This Day in Music
December 13th
One hell of a milestone, experimental music abounds, and Elvis is No. 1 as usual, on this day in music.
People
2025: American actor and singer Dick Van Dyke celebrates his 100th birthday. The star of numerous Broadway, film, and TV productions, Van Dyke is most famous for his roles as Albert Peterson in the Broadway spectacular, Bye Bye Birdie, in 1960 (he also played the same role in the 1963 film version), the Cockney chimney sweep, Bert, in Mary Poppins in 1964, and his CBS sitcom, The Dick Van Dye Show, which aired for five seasons from 1961 to 1966. In 1968, he starred in Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which wasn’t commercially successful in theatres, but became a timeless children’s classic. Later in his career, he was the star of the CBS medical-crime drama, Diagnosis: Murder for eight seasons, from 1993 to 2001.
A century is long time and much has changed in the world since Dick Van Dyke was born. Obviously none of the modern technology of today existed in 1925, but even conveniences now taken for granted like home air conditioning, home electric refrigeration, antibiotics, analgesics, pop-up toasters, and sliced bread did not exist when Dick was born.
Happy 100th Birthday to Dick Van Dyke!!
2008: Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh marries Marjorie Bach, making him brother-in-law to his great friend, Ringo Starr, who is married to Marjorie’s sister, Barbara Bach.
1974: President Gerald Ford has lunch with George Harrison, and then in the afternoon, holds a meeting with Peter Frampton. Ford’s sons, Jack and Steven, were huge fans of the artists and convinced their dad to invite them to the White House for a visit. Harrison arrived with his own father, Harold, Billy Preston, and Ravi Shankar, who were touring with Harrison at the time. Accompanying Peter Frampton during his visit were his girlfriend, Penny McCall, and his manager, Dee Anthony.
Releases
2024: “Birth of the Blue,” an historic recording by Miles Davis made in May of 1958 is released. It was the precursor to his seminal masterpiece, “Kind of Blue,” and the first recording made by the “Kind of Blue” lineup, including in addition to Miles on trumpet, Cannonball Adderley (as), John Coltrane (ts), Bill Evans (p), Paul Chambers (b), and Jimmy Cobb (d).
The sextet recorded four tracks: “On Green Dolphin Street,” from the 1947 film, Green Dolphin Street; “Fran-Dance,” a Miles composition dedicated to his fiancee, Francis Davis; “Stella By Starlight,” the standard taken from the 1944 film, The Uninvited; and the Cole Porter standard, “Love for Sale.”
The introduction of a long-lost Miles Davis original album was an earth-shattering event for jazz fans in 2024. This writer purchased the album and can attest to its magnificence.
1971: The Welsh power pop band Badfinger releases its fourth studio album, “Straight Up.” Issued on the Beatles’ Apple Records label, and co-produced by Todd Rundgren and George Harrison, the record features Badfinger’s two most-famous songs, “Baby Blue” and “Day After Day.” It reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200, and No. 13 on Canada’s RPM 100 chart.
1977: Legendary Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, Joni Mitchell, releases her ninth studio album, and first double-album, “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter.”
An experimental album that expanded on the jazz stylings of her previous records, it featured a long list of talented musicians, including the legendary jazz cats Jaco Pastorius on bass, Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, and Alex Acuña on percussion, along with studio legends John Guerin on drums and Larry Carlton on guitar.
The album received tepid reviews from critics, earning only two out of five stars from The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, and a B- from Christgau’s Record Guide, which by Christgau’s standards is practically a compliment. However, it’s actually an enjoyable listen. It’s Joni Mitchell after all.
Despite the hesitation from critics, it was commercially successful, achieving Gold certification only three months after release, and reaching No. 25 on the Billboard 100, and No. 28 in Canada.
Music of Unknown Date
Particularly for albums released before the 1980’s, specific release dates are sometimes difficult to confirm. The month of release is available, but not the specific day. However, these albums should not be overlooked. One such album is remembered today.
December 1975: Robert Fripp and Brian Eno release their second collaboration album, “Evening Star.” This was the first record made by Robert Fripp after disbanding King Crimson, the band he founded in 1969 and would reform and disband a few more times over the years, right up until 2021 when the current “interregnum” began.
It is an experimental album that introduces Eno’s concept of ambient music. The record also features Fripp’s tape-looping technique dubbed “Frippertronics,” a process integral to the 28-minute epic, “An Index of Metals,” which takes up all of the second side.
The influential LP received strong ratings from critics, including a B+ from Christgau’s Record Guide, 4 Stars from the Rolling Stone Album Guide, and 8.6/10 from Pitchfork.
Music from “Evening Star” was used in the radio series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Primary Phase), and in the 1983 remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s classic film, Breathless.
The Daily Elvis
1962: Elvis hits No. 1 for the 13th time with the song, “Return to Sender.” The single would go on to be certified Platinum.
Pictured: Dick Van Dyke as Bert in Mary Poppins.
