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Great music moments in history
Week 6 or 7 (lost count) into the worldwide lockdown, lately music has been a comforter and source of inspiration more than ever these days. For me it’s been a lot of different music in my collection, but mostly MLT music at the Club. There are a lot of artists at home streaming their music online, but I enjoy the MLT music the most, especially all the recent Duo Sessions.
This has all led me to think of how music has made a difference in the world in history bringing people together despite their differences. There is John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”, in 1985 there was the big “Live Aid” concert for famine relief in Africa. In the 60’s we all remember the Beatles famous iconic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Woodstock (for what it symbolized), Elvis Presley with his pelvic dance moves to every living room in America etc.
Please share any great music moments in history you can think of here for the rest of us.Â
For me one that comes to mind is a Van Cliburn piano performance in Moscow in 1962. It was the height of the cold war between the Soviet Union and America! There was always a big rivalry between the Soviets and the US in everything; Olympics, the arts etc. The Soviets among other things dominated in modern classical music, chess, hockey, gold medals in sports etc.. In 1962 American, Van Cliburn, won one of the biggest coveted piano competitions in the world, the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1958, gaining hero status in the USA, and admiration in the Soviet Union. It was like Bobby Fischer’s Chess championship victory over Russia’s finest Chess Grand Master Spassky later in the 70s. In the height of the cold war, it was rare for people in the Soviet Union to admire anything in America, but Van Cliburn with his talent and charisma was admired.
One of Van Cliburn’s greatest contribution to the world was through his music, helping to ease some of the tension during the Cold war period, bringing Americans and Russians together in the common bond of music. This is a concert Van Cliburn performed in Moscow in 1962 to much acclaim in the Soviet Union. Who knows, maybe this had a small part in Khrushchev coming to his senses during the Cuban Missile crisis a year later with Kennedy and curtailing the Soviet fleet from entering Cuba and avoiding World War III with the US. 🙂
This 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5, is one of the most beautiful in classical music, and my favourite.
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17 Replies
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From Wikipedia:
His triumph in Moscow propelled Cliburn to international prominence.[10] The first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 was an event designed to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority during the Cold War, after the USSR’s technological victory with the Sputnik launch in October 1957. Cliburn’s performance at the competition finale of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on April 13 earned him a standing ovation lasting eight minutes.[11][12] When it was time to announce the winner, the judges were obliged to ask permission of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to give first prize to an American. “Is he the best?” Khrushchev asked. “Then give him the prize!”[11][13] Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been accorded a classical musician
Cliburn returned to the Soviet Union on several occasions.[8] His performances there were usually recorded and even televised. In a 1962 Moscow appearance, Nikita Khrushchev, who met Cliburn again on this visit,[13] and Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet Foreign Minister, were “spotted in the audience applauding enthusiastically”.[21] According to The Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Cliburn’s affection for the Soviet people—and theirs for him—was notable in its warmth during a prolonged period of superpower strain.“[
In 1987, he was invited to perform at the White House for President Ronald Reagan and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev[2]
Van Cliburn has played for every US President from Eisenhower to Obama.
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Impressive research there, Jung!
The first great moment in music history that comes to my mind is the Monterey Pop Festival, which kicked off the “summer of love” in 1967. Although the venue was much smaller than Woodstock, I think this event stands as a greater showcase of the music of the era. Here’s a complete list of the performers, from Wikipedia:
Friday, June 16 (evening):Â The Association, The Paupers, Lou Rawls, Beverley, Johnny Rivers, Eric Burdon and The Animals. Simon & Garfunkel
Saturday, June 17 (afternoon):Â Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Country Joe and the Fish, Al Kooper, The Butterfield Blues Band, The Electric Flag, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Band
Saturday, June 17 (evening):Â Moby Grape, Hugh Masekela, The Byrds, Laura Nyro, Jefferson Airplane, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Mar-Keys, Otis Redding
Sunday, June 18 (afternoon):Â Ravi Shankar
Sunday, June 18 (evening):Â The Blues Project, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Group With No Name, Buffalo Springfield, The Who, Grateful Dead, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Scott McKenzie, The Mamas & the Papas
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To tie in with Jung’s mention of Live Aid, I’m going to continue with that, as I recall when UK/Canada/USA all did their own versions of songs to help Africa or whatever the it all for back then… UK was Band Aid with “Do They Know It’s Christmas -/”Feed The World”, Canada ‘s effort was ” Tears Are Not Enough” and USA’ s version was ” We Are The World”
Then there’ s been the FarmAid shows, and many others along that line for charity /causes.
