Elvis Presley appears live on television, The Beatles dominate the Billboard charts, Ray Charles gets married and more This Week In Music History.
April 2, 1928 - French singer-songwriter, actor and director Serge Gainsbourg was born on this day. His 1969 duet with his lover Jane Birkin, ‘Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus‘, went to No. 1 on the UK charts.
April 3, 1956 - Elvis Presley appeared live on ABC’s The Milton Berle Show from the deck of the USS Hancock that was docked in San Diego. Elvis performed three songs including ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ The performances were live in front of an audience of US Marines.
April 4, 1964 – The Beatles held fourteen positions on the Billboard Singles chart including the all top five positions.
April 5 1955 -Ray Charles married his second wife Della Beatrice Howard Robinson; the couple had three children and divorced in 1977.
April 6, 2004 – Original member of The Crickets, Niki Sullivan, died of a heart attack in his home at the age of 66. Sullivan co-wrote a number of songs with Buddy Holly and played guitar and sang backing vocals.
March 8th is International Women’s Day and we wanted to celebrate it with some of our favourite Canadian songbirds. Here are ten greats that came to mind. Who would you add to your list?
Diana Krall
What’s New: Diana Krall is currently on tour in the states. She is also featured on Paul McCartney’s brand new album Kisses on the Bottom
The Song: ‘The Look Of Love’ – The title track off her best-selling album.
Buffy Sainte-Marie
What’s New: This spring she will receive an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia along with ten others for their “substantial contributions to society at provincial, national or international levels.”
What’s New: Rita MacNeil will perform in her province of Nova Scotia later this month.
The Song: ‘Flying On Your Own’ – It was MacNeil’s first song to find its way on the Canadian Charts.
Susan Jacks
What’s New: Susan Jacks is still an active solo performer and will be kicking off a Canadian tour in March.
The Song: ‘Which Way You Goin’ Billy?‘ was the title track off of The Poppy Family’s first release. The song went to No. 1 in Canada.
k.d. lang
What’s New: k.d. lang and Joe Pisapia have been nominated for a JUNO (Producer of the Year) for her album Sing It Loud.
The Song: ‘Hallelujah’ – A Canadian classic by the great Leonard Cohen, k.d.’s version is absolutely stunning.
Sylvia Tyson
What’s New: Sylvia Tyson released a novel and an album that accompanied it in 2011. Both the novel and album are called Joyner’s Dream and follow the tale of a family and “its dubious legacy.”
The Song: ‘You Were On My Mind‘ – Written by Sylvia Tyson in 1964. She performed it with then husband Ian Tyson in the duo Ian & Sylvia.
Jann Arden
What’s New: Jann Arden has had a busy year. In November 2011 she released her memoir Falling Backwards as well as her newest album Uncover Me 2. In between tour dates she uncovered herself for Zoomer Magazine’s April Issue.
The Song: ‘Could I Be Your Girl‘ – Arden took home the JUNO for single of the year in 1994 with this song.
Celine Dion
What’s New: Celine Dion is currently on hiatus from her scheduled performance dates at Caesar’s Palace. According to her website, she will return to performing after her vocal rest in June.
The Song: ‘The Power Of Love‘ – It was the second Jennifer Rush song that Dion had covered and it became and international hit.
Anne Murray
What’s New: Anne Murray’s autobiography All of Me is now available as an audio book.
The Song: ‘Snowbird‘ – What song could be more appropriate for a list of Canadian Songbirds?
Joni Mitchell
What’s New: Joni Mitchell will be preforming at the Lantern Theatre in London in March.
The Song: ‘Big Yellow Taxi‘ – It was Mitchell’s first song on the charts and has become an anthem for many lovers of the environment.
The Beatles begin filming Help!, Elvis goes to No. 1 in the UK and The Byrds play their last live show This Week In Music History.
February 20, 1941- Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie was born on this day. Her version of ‘Mister Can’t You See‘ went to No. 21 on the Canadian charts in 1972.
“Otis was one of those kind of guys who had 100 ideas. Anytime he came in to record he always had 10 or 15 different intros or titles, or whatever. He had been at San Francisco playing The Fillmore, and he was staying at a boathouse, which is where he got the idea of the ship coming in. That’s about all he had: “I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.” I took that and finished the lyrics. If you listen to the songs I wrote with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. He didn’t usually write about himself, but I did. “Mr. Pitiful,” “Sad Song (Fa-Fa)“; they were about Otis’ life. “Dock Of The Bay” was exactly that: “I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay” was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.”
February 23 1965 - The Beatles began shooting their second film on location in the Bahamas with the working title of Eight Arms To Hold You (it would eventually be called Help!). In The Beatles Anthology Paul McCartney discusses how silly and stoned they were while filming:
“We showed up a bit stoned, smiled a lot and hoped we’d get through it. We giggled a lot. I remember one time at Cliveden (Lord Astor’s place, where the Christine Keeler/Profumo scandal went on); we were filming the Buckingham Palace scene where we were all supposed to have our hands up. It was after lunch, which was fatal because someone might have brought out a glass of wine as well. We were all a bit merry and all had our backs to the camera and the giggles set in. All we had to do was turn around and look amazed, or something. But every time we’d turn round to the camera there were tears streaming down our faces. It’s OK to get the giggles anywhere else but in films, because the technicians get pissed off with you. They think, ‘They’re not very professional.’ Then you start thinking, ‘This isn’t very professional – but we’re having a great laugh.’”
