Today in Music History for March 31:
In 1732, composer Franz Joseph Haydn, known as the ``Father of the Symphony,'' was born in Austria. One of his greatest contributions to church music was his 1798 oratorio ``The Creation.'' He died in 1809.
In 1935, trumpeter Herb Alpert, who rose to fame in the mid-'60s with his Tijuana Brass, was born in Los Angeles. He has sold more records than any instrumentalist, with such songs as ``The Lonely Bull,'' ``A Taste of Honey'' and ``Tijuana Taxi.'' He also topped the charts in 1968 as a vocalist on ``This Guy's in Love With You,'' and with 1979's ``Rise'' -- minus the Tijuana Brass. Alpert has also had a major impact on the industry's business side as a co-founder of A&M Records. From its 1962 start in his L.A. garage, A&M became the continent's largest independent record company.
In 1943, the revolutionary musical ``Oklahoma'' opened at the St. James Theater on Broadway. It was the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and ran for 2,212 performances -- a record until ``My Fair Lady'' came along in 1956. ``Oklahoma'' was the first Broadway musical in which the songs actually advanced the plot. ``Oklahoma'' was also the first complete Broadway score to be put on a record.
In 1944, Mick Ralphs, guitarist with ``Mott the Hoople'' and ``Bad Company,'' was born in Hereford, England. ``Mott the Hoople'' began in 1969 as a hard rock band. Three years later, David Bowie turned the group into glitter-rock stars when he produced their album, ``All the Young Dudes.'' The title song, written by Bowie, became a top British single and a gay anthem. Ralphs later helped form the hard rock group ``Bad Company,'' who had a No. 1 worldwide hit in 1974 with ``Can't Get Enough.''
In 1958, Chuck Berry released the single ``Johnny B. Goode.''
In 1981, ``Fame'' won the Oscar for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.
In 1982, the ``Doobie Brothers,'' led by Michael McDonald, broke up after a farewell tour. Their 1978 album ``Minute by Minute'' sold millions of copies. McDonald began a successful solo career soon after. The ``Doobies'' staged the first of several reunions in 1987.
In 1983, MTV added Michael Jackson's video for ``Beat It.'' It was the first video MTV played by a black artist.
In 1985, Quebec City FM radio station CJMF was ordered off the air by the CRTC for playing contemporary hit music in contravention of the terms of its licence. The station remained off the air for several months, then again began broadcasting current hits.
In 1986, O'Kelly Isley of ``The Isley Brothers'' died of a heart attack in Alpine, N.J. He was 48.
In 1992, two Bruce Springsteen albums went on sale nationwide. Some stores opened at midnight for fans who were waiting in line to be the first to buy ``Human Touch'' and ``Lucky Town.''
In 1994, Madonna's appearance on ``Late Show With David Letterman'' caused headaches for CBS censors. The network deleted 13 offending words from the audio track before the show aired. An obviously annoyed Letterman told the singer ``people don't want language like that coming into their living room.'' Madonna also handed Letterman a pair of her panties and told him to sniff them. He stuffed them in a desk drawer. The two later reconciled and Madonna reappeared on the show.
In 1995, Tejano music star Selena was shot to death at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, by a former president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar. Saldivar had allegedly embezzled money from a boutique she ran for the singer, and the two had arranged to meet to discuss the matter. Saldivar was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Selena, whose full name was Selena Quintanilla Perez, was only 23 when she died, but already had begun to expand the popularity of Tejano beyond its core audience in Texas. Almost four months after Selena's death, her album ``Dreaming of You'' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
In 1995, Carl Story, known as the father of bluegrass gospel, died in Greer, S.C., at age 78. He was among the first to merge the traditional rural sound of bluegrass with church music. Story recorded about 65 gospel albums, with such songs as ``Light at the River.''
In 2009, singer Natalie Cole was a guest on CNN's ``Larry King Live'' and revealed she was diagnosed with kidney failure. While she was still on the show, dozens of viewers wrote in offering to be tested as possible donors. She was diagnosed with hepatitis C in February 2008 and her kidneys failed after chemotherapy treatment. She underwent a successful kidney transplant on May 20. (She died on Dec. 31, 2015.)
In 2009, Yoko Ono returned to Montreal to unveil an art exhibit celebrating the 1969 Bed-In with her husband John Lennon at a hotel room in downtown Montreal that spawned the peace anthem ``Give Peace a Chance.''
In 2011, Canadian crooner Michael Buble married Argentine TV actress Luisana Lopilato in a civil ceremony in Buenos Aires.
In 2011, Billy Joel announced he cancelled his planned memoir, ``The Book of Joel,'' due for publication in June with an initial run of 250,000 copies. The Piano Man realized as he was writing the book that he was not interested in talking about the past.
In 2011, Mel McDaniel, a husky-voiced country music singer-songwriter with hits like ``Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On'' and ``Louisiana Saturday Night'' died of cancer. He was 68. The native of Checotah, Okla., sang for oil field workers in Alaska in the 1970s before becoming successful in Nashville. He was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1986.
In 2011, Keith S. Brown, the father of the renowned piano group ``The 5 Browns,'' was sentenced to serve at least 10 years in prison on charges that he sexually abused his three daughters (Desirae, Deondra and Melody) when they were children. The girls and two brothers make up the band, whose albums have topped the classical music charts and who have appeared on ``Oprah'' and ''60 Minutes.``
In 2014, a judge dismissed a $10-million lawsuit that claimed Justin Bieber and Usher's ``Somebody to Love'' was copied from parts of a song written by two Virginia songwriters.
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The Canadian Press
