February 1st

 

Musical birthdays today include former Kingston Trio member Bob Shane (88), former Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show vocalist Ray Sawyer (85), bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Del McCoury (83), ex-Crusaders pianist Joe Sample (83), soul singer Chris Clark (76), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell (72), slide guitarist Sonny Landreth (71), ex-Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski (68), X co-lead singer Exene Cervenka (66), Lisa Marie Presley (54), Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson (53), former Offspring drummer Ron Welty (51), rapper Antwan 'Big Boi' Patten (47), MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden (39), Laura Marling (32), and Harry Styles (28). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Victor Herbert, born on this day in 1859... for Don Everly, who would have been 85 today... for French song & dance man Claude François, who would have been 83... for Rick James, who would have been 73... for former Warrant frontman Jani Lane, who would have been 57... for Beatles music publisher Dick James, who died on this date in 1986... for former Manic Street Preachers guitarist Ritchey Edwards, who disappeared on this day in 1995, and was legally presumed dead in 2008... for composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who died in 2007... for Cecil Womack, who passed away in 2013... and for Temptations vocalist Dennis Edwards, who died in 2018... and for drummer Sam Lay, who left us today.  

Also on February 1st: Puccini's La Boheme has its world premiere in Turin (1896)... RCA releases the first 45 RPM discs (1949)... Neil Young plays his first professional gig at a country club in Winnipeg (1963)... The Beatles' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' hits № 1 in the US (1964)... James Brown records 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' at the Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, NC (1965)... At Abbey Road studios, The Beatles start work on the song 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. It isn't until recording is complete that Paul McCartney has the idea to make the song the thematic pivot for their forthcoming album... Pink Floyd spend the day recording parts for the Syd Barrett songs 'Arnold Layne' and 'Candy and a Current Bun' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. The Floyd also turn professional on this day after signing a deal with EMI Records (1967)... The Who kick off their third US tour with a show at the San Jose, CA Civic Auditorium (1968)... The Doors release Morrison Hotel (1970)... Diana Ross marries Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess in Geneva, with Stevie Wonder leading the band (1986)... Green Day release the album Dookie, which will go on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide (1994)... Blur have the № 1  single in the UK with 'Beetlebum'... Boy George is beaten up by two bouncers outside the Ministry of Sound in London after he tries to jump the queue (1997)... NASA announces that 'Across the Universe' is to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space. The track will be transmitted through the Deep Space Network ~ a network of antennas ~ on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles recording of the song, being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. In a message to NASA, Sir Paul McCartney calls the project an 'amazing feat.' 'Well done, NASA,' he adds, 'Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul' (2009).

January 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include composer Philip Glass (84), blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite (77), KC and the Sunshine Band lead singer Harry Casey (70), Roxy Music lead guitarist Phil Manzanera (68), former Whitesnake lead guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (67), John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten (65), Lloyd Cole (60), original Nirvana drummer Chad Channing (54), The Cure drummer Jason Cooper (54), Justin Timberlake (40), Greek pop singer Elena Paparizou (39), and Marcus Mumford (34).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Franz Schubert, born on this day in 1797... for song & dance man Eddie Cantor, born in 1892... for folklorist & ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, born in 1915... for Mario Lanza and Carol Channing, both born in 1921... for Chuck 'King of the Stroll' Willis, born in 1928... for former Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who would have been 57... for Edwin Howard Armstrong, the inventor of FM radio, who died on this date in 1954... for blues harmonica player Slim Harpo, who passed away in 1970... and for former Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin, who died in 2009... and for King Crimson and Asia lead singer and bassist John Wetton, who left us three years ago today.

