Today in Music History for Dec. 16:
In 1770, German composer Ludvig Van Beethoven was born in Bonn. Universally recognized as one of the greatest composers ever, Beethoven's work crowned the classical period and also marked the start of the romantic era in music. Beethoven expanded the classical sonata and symphony, and his influence on the composers who followed was immense. His deafness began when he was about 30 and was total by his late 40s. While his affliction did not hamper his creativity, Beethoven never heard much of his later work. He died, after a long illness, in 1827 -- in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. It is said that the dying Beethoven shook his fist defiantly at the heavens.
In 1786, German chorister Konrad Kocher was born. He was the composer of the tune "For the Beauty of the Earth" and helped popularize four-part singing in churches.
In 1825, Beethoven presented Quebec music teacher Theodore Frederic Molt with a work ("Freu Dich des Lebens") composed especially for him. The original manuscript of this work was acquired by the National Library of Canada in 1979. Molt wrote several of the earliest musical instruction books published in Canada, including the first bilingual one.
In 1899, performer-songwriter-playwright Noel Coward was born in London. Probably England's greatest songwriter, his career spanned half a century. Coward's most famous songs include "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," "I'll See You Again," "Mad About the Boy" and "Someday I'll Find You." His best music was captured in a 1972 New York revue called "Oh, Coward." Rock singer Joe Cocker's 1970 concert film "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" takes its name from the Coward song. Coward died at his home in Jamaica in 1973.
In 1948, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Walter Kaufmann, made its debut at the Winnipeg Auditorium. Two of the conductor's compositions were included in the program.
In 1966, "Hey Joe," the first single by "The Jimi Hendrix Experience," was released in Britain. It reached No. 6 on the British chart early the following year.
In 1970, five singles and five albums by "Creedence Clearwater Revival" were certified gold in the U.S. The songs were "Travelin' Band," "Up Around the Bend," "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Down on the Corner" and "Bad Moon Rising."
In 1973, singer Jermaine Jackson married Hazel Gordy, the daughter of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. They divorced in 1988.
In 1974, Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson left "Mott the Hoople," spelling the end of the successful glitter-rock band. Hunter and Ronson formed a group that played one disastrous tour to half-empty halls before breaking up.
In 1975, "The Bay City Rollers" got their first U.S. gold record for the song "Saturday Night."
In 1977, the "Bee Gees" were awarded a gold record for "How Deep is Your Love."
In 1977, “Saturday Night Fever,” the movie that captured the essence of the disco era, opened in theatres in the U.S. and Canada. The movie was a huge hit and made John Travolta a major star. Music, of course, played a large role in "Saturday Night Fever," and the hit soundtrack album helped revive the career of the "Bee Gees."
In 1988, Sylvester, the homosexual disco entertainer, died in San Francisco of complications from AIDS. He was 42. Sylvester's soulful, glittery performance style influenced future stars like Bette Midler and "The Pointer Sisters." His "Dance (Disco Heart)" sold a million copies in 1978.
In 1991, a judge in Seattle ruled that Janis Joplin's heirs did not have exclusive rights to her "voice, delivery, mannerisms, appearance and dress." The ruling was a victory for the creators of "Janis," a two-act play based on the life of the singer, who died of a heroin overdose in 1970.
In 1991, Chubby Checker launched a $17-million lawsuit against McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, its ad agency and two music production firms. Checker claimed a commercial promoting McDonald's "McTwist" fries unlawfully imitated his 1960 hit recording of "The Twist." But the ad agency said the TV spots imitated Hank Ballard's original 1958 recording of "The Twist," and that Ballard had been paid for use of his song.
In 1991, a judge in New York said rapper Biz Markie stole a segment from Gilbert O'Sullivan's 1972 hit "Alone Again (Naturally)." The judge barred sales of "I Need a Haircut," Markie's album containing the segment, and ordered the return of unsold copies.
In 1997, singer-songwriter Nicolette Larson died in a Los Angeles hospital of an accumulation of fluid on the brain. She was 45. Larson was best known for her version of Toronto-native Neil Young's "Lotta Love," which was a top-10 hit in 1979.
In 2001, Stuart Adamson, the lead singer for the Scottish rock band "Big Country," was found dead in a Honolulu hotel room. He was 43. He had been missing from his Nashville home for about a month. Marital problems were blamed for his suicide.
In 2007, singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg died after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 56. The singer-songwriter, whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne," helped define the soft-rock era.
In 2008, CTV announced it was "resting" "Canadian Idol" for the 2009 season. (No further announcements have been made regarding its return.)
In 2010, country music superstar Garth Brooks kicked off a string of nine sold-out Tennessee flood relief benefit concerts in Nashville, where he raised over $3.5 million.
In 2013, Ray Price, a towering traditional country singer who was one of the last living connections to Hank Williams, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 87. He was one of the most influential figures in country music in the 1960s and '70s, helping define the genre's honky-tonk sound early in his career, then taking it in a more polished direction later. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
In 2014, punk trio Green Day, poet of the New York underground Lou Reed and "Lean on Me" singer Bill Withers were among the newest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also named for induction were Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Ringo Starr, the fourth ex-Beatle enshrined as an individual. Besides Reed, the class included other posthumous inductees Paul Butterfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
In 2014, country rocker Craig Wayne Boyd, from country star Blake Shelton's team, was named the winner of NBC's singing competition, "The Voice." Boyd won a record deal and the $100,000 grand prize.
In 2017, Keely Smith, a pop and jazz singer known for her solo recordings of jazz standards as well as her musical partnership with Louis Prima, died at age 89. Smith got her first paying job singing with the Earl Bennett band when she was just 15. She later auditioned to sing with Louis Prima's band, and began touring with them in 1948. She and Prima married in 1953, and together they won a Grammy for their hit, "That Old Black Magic" in 1959.
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The Canadian Press