by Britt Ryan | Aug 10, 2020 | Today in Music History
A 13-year-old phenom makes history with the first live recording to hit #1 in the U.S. “Fingertips – Part 2” introduced America to the blind jazz-soul prodigy Stevie Wonder, performing that memorable harmonica solo in a Motown classic that can still inspire goosebumps...
by Britt Ryan | Aug 7, 2020 | Today in Music History
Rahsaan Roland Kirk certainly took the term “multi-instrumentalist” to heart, sometimes playing three saxophones at once while rounding out his sound with clarinets and flutes (not to mention literal “bells and whistles”). Born in the Flytown section of Columbus,...
by Britt Ryan | Aug 6, 2020 | Today in Music History
“C’mon baby, let’s do The Twist.” So sang Chubby Checker on “American Bandstand” on this day in 1960, in a TV appearance that helped launch the song to #1. In an unprecedented twist, the song returned to the #1 spot again 16 months later in January 1962. Just 19 for...
by Britt Ryan | Aug 5, 2020 | Today in Music History
Airto Moreira, born in Brazil on this day in 1941, was a very busy and talented jazz percussionist indeed. In addition to playing with Miles Davis and Weather Report, he can also be heard on records by Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz,...
by Britt Ryan | Aug 4, 2020 | Today in Music History
The world became just a little more wonderful on this day in 1901, because that’s when the incomparable Louis Armstrong was born, down in New Orleans. By the time of his death in 1971, the beloved artist known to millions as “Satchmo” and “Pops” had left a profound,...
