On this date in History .... March 5, 1971: Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to
Heaven” played for the first time in Belgium. The 8 min, 2 sec song is the
most requested song on U.S. radio, despite the fact that it never actual hit
any of the charts …the song was never released as a single due to its length
and the band would not authorize a cut (shorter) version. It is the biggest
selling single piece of sheet music sold in rock history.
On this date in history .... August 1, 1981: MTV
makes its debut with the words (spoken by MTV creator John Lack), “Ladies
and gentlemen …. rock and roll.” Videos
of songs were donated to the station for free until the value of videos on MTV
was recognized by the record industry and they began putting big money into the
production of videos. MTV was instrumental in promoting performers such as
Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Duran Duran, whose videos played heavily
during the 80s. The station also pushed
the edge of cultural boundaries such as the airing of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”,
which was condemned by the Vatican. By the late 80s, MTV was producing its own
shows, including the popular “Beavis and Butthead”.
Bill Withers has his first #1 hit song, “Lean on Me”.
Withers was the youngest of six children
born in a coal mining town in West Virginia. After serving nine years in the
navy, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. Even though he had a
song win a Grammy (“Ain’t No Sunshine (when I’m gone)”), he stayed with his
factory job in an airplane plant, assembling toilet seats because he felt the
music industry was “fickle”. He was still working there when he wrote “Lean on
Me”.
The song has been recorded by numerous other artists and
even hit the unofficial “Animated Hall of Fame” when it was used on an episode
of the Simpsons.
David
Rose’s composition “The Stripper” became a #1 hit.
Rose wrote the 1 minute 55 second
tune as a throwaway background piece while working on a short-lived TV show,
“Burlesque”. He pressed a few vinyl
copies as gag gifts for orchestra members and then forgot about it.
Four years later, MGM records pulled it out
of archives for a “B” side of another or Rose’s musical pieces. A Los Angeles
DJ discovered the “B” side song and thought it so funny, he played it all day. It quickly became a regional, then national
hit.
(Many of us never knew the actual
name of this song ….. we thought of it as “The Noxema Song” because of its use
on Noxema shaving commercials, as seen in this clip!)
Civil War general Daniel Butterfield (later
a Medal of Honor recipient) modified the current “Lights Out” bugle call that
signaled the end of the day as it felt it was too formal. Working with his bugler, Oliver Norton, the 24-note
song was modified and played, the sounds drifting over to other Army units.
Buglers from those units came to Norton and asked for the music. Without any official command to do so, the
song drifted into Army units, used by Union and Confederate units alike.
The song was officially recognized by the
U.S. Army in 1874. The first Taps played
at a military funeral was by Captain John Tidwell in July 1862 when his
cannoneer was killed but with the enemy so close, Tidwell feared the military traditional
firing of three cannon shots would incite enemy fire.
It is played nightly at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
General Butterfield died in 1901. Even though he never attended West Point, his tomb is the most ornate in the West Point cemetery.
While there are no official lyrics for Taps, the following unofficial verse (author unknown) is often used:
Fading light dims the sight, And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright. From afar drawing nigh -- Falls the night.
Day is done, gone the sun, From the lake, from the hills, from the sky; All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
Then good night, peaceful night, Till the light of the dawn shineth bright; God is near, do not fear -- Friend, good night.
Bill Haley and His Comets recorded
"Rock Around the Clock" for Decca Records. (It was released a month
later.) The song was recorded at the Pythian Temple, “a big, barnlike building
with great echo,” in New York City.
Most rock historians feel the tune,
featured in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle", ushered in the era of
rock ’n’ roll. It hit number one on June 29, 1955 and stayed there for eight
weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 24 weeks. The record has now sold
over 25,000,000 copies.
