ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 12.11.20

ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY:

1957 - 22-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis secretly wed his third wife, 13-year-old third cousin Myra Brown, in Tennessee. The marriage lasted 14 years and seriously damaged Lewis' career. Effectively blacklisted, Lewis fades from the spotlight over the next decade.

1960 - Aretha Franklin made her New York stage debut performing blues and standards at the Village Vanguard.

1961 - The Marvelettes went to No. 1 with "Please Mr. Postman". The song features Gladys Horton on lead vocals and accompaniment by The Funk Brothers, including 22-year-old Marvin Gaye on drums. It was the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the pop singles chart. The Beatles covered it in 1963 as well as The Carpenters in 1975.

1964 - Soul singer Sam Cooke was shot at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. Bertha Franklin, manager of the motel, told police that she shot and killed Cooke in self-defence because he had attacked her. Police found Cooke's body in Franklin's apartment-office, clad only in a sports jacket and shoes. The shooting was ultimately ruled a justifiable homicide.

1965 - The Velvet Underground play their first show: opening for a group called The Myddle Class in the auditorium of Summit High School in New Jersey. They play three songs: "There She Goes Again," "Heroin" and "Venus In Furs."

1966 - Elton John's band, Bluesology, opens for Little Richard at a show in London. Elton later says: "When I saw Little Richard standing on top of the piano, all lights, sequins and energy, I decided there and then that I was going to be a rock and roll piano player."

1968 - Filming began for The Rolling Stones "Rock & Roll Circus". As well as clowns and acrobats, John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards. It was originally meant to be aired on the BBC, but the Rolling Stones withheld it because they were unhappy with their performance. The film was eventually released in 1996.

1971 - The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, released his 32nd album, Revolution Of The Mind. Its opening track had a title only J.B. could have concocted: "It's A Brand New Day So Open Up The Door And Let A Man Come In To Do The Popcorn." He was surpassed years later with the never-to-be topped 90-word title of Fiona Apple's second album.

2012 - Indian musician Ravi Shankar died after undergoing heart valve replacement surgery. He was one of the best-known proponents of the sitar and influenced many other musicians throughout the world. George Harrison, who was first introduced to Shankar's music by Roger McGuinn and David Crosby, became influenced by Shankar's music and went on to help popularize Shankar.

2016 - Bob Dylan said it was "truly beyond words" to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. In a speech read on his behalf at the ceremony in Sweden, he said he thought his odds of winning were as likely as him "standing on the moon". Patti Smith performed "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" at the ceremony. But the singer had to apologize during her rendition after nerves got the better of her and she forgot the lyrics.

Birthdays:

1926 - R&B singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton is born in Ariton, Alabama. She was the first to record "Hound Dog," made famous by Elvis Presley.

David Gates of Bread is 80.

Jermaine Jackson is 66.

Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is 62.

On This Day In Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.


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