Today in Music History for Sept. 9:
In 1825, composer Ludwig van Beethoven made his final public appearance, two years before his death.
In 1920, Canadian pianist, composer and conductor Neil Chotem was born in Saskatoon, Sask. He died Feb. 21, 2008.
In 1920, Canadian classical record producer Eleanor Koldofsky was born in Toronto.
In 1941, Otis Redding, one of soul music's greatest performers, was born in Dawson, Ga. His records were constantly on the R&B charts from 1965 on. But Redding only began to break through to the mass white audience with his appearance at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival. In honour of his appearance there, he and guitarist Steve Cropper wrote "(Sittin' On) The Dock of Bay." Redding never lived to see the record's release. He and four members of his backup band, "The Bar-Kays," were killed on Dec. 10, 1967, when their light plane crashed into a lake in Wisconsin. Shortly after Redding's death, "Dock of the Bay" topped both the pop and R&B charts.
In 1955, Seeburg introduced its Dual Music System Jukebox, the first jukebox equipped to handle 100 singles or extended-play 45s. But unlike other models that were to follow, it could play only one side of the record.
In 1956, Elvis Presley made the first of his three appearances on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" show. He sang "Love Me Tender," ''Hound Dog," ''Don't Be Cruel" and "Ready Teddy." The ratings for Sullivan's show went through the roof to 82.6 per cent of the total viewing audience, about 54 million people. That record stood until 1964 when "The Beatles" appeared on the Sullivan program. Sullivan had begun negotiating Elvis' appearance after his performance on the competing Steve Allen Show had devastated Sullivan in the ratings. Presley was paid $50,000 for his three Sullivan appearances -- more than three times per appearance what Sullivan had previously paid a performer. Presley was shown from the hips up, so his gyrations wouldn't upset Sullivan's family audience.
In 1960, opera singer Jussi Bjoerling died near Stockholm, Sweden.
In 1964, "The Animals," with lead singer Eric Burdon, made their U.S. debut, beginning a 10-night stand at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in New York. Their "House of the Rising Sun" was at the top of the charts at the time.
In 1970, "Hello Dolly," starring Carol Channing, became the longest running musical in the history of Broadway with 2,718 performances. The show had opened at the St. James Theatre on Jan. 16, 1964. It ran for 524 more performances before closing. Its longevity record has since been broken by "Cats" and "A Chorus Line."
In 1973, Todd Rundgren recorded the voices of 1,000 fans in San Francisco for the left track of his song "Sons of 1984." He had recorded over 5,000 fans in New York for the right track.
In 1979, Sid Bernstein, the promoter who brought "The Beatles" to Shea Stadium in New York in 1964, asked them to reunite for three concerts in Cairo, Jerusalem and New York to benefit Cambodian boat people. They declined.
In 1979, singer Cat Stevens married Fouzia Ali, highlighting his conversion to the Muslim religion. Stevens changed his name to Yosef Islam and quit the music business. He gradually resumed his musical career in the 1990s. He released a new pop album "Roadsinger" in May 2009.
In 1979, British conductor-composer-arranger Norrie Paramor died at age 65. As A&R manager for EMI Columbia, Paramor guided the careers of Cliff Richard, "The Shadows" and Frank Ifield, among others.
In 1982, singers Al Green and Patti LaBelle made their Broadway debuts in the gospel-inspired stage musical "Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God."
In 1987, "Pink Floyd" opened its world tour in Ottawa. It was the group's first public performance in five years, and the first since Roger Waters' bitter departure from the band in late 1986. "Pink Floyd's" music received mixed reviews but most critics agreed the show was spectacular.
In 1993, Helen O'Connell, one of the most popular female singers during the height of "The Swing Era," died in San Diego, Calif., of cancer at age 73. Her singing career took off in 1939 when she and Bob Eberly recorded "Green Eyes" with The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
In 1994, South Korea banned the R&B group "All-4-One" from performing in Seoul. Officials said they were tired of foreign performers influencing their culture. The government also cited concerns that security for the concert wasn't tight enough.
In 1994, punk band "Green Day" was forced to flee when some of the 50,000 fans at a free concert in Boston rushed the stage.
In 1995, "Help," a charity album recorded by some of Britain's top groups to aid young Bosnian war victims, went on sale in the U.K. It shot to the top of the British charts in one day, raised $3 million in four days and became Britain's fastest-selling disc ever. Included were performances by "Blur," "Oasis" and "Stone Roses," and a remake of "The Beatles'" "Come Together" by Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher of "Oasis" and ex-"Jam" singer Paul Weller.
In 1996, Bill Monroe, known as "The Father of Bluegrass," died in Nashville at age 84. He had suffered a stroke earlier in the year. Monroe blended elements of blues, jazz, gospel, country and Celtic folk music into a uniquely American hybrid that came to be known as bluegrass. The style was named after Monroe's band, "The Blue Grass Boys." His best-known song was "Blue Moon of Kentucky," which he wrote in 1946.
In 2007, Britney Spears performed her new single "Gimme More" in a much-criticized comeback attempt at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.
In 2008, Daniel Sullivan was charged with assault after he attacked "Oasis" rocker Noel Gallagher on stage at a music festival in Toronto. While performing, Gallagher was pushed from behind causing him to fall onto his speakers and break three ribs. The charge was upgraded to aggravated assault in January 2009. On April 21, 2010, Sullivan was sentenced to 12 months house arrest.
In 2009, "Haven’t Met You Yet," the self-penned single from Canadian crooner Michael Buble, became the first track ever to debut at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary (AC) radio charts in the 13-year history of BDS Canada.
In 2009, "The Beatles: Rock Band," with 45 songs and the capacity for players to sing three-part harmony, went on sale. Also, "The Beatles" remastered music catalogue was released in a "Stereo Box Set" and "Mono Box Set." It marked the first time that the first four Beatles albums were available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc.
In 2009, singer Whitney Houston made a triumphant return when her album, "I Look To You," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, selling just over 300,000 copies. She was also No. 1 in Canada, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
In 2009, the Country Music Association nominations were announced and Taylor Swift was nominated for Entertainer of the Year, the show's highest honour. At 19, she became the youngest artist in history to be nominated for the prestigious award, which she ended up winning.
In 2009, TV reality star Nicole Richie and Joel Madden of "Good Charlotte" welcomed their second child, son Sparrow James Midnight Madden.
In 2010, Ryan Bingham won the Americana Music Association's top honour, Artist of the Year, and also took Song of the Year for "The Weary Kind," the theme to the movie "Crazy Heart," for which he won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Original Song earlier in the year.
In 2012, Dean Brody won Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "Dirt" at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards. Carolyn Dawn Johnson was named Female Artist of the Year for the fifth time. Johnny Reid won the Fans' Choice Award for the fourth year in a row. Taylor Swift received the first-ever CCMA Generation Award, created to celebrate artists who have been propelled beyond the borders of the country music genre onto an international stage.
In 2014, renowned Irish rock band U2 closed out an Apple new product showcase in Cupertino, Calif., and then announced that their new album, "Songs of Innocence," was free for everyone with an iTunes account and it was automatically downloaded to every Apple device through iCloud. After public backlash, calling it an invasion of privacy, Apple released a special tool that let people remove it.
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The Canadian Press