Dr. Bob Prescribes Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
May
7th,
2024
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) and Duke Ellington (center; 1899-1974) at the Downbeat Club in New York City in 1948; Benny Goodman (1909-1986) sits directly behind Ellington’s left shoulder My Music History Monday post back on June 15, 2020, marked the death on June 15, 1996, of the the “First Lady of Song,” the “Queen of Jazz,”…
Music History Monday: The Evolution of Western Pop Music: USA (1960-2010)
May
6th,
2024
We mark the public release, on May 6, 2015 – nine years ago today – of a scientific/statistical study published by The Royal Society Open Science Journal, a study entitled “The Evolution of Western Pop Music: USA (1960-2010).” Royal Society Open Science Scoff not, my friends: this was, in fact, a high-end study conducted (and…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Duke Ellington
April
30th,
2024
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer, someone who led his eponymous jazz band (or “orchestra,” as he preferred to call it), for what was a record-making 51 years: from 1923 until his death in 1974. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974), in May 1943 at the Hurricane Club, Broadway &…
Music History Monday: The Duke
April
29th,
2024
John Wayne as Genghis Kahn (1956); not one of his finest cinematic moments We mark the birth of The Duke on April 29, 1899 – 125 years ago today – in Washington D.C. By “The Duke,” we are not here referring to the actor John Wayne (who was born on May 26, 1907, in Winterset,…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Yehudi Menuhin
April
25th,
2024
Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) in 1976 Monday’s Music History Monday post marked the birth – on April 22, 1916 – of the distinguished American-British violinist, conductor, and teacher Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999). During the course of that post, I wrote that Menuhin: “was a man of unwavering moral integrity and courage: a soft-spoken, kind, gentle, and elegant…
Music History Monday: One of the Really Good Guys
April
22nd,
2024
Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) We mark the birth on April 22, 1916 – 108 years ago today - of one of the really good guys of twentieth century music: the American-British violinist, conductor, and teacher Yehudi Menuhin. A reminder: because of my trip to Vienna, I am still – for this week – posting abbreviated Music History…
Music History Monday Replay: “The Empress” – Bessie Smith
April
15th,
2024
I am writing this post from my hotel room in what is presently (but sadly, not for long) warm and sunny Vienna. As I mentioned last week, I will be here for eight days acting as “color commentator” for a musical tour of the city sponsored by Wondrium (a.k.a. The Teaching Company/The Great Courses). I…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Ludwig van Beethoven, Diabelli Variations for piano
April
9th,
2024
Beethoven (1770-1827) in 1820, painted by Joseph Karl Stieler The Project In early 1819, the Vienna-based music publisher Anton Diabelli (1781-1858) had what was a great idea for a charity project. He sent a brief waltz of his own composition to 50 composers living in Austria and invited each of them to compose a single…
Music History Monday: The Guy Who Wrote the “Waltz”
April
8th,
2024
Anton Diabelli (1781-1858) We mark the death on April 8, 1858 – 166 years ago today – of the Austrian composer, editor, and music publisher Anton Diabelli in Vienna, at the age of 76. Born on September 5, 1781, his enduring fame is based on a waltz of his composition that became the basis for…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Bob Dylan: the Television Commercials
April
2nd,
2024
For the second week in a row, I’m offering up a different sort of Dr. Bob Prescribes (DBP) post. Yesterday’s Music History Monday marked the private ceremony, held on April 1, 2017, during which Bob Dylan received his Novel Prize for Literature. Typically, if I were to follow my usual modus operandi in today’s DBP,…