Events in Music
Lyrical Ballads
1795-09-15 "Lyrical Ballads" published by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth - 1st work of English Romantic movement (probable date)
- 1900-04-30 Casey Jones dies heroically in a train wreck at Vaughn, Mississippi, while driving Cannonball Express (immortalized in "Ballad of Casey Jones")
- 1941-02-22 Roy Harris' "Ballad of a Railroad Man" premieres
- 1948-05-18 Jerome Moross and John Latouche'a musical "Ballet Ballads" opens at Music Box Theater, NYC; for 62 performances
- 1948-07-10 Jerome Moross and John Latouche'a musical "Ballet Ballads" closes at Music Box Theater, NYC, after 62 performances
- 1955-03-26 "Ballad of Davy Crockett" version recorded by Bill Hayes becomes the #1 record in US
In the Wee Small Hours
1955-04-25 Captiol Records releases "In the Wee Small Hours", the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra; collection of melancholy ballads with arrangements by Nelson Riddle was an early example of a concept album and helped popularize the 12-inch format for non-classical recordings
- 1956-07-07 Douglas Moore/John Latouche' opera "Ballad of Baby Doe," premieres
- 1966-03-06 Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets" becomes #1 (13 weeks)
- 1966-05-28 "Ballad Of Irving", parody song by Frank Gallop peaks at #34 in US
Music History
1969-06-04 Beatles release "The Ballad Of John & Yoko" (recorded by just John and Paul), backed with George Harrison's song, "Old Brown Shoe" in the US
#1 in the Charts
1969-06-11 "The Ballad Of John & Yoko" by The Beatles hits #1 in UK; recording involved only John (guitars, vocals, percussion) and Paul (bass, drums, piano, backing voice)
- 1973-05-19 Sentimental ballad "Daisy A Day" by Jud Strunk hits #14
Music History
2019-10-17 Lana Del Rey's ballad "Video Games" named song of the decade at Q Awards in London
- 2024-01-25 British researchers Christopher Marsh and Angela McShane launch website 100Ballads.org detailing top-selling broadside ballads of 17th century England, including images of original lyric sheets, and new musical recordings of the very old pop songs [1]
- 2024-01-28 100 Ballads names "The Wandring Prince of Troy" the most popular ballad of the 17th century in project documenting “the earliest form of commercial pop music in England" [1]
Birthdays in Music
- 1864-03-14 Casey [John] Jones, American railroad engineer who dies trying to save a train (Ballad of Casey Jones), born in Missouri (d. 1900)
- 1890-03-12 Evert Axel Taube, Swedish ballad singer and composer, born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1976)
- 1892-09-17 Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch organist and composer (Ballade of Merel; Te Deum), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1981)
- 1893-08-10 Douglas Moore, American organist, pianist, songwriter ("Goodnight Harvard"), and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Giants in the Earth; The Ballad of Baby Doe), born in Cutchogue, Long Island, New York (d. 1969)
- 1893-08-23 Roy Agnew, Australian composer (Sonata Ballade), born in Sydney (d. 1944)
- 1897-10-30 Agustín Lara, Mexican composer and singer-songwriter of popular ballads and boleros (Granada; Solamente Una Vez), born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz (d. 1970)
- 1909-07-13 Paul Constantinescu, Romanian composer (Ballad of the Outlaw for cello and orchestra), and pedagogue, born in Ploiești, Romania (d. 1963)
- 1913-03-03 Margaret Allison Bonds, American composer (The Ballad of the Brown King), pianist, arranger, and teacher, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1972) [1]
- 1913-07-24 Johnny McAfee, American ballad singer, saxophonist, and clarinetist (Harry James Orchestra; Sammy Kaye Show), born in Dallas, Texas (d. unk) [1]
- 1914-06-19 Lester Flatt, American bluegrass guitarist (Flatt & Scruggs - "Ballad of Jed Clampett"; "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"), born in Duncan's Chapel, Tennessee (d. 1979)
- 1916-03-22 George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer (The Ballad of Gilligan's Island"; "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), born in New York City (d. 2003)
- 1923-07-03 Johnny Hartman, American jazz ballad singer (John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman - "My One And Only Love"), born in Houma, Louisiana (d. 1983)
- 1924-01-06 Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass banjo player (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), born in Flint Hill, North Carolina (d. 2012)
- 1924-03-29 Jules de Corte, blind Dutch ballad singer and songwriter, born in Deurne, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- 1940-11-01 Barry Sadler, American soldier, singer, and songwriter ("The Ballad Of The Green Berets"), born in Carlsbad, New Mexico (d. 1989)
- 1943-05-05 Raphael [Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez], Spanish pop and ballad singer, born in Linares, Spain
- 1943-06-26 Georgie Fame [Clive Powell], English R&B and jazz singer and keyboard player ("Get Away"; "Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde"), born in Lancashire, England
- 1944-01-19 Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Finnish composer (The Whole World Will Lament; Kwaidan-balladit), born in Saltvik, Åland Islands, Finland (d. 2008)
- 1944-06-07 Clarence White, American session and country-rock guitarist (The Byrds, 1968-73 - "Ballad of Easy Rider"), born in Lewiston, Maine (d. 1973)
- 1953-10-08 Ricky Lee Phelps, American singer (Kentucky Headhunters - "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett"), born in Paragould, Arkansas
Nick Cave (66 years old)
1957-09-22 Australian singer-songwriter (Bad Seeds-Murder Ballads), born in Warracknabeal, Victoria
Deaths in Music
- 1802-01-27 Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German lieder and ballad composer, and conductor, dies at 42
- 1896-09-11 Francis James Child, American ballad collector (b. 1825)
- 1924-11-04 Gabriel Urbain Fauré, French organist, composer (Requiem; Ballade), and educator (Paris Conservatoire, 1905-20), dies at 79
- 1944-11-12 Roy Agnew, Australian composer (Sonata Ballade), dies at 51
- 1963-12-20 Paul Constantinescu, Romanian composer (Ballad of the Outlaw for cello and orchestra), and pedagogue, dies at 54
- 1969-07-25 Douglas Moore, American organist, pianist, songwriter ("Goodnight Harvard"), and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Giants in the Earth; The Ballad of Baby Doe), dies at 75
- 1970-11-06 Agustín Lara, Mexican composer and singer-songwriter of popular ballads and boleros (Granada; Solamente Una Vez), dies at 73
- 1972-04-26 Margaret Bonds, American composer (The Ballad of the Brown King), pianist, arranger, and teacher, dies at 59
- 1973-07-15 Clarence White, American session and country-rock guitarist (The Byrds, 1968-73 - "Ballad of Easy Rider"), struck and killed by a drunk driver at 29
- 1976-01-31 Evert Axel Taube, Swedish ballad singer and composer, dies at 85
- 1979-05-11 Lester Flatt, American bluegrass guitarist (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies at 64
- 1981-04-12 Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch organist and composer (Ballade of Merel; Te Deum), dies at 88
- 1983-09-15 Johnny Hartman, American jazz ballad singer (John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman - "My One And Only Love"), dies of lung cancer at 60
- 1989-11-05 Barry Sadler, American singer ("Ballad Of The Green Berets"), dies from complications of being shot 14 months earlier at 49
- 2003-05-02 George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer ("The Ballad of Gilligan's Island"; "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), dies at 87
- 2004-12-07 Jerry Scoggins, American country singer ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies at 91
- 2008-08-25 Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Finnish composer (The Whole World Will Lament; Kwaidan-balladit), dies at 64
- 2009-08-06 Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
- 2012-03-28 Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass banjo player (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies from natural causes at 88