This Day in Music
The ultimate legend of musical legends, two hard-rocking outfits from across the Commonwealth, and Elvis is stuck on us, on this day in music.
People
1685: Legendary German Baroque composer and musician, Johann Sebastian Bach, is born in Eisenach, Germany (based on the Julian Calendar).
Bach composed numerous types of music, including orchestral works like the “Brandenburg Concertos;” solo instrumental works for violin; cello suites; sonatas; keyboard studies such as the “Goldberg Variations;” works for organ, exemplified by the “Schubler Chorales;” and the prog-rock masterpiece for organ, “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” written sometime in the first half of the 16th century.
These are just a minuscule few of Bach's over 1000 known compositions. Bach is considered by many to be the most talented composer in history, along with being one of the most prolific, and possibly the best musician. His extensive biography can be found here.
Releases
1977: Speaking of Bach, “Let There Be Rock,” the fourth studio album from AC/DC is released in Australasia. It would be released internationally in July.
With the great singles, “Let There Be Rock,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and “Problem Child” from the International edition, the critically-regarded album further strengthened the band's global audience.
Peaking at No. 17 on the U.K. Albums Chart and No. 10 in Netherlands, it was a commercial success, earning 2x Platinum certification in the U.S., 5x Platinum in Australia, Platinum in Germany, and Gold in the U.K. and Canada.
1995: Canadian heavy rock band The Tea Party releases their third studio album, “The Edges of Twilight.” With an interesting mix of world music styles and instruments into a heavy rock sound, this would be the most successful record for the band, propelling them into the mainstream of Canadian music.
Led by the singles “Fire in the Head,” “The Bazaar,” “Sister Awake,” “Shadows of the Mountainside,” and “Turn the Lamp Down Low,” it peaked at No. 11 on the Canada RPM Albums chart, was certified 2x Platinum, and earned several Juno nominations (Canada's version of the Grammys), including Album of the Year and Best Rock Band.
1983: Pink Floyd release their 12th studio LP, “The Final Cut.” An entirely Roger Waters-led project that did not include songwriting collaborations from any other band members, nor did founding keyboardist Richard Wright perform on the record, it would be the last Floyd work to include Waters.
Near-universally (though unfairly) panned by critics, and actually much better than its ratings, the album performed well on the charts largely due to the Pink Floyd brand, reaching the Top-5 across the world, but sales were disappointing for what was expected of the band at the time. It shipped only 2.5 million copies, a far cry from the 30 million units of its predecessor, “The Wall.”
The band did not tour the album. Instead, Gilmour and Waters focused separately on their solo projects, “About Face,” by Gilmour, his second solo record, and “The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking” for Waters, his excellent debut solo release.
Roger Waters resigned from the band and its partnership in 1985, failing to persuade His Majesty's High Court of Justice to prevent the remaining band members from using the name Pink Floyd.
The Daily Elvis
1960: Elvis records the song “Stuck on You” in Nashville at RCA Victor studios. By April 25th, it was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Pictured: There are obviously no photographs of J.S. Bach, and everyone has seen his painted portrait, so here’s a view of the Casavant Frères Opus 3874 Pipe Organ at All Saints’ Kingsway Anglican Church in Toronto, on which the legendary genius Glenn Gould recorded the album of Bach fugues, “The Art of the Fuge, BWV 1080 Volume I, Fugues 1-9” in 1962 for Columbia Masterworks.
