Today in Music History for Jan. 11:
In 1848, Edward Fisher, founder of the Toronto Conservatory of Music, was born in Jamaica, Vt. He directed the conservatory from its opening in 1887 until his death in 1913. In 1947, the institution became known as the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.
In 1911, Tommy Duncan, for many years the vocalist with Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing, was born in Texas. His bluesy baritone was featured on Wills' 1940 million-seller "New San Antonio Rose." He died on July 25, 1967.
In 1924, blues singer and songwriter Slim Harpo (born James Moore) was born. Harpo is best known for his 1961 hit "Rainin' In My Heart." He also composed "I'm a King Bee," a tune favoured by "The Rolling Stones" early in their career. He died on Jan. 31, 1970 of a heart attack in Baton Rouge, La.
In 1936, Bill Reed, who sang the bass part in the Canadian doo-wop group "The Diamonds," was born in Toronto. "The Diamonds" rose to prominence in the 1950s and early '60s performing mostly cover versions. Their first hit was "Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers'" "Why Do Fools Fall in Love." In 1957, their version of "The Gladiolas'" "Little Darlin'" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "The Stroll," an original written by Brook Benton, reached number four. Reed died in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Oct. 22, 2004.
In 1954, Oscar Strauss, one of the last of the great Viennese waltz composers, died at the age of 83, at Bad Ischl.
In 1964, the famed Whisky A Go-Go nightclub opened on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. The combination discotheque and concert venue quickly became the favoured hangout for L.A.'s hip set. It was famed for its go-go girls who both danced and acted as DJ's and for its house band, led by Johnny Rivers. The club also spotlighted the hottest acts from the U.S. and Britain, among them "The Byrds," Jimi Hendrix, "The Who" and "Led Zeppelin."
In 1969, Jethro Tull's debut album, "This Was," was released.
In 1971, Grammy Award-winning singer Mary J. Blige was born in the Bronx, N.Y. She dropped out of high school while living in project housing with her mother and older sister. Blige signed with Uptown Records after her step-father submitted a karaoke recording of her to studio executives. In 1993, under the wing of rap empresario Sean (Puffy) Combs, Blige recorded "What's The 411." The album melded R&B with edgy rap that drew on her ghetto roots. Blige had subsequent hits including "Love is All We Need" and "No More Drama."
In 1974, country storyteller Tom. T. Hall topped the country singles charts with "I Love." His other No. 1 songs that year included "That Song is Driving Me Crazy" and "Country Is."
In 1980, "The Pretenders'" self-titled debut LP was released in North America.
In 1984, Michael Jackson was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards. At the time, his "Thriller" LP was becoming the best-selling album of all time. Jackson went on to win eight Grammys.
In 1984, the album "Thriller" by Michael Jackson became the all-time bestselling LP. "Thriller," with 10 million copies sold in the U.S., surpassed the previous best-seller, the soundtrack from "Saturday Night Fever."
In 1987, rock band "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" opened their final tour in Manchester, England. Their second LP sold only 60,000 copies compared with one million for the first one, which contained the hit single "Relax."
In 1990, contemporary Christian singer Sandi Patti had a baby girl, her fourth child.
In 1992, Paul Simon became the first major international star to perform in South Africa following the end of the United Nations' cultural boycott, opening a concert tour in Johannesburg. The crowd was estimated at 30,000-40,000, much smaller than the 60,000 promoters had predicted. No more than five per cent of the audience was black, partly because radical black groups had threatened violence. Simon's tour had the backing of South Africa's leading black political group, the African National Congress.
In 1993, members of "Bell Biv Devoe" and "Whodini" accused New York police of pulling them from their car and beating them -- then leaving them lying on the ground. The two groups had just finished shooting a video with "Run-D.M.C." when they were stopped.
In 1993, "Jackyl" singer Jesse James Dupree was arrested for mooning an audience in Cincinnati. The band was touring with "Damn Yankees," who also had some trouble. The next day, "Damn Yankees'" guitarist Ted Nugent shot a flaming arrow, which was a violation of Cincinnati's fire code. Dupree was released on bond. Nugent paid a fine.
In 2000, authorities at an airport in Hawaii say they found a half-ounce of marijuana in Whitney Houston's bag. She caught her flight before she could be arrested.
In 2000, Gary Glitter was freed from prison after serving half of a four-month sentence for downloading pornographic pictures of children.
In 2009, Bruce Springsteen won a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song for the title track to movie "The Wrestler."
In 2009, Bono's first op-ed column for the New York Times explored the pros and cons of Frank Sinatra's voice. The "U2" frontman wrote that Sinatra had "the least sentimental voice in the history of pop music." Bono argued that Sinatra's strength was his ability to convey more than one emotion in different versions of the same song. He said Sinatra's version of "My Way" from 1969 is "more kiss-off than send-off," but his later version was "a heart-stopping, heartbreaking song of defeat."
In 2011, country music star Shania Twain was announced as the 2011 inductee to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. (She was honoured during the Juno Awards telecast in Toronto on March 27.)
In 2012, absentee singer-actress Katy Perry, who was keeping a low profile in the midst of divorcing comedian Russell Brand, won five categories at the People's Choice Awards, including Favourite Female Artist, Tour Headliner, Song of the Year for "E.T." with Kanye West, Music Video for "Last Friday Night" and TV Guest Star for "How I Met Your Mother."
In 2012, not even a week old, Blue Ivy Carter, the first child born to pop diva Beyonce and rap legend Jay-Z, made history as the youngest person ever credited with appearing on a Billboard chart. Jay-Z's new single, "Glory" (featuring B.I.C.), samples her cooing in her first moments of life, debuted at No. 74 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He released the song on Jan. 9, two days after her birth, and it immediately became a viral sensation.
In 2013, pop singer Britney Spears confirmed she was leaving Fox TV's "The X Factor" after one season as a judge, in which the show's ratings fell and Spears received lacklustre reviews.
In 2016, Canadian mega-pop star Justin Bieber's "Sorry" finally took over top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, ending Adele's 10-week run with "Hello." Both debuted on the chart on Nov. 14 and "Sorry" was No. 2 for seven consecutive weeks and eight in total, tying a record for most weeks at No. 2 before hitting No. 1. (OutKast's "The Way You Move" was stuck at No. 2 for eight weeks in 2003 and 2004 before taking over the top spot from their other song, "Hey Ya.")
In 2022, Manitoban First Nations musician Vince Fontaine died. The family said Fontaine died after having a heart attack at the age of 62. Fontaine co-founded the roots-rock group Eagle & Hawk in 1995. Bandmate Jay Bodner said some of his favourite memories with Fontaine include touring in Europe at the start of the band's career where they saw much success.
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The Canadian Press