March 18, 1961: Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane releases his album My Favorite Things. It changes jazz music forever -- and changes pop music forever, too.
Originally influenced by saxophonists Lester Young and Johnny Hodges, he became a fan of Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Tab Smith, citing them in a later interview as doing things "that I didn't understand, but that I felt emotionally." The leading saxophonist of the immediate post-World War II years was Charlie Parker, and Coltrane was fortunate enough to work with him, and with Hodges, and the trumpeter with whom Parker developed "bebop," John "Dizzy" Gillespie.
In 1955, trumpeter Miles Davis invited Coltrane to play with him. This lasted for 2 years, before, like so many other jazz musicians had, including Davis, Coltrane fell to heroin addiction. Once past that, he worked with pianist Thelonious Monk, for a few months, then rejoined Davis, working with him and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on Davis' magnum opus, Kind of Blue.
In 1960, Coltrane went solo, and recorded the album Giant Steps on Atlantic Records. The following year, he formed a new quartet, with pianist McCoy Tyner, bass fiddler Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin "The Emperor" Jones.
They recorded My Favorite Things, including the title track, a number from the Broadway show The Sound of Music. The character of Maria, played by Mary Martin in the 1959 musical (and, yet to come, Julie Andrews in the 1965 film), sings "My Favorite Things" as a straightforward pop number, talking about things she loves, like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens: "When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad!" It remains the best-known song from the show, and probably would even if Coltrane had never said, "Hey, here's an idea... "
In 13 minutes and 49 seconds, with extended solos from Coltrane on soprano saxophone and Tyner on piano, became something completely different, something composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein had never imagined. On later live versions, the Quartet would add flute player Eric Dolphy, and his high, piercing solo added a new level to it.
It was a revelation, but not a total shock, as Davis had already done something similar with George & Ira Gershwin's 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. Speaking of the Gershwins, the B side of the album was made up of an 11:31 version of "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess; and But Not for Me, from the Gershwins' 1930 musical Girl Crazy. The A side was was "My Favorite Things" and a 5:39 version of Cole Porter's 1944 song "Evry Time We Say Goodbye."
Calendar year 1961 would see another Richard Rodgers classic turned on its head. "Blue Moon," which he'd written with Lorenz Hart in 1934, was recorded by The Marcels, a racially-integrated doo-wop group from Pittsburgh, and it hit Number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 on April 3.
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March 18, 1961 was a Saturday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-103 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. Wilt Chamberlain scored 33 points and grabbed 23 rebounds for the Warriors. In 1962, the Warriors moved to San Francisco. In 1963, the Nationals took their place, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.
And the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-114 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Elgien Baylor scored 47 points in defeat for the Lakers.
There were 2 games played in the NHL. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Detroit. The New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings were not scheduled.
And in English soccer, the North London team I would one day root for, Arsenal, played Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, in Salford, outside Manchester.
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