Music History Today: September 30, 2021

September 30, 2009: Guest star Kristin Chenoweth appears on an episode of the TV series Glee and sings "Maybe This Time ."

"The Rhodes Not Taken" is the fifth episode of the American television series Glee. It premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 2009.

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Special guest star Kristin Chenoweth performed on three of the episode's six musical tracks. Studio recordings of four of the songs performed in the episode were released as singles, available for digital download, and two appear on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. 

Read more: Wikipedia

September 30, 1935: Johnny Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas.

Singer Johnny Mathis' suave ballads helped him survive the dominance of rock in popular music, and his signature style propelled him to stardom across generations.

Johnny Mathis

Mathis sang in a jazz band while in college, and won a recording contract after an audition in San Francisco in 1955. Mathis scored his first No. 1 hit with "Chances Are" in 1957, and became known for his distinct rendition of popular Christmas songs. 

Read more: Biography

 

September 30, 1957: "Honeycomb" by Jimmie Rodgers will spend the next two weeks at the top of the charts.

Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington on Sept. 18, 1933. While stationed in Nashville by the Air Force, Rodgers, a budding performer, first heard future hit "Honeycomb."

Jimmie Rodgers

The Bob Merrill composition, previously recorded by Georgie Shaw, helped break Rodgers' career when he performed it in New York on the same Arthur Godfrey-hosted talent show most know about from Patsy Cline's life story. 

Read more: Wide Open Country

September 30, 1967: "Funky Broadway" by Wilson Pickett made it into the Top 10 at number 8 on the US music chart.

"Funky Broadway" was one of Wilson Pickett's two Top 10 hits on the US Hot 100 (the other was 1966's "Land Of 1,000 Dances"), though he routinely swept the R&B charts and scored at least some Top-40 hits on the UK charts as well. This song was written by Arlester "Dyke" Christian, of the group Dyke & the Blazers. 

Read more: Songfacts

 

September 30, 2002: The Rolling Stones released the two-disc compilation CD Forty Licks.

Forty Licks, like Elvis' 30 #1 Hits, is a career-spanning compilation that wouldn't have happened without the unprecedented, blockbuster success of Beatles 1.

Where Elvis' set is hurt by the simple fact that there are too many damn Elvis comps on the market, the Rolling Stones benefit greatly from the fact that there has not been any set that chronicles all their recordings from the '60s through the '90s.  The Stones made great albums that should be in any serious rock collection, but if you just want a summary of their best moments, Forty Licks is it; it does its job as well as Beatles 1 did. 

Read more: Allmusic

 

Maybe This Time
Kristin Chenoweth