This Day in Music
Canadiana, Americana, a Canadian-American joint venture, a British-American joint venture, and Elvis is swarmed, on this day in music.
Songs from a Room
1969: Legendary Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen releases his second studio album, “Songs from a Room.” Recording originally began in Hollywood with David Crosby as producer, but Cohen cancelled the project following frequent disputes about arrangement and instrumentation.
Cohen was seeking an austere record with little backing band and no percussion. He moved to Nashville to work with producer Bob Johnston instead, famous for producing Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Simon & Garfunkel, who shared Cohen's vision of a spartan work.
The album features many of Cohen's classic songs, including “Bird on the Wire,” which has been covered by many famous artists, “The Partisan,” “Lady Midnight,” and “Tonight Will Be Fine.”
The LP peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200, but was more successful in Europe where it reached No. 2 in the U.K. It was certified Gold in Canada.
The Last Waltz
1978: “The Last Waltz,” the second contemporary live album by Canadian-American group The Band, is released to strong reviews and great excitement from the record-buying public.
A triple-album, it was recorded on November 25, 1976, which was Thanksgiving Day that year, at The Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The audience was treated to a genuine Thanksgiving dinner as part of the show, which also included ballroom dancing and a stage set of La Traviata borrowed from the San Francisco Opera.
Intended to be the final performance by The Band because Robbie Robertson was leaving to focus on his solo career, it turned out to only be the final performance with Robertson, as the remainder of the group later decided to carry on.
In an homage to their roots of being the backup band for both Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, the show was presented as a greatest hits performance of The Band’s original songs interspersed with the group acting as backup for several invited musical guests.
The list of invitees included Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, and all of The Staples Singers.
Acting as the soundtrack to the concert movie of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese, it received much praise from critics and performed well commercially, going to No. 16 on the Billboard 200. It is a musical event that every listener and viewer should experience at least once.
Night on Earth
1992: Tom Waits, the legendary American singer-songwriter and pianist, releases “Night on Earth,” the soundtrack to the movie of the same name by Jim Jarmusch.
It was Waits's second soundtrack after the music he made for 1982’s One from the Heart by Frances Ford Coppola, and his 13th album overall, counting ten studio LP's and one contemporary live release to that date. His 14th album, “Bone Machine,” would be released later in 1992.
Featuring mostly instrumental tracks, Waits does sing on a few, with his wife, artist and producer Kathleen Brennan, co-writing three songs. Instrumentation is a kind of gypsy orchestra featuring accordion, banjo, harmonium, and pan pipes amongst more traditional instruments such as saxophones, clarinets, and cello.
The musicians on the album would later form their own jazz-fusion quintet named Oranj Symphonette and release two albums.
Waits’s great song “Jockey Full of Bourbon” was featured in another Jim Jarmusch movie, Down by Law, six years earlier. Waits also starred in that film alongside Roberto Benigni and John Lurie, who composed the soundtrack. Waits has been a part of six Jim Jarmusch films, either as an actor or composer, and John Lurie has been a part of four, performing in, and composing the score, in all four.
Roxanne
1978: Put on the red light because British-American new-wave rockers The Police release the song “Roxanne,” the first single from their fabulous debut album, “Outlandos d'Amour.” It would peak at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, but rise to No. 12 in the U.K., where the band was based. It would go on to be one of the group's most enduring and famous tracks.
The Daily Elvis
1962: Elvis Presley arrives in Hawaii to shoot portions of the movie Girls! Girls! Girls! At the Honolulu airport, he is besieged by over 8,000 fans, mostly Girls!, and loses his diamond ring and yachting cap in the melée.
Pictured: Leonard Cohen in 1969.
