Calendar Search Results: art songs
March 24, 1956 Billboard makes their periodic albums chart a weekly feature, with Belafonte by Harry Belafonte. at #1 The chart lists anywhere from 15-30 spots, but is gradually expanded, and in 1967 it grows to 200. The chart goes through several name changes before settling on The Billboard 200 in 1992.
February 4, 1956 Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" reaches its US chart peak of #17, giving him his first hit. Pat Boone's version of the song outcharts him, making #12 two weeks later.
September 8, 1955 In an attempt to hide the wrinkles in his suit, Chuck Berry does the duck walk for the first time.More
July 9, 1955 Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" becomes the first Rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard Pop chart, where it stays for eight weeks. The song was originally released as a the B-side of "Thirteen Women," but became a massive hit after it appeared in the film Blackboard Jungle.More
June 22, 1955 Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp premieres in theaters. The canine cartoon features music from Peggy Lee, including "He's a Tramp," "La La Lu," and "The Siamese Cat Song." Lee also voices Darling (Lady's owner), Peg the dog, and the ornery Siamese cats.
December 1, 1954 Fred Rose, country music songwriter and publisher, dies in Nashville, Tennessee, in his mid-50's. Started the first Nashville-based music publishing company with Roy Acuff. Among many others, known for writing the songs "Crazy Heart" and "Take These Chains From My Heart" for Hank Williams and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," made famous by Willie Nelson.
November 22, 1954 Craig Huxley, film and soundtrack producer, is born Craig Hundley in Hollywood, California. He starts his career as a child actor with guest roles on Star Trek, Bewitched, and The Brady Bunch. As a producer and arranger, he works with scores of artists, including Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
March 10, 1954 The Threepenny Opera opens at the Theater de Lys in New York's Greenwich Village. A revival of a German production from 1928, the standout scene is when the Street Singer does "Mack The Knife," a song about the murderous Macheath.More
November 11, 1953 Andy Partridge (guitarist, songwriter for XTC) is born in Mtarfa, Malta, but will be raised in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
February 26, 1953 Michael Bolton is born Michael Bolotin in New Haven, Connecticut. Before reaching soft-rock stardom, he fronts a hard-rock band called Blackjack.More
January 19, 1953 Desi Arnaz Jr. is born to Hollywood powercouple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, stars of the wildly popular sitcom I Love Lucy. The birth is a pop culture milestone as the couple's fictional counterparts, Lucy and Ricky, welcome "Little Ricky" at the same time (a smart, but controversial, decision to write Ball's pregnancy into the show). Shortly after, Desi Jr. appears on the very first cover of TV Guide. He goes on to form a band with Dean Martin's son Dean Paul and schoolmate Billy Hinsche (Dino, Desi & Billy).
November 17, 1952 Dean Paul Martin (of Dino, Desi and Billy) is born to Dean Martin and his second wife, Jeanne Biegger.
September 12, 1952 Neil Peart is born near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 1974, he joins Rush, becoming both their drummer and lyricist.
September 9, 1952 Dave Stewart, who forms Eurythmics with Annie Lennox in 1980, is born in Sunderland, England. A relentless collaborator, he co-writes songs for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ("Don't Come Around Here No More"), Celine Dion ("Taking Chances"), Mick Jagger ("Old Habits Die Hard") and many others.
September 4, 1952 Martin Chambers (drummer for The Pretenders) is born in Hereford, England.
July 16, 1952 Stewart Copeland is born in Alexandria, Virginia. He spends his youth in Lebanon and then England. After moving back to the States to attend college, he returns to the UK to play drums for Curved Air and then The Police.
May 31, 1952 Karl Bartos (of Kraftwerk) is born in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
April 11, 1952 Singin' In The Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and newcomer Debbie Reynolds, is released in the US, but barely makes a splash.More
February 12, 1952 Michael McDonald is born outside of St. Louis. As a solo artist, his hits include "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" and "Sweet Freedom," but his voice is also heard on songs he records as a member of The Doobie Brothers and a frequent collaborator with Steely Dan, as well as hundreds of other recordings as a backup singer.
January 30, 1952 Steve Bartek (lead guitarist for Oingo Boingo) is born in Garfield Heights, Ohio.
October 7, 1951 John Mellencamp is born in Seymour, Indiana. He has Spina bifida, but survives thanks to an experimental surgery performed at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.More
September 19, 1951 Record producer/musician Daniel Lanois is born in Hull, Quebec. Produced albums for an array of artists, including Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, and Emmylou Harris, and for bands like U2 (notably The Joshua Tree).
February 4, 1951 Phil Ehart (drummer for Kansas) is born in Coffeyville, Kansas.
January 19, 1951 Martha Davis (lead singer of The Motels) is born in California.
October 20, 1950 Tom Petty is born in Gainesville, Florida, where he forms Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. He fronts the band until his death in 2017 but along the way also releases three solo albums, forms the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and teams with Stevie Nicks on the classic duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."
May 13, 1950 Stevie Wonder is born Stevland Morris in Saginaw, Michigan.More
April 25, 1950 Steve Ferrone (drummer for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Average White Band) is born in Brighton, England.
March 18, 1950 John Hartman (original drummer for The Doobie Brothers) is born in Falls Church, Virginia.
January 21, 1950 Billy Ocean is born Leslie Sebastian Charles in Trinidad and Tobago. At age 10 he moves to London with his family. He first charts in 1976 with "Love Really Hurts Without You," but he really breaks through with "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" in 1984, kicking off a run of hits that includes "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" and "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going."
January 2, 1950 Sam Phillips opens the Memphis Recording Service, which he later renames Sun Studio. Among the artists to record there is Elvis Presley, who gets his start recording with Phillips.
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