Good Friday morning, welcome to This Day In The History Of Music. Enjoy the read. 1. On this day in 1858 Jacques Offenbach's operetta " Orpheus in the Underworld" The opera is a lampoon of the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this version, Orpheus is not the son of Apollo but a rustic violin teacher. He is glad to be rid of his wife, Eurydice, when she is abducted by the god of the underworld, Pluto. Orpheus has to be bullied by Public Opinion into trying to rescue Eurydice. The reprehensible conduct of the gods of Olympus in the opera was widely seen as a veiled satire of the court and government of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Some critics expressed outrage at the librettists' disrespect for classic mythology and the composer's parody of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice; others praised the piece highly. Orphée aux enfers was Offenbach's first full-length opera. The original 1858 production became a box-office success, and ran well into the following year, rescuing Offenbach and his Bouffes company from financial difficulty. The 1874 revival broke records at the Gaîté's box office. The work was frequently staged in France and internationally during the composer's lifetime and throughout the 20th century. It is one of his most often performed operas and continues to be revived in the 21st century. In the last decade of the 19th century, the Paris cabarets the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergère adopted the music of the "Galop infernal" from the culminating scene of the opera to accompany the can-can, and ever since then, the tune has been popularly associated with the dance. 2. On this day in 1944 Walter Piston's "Fugue for a Victory Tune" premieres in NYC. Columbia University commissioned Piston's Symphony No. 2, which was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra on March 5, 1944, and was awarded a prize by the New York Music Critics' Circle. His next symphony, the Third, earned a Pulitzer Prize, as did his Symphony No. 7. His Viola Concerto and String Quartet No. 5 also later received Critics' Circle awards. Walter Piston was awarded the Edward MacDowell Medal for his outstanding contribution to the arts by the MacDowell Colony in 1974. Piston wrote four books on the technical aspects of music theory which are considered to be classics in their respective fields: Principles of Harmonic Analysis, Counterpoint, Orchestration, and Harmony. The last of these introduced for the first time in theoretical literature several important new concepts that Piston had developed in his approach to music theory, notably the concept of harmonic rhythm, and the secondary dominant. This work went through four editions in the author's lifetime, was translated into several languages, and (with changes and additions by Mark DeVoto) was still regarded as recently as 2009 as a standard harmony text. He died at his home in Belmont, Massachusetts on November 12, 1976. His library and desk are permanently exhibited in the Piston Room, at the Boston Public Library. 3. On this day in 1958 Buddy Holly's last recording session took place at Pythian Temple Studios, New York City. The songs recorded included 'Raining In My Heart, 'Moondreams' and 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' which became a No.1 hit. Tragically Buddy would die less than four months after this recording in a plane crash. 4. On this day in 1965 The Spencer Davis Group recorded 'Keep On Running' at Pye Studios in London, England. The track went on to top the UK chart next January. "Keep On Running" was written by Jamaican singer-songwriter Jackie Edwards, who as well as having been a singer, worked in the UK for Island Records as a songwriter. The song was recorded by Edwards for his album Come on Home, released in 1965, and he recorded it again in the mid-1970s for his album Do You Believe in Love. 5. On this day in 1965 Wanting to improve on a previous recording session The Beatles started from scratch on a new song called 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)', finishing recordings in three takes. They also begin working on another new John Lennon song 'Nowhere Man.' 6. On this day in 1967 Lulu's "To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu (with The Mindbenders, who also acted in the film). It was released as a single in the United States in 1967 and in October reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for five weeks. 7. On this day in 1972 Curtis Mayfield started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with the soundtrack to 'Superfly'. 8. On this day in 1975 Sir Elton John is given a star in Hollywood. 9. On this day in 1989 Jive Bunny And The Mastermixes had their second UK No.1 single with 'That's What I Like.' The Theme from Hawaii Five-O was the recurring hook in the record which also included 'Let's Twist Again', 'Let's Dance, 'Great Balls of Fire, and 'The Twist. 10. On this day in 1997 Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind 97' was declared by the Guinness Book Of Records as the biggest-selling single record of all time, with 31.8 million sales in less than 40 days and raising more than £20 million for charity. 11. On this day in 2006 Evanescence was at No.1 on the US album chart with their second album 'The Open Door.' It became the 700th No.1 album on Billboard since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956. Born On This Day In The Music World. 1. Born on this day in 1570 Wolfgang Schonsleder, a German composer (Missa super Laudate), was born in Munich, Duchy of Bavaria (now Germany) (d. 1651). 2. Born on this day in 1751 David Moritz Michael, a Moravian conductor, and composer, (Die Wasserfahrt -The Water Journey) was born in Kühnhausen, Prussia (now Germany) (d. 1827). 3. Born on this day in 1895 J Delos Jewkes, American light opera, vaudeville, choral (Mormon Tabernacle), film and television bass singer, and actor (Stars And Stripes Forever; The Music Man; The Andy Griffith Show), born in Orangeville, Utah (d. 1984). 4. Born on this day in 1912 (Carlos) "Don" Byas, an American swing and be-bop jazz saxophonist, and bandleader, was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma (d. 1972). 5. Born on this day in 1912 Sir Georg Solti [György Stern], a Hungarian-British conductor, winner of 31 Grammy awards (Chicago Symphony, 1969-91), was born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1997). 6. Born on this day in 1924 Celia Cruz, Cuban-American Grammy Award-winning guaracha, salsa, and bolero singer (La Sonora Matancera, 1950-65), known as 'the Queen of Salsa', was born in Havana, Cuba (d. 2003). 7. Born on this day in 1940 South African–British keyboard player, guitarist, and vocalist Manfred Mann had the 1964 UK & US No.1 single 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' and with Manfred Mann's Earth Band hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's 'For You, 'Blinded by the Light' and 'Spirit in the Night. 8. Born on this day in 1941 Steve Cropper, American guitarist, with Booker T and the MG's, had the 1962 US No. 3 single 'Green Onions', and the 1969 UK No.4 single 'Time Is Tight'. Cropper played guitar on the Otis Redding hit '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay. As a session guitarist, he has worked with many artists including John Lennon, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and Rod Stewart. 9. Born on this day in 1953 Charlotte Caffey, an American rock guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist (The Go-Go's - "We Got The Beat") was born in Santa Monica, California. 10. Born on this day in 1957 American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer Steve Lukather, who with Toto had the 1983 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'Africa'. Lukather has recorded guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums including the guitar solo for Olivia Newton-John's 1981 No.1 single 'Physical', (Song of the 80's decade) and Michael Jackson's 'Beat It, and was also heavily involved in the recording of virtually all of Jackson's Thriller album. 11. Born on this day in 1993 American singer Kane Brown. He released his first album, the self-titled Kane Brown, on December 2, 2016. The single 'What Ifs' came from this album, and in October 2017, Brown became the first artist to have simultaneous No.1's on all five main Billboard country charts. 12. Born on this day in 1995 Doja Cat, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. Her second studio album, Hot Pink (2019), reached the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 and spawned the single ‘Say So’, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.
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