Events in Music
Music Premiere
1930 Musical "Smiles" with Bob Hope and Fred Astaire premieres in NYC
Fred Astaire
Bob Hope
Event of Interest
1945 Arnold Schoenberg's Prelude for orchestra & mixed choir, premieres
Arnold Schoenberg
- 1961 "Gay Life" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 113 performances
- 1961 "Kwamina" closes at 54th St Theater NYC after 32 performances
- 1975 "Rufus featuring Chaka Khan" 4th studio album by Rufus is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1976)
- 1984 "3 Musketeers" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 9 performances
Event of Interest
1985 Paul McCartney releases "Spies Like Us"
Paul McCartney
Jason Newsted
James Hetfield
- 1997 "Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture" album is released by Sony Music Soundtrax
Album Release
2002 "Up!" 4th studio album by Shania Twain is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2003)
Shania Twain
Music Awards
2007 34th American Music Awards: Fergie, Justin Timberlake & Carrie Underwood win
Album Release
2011 "The X Factor" group One Direction release their debut album "Up All Night" in Ireland and the UK
Harry Styles
Zayn Malik
Music Awards
2012 39th American Music Awards: Katy Perry & Justin Bieber win
Justin Bieber
Katy Perry
Event of Interest
2017 Shawn Mendes is the first singer under 18 to get three No. 1 singles on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart
Shawn Mendes
Birthdays in Music
- 1680 Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, composer
- 1736 Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, composer
- 1742 Felix Maximo Lopez, composer
- 1772 Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia Christian, composer
- 1781 Felice Blangini, composer
- 1786 Henry Rowley Bishop, British composer/conductor
- 1786 Carl Maria von Weber, German romantic composer (Der Freischutz), [or 19]
- 1808 Antoine-Amable-Elie Elwart, composer
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
1860 Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish composer and 1st premier of Poland (1919), born in Kuryłówka, Russian Empire (d. 1941)
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
- 1871 Amadeo Vives, composer
- 1874 Riccardo Martin, composer
- 1882 Amelita Galli-Curci, Italian operatic soprano (Cave of the Winds)
- 1895 Ernst Levy, Swiss composer, born in Basel (d. 1981)
- 1897 Jules Buffano, pianist (Jimmy Durante Show), born in St Louis, Missouri
- 1898 Oswald Erich Sehlbach, composer
- 1899 Eugene Ormandy [Jenő Blau], Hungarian-American conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra 1936-80), born in Budapest (d. 1985)
- 1902 Barbara Giuranna, composer
- 1903 Lillian Fuchs, composer
- 1904 Guido Santorsola, composer
- 1907 Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2003)
Johnny Mercer
1909 Johnny Mercer, American lyricist (Moon River, Old Black Magic), born in Savannah, Georgia (d. 1976)
Johnny Mercer
- 1916 James L Lyons, jazz promoter
- 1920 Louis Alfred Mennini, composer
- 1925 William Mayer, American composer (A Death in the Family, Brief Candle), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2017)
- 1926 Dorothy Collins [Marjorie Chandler], Canadian-American singer and actress (Your Hit Parade), born in Windsor, Ontario (d. 1994)
- 1927 Lawrence Kenneth Moss, composer
- 1927 Hank Ballard, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1928 Otar Gordeli, Georgian composer
- 1933 Jacques Charpentier, composer
- 1936 Don E Cherry, US jazz trumpeter
- 1936 Hank Ballard, rocker (The Twist (pre Chubby Checker), born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1939 Tom Johnson, American composer (Nine Bells), born in Greeley, Colorado
- 1942 Jeffrey Siegel, pianist (Chicago Symph), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1946 Amanda Lear, French singer (or 1939, possible date only)
- 1949 Bonnie St Claire, [Cornelia Swart], Dutch singer (Tame me Tiger)
- 1950 Graham Parker, British musician (Squeezing Out Sparks - Mercury Poisoning) born in London, England
- 1950 Rudy Sarzo, Cuban bass guitarist
- 1954 John Parr, British pop singer (St. Elmo's Fire), born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire
