Music History Monday

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) in 1902 We celebrate the birth on August 22, 1862 – 160 years ago today – of the French composer and pianist Claude Debussy. Born in the Paris suburb of St. Germain-en-L...

22 Aug 202224min

We mark the opening of the so-called “Woodstock Festival” on August 15, 1969 – 53 years ago today - “so-called” for the following reasons. “Woodstock.” Even without considering the original festival ...

15 Aug 202220min

August 8 is a great day, a signal day, an epic day for both good and bad reasons in the history of popular, rock, and jazz music. We’d observe a few of today’s date-related events before moving on to ...

8 Aug 202217min

We mark the death on August 1, 1784 – 238 years ago today – of the German composer and organist Wilhelm Friedemann Bach in Berlin at the age of 73. Born in the central German city of Weimar on Novemb...

1 Aug 202220min

We mark the death on July 25, 1984 – 38 years ago today – of the American Rhythm and Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. Born on December 11, 1926, she died in Los Angeles of both heart and ...

25 Juli 202221min

Before getting into the date specific event/discovery that drives today’s post, permit me, please, to tell the story of the greatest manuscript discovery of all time. The ancient city of Jerusalem sit...

18 Juli 202214min

We mark the death on July 11, 1937 – 85 years ago today – of the American composer and pianist George Gershwin, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Born in Brooklyn New York on September 26...

11 Juli 202220min

In Los Angeles and in America, Stravinsky was a star among stars; a big fish in a big pond. Having settled in LA, he made his fortune touring as a conductor of his own music. At the time, like so ma...

4 Juli 202217min