Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Music History Today: October 29, 2020

October 29, 1971: Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia.

Duane Allman, a slide guitarist and the leader of the Allman Brothers Band, is killed on October 29, 1971 when he loses control of his motorcycle and drives into the side of a flatbed truck in Macon, Georgia. He was 24 years old.

Duane Allman
Duane Allman

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On the afternoon of his accident, Duane Allman was speeding along Hillcrest Avenue on his Harley-Davidson Sportster when he slowed to let a flatbed truck carrying a huge crane boom make a left-hand turn in front of him. Allman pulled his bike toward the center of the road so he could swing around the outside of the truck, but in the middle of its turn the flatbed suddenly rumbled to a stop. Unable to maneuver around or under the giant obstacle, Allman ran right into it.  
Read more: History

October 29, 1958:  The Platters released their single "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

The Platters

“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” was originally a show tune that Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach wrote for a 1933 musical titled Roberta. The most famous version was recorded in 1958 by The Platters. Kern’s widow expressed concern that her late husband’s composition would be turned into a rock and roll record.  However, the song went to #1 the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B Chart. It went to #1 on the U.K. and Australian Charts. 
Read more: Daily Doo-Wop

October 29, 1966: The Left Banke peaked at Number 5 with "Walk Away Renee."

The Left Banke is an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. 

Left Banke

The band often used what the music press referred to as “baroque” string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as “Bach-rock” or “baroque rock.” The band's vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies, and other British Invasion groups. 
Read more: The Atlantic

October 29, 1967: The musical Hair opened at Joseph Papp's Public Theater off Broadway.

The musical Hair was controversial in 1968, with its rock music, hippies, nude scene, multiracial cast and anti-war irreverence. It billed itself as "the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical." Audiences didn't quite know what to make of that.

Broadway's idea of rock music had been the Elvis-like character in Bye Bye Birdie. Galt MacDermot's music for Hair was closer to the real thing. And the flower-power lyrics of James Rado and Jerome Ragni didn't sound like show-tunes either

Read more: NPR

October 29, 1973: John Lennon released the single "Mind Games" in the U.S.

“ 'Mind Games' was a fun track because the voice is in stereo and the seeming orchestra on it is just me playing three notes with slide guitar,” the Lennon said in an interview. “And the middle eight is reggae. Trying again to explain to American musicians what reggae was in 1973 was pretty hard, but it’s basically a reggae middle eight if you listen to it.”  
Read more: Rolling Stone

The Allman Brothers
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