Antonín Dvořák’s First Symphony Went Missing For Six Decades
Today in 1936, the premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 1. That was 71 years after the symphony was written, which is what happens when a symphony is thought to be lost.
To Get Out Of A Record Contract, Van Morrison Made A Malicious Compliance Album
Today in 1945, the birthday of singer/songwriter Van Morrison. His biggest fans and his loudest critics can agree that the guy does not like being told what to do, and he proved it by recording one of the strangest albums in the history of music.
Leon Theremin’s Musical Instrument Can Be Played Without Being Touched
Today is, thanks to a long-ago calendar change, one of two birthdays in 1896 of Leon Theremin. He invented a very unusual musical instrument that you play without touching it.
Among Other “Pranks,” Black Sabbath Once Set Their Drummer On Fire
Rock bands are known for excess. Just ask Bill Ward, who, while drumming for Black Sabbath, got set on fire, poisoned (repeatedly) and knocked off the side of a hill. Because pranks.
Dick Roth Won Olympic Gold While He Had Appendicitis
It's National Swimming Pool Day, so here’s a story of a guy who had to get into the pool: Dick Roth, who won an Olympic gold medal while trying to fend off appendicitis.
A Newspaper Called The Recycler Helped Bring Together Some Of The Biggest Rock Bands Of All Time
This month in 1973, a newspaper in California known as The Recycler started publishing. It was mostly a list of classified ads, but those ads have had a pretty big impact on music.
How To Keep Flying Robots Flying Even When Their Wings Are Damaged
Drones are becoming increasingly useful, but they can get damaged and grounded pretty quickly. A team at MIT has found bee-inspired workarounds that would keep impaired robotic crafts flying.
Cheers To The First Woman To Perform Shakespeare Onstage, Whoever She Was
Today in 1660, for the first time a woman took to the stage in England and performed a role in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello. We know she was a trailblazer. We know she was a pioneer. We don’t know who she was.
The Worst Sandwich Ever Was A Way To Get Around Anti-Liquor Laws
It's National Sandwich Day, and there are lots of great ones out there. The worst sandwich has a pretty clear champion - the Raines sandwich. Though to be fair, it wasn’t ever really intended to be eaten.
Florence Foster Jenkins Stunned Carnegie Hall With Her Singing
Today in 1944, the greatest concert in Carnegie Hall history, featuring a truly incomparable singer: the one and only Florence Foster Jenkins. Here's how the woman sometimes called the worst opera singer of all time ended up on one of the most famous stages of all time.