Category Archives: On This Day In Music History
On This Day In Music History: Buddy Holly
As a teenager, I knew that the Rolling Stones had an early hit with their great cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” I may have also noticed that there was a cover of Buddy’s song “Words of Love” by the Beatles … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Rising Sun Blues”
On September 6, 1933, singer/guitarist Clarence Ashley and harmonica player Gwen (or Gwin) Foster recorded “Rising Sun Blues” for Vocalion Records in New York, NY. This would be the first recording of the song that we now know as “The House of the Rising Sun.” … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: The Audition
When John Hammond (Columbia Records producer and talent scout extraordinaire) called Benny Goodman (Jazz clarinetist, band leader, Top Ten recording artist and “King of Swing”) in California one day in early August, 1939, to tell him that he’d just found a great young electric guitar … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Dust My Broom”
Robert Johnson wrote it and recorded it in 1936 as “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom.” Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup revived it in 1949. On August 5, 1951, 33-year-old singer and electric slide guitarist Elmore James cut his first recording of … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was born on this day, August 4, in 1901 to William and Mary Armstrong in New Orleans, LA. For many years, when I thought of Louis Armstrong, I thought of the man I saw on TV when I … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: The Bristol Sessions
August 1 & 4, 1927, have proven to be incredibly important dates in the history of American music. These were the days that, respectively, the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were “discovered” and recorded for the first time. Seeing as I have already … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: Charlie Christian
Charlie Christian was born Charles Henry Christian on this day, July 29, in 1916 in Bonham, Texas. The family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by the time Charlie turned three. Charlie’s father, Clarence Henry Christian, played guitar and it is believed … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)”
On July 23, 1962, Pete Seeger had a gig. He was performing at The Bitter End, a popular coffeehouse in New York’s Greenwich Village. This gig was a bit different than usual because John Hammond from Columbia Records was going to be … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: Sara Carter
Sara Carter was born Sara Dougherty on this day, July 21, in 1898, just north of Copper Creek, Wise County, Virginia. She was one of five children born to Sevier and Elizabeth Dougherty. Sara sang. One day when Sara was … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: John & Alan Lomax Meet Huddie Ledbetter
In early June, 1933, Texas-based Folk song collector John Lomax and his 18-year-old son, Alan, drove out of Dallas on a mission. They were going on “the first major trip in the United States to capture black folk music in … Continue reading
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