July 17 in Music History: Happy birthday, Panda Bear
![Panda Bear](https://img.apmcdn.org/b5076d3f356ba017f6fcca2bc8ebf16d3cc8c936/normal/2e609c-20240709-panda-bear-fernanda-pereira-600.jpg)
July 17, 2024
History Highlight:
Noah Benjamin Lennox, who performs as Panda Bear, was born on July 17, 1978, in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is 46 today. Lennox is a founding member of the avant-garde rock group Animal Collective, who have released 12 studio albums since their formation in 1999. He has also put out several acclaimed solo albums under the Panda Bear moniker, including 2022’s Reset with collaborator Sonic Boom. He has had considerable success landing one-off collaborations with a wide variety of artists, such as Atlas Sound (“Walkabout”), Daft Punk (“Doin’ It Right”), and Solange (multiple tracks on When I Get Home). In much of his work, his unique voice and Beach Boys-inspired harmonies make for beautiful pop songs often obscured by innovative and noisy production. He has lived in Lisbon, Portugal, for the past two decades.
Also, Today In:
1965 - James Brown releases "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." It would become Brown's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten.
1967 - The Beatles single "All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man" was released in the U.S.
1967 - Jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital on Long Island. He was 40 years old.
1968 - The Beatles' fourth film, the animated fantasy "Yellow Submarine", premiered in London. Although the four band members in the picture are voiced by professional actors, the band itself makes a cameo in the finale, leading movie audiences through the song "All Together Now". The jukebox-musical-fantasy-comedy-adventure film was inspired by the music of the Beatles, and had a much broader appeal than most animated films of the time, which were geared toward children. It all takes place on Pepperland, a cheerful, music-loving paradise under the sea, home to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The four Beatles are voiced by professional actors, though the band itself makes a cameo in the finale, leading movie audiences through the song "All Together Now". The film would debut in the U.S. four months later.
1972 - While touring in Montreal, a bomb went off under one of the Rolling Stones' trucks. There were no injuries, and the show went on as planned.
1974 - In West Hampstead, London, The Moody Blues open what they claimed was the first 'Quadraphonic' recording studio.
1978 - Simple Minds made their live debut at The Satellite Club in Glasgow.
1981 - Universal Pictures releases the romantic drama Endless Love, starring Brooke Shields. The film is quickly forgotten, but the theme song, a duet by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, spends nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earns Richie an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
1987 - Virgin Records signed Keith Richards to a solo deal.
1987 - The Ozzy Osbourne Band started a 16-week tour of US prisons.
1995 - Carole King's Tapestry album is certified Diamond for sales of 10 million in the U.S.
2005 - Jamaican musician Laurel Aitken died. Dubbed as 'the Godfather of Ska', his 1958 'Boogie In My Bones' became the first release on the Island Record label and was No.1 on the Jamaican charts for 11 weeks.
2008 - Aging rock stars and session musicians would keep receiving royalties for their old recordings for the rest of their lives under a European Union plan. Performers had previously lost the rights to their recordings after 50 years. Veteran artists like Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey were among those who campaigned for it to be extended. The EU announced a new plan for copyrights on recordings to last for 95 years.
2011 - Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a tribute to Clarence Clemons at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, N.J. The boss played a 45 minute set to an intimate crowd of 400. Clemons who died on June 18th of this year was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone with him since 1971.
2012 - The soundtrack album to the film The Dark Knight Rises is released, destined to debut at #8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It also scores #10 on the Canadian albums chart. Composer Hans Zimmer becomes an overnight sensation, frequently compared with former golden soundtrack star John Williams.
2013 - U2 singer Bono received France's highest cultural honor for his contribution to music and commitment to humanitarian causes when he was presented with the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti in Paris.
2019 - Snow Patrol's ballad 'Chasing Cars' was named the most-played song of the 21st Century on U.K. radio. Originally released in 2006, the lovestruck ballad never reached No.1 in the UK, but remained on the charts for more than three years. Second place went to Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling', while Pharrell's 'Happy' came third.
Birthdays:
Jazz guitarist Mary Osborne was born today in 1921.
Vince Guaraldi was born today in 1928.
Diahann Carroll was born today in 1935.
Spencer Davis was born today in 1939.
Gale Garnett (“We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”) is 82.
Wolfgang Flur of Kraftwerk is 77.
Mick Tucker of Sweet was born today in 1947.
Ron Asheton, guitarist, bassist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop and The Stooges, was born today in 1948.
Terence "Geezer" Butler (bassist, lyricist for Black Sabbath) is 75.
Phoebe Snow (“Poetry Man”) was born today in 1950.
David Hasselhoff is 72.
Nicolette Larson — Neil Young collaborator with the hit “Lotta Love” — was born today in 1952.
Bruce Crump, drummer for Molly Hatchet, was born today in 1957.
Susan Silver — manager for Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees — is 66.
Regina Belle (“Baby Come to Me” with Peabo Bryson) is 61.
Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr., Folk Implosion, and Sebadoh is 58.
Luke Bryan is 48.
Jeremih is 37.
Kali Uchis is 30.
Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.