Piano player and vocalist Sing Miller was born (James Edward Miller) in New Orleans on June 17, 1914. Miller worked with Percy Humphrey and Earl Foster, among others. In latter years, he was a fixture at Preservation Hall. Miller passed away on May 18, 1990 at age 75. Read more here. See Sing Miller discography. Watch Sing Miller videos on YouTube.
1957
The Jerry Lee Lewis single, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" debuted on the Billboard Country chart on June 17, 1957. The song had sold 100,000 copies in the South prior to Lewis appearing on The Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957. It went on to hit #1 on both the Country and R&B charts (it #3 on the Hot 100 pop chart), and it eventually sold more than 6 million copies. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2005.
1966
New Orleans born guitar and banjo player Johnny St. Cyr passed away in Los Angeles on June 17, 1966 at age 76. Early in his career, St. Cyr worked with Freddy Keppard, Armand Piron, Kid Ory, and many others. He was featured on Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens sessions, and many other classic trad jazz recordings. St. Cyr moved to California in the 50's where he led the Young Men from New Orleans at Disneyland. Watch Johnny St. Cyr with Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory performing at Disneyland. See Johnny St. Cyr recording credits. Listen to Johnny St. Cyr music on YouTube.
Piano player, composer and vocalist Jeff Naideau passed away in New Orleans in 2002 at age 48.
2006
The 28th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival featured sounds of New Orleans at the Hollywood Bowl on June 17 & 18, 2006. The lineup included the Branford Marsalis Quartet, Allen Toussaint with Elvis Costello, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Christian Scott.
2008
Dr. John and the Lower 911 were the musical guests on "Late Show with David Letterman" on June 17, 2008. They performed "Time for a Change" from their album "City That Care Forgot". Watch the video here.