February 24 1973 – The Byrds made their final live appearance at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. The lineup that night consisted of Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Clarence White and Joe Lala. Hillman and Lala that had just recently finished a tour with Manassas. The group was under-rehearsed and after the February 24 concert, McGuinn cancelled all remaining tour dates.
Elvis celebrates his first gold record, The Who play Live At Leeds and Peter Gabriel celebrates his birthday This Week In Music History.
February 13 1950 – Singer, songwriter Peter Gabrielwas born on this day. He released his latest album New Blood in the fall of 2011. Gabriel has been doing monthly “Full Moon” video updates for his fans.
February 14 1970 – The Who appeared at Leeds University, England. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming Live At Leeds album. The University of Leeds refectory, has now been named a national landmark in the UK, commemorated with a blue plaque.
February 15 1965 - American singer and pianist Nat King Cole died of lung cancer. In a profile of the late Cole, Louie Robinson describes him as “an excellent jazz pianist, a master balladeer, a radio television and motion picture star, a slick showman, husband, father and baseball devotee. It was a full life for any man whose span on earth numbered a mere 45 years.” He later looks at the legend of where the middle name of King came from:
“Legend persists that a night club patron planted a crown atop the piano player’s head one evening and dubbed him King Cole, But the entertainer once confided to a friend that the incident never happened. “But it sounds good, so I just let it ride,” Nat told him.”
February 16 1932 – American songwriter and producer Otis Blackwell was born on this day. Some of his best known songs are ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Return To Sender’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’ and ‘Fever’ – to name a few. While Blackwell wrote some massive hits for other artists, his own records never cracked the Top 40.
February 17 1960 – Elvis Presley’salbum Elvis was certified gold. It was the King’s first gold record. The album was released in at the end of January and spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. Otis Blackwell wrote ‘Paralyzed’ with Elvis.
Love: Elvis may have sang about it, but was he ever able to hold onto it? He was idolized by millions of women the world over and yet was never able to have a meaningful, long-term relationship. He dated prolifically, he married, and throughout his life women relentlessly threw themselves at him. The documentary Elvis in Love gives fans the chance to meet the women lucky enough to get close to the man.
Barbara Hearn, Elvis' high school sweetheart
Director Scott Dobson is no stranger to the subject, having worked on the three-part series The Church of Elvis. In Elvis in Love Dobson interviews a number of women who had relationships with Elvis including his high school sweetheart Barbara Hearn. In addition to the women in Elvis’ life, Dobson interviews a number of Elvis experts including Allana Nash and Roy Turner.
Elvis in Love airs on Wednesday February 8 at 10pm EST on VisionTV.
Graham Nash celebrates his birthday, The Beatles play their final performance on top of the Apple Building and The Day the Music Died, This Week In Music History.
January 30 1969 - The Beatles gave their final live performance atop the Apple Building in London. The performance would later become the climax of their Let It Be film.
January 31, 1987 – Paul Simon went back to No. 1 on the UK album chart with Graceland, the album stayed on the chart for 108 weeks. ‘
February 1, 1968 – The “Princess of Rock and Roll” Lisa Marie Presleywas born on this day. The daughter of Elvis and Pricilla Presley, Lisa Marie released her debut album To Whom It May Concern in 2003. In The Ghetto’ was recorded to mark the 30th anniversary of her father’s death.
February 2 1942 – Musician Graham Nash was born on this day. Nash was a member of The Hollies and Crosby Stills Nash & Young.He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on his 68th birthday in honour of his his service to music and charity.
Elvis records ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, Keith Richards pays a fine for drug possession and Chubby Checker takes ‘The Twist’ to No. 1 This Week In Music History.
January 9th, 1955 – Rosemary Clooneywas at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Mambo Italiano.’ The song was banned from ABC stations because it did not meet the network’s “standards for good taste.”
January 10th, 1956 – Two days after his twenty-first birthday Elvis Presley made his first recordings for RCA Records at The Methodist television, radio & TV Studios in Nashville. One of the songs recorded that day was ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’ Steve Sholes, RCA’s head of Country & Western wasn’t so sure about the track, feeling that it was too gloomy and not the sound that RCA had been hoping to get from Elvis. Elvis was adamant that it would be his first single and he eventually got his way.
/>
January 11th, 1942 – Saxophonist Clarence Clemons was born on this day. “The Big Man” is best known for playing with Bruce Springsteen in The E Street Band. Clemons suffered a stroke in June 2011 and died from complications. His eulogy was given by his long time bandmate and close friend, Bruce Springsteen.
