Today in Music History for April 30:
In 1925, country singer Johnny Horton was born in Tyler, Texas. His "Battle of New Orleans" sold one million copies in 1959, as did his 1960 "North to Alaska," the title song from a John Wayne movie. Horton was killed in a car crash in Texas on Nov. 5, 1960.
In 1933, country superstar Willie Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas. He first gained fame as a songwriter. Among his compositions are two that have become standards in country music -- "Crazy" and "Family Bible." After recording 18 albums for RCA, he fled Nashville in the early 1970s for Austin, Texas, where, with Waylon Jennings, he became the leader of the "Outlaw" country movement. Nelson later turned his attention to updating such pop standards as "Stardust" and "Over the Rainbow." In 1993, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In 1955, "Les Varieties lyriques," a private company which presented operettas in Montreal for 19 years, closed its doors with a production of Jacques Offenbach's "La Fille du Tambourmajor." Increasing production costs and the competition from television were blamed for the company's demise.
In 1965, Bob Dylan began a British tour backed by "The Band." The tour was filmed for the documentary "Don't Look Back."
In 1966, folk singer and songwriter Richard Farina died in a motorcycle crash in Carmel, Calif., following a party to launch his book, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me." He was 30. Farina recorded several albums with his wife Mimi, who is Joan Baez's sister.
In 1967, Canadian folksingers Ian and Sylvia Tyson performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.
In 1968, "Blood, Sweat and Tears" founder Al Kooper, along with saxophonist Randy Brecker, left the band after recording the group's first album, "Child is Father to the Man."
In 1980, the film "McVicar," starring Roger Daltrey of "The Who" and veteran British rock singer Adam Faith, opened in London. The film didn't play in North America until late summer, and then not for very long.
In 1983, one of the greatest-ever blues singers, Muddy Waters, died in Chicago of a heart attack. He was 68. His rough, direct urban blues were an immense influence on many of the 1960s British groups, including "The Rolling Stones," who took their name from one of his songs. "The Rolling Stones" also included "I Can't Be Satisfied," a 1948 Waters hit, on their second album. The success of Waters' records in the late '40s and early '50s helped make Chicago's Chess label into a major independent record company. The firm became even bigger later in the decade, with the records of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.
In 1983, the original lineup of the 1960s British group "Manfred Mann" reunited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of London's Marquee Club.
In 1984, R&B singer Z.Z. Hill died at age 49 of a heart attack stemming from phlebitis and a broken leg.
In 1988, Montreal native Celine Dion sang the winning entry for Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. She performed the ballad "Don't Leave Without Me (Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi)."
In 1993, "Guns N' Roses" rhythm guitarist Gilby Clark broke his wrist in a motorcycle accident in Castaic Lake, Calif. He was practising for a celebrity charity race. The injury forced the band to cancel four U.S. shows. Former band member Izzy Stradlin filled in for several European dates.
In 1998, Harold "Curly" Chalker, whose steel guitar licks were heard on some of pop and country music's biggest hits, died of a cancer-related brain tumour in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 66. Among the records Chalker played on were "Simon and Garfunkel's" "The Boxer," Marie Osmond's "Paper Roses" and Hank Thompson's "Wild Side of Life." Chalker also played steel guitar on the TV show "Hee Haw" for 18 years.
In 1999, Marilyn Manson cancelled his concert near Denver in the wake of the shootings at Columbine High School.
In 1999, drummer Darrell Sweet of "Nazareth" died of a heart attack as the band arrived for a show in New Albany, Ind. He was 51.
In 2009, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre. She wrote all of the music and lyrics for the show, and she was involved in all of the casting. The musical received 15 Drama Desk nominations, breaking the old record of 14. However, it only won one award -- Alison Janney as outstanding actress in a musical. Its run on Broadway last only for 148 performances. It began a tour of North America in 2010.
In 2010, singer-songwriters Bryan Adams and Buffy Sainte-Marie were among the recipients of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards for lifetime artistic achievement.
In 2011, Grammy award-winning singer Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon celebrated their third anniversary with another milestone — becoming parents to twins -- a baby girl and boy, named Monroe and Moroccan. (They have since divorced.)
In 2014, bassist Paul Goddard of the Atlanta Rhythm Section died after a brief sudden illness at the age of 68. He retired from touring in the mid-1980s but returned to the band in 2011.
In 2015, Ben E. King, lead singer for The Drifters and a solo star whose plaintive baritone graced such pop and R&B classics as "Stand by Me," ''There Goes My Baby," "Save the Last Dance For Me" and "Spanish Harlem," died at age 76. King and The Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
In 2015, former 'N Sync members Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick attended a ceremony to receive the boy band's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
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The Canadian Press