October 2009

Died On This Date (October 15, 1964) Cole Porter / Iconic Composer & Lyricist

Cole Porter
June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964

Cole Porter was on of America’s most beloved composers and lyricists.  His popular scores include Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes while his iconic catalog of songs includes “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Night and Day,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.”  The greatest stars in the world have performed his songs on stage and screen.  That list includes Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman, Gene Kelly and Judy Garland.  Although he suffered many ailments through the latter part of his life, it was kidney failure that finally took his life at the age of 73.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Cole Porter from Rare Piano Rolls - COLE PORTER

Died On This Date (October 15, 2008) Frankie Venom / Canadian Punk Icon; Teenage Head

Frankie Venom (Born Frank Kerr)
1957 – October 15, 2008

Frankie_face300Frankie Venom was the lead singer of Ontario, Canada punk band, Teenage Head which he helped form while still in high school.  Formed in 1975, the band was one of Canada’s first wave of punk, and was often called “Canada’s Ramones.”    The band signed to Epic Records and released their first album Teenage Head, in 1979.  By the time their second album came out in 1980, the band were bonafied stars across Canada and beginning to break through in the U.S.  It was not unusual for their concerts to break out into riots by the end.  ’80s movie fans may recognize the band from their appearance in the Michael J. Fox film, Class of 1984.    In 2003, they teamed up with Marky Ramone to re-record a collection of their old songs entitled Teenage Head with Marky Ramone.  51-year-old Frankie Venom died of throat cancer on October 15, 2008.



Died On This Date (October 14, 1990) Leonard Bernstein / World Renowned Composer

Leonard Bernstein
August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990

With his sister Shirley following a performance, March 1951.
With his sister Shirley following a performance, March 1951.

Leonard Bernstein was one of the world’s most respected composers and one of the first American conductors to achieve worldwide acclaim.  Born in Massachusetts, Bernstein took to music at an early age and began learning the piano.  After graduating from high school, he attended Harvard where he became a member of the storied Harvard Glee Club.  By November of 1943, Bernstein was conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra where he stayed until 1969.  He was one of the first conductors to make numerous television appearances.  In 1957, his most famous piece of work as a composer debuted on Broadway.  It was West Side Story.  Over the course of his career, he wrote many pieces including five musicals, three symphonies and two operas.   On Christmas Day, 1989, Bernstein made history by conducting Beethoven’s Symphony #9 in East Berlin with an orchestra made up of musicians from both sides of the Berlin Wall.  It was part of the celebration commemorating the fall of the Wall.   With his health ailing in part due to years of heavy smoking, Bernstein made his final performance in August of 1990 and retired all together on October 9th of that same year.  He died of pneumonia five days later.



Died On This Date (October 14, 1977) Bing Crosby / Iconic Pop Singer

Harry “Bing” Crosby
May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977

Bing Crosby was one of America’s most beloved entertainers, with a career that spanned over fifty years.  As a pop singer, Crosby was a direct influence on the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dean Martin.  He was so beloved, that in 1948 it was estimated that his songs made up more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours devoted to music on radio.  He was also instrumental in the growth of the music industry itself.  In the late ’40s, he heavily invested in Ampex, helping it develop the first commercial reel-to-reel recorder in North America.   As for his music, he is credited with over 1700 recordings, almost 400 of which being top 30 hits, with over 40 making it to #1.   It is rightfully assumed that if sales data was collected more accurately during the early part of his career, those numbers would be much higher.  While vacatoining in Spain, Bing Crosby died of a massive heart attack while playing golf.  He was 74 years old.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Bing Crosby: The Definitive Collection - Bing Crosby



Died On This Date (October 14, 2009) Captain Lou Albano / Pro Wrestler & Music Video Star

Lou Albano
July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009

With Cyndi Lauper

Captain Lou Albano was a world famous WWF wrestler who helped professional wrestling crossover to the mainstream, thanks in part to his appearances in Cyndi Lauper’s popular music videos during the ’80s.  His towering image appeared in Lauper’s videos for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “She Bop,” and “Time After Time,” as well as “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.”  WWF leader, Vince McMahon capitalized on Albano’s pop music presence by creating the Rock ‘n Wrestling storyline which culminated in a wrestling “showdown” between Lauper and Albano after he “upset” her for claiming he was her manager, thereby orchestrating her success.  After “losing” to Lauper, Albano publicly apologized, endearing him to wrestling fans around the world.  He became the voice of the Rock ‘n Wrestling campaign.  That, along with Hulkamania helped turn professional wrestling into the pop culture phenomenom it has since become.  In 1983, Albano dueted on NRBQ’s tribute to him, “Captain Lou.”  Lou Albano passed away on October 14, 2009 at the age of 76.