17 July 12

On this date in 1717, King George I of Great Britain sailed down the River Thames with a barge of 50 musicians, for the premiere of George Frideric Handel's "Water Music." Other musical notes for today include the 1928 birthday of Vince Guaraldi (most famous for creating piano music for "Peanuts" movies/TV shows) and the 1935 birthday of Peter Schickele (most famous for discovering the completely unknown works of P. D. Q. Bach, the "only forgotten son" of J. S. Bach).