was arrested in New York on gun and crack cocaine charges, just two months after his release from jail for weapons possession.
In 1997, Clyde Gilmour, whose "Gilmour's Albums" ran on CBC radio for more than 40 years, died of heart failure in Toronto. He was 85. Gilmour had taped his final program five months earlier. "Gilmour's Albums" was the network's longest-running, highest-rated one-man show, attracting more than half a million listeners each weekend. He would play everything from classical to jazz to folk -- but no rock. Every program was backed by meticulous research, much of it gathered by Gilmour's wife, Barbara, who died in 1995.
In 1998, Little Jimmy Dickens marked his 50th year as a member of Grand Ole Opry. The governor of Tennessee declared it Little Jimmy Dickens Day in the state.
In 1998, Eric Brittingham, bassist for the hard rock band "Cinderella," was seriously injured when he lost control of his truck at high speed in Toledo, Ohio. The vehicle flipped, sheared off two utility poles and rolled before stopping. The band was forced to use a replacement player for the remainder of its tour.
In 2001, Tim McGraw was named Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards.
In 2006, Britney Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline. They had been married for just over two years, and she had given birth to their second son just two months earlier.
In 2007, at the Country Music Association Awards, Kenny Chesney won his second straight Entertainer of the Year award, while Carrie Underwood made it back-to-back trophies as Female Vocalist of the Year.
In 2008, Ralph Joseph "Jody" Reynolds, the rockabilly singer and songwriter, died at age 75. His lone hit, "Endless Sleep," sold more than a million copies in 1958 and kicked off the melodramatic teen tragedy genre, including Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel," Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her," Dickey Lee's "Patches" and "The Shangri-Las'" "Leader of the Pack." He was inducted into Nashville's Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2008, Canadian director Robert Lepage's production of Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust" made its Metropolitan Opera debut.
In 2008, Essex County in New Jersey honoured Newark-native Gloria Gaynor with her own day. She is best known for her 1979 hit, "I Will Survive." The disco diva's first hit was "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1974.
In 2009, Buffy Sainte-Marie was given a lifetime achievement award and a special tribute at the Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards in Winnipeg.
In 2009, Taylor Swift hosted Saturday Night Live, and opened the show with the comical "Monologue Song (La La La)," where she managed to skewer ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas and take care of any expectations about rapper Kanye West, who interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. She even managed to add fuel to the burning question if she and Taylor Lautner (of "Twilight" fame) were dating.
In 2010, "Rascal Flatts," Little Jimmy Dickens, Kris Kristofferson, Mel Tillis, the late Eddy Arnold and Bobby Hebb were inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame in downtown Nashville.
In 2010, Lady Gaga won three prizes at the MTV Europe Music Awards held in Madrid, claiming Best Female, Song ("Bad Romance"), and Pop honours. Canadian teen sensation Justin Bieber won for Best Male award and Best Push Act while Best New Act went to Ke$ha. Eminem got the Best Hip Hop award. The new MTV Global Icon award went to rock legends "Bon Jovi."
In 2011, Michael Jackson's doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a trial that painted him as a reckless caregiver who administered a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic that killed the pop star. Dr. Conrad Murray showed no emotion as the seven-man, five-woman jury in Los Angeles found him guilty of being substantially responsible for Jackson's June 2009 death. Murray was immediately taken into custody and later sentenced to the maximum term of four years behind bars.
In 2011, disco singer Andrea True died at a hospital in Kingston, N.Y. She was 68. Her biggest hit was "More, More, More,'' which peaked at No. 4 in 1976.
In 2015, the acoustic Gibson J-160E guitar that John Lennon used to write and record "Love Me Do," ''I Want to Hold Your Hand" and other Beatles hit songs sold for $2.4 million at a California auction to an undisclosed buyer. The drum head that the Fab Four used in their 1964 landmark performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" sold for $2.1 million.
In 2015, pop crooner Michael Buble and late actor-singer Lorne Greene were among a group honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Teen singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes received the Allan Slaight Award, presented annually to a young Canadian making a positive impact in the music industry.
In 2016, Leonard Cohen, the iconic writer, poet, composer and baritone-voiced singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in hits like "Hallelujah," ''Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," died in Los Angeles at age 82. His was one of the most revered and respected voices and had fans among some of music's top names, including U2, REM, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.
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The Canadian Press