November 16

 

The "Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy was born today in 1873 in Florence, Alabama, the composer and bandleader whose transcriptions of Delta blues and compositions like "St. Louis Blues" and "Memphis Blues" helped preserve and popularize African-American musical traditions before his death in 1958…

 

Rock and roll's wildest mama faced the law today in 1969 when Janis Joplin was arrested during a gig in Tampa, Florida after cursing at a policeman from the stage, adding another chapter to the blues-rock shouter's reputation for confronting authority and living hard…

 

Digital music history was made today in 2010 when The Beatles' back catalogue finally became available on iTunes after years of negotiations between Apple Corps and Apple Inc., ending one of the music industry's longest holdouts against the digital revolution…

 

Jazz's most elegant voice Diana Krall was born on this day in 1964 in Nanaimo, British Columbia, the pianist and vocalist whose sophisticated interpretations of standards and marriage to Elvis Costello have made her contemporary jazz's most commercially successful artist.