Music History on April 20

Handel Buried

1759 George Frideric Handel is buried in Westminster Abbey, London

  • 1865 Crosby Opera House opens in Chicago, Illinois; destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871

El Capitan

1896 John Philip Sousa's operetta "El Capitan" premieres on Broadway at Broadway Theatre, NYC

  • 1954 "Golden Apple" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 125 performances
  • 1955 "Saint of Bleecker St" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
  • 1960 "From A to Z" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 21 performances
  • 1963 "Sophie" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 8 performances
  • 1968 British rock band billed as "Roundabout" debuts in Kastrup, Denmark; after a brief tour of Scandinavia, they change their name to "Deep Purple"
  • 1969 23rd Tony Awards: "The Great White Hope" (play) & "1776" (musical) win

We've Only Just Begun

1971 Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun"

Lord Byron

1972 Virgil Thomson's final opera, "Lord Byron", with libretto by Jack Larson, first performance at Lincoln Center, New York City

  • 1975 29th Tony Awards: "Equus" (play) & "The Wiz" (musical) win
  • 1981 "Fire and Smoke" single released by Earl Thomas Conley (Billboard Song of the Year 1981)
  • 1981 Rocker Papa John Phillips arrested for drug possession
  • 1986 "Jerry's Girls" closes at St James Theater NYC after 139 performances

Music Concert

1992 All-star benefit concert in memory of Freddie Mercury held at Wembley Stadium, London; performers include: Queen, Roger Daltry, Robert Plant, Zucchero, Paul Young, Seal, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Mick Ronson, George Michael, Elton John, Axl Rose, and Liza Minnelli

Music History

1992 Madonna signs $60-million deal with Time Warner

Shania Twain

1993 Mercury Nashville Records releases "Shania Twain", the debut studio album by Shania Twain

  • 1997 "Gin Game" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 144 performances
  • 1997 "Present Laughter" closes at Walter Kerr Theater NYC