Music History Today: January 27, 2023

January 27, 2014: American folk singer, songwriter, and activist Pete Seeger died at 94.

Pete Seeger was associated with the Communist and Progressive parties in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1948 Seeger organized The Weavers, with whom he achieved his most notable success.

Pete Seeger

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They appeared on national radio and television and recorded a song, "Goodnight Irene," that was the number-one hit in 1950. But with the rise of anti-Communist feelings in the nation, the Weavers were blacklisted, along with hundreds of other leftist or formerly leftist entertainers.  

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January 27, 1756: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

Over the years, Mozart composed hundreds of works that included sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber music, concertos, and operas. One of those numbers was "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," German for "a little night music." The serenade was completed in Vienna on August 10, 1787. It's yet to be known why it was composed. Most of Mozart's serenades were written on commission. Such was the case with this song, whose origin and the first performance were not recorded. 

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January 27, 1976: The first episode of Laverne & Shirley aired on American television with an Intro, "Making Our Dreams Come True," by Charles Fox & Norman Gimbel. 

The cast of the Laverne & Shirley television show

January 27, 1995: The Basketball Diaries, based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by Jim Carroll, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Carroll provided music for the soundtrack from his "Catholic Boy" album.

January 27, 1972: American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago of heart failure and diabetes complications aged 60.

Mahalia Jackson started singing as a child at Mount Moriah Baptist Church and became one of the most revered gospel figures in the United States.

Mahalia Jackson

She was an international figure for music lovers from a variety of backgrounds. She worked with artists like Duke Ellington and Thomas A. Dorsey and also sang at the 1963 March on Washington at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King. 

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Goodnight Irene
The Weavers