Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today December 7
1949
Tom Waits is born, the late-night chronicler with an old engine's voice
Tom Waits is born in Pomona, California: the bard of bars, cheap hotels and dented hearts. From the boozy ballads of the seventies to the junkyard expressionism of “Rain Dogs”, he built a universe of his own with a gravel voice and demolition percussion. Few artists have aged with such coherence inside their own myth.
Tom Waits
1910
Louis Prima is born, who wrote the swing anthem and ended up as a Disney ape
On December 7, 1910, Louis Prima was born in New Orleans, a trumpeter and singer who composed "Sing, Sing, Sing" and handed it to Benny Goodman, who turned it into the anthem of the swing era. When swing died, Prima reinvented himself as a Las Vegas casino act alongside Keely Smith. In 1967 he gave his voice to King Louie in "The Jungle Book".
Louis Prima
Benny Goodman
Keely Smith
1942
Harry Chapin is born, the storyteller who turned song into short fiction
Harry Chapin is born in New York: master of the story song — complete tales with characters and morals, like “Cat's in the Cradle” and “Taxi”. He devoted half his career to fighting hunger, donating entire concerts, a cause that earned him a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal. He died at 38 on the way to a benefit show, coherent to the end.
Harry Chapin
1985
"Caravan of Love" hits number one on the R&B chart and later becomes an a cappella hit
On December 7, 1985, "Caravan of Love" was topping the American R&B chart. It was credited to Isley-Jasper-Isley, the trio Ernie and Marvin Isley had formed with their brother-in-law Chris Jasper after splitting from the family group. A year later Britain's Housemartins recorded it a cappella, without a single instrument, and took that version to number one in the United Kingdom.
Isley-Jasper-Isley
The Isley Brothers
The Housemartins
1863
Pietro Mascagni is born, who won everything at twenty-six and spent fifty years trying to repeat it
On December 7, 1863, Pietro Mascagni was born in Livorno, son of a baker who wanted him to become a lawyer. At twenty-six he entered "Cavalleria rusticana" in a competition for one-act operas, won, and became famous overnight. He wrote fifteen more operas across half a century and none came close. He died in 1945 in a Rome boarding house.
Pietro Mascagni
1887
Ernst Toch is born, who wrote a fugue made entirely of place names
On December 7, 1887, Ernst Toch was born in Vienna, son of a leather dealer, and taught himself composition by copying out Mozart quartets by hand. In 1930 he premiered the "Geographical Fugue", a piece for spoken chorus built entirely from place names. He fled Nazi Germany in 1933, ended up writing for Hollywood and won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1956.
Ernst Toch
1924
Bent Fabric is born, a Danish pianist who won a rock and roll Grammy without playing rock
On December 7, 1924, Bent Fabricius-Bjerre was born in Copenhagen; he shortened his surname so Americans could pronounce it. His piano instrumental "Alley Cat" won the 1963 Grammy for best rock and roll recording, a category it had absolutely nothing to do with. Forty years later he was back on European dance charts, at nearly eighty.
Bent Fabric
1973
Damien Rice is born, who quit his band, went to Tuscany and came back with an album of his own
On December 7, 1973, Damien Rice was born in Dublin. He walked away from his group after signing to a major because he could not stand the terms of the contract. He went off to farm the land in Italy and came back to record "O" with money lent by a relative. The album came out on his own label in 2002, sold millions, and "The Blower's Daughter" ended up in the cinema.
Damien Rice
1977
Dominic Howard is born, the drummer who put Muse together in an English seaside town
On December 7, 1977, Dominic Howard was born in Stockport. He started playing drums at fourteen after seeing a jazz band at his school in Teignmouth. There he met Matt Bellamy and Chris Wolstenholme, and the three of them formed Muse in a seaside town with no music scene at all. They ended up filling stadiums with an operatic rock nobody quite knew how to classify.
Dominic Howard
Muse
1986
Nita Strauss is born, the guitarist who earned her place playing covers in a tribute act
On December 7, 1986, Nita Strauss was born in Los Angeles. For years she made a living in an all-woman Iron Maiden tribute band. Alice Cooper hired her in 2014 and she has been his lead guitarist ever since. She was the first woman to have a signature model in the Ibanez catalogue, a brand that had spent decades making guitars for men only.
Nita Strauss
Alice Cooper
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