Today in Music History for Aug. 30:
In 1919, "The Queen of Country Music" Kitty Wells was born Ellen Muriel Deason in Nashville. She took her stage name from an old folk song, "Sweet Kitty Wells." She was THE pioneer, the first female singer with enough spunk and fire to get noticed in the male-dominated world of country music. In 1952, she scored the first country No. 1 hit by a solo female artist with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Her solo recording career lasted from 1952 to the late 1970s, with approximately 50 albums and 25 top-10 country hits. She made concert tours from the late 1930s until 2000, when she announced she was quitting the road, although she performed occasionally in Nashville and elsewhere afterward. After her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976, she also received the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music in 1985 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 1991. She died July 16, 2012, after complications from a stroke.
In 1935, John Phillips, the founder of "The Mamas and the Papas," was born in Parris Island, S.C. The group was first called "The New Journeymen," and Phillips took them to a Caribbean island to rehearse. The quartet, then called "The Mamas and Papas," relocated to California in 1965, and began recording for producer Lou Adler's new Dunhill label. Among the top-five hits for the group in 1966 and '67 were "California Dreamin'," "Monday, Monday" and "Dedicated to the One I Love." They broke up in 1968, reunited briefly in 1970, then reformed with a new lineup in 1982. John Phillips died of heart failure in Los Angeles on March 18, 2001.
In 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged the "One to One" concert at Madison Square Garden in New York to benefit children with mental disabilities. The couple was backed by a new group, "Elephant's Memory." The event was Lennon's last full-scale concert, although he did appear with Elton John at Madison Square Garden two years later. The "One to One" concert was the basis for the live Lennon LP and video released in 1986.
In 1973, "Rolling Stone" magazine reported that the post-Jim Morrison version of "The Doors" had broken up after releasing two LPs. Morrison died in Paris two years earlier.
In 1979, bass guitarist Dave Pegg, formerly of "Fairport Convention," joined "Jethro Tull."
In 1986, Motown Records head Berry Gordy Jr. and "the Four Tops" were among the guests at a Los Angeles club for a 30th anniversary party for "The Temptations."
In 1988, Michael Jackson's manager announced the pop star would quit live performances at the end of his "Bad" world tour. Frank Dileo said Jackson was exhausted by the 15-month tour and wanted to devote his time to making films. Jackson returned to the concert stage a few years later. He was only weeks away from another comeback with a 50-show set in London when he died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009.
In 1988, actress-model Julianne Phillips filed for divorce from singer Bruce Springsteen, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 1991, country singer Lynn Anderson was sentenced to two days in jail for contempt of court. She was accused of cursing her two children during a court-approved visit. Anderson's ex-husband, Harold Stream, had been awarded custody of the couple's 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
In 1993, Michael Jackson postponed a concert in Singapore, citing ill health. It was his third such postponement in a week, coming amidst allegations in Los Angeles that he had sexually abused a 13-year-old boy. Jackson denied the allegations and his security consultant claimed they were part of a failed extortion plot.
In 1994, Grammy Award-winning rapper Dr. Dre was sentenced in Los Angeles to eight months in jail for violating probation after an assault conviction. Dr. Dre, whose legal name is Andre Young, pleaded no contest to drunk driving.
In 1995, Sterling Morrison, who played bass guitar with "The Velvet Underground" in the 1960s, died in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at age 53. The band's downbeat lyrics were in stark contrast to much of the cheery counter-culture music of the era. "The Velvet Underground" fell apart in the early '70s, after producing such groundbreaking albums as "White Light-White Heat," "Loaded" and their Andy Warhol-produced debut, "The Velvet Underground and Nico." In his later years, Stirling Morrison was the skipper of a tugboat operating out of Houston, Texas.
In 1995, former husband and wife James Taylor and Carly Simon appeared on stage together for the first time in 16 years. They performed at a benefit concert on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, which raised $200,000 for the local agricultural society's new barn. Taylor and Simon divorced in 1981.
In 1995, Cuban-born Gloria Estefan performed for about 10,000 Cuban rafters at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The rafters had been taken to the base after being intercepted while trying to reach Florida.
In 1998, "The Guess Who" bassist Jim Kale was arrested after he became drunk and abusive aboard an Air Canada flight to Winnipeg. Kale was reported to have tried to kiss a male flight attendant. He was not charged in the incident, which he blamed on a combination of tranquilizers and booze.
In 2009, gospel legend Marie Knight died of complications from pneumonia in New York City at age 84. She came to prominence while touring with Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1940s and singing hits such as "Beams of Heaven," "Didn't it Rain" and "Up Above My Head."
In 2011, American string quartet "Kronos Quartet" and rocker Patti Smith received the prestigious 2011 Polar Music Prize from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf at a glitzy ceremony in Stockholm.
In 2012, hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty, who managed Sean (Diddy) Combs, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey, was found dead in his New York City apartment in an apparent suicide. He was 44.
In 2012, it was announced that "Van Halen" lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen had undergone emergency surgery for a severe bout of diverticulitis, forcing the band to cancel an upcoming tour of Japan in support of their new album "A Different Kind of Truth."
In 2017, Lighthouse founding member and drummer Skip Prokop died at the age of 73 at a hospital in St. Thomas, Ont.
In 2020, the Weeknd took home the top prize at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. The Toronto singer paid tribute to Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor after winning video of the year for "Blinding Lights.'' Lady Gaga also won multiple honours, most of them for her number 1 hit with Ariana Grande, ''Rain on Me,'' which the duo performed live for the first time.
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The Canadian Press
