Music History on January 22

Thomas Tallis and William Byrd

1575 English Queen Elizabeth I grants composers Thomas Tallis & William Byrd music press monopoly

Brahms' 1st Piano Concerto

1859 Johannes Brahms' 1st piano concerto (in D minor) premieres in Hanover

  • 1931 Jazz trumpeter Clyde McCoy records "Sugar Blues" for Columbia Records; sells over 14 million copies internationally

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

1934 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" debuts in Leningrad

  • 1949 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 121 performances

Buddy Holly's Last Recordings

1959 Buddy Holly makes his last recordings in his NYC apartment, alone with an acoustic guitar; he tapes five songs including "Peggy Sue" and "Crying, Waiting, Hoping", which were embellished, overdubbed, and released posthumously by Coral Records

Lady Soul

1968 "Lady Soul" 14th studio album by Aretha Franklin is released (Billboard Album of the Year, 1968)

  • 1969 "Celebration" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 110 performances

Power to the People

1971 John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band record "Power to the People" at his Ascot Sound home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England