- 1955 Carter Burwell, American composer
- 1955 Jake Brockman, British musician (Echo and the Bunnymen), born in Borneo (d. 2009)
- 1957 Jenny Burton, American rocker (Nobody Loves Me Like You Do), born in NYC, New York
- 1960 Kim Wilde, English pop singer (Kids in America, You Keep Me Hanging On), born in London
- 1961 Janice Lynn Kuehnemund, rocker (Vixen-Rev It Up), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- 1962 Kirk Hammett, US heavy-metal guitarist (Metallica-Master of Puppets)
- 1968 Romany Malco, American actor and music producer
- 1969 Duncan Sheik, American singer
- 1970 Johan Liiva, Sweden vocalist (Arch Enemy)
- 1972 Jessi Alexander, American country music singer/songwriter
- 1973 Steve Christopher Petree, Oklahoma, rocker (PC Quest-Can You See)
- 1976 Shagrath, Norwegian singer (Dimmu Borgir)
- 1977 Fabolous, American rapper
- 1980 Junichi Okada, Japanese singer (V6)
- 1980 Dustin Kensrue, American Singer/Songwriter (Thrice)
- 1981 Gian Magdangal, Filipino singer and actor
- 1984 Johnny Christ, American musician (Avenged Sevenfold)
- 1984 Ryohei Chiba, Japanese singer
Weddings in Music
Wedding of Interest
1952 "Rock Around The Clock" rock 'n' roll pioneer Bill Haley (27) weds second wife Barbara Cupchak
Bill Haley
Wedding of Interest
1962 Singer Barry White (18) weds childhood sweetheart Betty Smith
Barry White
- 2000 "Queen" guitarist Brian May (53) weds "EastEnders" actress Anita Dobson (51) in a civil ceremony at Richmond Register Office
Deaths in Music
- 1678 Giovanni Maria Bononcini, composer, dies at 36
- 1771 Giuseppe de Majo, Italian composer and organist, dies at 73
- 1822 Anton Teyber, Austrian composer, dies at 66
- 1822 George Knowil Jackson, composer, dies at 65
- 1841 Georg Chistoph Grosheim, composer, dies at 77
- 1852 Anton Bernhard Furstenau, composer, dies at 60
- 1887 Eduard Marxsen, German pianist and composer, dies at 81
- 1887 Heinrich Panofka, German violist and composer, dies at 80
- 1951 Vaclav Kalik, composer, dies at 60
- 1951 Will Vodery, African-American composer, dies at 66
- 1966 Bela Tardos, Hungarian composer, dies at 56
- 1969 Leon Jongen, Belgian composer, dies at 85
- 1969 Ted Heath, British musician and bandleader (b. 1902)
- 1970 Hal Dickinson, American singer (Modernaires), dies at 56
- 1971 [Herman] Junior Parker, American blues singer and musician (Mystery Train), dies during brain operation at 39
- 1972 Danny Whitten, rocker, dies of a drug overdose
- 1972 Segundo Luis Moreno Andrade, composer, dies at 90
- 1978 Lennie Tristano, American jazz pianist (The New Tristano), dies of a heart attack at 59
- 1990 Peter Schilperoort, saxophonist/clarinetist, dies
- 1992 Dorothy Kirsten, US soprano, dies from stroke at 82
- 1994 Cab[ell] Calloway, US band leader/actor (Missourians), dies at 86
- 1994 Michael [George] Somes, English dancer (Royal Ballet), dies at 77
- 1995 Ted Sannella, square dance caller, dies of cancer
- 1999 Doug Sahm, American country singer (Texas Tornadoes-Dinero), dies at 58
- 2003 Michael Kamen, American composer (b. 1948)
- 2004 Cy Coleman, American composer, songwriter and pianist (b. 1929)
- 2016 Sharon Jones, American soul singer (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), dies of cancer at 60
November in History
All Eyes on Birthplace of British Rock 'n' Roll
Tommy Steele, Britain's first rock 'n' roll star, was discovered on this day at a coffee bar in central London, appearing live on the BBC's first pop music show.
November 16, 1957
Words That Echoed Down The Decades
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered on this day, was as short and simple as it was immensely powerful and memorable.
November 19, 1863
Nuremberg War Trials Bring Nazis to Justice
The Trial of Major War Criminals began on this day, the first of a five-year series of hearings at Nuremberg where WW2 Nazis were held to account.
November 20, 1945
Bare Bones of the Great Ape-Man Hoax
On this day the Piltdown Man skull, which had been hailed as the missing link proving an evolutionary relationship between man and apes, was revealed as a hoax.
November 21, 1953