October 17, 2007 - Teresa Brewer, “the little girl with the big voice”, sadly passed away on this day in 2007 at the age of 76. She topped the 1950s hit parade with songs like ‘Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now’ and ‘Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall‘. In the ’70s, she re-emerged as a jazz vocalist, recording with such jazz greats as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
October 18, 1926, Born on this day, one of the greatest songwriters, guitarists, and performers of the early rock & roll era: Chuck Berry. He has clearly had a profound influence on musicians across all genres:
“To me, Chuck Berry always was the epitome of rhythm and blues playing, rock and roll playing. It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection.” - Keith Richards
“[My mama] said, ‘You and Elvis are pretty good, but you’re no Chuck Berry.’” - Jerry Lee Lewis
“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.” - John Lennon
“You are most certainly the inspiration for all of today’s rock ‘n’ roll guitarists. Your music is timeless.” – Smokey Robinson
Want to hear more Chuck Berry? He’ll be the featured guest on this week’s Friday Night Bandstand at 7PM with Brian Peroff!
October 19, 1967 - Canadian rock heroes Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit #1 on the US Pop Album Charts with Not Fragile, the only BTO album to reach that coveted spot.
October 20, 1890 - Born on this day way back in 1890, one of the first jazz giants: Jelly Roll Morton. With songs like “Mr. Jelly Roll“, “King Porter Stomp” and “Wolverine Blues“, he was jazz’s first great composer. Morton passed away in 1941 at the age of 50.
October 21, 1976 - Keith Moon played his last show with The Who at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto:
