Friday July the 25th

ON THIS DAY in 1874  
"The Maple Leaf Forever,'' one of Canada's most famous patriotic songs, was said to have been performed for the first time during the laying of the foundation stone for the Christian Baptist Church in Newmarket, Ontario. The song's composer, Alexander Muir, conducted a choir of schoolchildren. But the song likely had its first public performance years earlier. An 1871 sheet music edition said it had been "sung with great applause by J-F Hardy, Esquire, in his popular entertainments.''

              
In 1894, character actor Walter Brennan was born in Swampscott Mass.  He won three supporting actor Oscars before embarking on a successful TV career in the series The Real McCoys, The Tycoon & The Guns of Will Sonnett.  He also made a few non-singing recordings, the most popular being "Old Rivers" and "Dutchman's Gold."  He died of emphysema Sep 21, 1974 at age 80.

In 1908, character actor Jack Gilford (below) was born Yankel Gellman in New York City.  During the 1950s he was a victim of the McCarthy blacklisting which stalled his TV career until the early 1960s. But after that, he became a regular popular comic character actor on dozens of TV series and movies. He was most recognized for being the rubber-faced guy on the Cracker Jacks commercials for a dozen years from 1960-1972.  He had a regular role on TV's Soap, The Duck Factory, Apple Pie, Paul Sand in Friends & Lovers,and  the David Frost Revue. He died of stomach cancer June 2, 1990 at age 81.
                  

In 1920, the Canadian Marconi Company made the first trans-Atlantic two-way radio broadcast from Signal Hill, Newfoundland, to the S-S "Victoria."

In 1922, AT&T began broadcasting on radio station WBAY New York City, the predecessor of WEAF, WNBC, WRCA and the current WFAN.  AT&T broadcast assets within a few years were early NBC properties.

In 1925, 2XAG in Schenectady, NY became the first radio station in the U.S. to broadcast with a 50,000-watt transmitter. The station, soon known as WGY Radio, could broadcast with 50,000 watts, since it was owned by the General Electric Company -- a company that knew lots about watts. Today, WGY still broadcasts with its original call letters and is still using 50,000 watts of power.

In 1934, Grammy-winning jazz musician & composer Don Ellis was born In Los Angeles.  His most notable contribution was composing the score for the 1973 hit film The French Connection.  He suffered heart problems in the mid 70's & died Dec 17, 1978 at age 44.

In 1939, TV station W2XBS in New York City presented television's first musical comedy.The show was Topsy and Eva.

              
In 1942, Capitol Records claimed its first number one hit. It was one of their first six records released on July 1. The new company’s hit was Cow Cow Boogie, by Ella Mae Morse and Freddy Slack.

In 1946, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis began their partnership as a nightclub song and comedy act with a performance in Atlantic City. They split up in 1956.

In 1952, CBC/Radio Canada TV covered a Montreal Royals baseball game. It was the first experimental Canadian telecast. Regular programming began in September.

In 1958, pioneer Hollywood film executive Harry Warner, born in London Ontario, died at age 76. The studio bearing the Warner Bros. name has been a key player in the first 60 years of commercial TV.

In 1965, Bob Dylan, backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, horrified the audience at the Newport Folk Festival with his new electric sound. He was booed off stage after three tunes, but returned with his acoustic guitar to play "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."

              
In 1966, Eric Clapton played lead guitar for George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps'' on the album "The Beatles'' (also known as "The White Album'').

Also in 1966, in San Francisco the Rolling Stones performed their last U.S. concert with Brian Jones.

Still in 1966, the Supremes released their soon-to-be-smash-hit "You Can't Hurry Love."

In 1967, Tommy Duncan, for many years the vocalist with Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing, died at 56. Duncan's bluesy baritone was featured on Wills's 1940 million-seller "New San Antonio Rose.''

Also on this date in 1967, the Beatles and other British rock bands signed an ad in a London newspaper urging the legalization of marijuana.

                
In 1969, Toronto native Neil Young joined Crosby, Stills & Nash for the first time at a concert at the Fillmore East in New York. Young had worked with Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's second appearance was at the Woodstock Festival a month later. The quartet broke up in 1971 but re-formed a number of times in later years.

Also in 1969, a crowd of 70,000 showed up for the Seattle Pop Festival.

Still in 1969, John Sinclair, manager of the Detroit-based hard-rock band M-C-5, was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for marijuana possession. Sinclair was also head of the radical White Panther Party. Some record stores had refused to stock M-C-5's 1968 debut album, "Kick Out the Jams,'' because of obscenities in the title cut.

In 1970, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by the Carpenters topped the charts and stayed there for 4 weeks.

Also in 1970, Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was released.

In 1971, the Beach Boys released their album "Surf's Up."

In 1976, Canadian folk singers Kate & Anna McGarrigle made their London debut at the Victoria Palace. One British critic called their music "a holy marriage of strong sentiment and brilliant, pure singing,'' and said their voices were among the best to be heard in popular music.

In 1980, KISS introduced their new drummer, Eric Carr, at a concert at the Paladium in New York City.

              
Also in 1980, AC\DC released "Back In Black," their first album with Brian Johnson as lead singer.

In 1981, "The One That You Love" by Air Supply topped the charts, but only for the one week.

In 1984, blues singer Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton died in Los Angeles of a heart attack at 57. She's best known for recording the original version of the Elvis Presley hit "Hound Dog." Thornton's recording topped the R-and-B chart in 1953.