Also on January 31st: RCA engineers demonstrate the first programmable sound synthesizer... Decca Records announces that Bill Haley & His Comets' 'Rock around the Clock' has sold over one million copies in the UK, mostly on 10" 78 RPMs (1957)... The Beatles spend a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent to complete filming for the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' promotional video. The film is shot in colour, for the benefit of the US market, since British television is still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming, John Lennon buys a 1843 poster from an antiques shop in Surrey which provides him with many of the lyrics for song 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite' (1967)... Led Zeppelin play the first of two nights at the Fillmore East in NYC during the band's first North American tour. Porter's Popular Preachers open the night, then Zeppelin take the stage. Legend has it that the English new arrivals' show was so powerful and received such an enthusiastic audience reception that headliners Iron Butterfly refused to follow them (1969)... The Jackson Five go to the top of the US singles chart with 'I Want You Back'. The song, originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips, is the first of four stateside № 1s for the group (1970)... Winners in a readers poll for UK Music weekly Sounds include: Best album of 1975: 'A Night At The Opera', by Queen; best single: 'Bohemian Rhapsody'; best band: Queen; musician of the year: Mike Oldfield; female singer of the year: Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span; best new band: Rainbow; biggest bore of the year: The Bay City Rollers (1976)... Blondie have the № 1 single in America with 'The Tide Is High' (1981)... Paul Simon's Graceland is the № 1 album in the UK ~ the record spends a total of 101 weeks on the chart (1987)... The Strokes make their UK debut playing the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth (2000)... More than 35 years after his death, Jim Morrison is enlisted to help fight global warming. A spokesman for the Global Cool Campaign announces that 'Woman in the Window', a previously unreleased poem written and recorded by The Doors frontman shortly before he died in 1971, is being set to music and used to publicize the issue (2007).

 

January 30th

 Musical birthdays today include producer & songwriter Mitch Murray (81), Phil Collins (70), American Music Club lead singer Mark Eitzel (62), Jody Watley (62), Orgy lead singer Jay Gordon (54), bassist Trevor Dunn (53), Puffy AmiYumi singer Yumi Yoshimura (46), and Marcus Mumford (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for choral composer Thomas Tallis, born on this day in 1505... for conductor Walter Damrosch, born today in 1862... for trumpeter Roy 'Little Jazz' Eldridge, born in 1911... for jazz double bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, birn in 1928... for Jefferson Airplane lead guitarist Marty Balin, who would have been 79... for former Small Faces and Humble Pie guitarist Steve Marriott, who would have been 74... for composer Francis Poulenc, who died on this date in 1963... for New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair, who died in 1980... for Lightnin' Hopkins, who passed away in 1982... and for Patty Andrews, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on January 30th: The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of the Hallé Orchestra as a full-time professional orchestra (1858)... Elvis begins recording what will be his first album for RCA at their NYC studios (1956)... The Shirelles become the first girl group to have the № 1 song on the US chart when 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' reaches the top (1961)... The Velvet Underground release White Light/White Heat (1968)... The Beatles [with Billy Preston], play their lunchtime rooftop gig on top of the Apple building on Savile Row in London. It will be the last time all four members of the group perform together live. They play ‘Get Back’, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’, ‘The One After 909’ and ‘Dig A Pony’. Traffic is brought to a standstill as crowds of people gather below and watch from windows in nearby buildings. The performance itself begins just after 12 PM on a bitterly cold day and lasts for 42 minutes. John Lennon ends the show [at the behest of police constables] by saying “I’d like to say ‘Thank you’ on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition” (1969)... Carole King's Tapestry album is released. It will become the longest charting album by a female solo artist and go on to sell 24 million copies worldwide (1971)... Paul McCartney writes and records his protest song 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish' within 24 hours of Bloody Sunday, when 13 Catholics were killed by British paratroopers (1972)... After recently changing their name from Wicked Lester, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss make their first appearance as Kiss at the Popcorn Club in Queens, NYC (1973)... The Bee Gees begin recording 'Jive Talkin', which will become their second US chart topper and a № 5 UK hit. Barry Gibb's inspiration for the song came when his wife commented on the sound their car made while crossing a bridge over Biscayne Bay into Miami. She noted, "It's our drive talking" (1975)... Hall & Oates have their fourth US № 1 with 'I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)'... Paul McCartney is the guest on BBC radio's Desert Island Discs. His selections Elvis' 'Heartbreak Hotel', Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen', John Lennon's 'Beautiful Boy 'and Little Richards 'Tutti Frutti' (1982)... Tiffany is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Think We're Alone Now' (1988)... Unhappy with the re-issue of the band's early single 'Sally Cinnaman' The Stone Roses trash the offices of their former record company Revolver FM and throw red paint over cars in the parking lot. The band are arrested and charged with criminal damage (1990)... Touring Australia and New Zealand for the first and only time, Nirvana appear at the Barton Theater in Adelaide (1992)... In an NME readers poll, the winner of 'The pop personality that you would like as your doctor' is singer Natalie Imbruglia (1999)... Neil Young is named the Musicares person of the year for his 'influential artistic accomplishments and philanthropic work'. A lineup of artists including Elton John, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, John Fogarty, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crowe perform his songs as he is honoured by the US Recording Academy at the Los Angeles Convention Center (2011)... Mick Jagger is named the most stylish rock star of all time by lifestyle website Complex. Jagger leads their top 50 list ahead of Prince, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious and Keith Richards. Complex states 'Even today, he wears silk scarves and suits with more rakish appeal than most men – and he’s pushing 70' (2013).