“So, I’ll miss my friend, his sax, the force of nature his sound was, his glory, his foolishness, his accomplishments, his face, his hands, his humor, his skin, his noise, his confusion, his power, his peace. But his love and his story, the story that he gave me, that he whispered in my ear, that he allowed me to tell… and that he gave to you… is gonna carry on.” -Bruce Springsteen
January 12th, 1977 -Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones was fined £750 for possession of cocaine found in his car after the guitarist had been involved in a car crash. The trial took place just over a month before his infamous run in with Mounties in Toronto that led to charges of Heroin possession and trafficking.
January 13th, 1962 -Chubby Checker went back to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Twist.’ The song first went to No.1 in September 1960. ‘The Twist’ came back into fashion in 1962 when an adult audience became interested in the dance. One of the major draws was celebrity appeal:
“Society columnist “Cholly Knickerbocker” mentioned that Prince Serge Obolensky was seen dancing the twist at Manhattan’s Peppermint Lounge, and suddenly it was a worldwide sensation; drawing the elite to discotheques to twist the night away.”
Behind the Waves is a new feature on the AM740 website that takes listeners behind the scenes to see how their favourite programs are made. In this first instalment we look at how Vintage Favourites makes its way to the airwaves.
The Program:
Vintage Favouritescan be heard every Sunday from 2-4pm on AM740. It has been on the air since 2007 and will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this March.
The Host:
Gene Stevens has been working in radio for over four decades. He was AM740’s program director from 2001 – 2011. Currently he hosts Vintage Favourites and produces Mike Filey’s Toronto.
Format:
Each week Gene chooses a specific theme from the Vintage Era of music (roughly the 1920s thru to the 1960s). Themes may include birthdays or anniversaries. Some upcoming programs include the celebration of Elvis Presley’s birthday and a look at The Beach Boys and their 50th anniversary this year.
Pre-Production:
After a topic is chosen, Gene delves further into the story by researching the topic using a variety of publications, books and online resources. He creates a story arc for the two hour program and starts looking for “the best songs to support [this] idea.” The songs are then assembled into a sequence that helps the story flow; this may be chronological or it may follow another pattern. Mini scripts are written to guide the talking breaks between songs. For each hour of programming Gene plays between 10-12 songs with 5 sets of narration. After the program has been mapped out, Gene sends the schedule with all of the songs to be used to Brian Peroff, the music director. Brian creates the program log on the station’s computer system (the log after it’s been entered is shown in the next image).
Production:
While the show airs on Sunday afternoons, Gene pre-records the program during the week in one of the production studios shared with our sister station, Classical 96.3FM. With all of the songs lined up, the last step is to record the speaking segments. Gene spends roughly an hour in the studio recording and listening back to these segments to ensure that they work both for time restrictions and most importantly, tell the story. After all of the segments have been recorded the show is ready to go to air. On Sunday the On-Air computer plays all of the elements in the order that they were programmed.
The Carpenters go to No. 1, Elvis plays Vegas, Berry Gordy and Dick Clark celebrate their birthdays and more in This Week In Music History.
November 28, 1929 – Motown Records founder Berry Gordy (82) was born in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to record producing, Gordy was a professional prize fighter but his career was cut short when he was drafted into the Korean War. In 1957, he discovered The Miracles. A few years later, sick of leasing his songs to other record companies, he borrowed $800 and founded Tamala Records and Gordy Records that would later become Motown Records.
November 29, 1963 – The Beatles‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ was released in the UK. The single made history by seeling over a million advance order copies. Based on the singles success in the UK, EMI and Brian Epstein convinced Capitol records to release the single in the United States. It went on to be the Fab Four’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
December 1, 1973 – The Carpenters went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Top Of The World’. John Bettis, who co-wrote the song with Richard Carpenter, was inspired by traveling between gigs on The Carpenter’s Lear Jets (Carpenter 1 and Carpenter 2). Bettis considered the song to be “the best rhyme scheme [he] ever executed with the Carpenters.”
December 2, 1976 – Elvis Presley played the first of an 11 night run at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. He closed his set with his 1961 hit “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” This run of shows would be his last performances at the Hilton.
October 31, 1954: Vera Lynn was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘My Son, My Son.’
November 1, 1969: Elvis Presley went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Suspicious Minds’, his 18th US No.1 single.
November 2, 1967: The Beatles completed recording their next single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at Abbey Road studios with a second Paul McCartney bass line.
November 3, 1973: David Bowie scored his second UK No.1 album when ‘Pinups’ started a five-week run at the top of the charts. The set contained Bowie covering his favourite 60’s songs; his version of The Mersey’s ‘Sorrow’ made No.3 on the UK singles chart.
November 4, 1966: The Beach Boys‘ ‘Good Vibrations’ entered the UK chart, going on to be a UK & US No.1 hit single.
November 5, 1966: The Monkees were top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, the group’s first No. 1. It was later revealed that due to filming commitments on their TV series, none of the group had played on this or most of the group’s early recordings.
November 6, 1965: The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’, the group’s second US No.1.
/>
Loading ...