Then there’s:
The Famous Beatles Rooftop gig,
Stevie Wonder’s ” That’s What Friends Are For” and more that just aren’t coming to mind for me at the moment but I agree with Jung…
The magical effect that Music has the Magnetic Power to reach out and grasp people to come together.. ?
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Don’t forget Georges Concert for Bangladesh. Great lineup George, Ringo, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and so many others. Love the live version of Wah Wah!
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Thanks David! Monterrey Pop festival, I’ve heard of that. So that’s the one that kicked off the summer of love, so many great acts indeed! I would have loved Friday and Sunday evening especially.
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Thanks Jacki, yes it was all those different aid concerts and songs that I couldn’t recall of the top of my aid, glad you listed some of them off. Just examples of music directly helping specific crisis. Do They Know It’s Christmas and We Are the World were huge. And the rooftop concert, the best. This is one of my favorite videos of the greatest music band that ever walked the earth! Love John’s singing!
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Thanks Michael for pointing that one out. Will do a search for that Bangladesh concert, sounds very interesting. 🙂
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Kudos to George Harrison for “Concert for Bangladesh”
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I also remember way back in 67 or 68 there was a live show from all around the world to show off the new tv satellites and the one from England was the Beatles recording the last part of All You Need is Love with dozens of their friends (including Mick Jagger!) It was epic!
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Another awesome one Michael! They introduced this song on the airwaves/satellite to be viewed around the world. What an awesome fitting message to broadcast on the first global satellite transmission. A song that marks the message of an entire generation to apply so well to every generation to follow. The power of music!
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The Voyager 1 probe launched into deep space in 1977 is currently the farthest human made object from earth. One of the purposes of the deep space probe was to include a time capsule message intended to communicate to extraterrestrial a story of the world of humans on earth. Per Wikipedia:
The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecrafts launched in 1977.[1] The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find them. The records are a sort of time capsule.
The Voyager Golden Record included music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chuck Berry (Johnny B Goode), along with a few folk and other genre music composers content . The team also intended to include Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” and reached out to John Lennon, however, because EMI owned the legal rights to the song, it could not be included! Per Wikipedia:
Sagan’s team wanted to include the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun” on the record, but the record company EMI, which held the copyrights, declined.
What a travesty, as if aliens getting hold of the songs is going to violate some copyright rule! It was stupidty!  At least they tried, and Beatles music along with Chuck Berry was recognized as representing the best in music of humanity along with the old guard great composers Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
Starman just seems appropriate here to play! 🙂
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You’re right, Jung: what a stupid reason not to send the Beatles into deep space! Of course the chances of Voyager actually being found by an alien intelligence are practically nil, but symbolically it would have been a proud accomplishment for the human race. Not that the classical composers are any less worthy, of course, but I want to see those aliens boogie.
You’d think they would have put a Beatles CD on the spacecraft that flew by Pluto a few years ago on its way out of the solar system, but I guess the whimsical spirit of the 70’s has been forgotten.
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David, yes more symbolic than anything and there is probably a higher likelihood of future earth travelers centuries from now in deep space coming across the probe and rediscovering the music, but I guess you never know. 🙂 Did you see that new US military declassified UFO sighting film footage from the cockpit recorder of a fighter jet that was released a few days ago?  With all that has happened these last few weeks, nothing can surprise me now. 🙂
It was pretty disturbing to hear about the record label, EMI, having the power to keep a Beatles song under lock and key like that, despite the artists wishes. I don’t know if all the Beatles songs are still controlled by the record labels, but it is a shame how the greedy labels ripped off so many artists like the Beatles from the 60s with shoddy record deals back then.
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Yes, I’ve seen those UFO videos. I haven’t read anything about their interpretation, but as a confirmed skeptic, until we see some CLEAR images and/or detections from other sources, I’m going to say that we’re looking at defective pixels in the camera system.
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So if the Voyager probe makes contact with an extra-terrestrial in deep space one day, this could be what they hear first of earth. Now if MLT were around in the 70s and NASA used this video in the probe, I think the ETs would be so enchanted by Mona and Lisa singing, they would come looking for earth for sure. 🙂
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