Today in Music History for Sept. 18:
In 1939, former teen idol Frankie Avalon was born Francis Avallone in Philadelphia. Avalon was one of several manufactured teen heart-throbs to come out of Philly in the late 1950s. All were helped immeasurably by their exposure on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." His "Venus" was a No. 1 record in 1959 and "Why" topped the charts the following year. He also appeared in the "Beach Party" movies with Annette Funicello, and such other schlock classics as "Disc Jockey Jamboree," "Guns of the Timberland" and "Ski Party." Avalon later toured frequently as a nostalgia act and appeared with Funicello in 1987's "Back to the Beach" movie.
In 1949, Montreal-born jazz pianist Oscar Peterson made a sensational debut at New York's Carnegie Hall. Peterson had been planted in the audience by Norman Granz, the producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic. Midway through the concert, Granz invited Peterson on stage as a surprise guest. Granz became Peterson's manager, an association that was to last 30 years.
In 1960, Frankie Avalon received $600,000 for the money that he earned before he became of age.
In 1969, Tiny Tim announced his engagement to Vicki Budinger at the New Jersey State Fair. The falsetto-voiced singer said he was so moved, he shed a tear and put it into an envelope that he kept in his ukelele. The wedding took place live on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show." The couple had a daughter, but divorced a few years later.
In 1970, Jimi Hendrix, rock music's most innovative guitarist in the late 1960s, was found dead in a London apartment at age 27. He had left the message "I need help bad, man" on his manager Chas Chandler's answering machine. The coroner said Hendrix choked on his own vomit after barbituate intoxication. A month earlier, Hendrix had performed his last concert at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival. The Seattle native first gained fame in Britain in early 1967, when "Hey Joe" by "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" reached No. 6 on the British chart.
In 1971, "Pink Floyd" became the first rock group to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. They performed "Atom Heart Mother," which had been released as an album the previous year.
In 1975, Canadian old-time fiddler Andy DeJarlis died in St. Boniface, Man., at age 60. He became one of the most popular entertainers in the Prairie provinces in the 1930s and '40s. Beginning in 1959, he recorded more than 25 albums for the London label. He's particularly remembered for his waltz tunes, such as "Manitoba Waltz," which won an award from BMI Canada in 1967.
In 1976, "Play That Funky Music" by "Wild Cherry" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 1981, British rocker Gary Numan set out from London to fly his single-engine plane around the world. He was later forced to land over an Indian military installation and was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Numan was released after a short time.
In 1983, "KISS" appeared without make-up for the first time, on MTV.
In 1993, screaming Orthodox Jewish protesters in Jerusalem prevented Michael Jackson from approaching the ancient Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. The demonstrators were upset that Jackson's visit was causing such a commotion on the Jewish Sabbath, a day when all work, including the use of cameras, is prohibited. The singer's appearance caused a mob scene by fans and photographers in the normally sedate square next to the wall.
In 1995, Shania Twain won in five of the seven categories in which she was nominated at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Hamilton. The Timmins, Ont., singer took the honours for Female Vocalist of the Year, as well as Best Single and Video for "Any Man of Mine" and Album of the Year for "The Woman in Me." Twain and her producer-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange won for Song of the Year -- "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under."
In 1996, John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for the 1967 "Beatles" song "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" fetched $103,500 at an auction in London. The song was on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.
In 1996, Tupac Shakur's video "I Ain't Mad," which depicted the rapper being shot as he left a nightclub, premiered on MTV five days after he died of gunshot wounds in a Las Vegas hospital. The video was made about a month before Shakur was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip.
In 1997, blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon died in Los Angeles at age 74. His first single, "Ain't Nobody's Business," reached No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1949.
In 1997, "The Rolling Stones" played a small Chicago club as a prelude to their "Bridges to Babylon" world tour. Those who were lucky enough to get into the "Double Door" paid just $7.
In 1998, singer Charlie Foxx, best known for duetting with his sister Inez on the 1963 top-10 hit "Mockingbird," died of leukemia in Mobile, Ala. He was 64. "Mockingbird" was revived in 1974 by James Taylor and Carly Simon.
In 2002, "Bon Jovi" performed at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. The concert was broadcast live to 20 cinemas around Europe and to more than 375,000 via the Internet.
In 2004, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were married. The legal documents though were not signed until October. They separated in November 2006. Federline was granted sole custody of their two children in July 2008 after Britney's life publicly spiralled out of control with stints in rehab and questionable parenting skills.
In 2009, 75-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen collapsed onstage while on tour in Valencia, Spain. He was part-way through his "Bird on the Wire" song when he fainted, causing the band to stop playing to rush to his aid as concert-goers watched. The concert was stopped. He was released from hospital a few days later after suffering from a stomach complaint.
In 2009, 1,500 fans who bought a ticket for Lucinda Williams’ concert in Minneapolis wound up at her wedding. Between her 90-minute concert and her encore, Williams was married on stage to her manager, Tom Overby.
In 2017, Lido Pimienta's Spanish-language album "La Papessa" won the $50,000 Polaris prize for the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit.
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The Canadian Press