Tag Archives: Marching Band

Events That Occurred In American & Pop Culture History November 5 – 8

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November 5:

The Nat King Cole Show Made Its Television Debut On November 5, 1956. Pianist and singer extraordinaire Nat King Cole hosted a variety show for NBC from 1956 to 1957. Cole was the first African American to host a television show; and even though NBC couldn’t find a sponsor for the show at the time, it agreed to produce the show and would even have kept it running longer than the 13 months it was on the air. However, since there wasn’t a sponsor for the show there wasn’t much money to pay the performers who appeared on the show and Nat King Cole made the decision to end the show in 1957 because he didn’t feel it was appropriate to continue to ask performers to appear on the show and pay them next to nothing.

If you like vocal music and/or classic Jazz and aren’t familiar with the music of Nat King Cole you should check it out! The library owns a number of Nat King Cole CDs – ask the staff if you’d like to check one out the next time you visit the library.

Here’s a link to a Classic TV Info page on the Nat King Cole show:

http://www.classictvinfo.com/TheNatKingColeShow/

And a second related link to a YouTube clip of the show which features Nat King Cole singing on his show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5tZrH2O4jc

November 6:

U.S. Composer & Bandleader John Philip Sousa Was Born On November 6, 1854 in Washington, D. C. Sousa was a musician and composer of band marches  who apprenticed with the U.S. Marine Band for twelve years from 1880-1892. In 1892 Sousa formed his own band and toured internationally to great acclaim. Sousa’s band music is very patriotic and is played by high school marching bands across the country. His music is also features in many annual 4th of July programs.

Here’s a link to a PBS biography of Sousa:

http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/sousa.html

And here’s a link to a YouTube clip of the U.S. Marine Band playing the most famous of Sousa’s 136 marches “The Stars & Stripes Forever;” which became the official march of the U.S. in 1987:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7XWhyvIpE

November 8:

Author Margaret Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900 in Atlanta, Georgia. Mitchell only wrote one novel but it became an exceptionally popular novel! The book is titled “Gone with the Wind” and it was a bestseller when it was published in 1936. The book even won the coveted Pulitzer Prize in 1937.

Gone With The Wind was a sweeping romantic drama set in the old south and chronicled the story of Rhett Butler and Scarlet O’Hara. The book was turned into an equally popular movie of the same name in 1939 that starred the classic Hollywood actors Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

Margaret Mitchell died from injuries she received after being struck by a car in 1949.

Here’s a link to a Margret Mitchell’s New York Times obituary which offers a nice overview of her life story:

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1108.html

And a link to an NPR article and accompanying podcast from 2011 titled “Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With The Wind’ Turns 75,” which discussed the history of the book and its continuing popularity:

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476187/margaret-mitchells-gone-with-the-wind-turns-75

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Chase’s Calendar of Events 2013. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2013. John Philip Sousa. Biography. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013,

Davidson, Jim. (2011, March 28). The Nat King Cole Show 1956-1957, Jim Davidson’s Classic TV Info. Online. Accessed November 1, 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8Q3cqGs7I

John Philip Sousa. Biography. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/john-philip-sousa-9489296

On This Day: August 17, 1949: Miss Mitchell, 49, Dead of Injuries. New York Times. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1108.html

Pulitzer Prizes 1937 Winners. Pulitzer Prize. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1937

Sousa: The March King: Biography. PBS. Online. Accessed NOvember 4, 2013, http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/sousa.html

Stamberg, Susan. (2011, June 30). Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With The Wind’ Turns 75. NPR. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476187/margaret-mitchells-gone-with-the-wind-turns-75