Massey Hall was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on June 15, 1981. Notable performers and events The primary use of the hall has been for musical performances, but the hall has been used for many types of events, including public memorials, speaking tours, boxing, among others. Many dignitaries have attended the hall since its inauguration. In 1901, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V and his wife Queen Mary) visited with Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. Many prominent choirs, comedians, musicians, musical groups, singers and speakers have appeared on the stage of Massey Hall. The hall was also a prominent location for political speeches before the development of television. Until 1984, the primary performer at the hall was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, along with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Operatic singers have included Montserrat Caballe, Maria Callas, Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti and Vladimir Rosing. Classical musicians have included George Gershwin, Glenn Gould, Vladimir Horowitz, Oscar Peterson and Arturo Toscanini. Popular musicians and singers have included Tears For Fears, Justin Bieber, Cream, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, The Kinks, Kraftwerk, Lenny Kravitz, Gordon Lightfoot, Yngwie Malmsteen, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Nightwish, Joe Satriani, Seventeen, Ravi Shankar, Harry Styles, and Van Halen. Speakers at the hall have included William Booth, Winston Churchill, Helen Keller, Thomas Mann and the Dalai Lama. Comics have included Jerry Seinfeld and Russell Peters. Notable appearances, concerts and related media In May 1953, Massey Hall was the location of the notable Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie concert. Accompanying Gillespie and Parker were Bud Powell, Max Roach and Charles Mingus. The concert was recorded and released as Jazz at Massey Hall. Neil Young's performance on January 19, 1971, was recorded and later released as a live album, entitled Live at Massey Hall 1971. Young has since performed several times at Massey Hall. In June 1976 Rush recorded the live album All the World's a Stage here. Max Webster, a Toronto band, opened for Rush and would later headline at the venue in 1977 and 1978, followed by a solo performance by Kim Mitchell, formerly of Max Webster, in 1984. On January 8, 1995, Ronnie Hawkins celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at Massey, which was documented on the album Let It Rock. The concert featured performances by Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Band and Larry Gowan. Jeff Healey sat in on