March 31
1958
“Johnny B. Goode” is released on this date, but not before some tinkering. Chuck Berry’s original lyrics reference Johnny as a “colored boy”, but it was changed to “country boy” to get radio play. “Johnny” is named after Berry’s piano player and collaborator, Johnnie Johnson, and Goode is the street in St. Louis where Berry grew up.
1966
More Elvis at the theaters with the release of Frankie and Johnny. The King lands a big paycheck with the film signing on for $700,000 upfront and 50% of the profits. The director was Freddy De Cordova, who worked with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and even directed live shows at the Hermit Club on Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.
1994
We’ll say it again. What did you expect when you book Madonna? The tape editors had their hands full when she appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman. There were thirteen offensive words deleted, despite warnings from the host, and at one point Madonna gives Letterman a pair of her panties and told him to sniff them. Comedian Robin Williams later described the encounter as a “battle of wits with an unarmed woman.”
2019
A rich voice that takes the audience back to a different time when Madeleine Peyroux visits the Kent Stage
2019
A bluesman comes to town with a country twang with Tommy Castro and the Painkillers
