January 22nd

Musical birthdays today include prog rock guitarist Phil Miller (68), Steve Perry (68), L.A. Guns drummer Steve Riley (61), Daniel Johnston (56), Widespread Panic lead guitarist Jimmy Herring (55), original Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler (52), Jeffrey 'DJ Jazzy Jeff' Townes (52), Mike & the Mechanics singer Andrew Roachford (52), singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (50), former Evanescence frontman Ben Moody (36), and guitarist Orianthi Panigaris (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Blind Willie Johnson, born on this day in 1897... for composer and NYC Ballet co-founder George Ballanchine, born in 1904... for Sam Cooke, who would have been 86 today... for Malcom McLaren, who would have been 71... for INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, who would have been 57... for former Riot lead singer Rhett Forrester, shot and killed in a carjacking today in 1994 at the age of 37... and for Associates lead singer Billy Mackenzie, who took his own life today in 1997 at the age of 39. 

Also on January 22nd: Columbia Records is founded in Washington, DC as the Columbia Phonograph Company (1889)... Alone with an acoustic guitar and tape recorder in his New York City apartment, Buddy Holly makes his last recordings, including ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’, ‘Crying, Waiting, Hoping’, ‘That's What They Say’, ‘What To Do’, ‘Learning The Game’ and ‘That Makes It Tough’. The solo tracks will be overdubbed posthumously and released by Coral Records (1959)... Thelonious Monk officially begins a six-year residency with CBS Records as the album Monk's Dream is released on the label (1963)... The Yardbirds featuring Eric Clapton appear at the Cavern Club in Liverpool (1964)... The Rolling Stones kick off their tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Manufacturers' Auditorium in Sydney with Roy Orbison, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders (1965)... The Beach Boys go into the studio to begin recording 'Wouldn't It be Nice' (1966)... The Monkees perform live for the first time, to a sellout crowd at the Cow Palace in San Francisco (1967)... The Who open their first Australian tour in Sydney with the Small Faces as their opening act... Dr. John releases his debut album Gris-Gris (1968)... The Beatles move from Twickenham Film Studios to Apple headquarters in London to start recording the Get Back LP. Billy Preston is brought into the sessions (John, Paul, and George have known Preston since 1962, when he was a member of Little Richard's backing group). The Beatles are determined to record the album 'live', flaws and all (1969)... David Bowie reveals that he is bisexual in an interview with the British weekly Melody Maker (1972)... Wings over America, recorded live during Paul McCartney's 1976 US tour, goes to № 1 on the US album chart (1977)... MTV begins broadcasting on the west coast of the US after being picked up by the Cable W network in Los Angeles (1983)... Adele breaks an American chart record that has stood since 1980 ~ the singer's album 21 has clocked up 16 weeks at № 1 on the US chart. Released last January, the record has now passed Sgt. Pepper and Pink Floyd's The Wall, which had previously held the accolade with runs of 15 weeks each at № 1. The London native has now sold over 6 million copies of 21 in America, and over  17 million copies worldwide to date (2012).