In 1990, comic & TV star Roseanne Barr was booed off the field after she screeched a crotch-grabbing rendition of the national anthem at a Padres baseball game in San Diego. President Bush called the performance "disgusting.''

In 1992, actor Alfred Drake, who sang his way to stardom in the original Broadway production of "Oklahoma!" in 1943, died in New York at 77. Drake won a 1954 Tony Award for his role as a poet who becomes Emir of Baghdad for a day in "Kismet."

Also in 1992, Bryan Adams helped two motorists whose car struck his on a highway in St. Gellen, Switzerland. Adams was traveling from Zurich to Vienna as part of a concert tour when the other car skidded out of control, grazed his car and hit an embankment.

              
In 1995, country singer Charlie Rich died in Hammond, Louisiana of a blood clot in the lungs. He was 62. Rich began as a rockabilly artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1958, but didn't gain wide success until 1973 when his ballads "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl" crossed over to the pop charts.

Also in 1995, Jimi Hendrix's father regained the rights to his son's music. Under a court settlement, Al Hendrix paid an undisclosed amount to companies that had controlled the rights for 20 years. Hendrix died in 1970.

In 1996, a Montreal-staged telethon raised more than three-million dollars for flood victims in Quebec's Saguenay region. Sarah McLachlan, Robert Charlebois and Gilles Vigneault were among the artists who appeared live. There were also video performances from Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette and Bryan Adams.

In 1997, a jury found All in the Family star Carroll O'Connor not guilty of slandering Harry Perzigian, whom O'Connor accused of supplying his dead son the drugs on which he overdosed.

Also in 1997, Autumn Jackson was convicted of trying to extort $40 million from Bill Cosby. She had claimed to be Cosby's illegitimate daughter.

                
Still in 1997, on the Grand Old Opry Martina McBride introduced her new single "Broken Wing" with a special guest. Her father, Daryl Schiff (considered a part-time singer) joined her on stage.

In 1999, all hell broke loose at Woodstock 99. Fires fueled by paper plates, pizza boxes and garbage strewn around everywhere broke out during a set by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group's encore is delayed because a remote sound tower begins to burn. A fire truck is brought in to put out the blaze.

In 2001, Mariah Carey checked herself into a hospital suffering from an emotional and physical breakdown.

In 2002, a second radio station operated by “Radio Punjab” started broadcasting from Washington State into the Vancouver area.  Its studios are in Surrey.The signal is picked up over the internet and broadcast from the KCCF 1550 transmitter near Ferndale.  This means that both AM 1550 & 1600 are different Radio Punjab services.

Also in 2002, Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from her second husband, Cris Judd.

In 2003, Erik Braunn, the lead guitarist for the '60s rock band Iron Butterfly, died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at 52. Braunn was 16 when he joined Iron Butterfly. He was the lead guitarist on the band's 1968 anthem "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.'' The album went platinum and stayed on the national sales charts for two years. A three-minute version of the original, 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'' became a Top 40 radio hit. Braunn occasionally reunited with the band for performances, and worked as a songwriter, musician and producer.

                
In 2005. it was reported that disc jockey  Joe O'Brien had been killed in a car crash at the age of 90. O'Brien spent 50 years in New York radio beginning in 1935. The pinnacle of his career was at WMCA during the 1960s as part of "The Good Guys" - a lineup of unforgettable Top 40 DJs.

In 2006, Metallica put up four albums for sale on iTunes. The albums "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master of Puppets" and "...And Just For All" included previously unreleased tracks recorded in Seatle in 1989. Metallica had led the charge against the original Napster online file-sharing service.


Today's Birthdays:

Actress Estelle Getty (Golden Girls) is 85.

Actress Barbara Harris (The Nurses, Stand Up & Cheer) is 73.

Singer Donna Theodore is 67.

Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty is 64.

Bassist Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire is 57.

Supermodel Iman (Tyra Banks Show, Project Runway) is 53.
  
Guitarist Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is 50.

Actress-singer Bobbie Eakes (All My Children, The Bold & the Beautiful) is 47.

Actress Katherine Kelly Lang (The Bold & the Beautiful) is 47.

Country singer Marty Brown is 43.

Actress Illeana Douglas (Action, Law & Order SVU) is 43.

Actor Matt LeBlanc (Joey, Friends) is 41.

Actor D.B. Woodside (24) is 39.

Actress Miriam Shor (Swingtown) is 37.

Actor James Lafferty (One Tree Hill) is 23.


Chart Toppers - July 25th

1951
Too Young - Nat King Cole
My Truly, Truly Fair - Guy Mitchell
Mister and Mississippi - Patti Page
I Wanna Play House with You - Eddy Arnold

1960
I’m Sorry - Brenda Lee
Only the Lonely - Roy Orbison
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin

1969
In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans
Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & The Shondells
Johnny B. Goode - Buck Owens

1978
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
Miss You - The Rolling Stones
Only One Love in My Life - Ronnie Milsap

1987
Alone - Heart
Shakedown - Bob Seger
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2
The Weekend - Steve Wariner

1996
How Do U Want It/California Love - 2 Pac (featuring KC & JoJo)
You’re Makin’ Me High/Let It Flow - Toni Braxton
Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
Daddy’s Money - Ricochet

2005
We Belong Together  - Mariah Carey
Behind These Hazel Eyes  - Kelly Clarkson
Don’t Phunk With My Heart  - Black Eyed Peas
As Good As I Once Was - Toby Keith