Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today November 14
1900
Aaron Copland is born, the composer who invented how America sounds
Aaron Copland is born in Brooklyn, son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, and ends up defining the sound of the American prairie. “Appalachian Spring” and “Fanfare for the Common Man” created a language that film, advertising and even symphonic rock later plundered: Emerson, Lake & Palmer covered his fanfare in a prog key.
Aaron Copland
1934
Ellis Marsalis is born: the New Orleans teacher who trained an entire generation
On November 14, 1934, Ellis Marsalis was born in New Orleans, a pianist who chose to stay in his city teaching rather than go to New York in search of fame. Out of his classroom came Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton and four of his own six sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason. He died in April 2020, aged 85, of complications from covid.
Ellis Marsalis Jr.
Wynton Marsalis
Harry Connick Jr.
1939
Wendy Carlos is born, whose Bach-on-a-synthesizer album sold a million copies
On November 14, 1939, Wendy Carlos was born in Rhode Island. She helped Robert Moog refine his synthesizer and in 1968 released "Switched-On Bach": Bach's inventions played note by note on a monophonic electronic instrument, which meant recording every line separately. It was the first classical album to sell a million. She then scored "A Clockwork Orange" and "Tron" for Stanley Kubrick and Disney.
Wendy Carlos
Stanley Kubrick
1951
Frankie Banali is born, drummer of metal's first number one
Frankie Banali, drummer of Quiet Riot, is born in New York. His beat opens “Metal Health” (1983), the first heavy metal album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, a milestone that opened the mainstream's doors to the whole genre. A tireless worker, he defended the Quiet Riot name until his death in 2020, faithful to metal to the end.
Frankie Banali
Quiet Riot
1975
Travis Barker is born, who survived a plane crash and took thirteen years to fly again
On November 14, 1975, Travis Barker was born in California, Blink-182's drummer and probably the most imitated of his generation. In September 2008 the private plane he was travelling on crashed on take-off in South Carolina: four of the six people aboard died. He survived with burns over two thirds of his body and did not board a plane again until 2021.
Travis Barker
Blink-182
1805
Fanny Hensel is born, whose songs were published under her brother's name
On November 14, 1805, Fanny Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Felix's older sister and as gifted a musician as he was. Her father wrote to her that music would be a profession for her brother and, for her, at most an ornament. She composed more than four hundred works; several were published under Felix's name. She only began signing her own the year before she died, in 1847, six months before him.
Fanny Hensel
Felix Mendelssohn
1927
Narciso Yepes is born, who recorded the most hummed guitar piece in the world
On November 14, 1927, Narciso Yepes was born in Murcia, son of day labourers who bought him a guitar when he was four. In 1952 he recorded the music for the French film "Forbidden Games", and that anonymous "Romance" became the piece everyone who picks up a guitar tries to play first. Years later he designed a ten-string guitar to extend the instrument's range.
Narciso Yepes
1946
Manuel de Falla dies in Argentina, in exile and never having returned to Spain
On November 14, 1946, Manuel de Falla died in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, the most important Spanish composer of the twentieth century. He had written "El amor brujo" and "The Three-Cornered Hat", works that brought flamenco and Andalusian popular music into the concert hall. He left Spain in 1939, at the end of the civil war, and died in Argentina having never wanted to go back.
Manuel de Falla
1947
Buckwheat Zydeco is born, who hated the accordion until he was made to play it
On November 14, 1947, Stanley Dural was born in Louisiana, son of an accordion-playing farmer whose music he found old-fashioned and embarrassing. He played organ in funk bands until an older musician talked him into trying the accordion. He ended up the first zydeco artist signed to a major label and the man who took that French-speaking Creole music of Louisiana to audiences who did not know it existed.
Buckwheat Zydeco
1964
Rev Run is born, of the group that put hip-hop on television and on trainers
On November 14, 1964, Joseph Simmons was born in Queens, younger brother of Def Jam's founder. With Run-DMC he did what no rap group had managed: reached rock radio and television, covered Aerosmith and signed a million-dollar deal with a trainer brand after an audience held theirs up at a concert. Decades later he was ordained as a minister.
Rev Run
Run-DMC
Russell Simmons
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