On This Day in Music for July 31
Events in Music
- 1786 "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect" by Robert Burns is published by John Wilson in Kilmarnock, Scotland
- 1948 "Brigadoon" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 581 performances
- 1959 Cliff Richard and the Shadows have their 1st British No. 1 single with "Living' Doll" (biggest British single of 1959)
- 1966 Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark
- 1967 Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end 1 month jail sentence
- 1968 The Beatles close Apple Boutique in London, giving clothes away for free
- 1979 "But Never Jam Today" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 7 performances
- 1993 The Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts arrested for shoving 2 cops
- More Events in Music
Musicians Born on Jul 31
- 1550 Jakob Handl [Petelin], Austrian composer/bandmaster
- 1767 Amelie Julia Candielle, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1834)
- 1808 Frederick Crouch, English-born composer, born in London, England (d. 1896)
- 1828 François-Auguste Gevaert, Belgian composer (Le diable au moulin), born in Huise (d. 1908)
Weddings in Music
- 1951 Musician Ray Charles (20) weds Eileen Williams in Georgia
- 1954 American television personality and songwriter Steve Allen (32) weds American actress Jayne Meadows (33)
- 1976 American pop singer Natalie Cole (26) weds songwriter, manager, and Baptist minister Marvin Yancy (29); divorce in 1980
More Weddings & Divorces in Music
July in Music History
Down With Disco!
Anti-disco baseball fans hold a 'Disco Sucks' sign during Disco Demolition Night in Chicago, 1979
July 12, 1979Voice Of The Century – 'And Not Even Close'
Frank Sinatra cut his first disc on this day. It was a flop. But he would go on to be hailed as the “Voice of the Century”.
July 13, 1939Johann Sebastian Bach, The Pop Chart Wizard!
Celebrated for his choral and sacred music composed nearly 400 years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach has had surprising influence on modern pop charts.
July 28, 1750Vivaldi Dies On ‘Black Day’ of July 28
Composer Antonio Lucio Vivaldi died on this day, exactly nine years before the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. So July 28 remains a black day for music lovers.
July 28, 1741