Events in Music
Event of Interest
1895 Tchaikovsky and Petipa's revival of "Swan Lake" premieres in St Petersburg
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1925 Kaufman & Berlin's musical "cocoanuts" premieres in New York City
- 1926 Sean O'Casey's "Plough & Stars" opens at Abbey Theater Dublin
- 1930 "Happy Days Are Here Again" by Benny Mereoff hits #1
- 1940 Lewis & Hamilton's musical "Two for the Show" premieres in NYC
- 1946 Béla Bartók's 3rd Concert for piano/orchestra premieres in Philadelphia, PA, US
- 1965 Supremes release "Stop In the Name of Love"
- 1981 "5 O'Clock Girl" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 12 performances
- 1981 "Brigadoon" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 133 performances
- 1992 "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred peaks at #1
- 1994 Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee charge with possession of loaded firearm
- 2004 46th Grammy Awards: Clocks, Evanescence wins
Music Awards
2006 48th Grammy Awards: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, John Legend wins
John Legend
Music Awards
2009 51st Grammy Awards: Best Album "Raising Sand" and Record of the Year "Please Read The Letter" by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Robert Plant
Alison Krauss
Event of Interest
2009 Singer Rihanna cancels appearance at the Grammys after being assaulted by boyfriend Chris Brown
Rihanna
Chris Brown
- 2015 57th Grammy Awards: Best Song "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith, Best Album "Morning Phase" by Beck
Birthdays in Music
- 1586 Jacob Praetorius, composer
- 1708 Vaclav Jan Kopriva, Czech composer and organist, born in Cítoliby, Czech Republic (d. 1789)
- 1741 Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry, composer
- 1764 Joseph Leopold von Eybler, Austrian composer
- 1789 Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer, composer
- 1810 Norbert Burgmüller, German composer, born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 1836)
- 1828 Antonio Cagnoni, composer
- 1888 Matthijs Vermeulen, Dutch composer/music critic
- 1891 Edgar Palm, Curacao, pianist/composer
- 1900 Guy Douglas Hamilton Warrack, composer
- 1903 Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1977)
- 1904 Igor' Fyodorovich Belza, composer
- 1906 Artur Balsam, Polish/US pianist (Begeleidde Menuhin, Milstein)
- 1908 Grigor Eghiazaryan, composer
- 1912 Simon Jurovsky, composer
- 1914 Jules van Ackere, Flemish musicologist (Eternal Music)
- 1915 Lambros Georges Guetary Worloou, singer
- 1919 Buddy Morrow, orchestra leader (Jimmie Rodgers Show)
- 1925 Alvin Brehm, American musician and composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2014)
- 1927 Zdenek Zouhar, composer
- 1930 Manuel Castillo, composer
- 1931 Shadia [Fatmah Ahmed Kamal Shaker], Egyptian actress and singer Midaq Alley, The Thief and the Dogs), born in Sharqia Governorate, Egypt, birth date disputed (d. 2017)
- 1932 John Towner Williams, composer/conductor (Boston Pops), born in Flushing, New York
John Williams
1932 John Williams, American composer responsible for some of the most recognizable film scores (Jaws, Star Wars, Harry Potter, India Jones, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), born in NYC, New York
John Williams
- 1933 Elly Ameling, Rotterdam Holland, soprano (Ilya-Idomeneo)
- 1936 Larry Verne, singer (Custer)
- 1937 Joe Raposa, composer/songwriter (Sesame Street)
- 1938 Ray Sharpe, singer-songwriter, (Linda Lu), born in Forth Worth, Texas
- 1940 Talib Rasul Hakim, composer
- 1941 Tom Rush, NH, rock guitarist/vocalist (Circle Game, Urge For Going)
- 1942 Terry Melcher [Terrence Jorden], American record producer and musician, Doris Day's son (the Rip Chords, The Byrds), born in NYC, New York
- 1943 Creed Bratton, California, rock guitarist (Grass Roots-Sooner or Later)
- 1943 Jose de Almeida Prado, composer
- 1946 Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra, Mexican blues-rock drummer (Canned Heat), born in Mexico City, Mexico
- 1948 Dan Seals, American country singer (England Dan & John Ford Coley-You Still Move Me), born in McCamey, Texas
- 1950 Michael Goodroe, rock bassist (Motels-Only the Lonely)
- 1952 Hans Van de Lubbe, Dutch bassist/singer (Dike)
- 1956 Dave Meros, American bassist (Spock's Beard)
- 1961 Sammy Llanas, rocker (Bodeans)
- 1961 Vince Neil, American singer (Mötley Crüe)
- 1963 Joshua Kadison, American pianist and songwriter
- 1968 Claudette Pace, Maltese singer
- 1971 William "Will" Turpin, American musician (Collective Soul) and producer (Gooey Music), born in Fairbanks, Alaska
- 1977 Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1979 Josh Keaton, American actor and singer
- 1980 Cameron Muncey, Australian guitarist (Jet)
- 1981 Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
- 1983 Jim Verraros, American singer
Divorces in Music
Divorce of Interest
1980 Model Angie Bowie (30) divorces singer David Bowie (33) after 9 years of marriage
David Bowie
Deaths in Music
- 1691 Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect and composer, dies at 79
- 1709 Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer, dies at 50
- 1797 Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer, pupil of J. S. Bach, dies at 81
- 1801 Johann Chrysostomus Drexel, composer, dies at 43
- 1821 Paul Anton Wineberger, composer, dies at 62
- 1849 Francois-Antoine Habeneck, composer, dies at 68
- 1909 Edouard Silas, Dutch composer, dies at 80
- 1909 Mieczysław Karłowicz, Polish composer, dies at 32
- 1947 Ernest Williams, American composer, dies at 65
- 1949 Franco Leoni, Italian composer, dies at 81
- 1949 Leonid Alexeyevich Polovinkin, Russian composer, dies at 54
- 1972 Markos Vamvakaris, Greek musician and songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1977 Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 75
- 1980 Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (b. 1936)
- 1990 Del Shannon, American rock musician and songwriter (Runaway), commits suicide at 55
- 1994 Raymond Scott, composer (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), dies at 85
- 1996 Mercer Kennedy Ellington, trumpeter bandleader/composer, dies at 76
- 1997 Roy George Elroy Josephs, jazz dance teacher, dies at 57
- 2005 Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician (b. 1925)
- 2005 Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers), dies at 56
- 2005 Helmut Eder, Austrian composer, dies at 88
- 2006 Elton Dean, English musician (Soft Machine) (b. 1945)
- 2006 Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer, best known for his film scores in the Godzilla films, dies at 91
- 2012 Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian rock musician, dies from lung cancer at 62
- 2013 James DePreist, American conductor, dies at 76
- 2016 Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, dies at 82
- 2017 Nicolai Gedda, Swedish opera tenor (Opera Two to Six), dies at 91
February in History
Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?
February 6, 1961
2,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk
One of the British Museum's treasured pieces of Roman antiquity was shattered on this day by a drunken visitor.
February 7, 1845
Earthquakes and a Book Rock London
In the 18th Century, Englishmen went into a panic when London, of all places, was hit by earthquakes. But was there a stronger force than Mother Nature at work?
February 8, 1750
Why 'SuperMac' was Banished From Number 10
War hero, Edwardian gentleman, academic, friend of the Kennedys, former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was born on this day.
February 10, 1894