Music History on February 25

The Governor's Son

1901 George M. Cohan's 1st Broadway musical "The Governor's Son"opens at the Savoy Theatre, NYC; runs for 32 performances

  • 1904 J M Synge's "Riders to the Sea" opens at Irish National Theater Society
  • 1911 Victor Herbert's opera "Natoma" premieres at Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1944 Alexander Gretchaninov's "Missa Oecumenica" (Ecumenical Mass) premieres in Boston with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the composer wrote the work in memory of the conductor's wife Natalie (1880-1942)

Your Show of Shows

1950 "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC. Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Woody Allen.

  • 1951 "Michael Todd's Peep Show" closes at Winter Garden, NYC, after 278 performances

Wonderful Town

1953 Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green's musical "Wonderful Town", starring Rosalind Russell, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 559 performances, wins 5 Tony Awards

Cricket Record

1957 Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit "That'll Be the Day" in Clovis, New Mexico

  • 1960 John Cage's "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos" premieres
  • 1963 Beatles release their 1st US single - "Please Please Me"

Oh! Calcutta! - The Bare Facts

1971 "Oh! Calcutta!" moves to Belasco Theater in NYC; runs for 1,316 performances

Give Ireland Back to the Irish

1972 Paul McCartney releases "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" single

A Little Night Music

1973 Stephen Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music" premieres at Shubert Theatre, later transferring to the Majestic, NYC; runs for 601 performances, winning 6 Tony Awards, ( Drama Desk Awards, and a Grammy

Grammy Awards

1981 23rd Grammy Awards: "Sailing" - Christopher Cross; and Billy Joel win

Grammy Awards

1986 28th Grammy Awards: "We Are the World", Sade, Phil Collins win

Tunnel of Love

1988 Bruce Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love" Tour begins in Worcester, Massachusetts

Music History

1990 On a BBC taped interview, rock star Stevie Nicks breaks down, saying that she will never have children & no man can stand her for long

  • 1992 34th Grammy Awards: "Unforgettable";, Marc Cohn win

Grammy Awards

1992 Muddy Waters wins Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards

  • 1993 David Shiner and Bill Irwin's comedy revue "Fool Moon" opens at the Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC; runs for 207 performances

Sinatra's Last Performance

1995 Singer Frank Sinatra performs for final time before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, in Palm Desert, California, on the closing night of his charity golf tournament

  • 1996 "Father" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 52 performances
  • 1998 40th Grammy Awards: "Sunny Came Home" best song, Paula Cole best new artist

Music History

1998 Pamela Lee has husband Tommy Lee arrested on battery charges

Stevie Wonder Receives Gershwin Prize

2009 American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.

BRIT Awards

2015 BRIT Awards: Best Single "Uptown Funk", Best Album "X" by Ed Sheeran