January 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazz guitarist Franco Cerri (95), classical pianist Malcom Binns (85), original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham (77), soul singer Bettye LaVette (75), Grand Funk Railroad lead singer Max Carl (71), Tangerine Dream keyboardist Peter Baumann (68), Los Lobos drummer Louie Pérez (68), Dictators lead singer Richard Manitoba (67), former Aztec Camera frontman Roddy Frame (57), singer-songwriter Chris Castle (45), and blues guitarist Jonny Lang (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for French chansonnier Sacha Distel, who would have been 88 today... for Motown session bassist James Jamerson, who would have been 85... for jazz pianist Bobby Scott, who would have been 84... for Uriah Heep lead singer David Byron, who would have been 74... for Tommy Ramone, who would have been 69... for Jimmy Durante, who died on this date in 1980... for bluesman Willie Dixon, who passed away in 1992... for singer-songwriter John Martyn, who died in 2009... for jazz cornetist and composer Butch Morris, died in 2013... and for original Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine, who left us today.

Also on January 29th: John Gay's The Beggar's Opera premieres at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London (1728)... Mozart's opera Ideomeneo premieres in Munich with the composer himself conducting the orchestra (1781)... BBC radio airs a new program 'Desert Island Discs', presented by Roy Plomley ~ the show, which is still running, is the oldest in the history of British radio (1942)... Bob Dylan meets his idol Woody Guthrie again when the 'This Land Is Your Land' author is on weekend release from Greystone hospital staying with friends in Montclair, NJ. Guthrie is in good enough form to scrawl the message ‘I ain't dead yet’ on a card which he gives to his young admirer (1961)... The Beatles spend the day at Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris for their only studio recording session for EMI held outside the UK. They record new German language vocals for ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Can't Buy Me Love’, after EMI's West German branch persuaded Brian Epstein that they would be unable to sell large quantities of records in their country unless they were recorded in the local language. A translator is there to coach John, Paul, and George, although their acquaintance with German from their Hamburg days makes things much easier (1964)...The Mantra Rock Dance, a fundraiser concert for the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, takes place at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. On the bill are Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Moby Grape, with Alan Ginsberg reading (1967)... Jimi Hendrix and The Who appear on a double bill at The Saville Theatre in London. 20 year-old future Queen guitarist Brian May is in the audience... The day after being bailed out of jail in Las Vegas following his arrest for public drunkenness, Jim Morrison is hauled in again by local law enforcement after a scuffle with security following the Doors' show at the Pussy Cat A Go Go Club. The rambunctious singer taunts a bouncer in the parking lot by pretending to smoke a joint, resulting in a fight. The police arrest Morrison and charge him with vagrancy, public drunkenness, and failure to possess sufficient identification (1968)... Fleetwood Mac have their only UK № 1 single with the instrumental 'Albatross', which was composed by guitarist Peter Green. The tune is the only Fleetwood Mac composition with the distinction of having inspired a Beatles song, 'Sun King' from Abbey Road (1969)... The triple album The Concert For Bangladesh goes to № 1 on both the UK and US album charts (1972)... The Buzzcocks issue their debut release, the EP ' Spiral Scratch'. It is also the first punk record ever to be self-released (1977)... In San Diego, CA, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds nine others when she fires from her house at the entrance to Grover Cleveland Elementary School across the street. Spencer used the .22-caliber rifle her father had given her for Christmas. When asked why she did it, she answered 'I don't like Mondays.' Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats go on to write and record a song based on the phrase (1979)... Flying his own jet back from the French Riviera, Gary Numan makes a forced landing at an RAF base outside Southampton after running low on fuel (1982)... Men At Work go to № 1 on the British and American singles and album charts simultaneously with 'The Land Down Under' and Business As Usual. The last artist to achieve this was Rod Stewart in 1971 (1983)... La Fenice, the opera house of Venice, is destroyed by fire (1996)... A New York based data company issues a chart listing sales of posthumous albums. The idea came about after several DJs said they wanted to be able to distinguish between proper recordings when the artists were alive and compilations released after their deaths. SoundScan CEO Mike Shallet said the only problem would be what to call such a chart. The Top 5 had The Doors at № 5, Eva Cassidy at 4, Jimi Hendrix at 3, Bob Marley at 2 and 2Pac at № 1 (2001)... Arctic Monkeys go to № 1 on the UK album chart with their debut Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not. The Sheffield-based band's album becomes the fastest-selling debut in chart history after shifting more than 360,000 copies in its first week of release. The album's title was taken from a line from the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (2006)... Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson makes the largest ever leap to number one in US chart history, rising 96 places in one week. Her single, 'My Life Would Suck Without You' rose from 97 to the top of the Billboard chart after selling 280,000 downloads in its first week of release (2009).

January 28th

 Musical birthdays today include bluesman Cash McCall (80), Pretty Things founder Dick Taylor (78), Soft Machine lead singer Robert Wyatt (76), jazz drummer Bob Moses, and ex-Throbbing Gristle synthesist Chris Carter (68), former Alarm guitarist Dave Sharp (62), ex-Anthrax lead guitarist Dan Spitz (58), rapper William 'Rakim' Griffin (53), Sarah McLachlan (53), Cypress Hill DJ & producer Lawrence 'DJ Muggs' Muggerud (53), Anthony Hamilton (50), rapper and Triple C's founder Rick Ross (45), ex-Fear Factory bassist Matt DeVries (44), ex-'N Sync baritone Joey Fatone (44), Nick Carter (41), and J. Cole (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein, born on this day in 1887... for British jazz impresario Ronnie Scott, born in 1928... for jazz clarinetist Acker Bilk, born in 1929... for early British rocker Billy Fury, who died on this date in 1983... for former Barclay James Harvest drummer, who died in 2004... for ex-Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi, who passed away in 2005... for Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell, who died in 2009... and for Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, who left us five years ago today.

Also on January 28th: Elvis Presley (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black), makes his first US national television appearance on the Dorsey Brothers' 'Stage Show'. It is the first of his six appearances on the show, and the first of eight performances of his that will be recorded and broadcast from CBS in NYC (1956)... The Moody Blues have their only № 1 single in the UK with 'Go Now!'... The Who make their first appearance on the UK TV show 'Ready Steady Go!' To project the desired image, the hand-picked audience consists only of teens dressed in the current Mod fashion (1965)... Jim Morrison is charged with public drunkenness after getting into a scuffle with a security guard at a Las Vegas adult cinema (1968)... Pink Floyd's 10th studio album Animals enters the UK charts at № 1. The sleeve concept was designed by Roger Waters, who lived at the time near Clapham Common, and regularly drove past Battersea Power Station. A view of the imposing but disused former power station building was chosen for the cover image, complete with a massive inflatable pig suspended between two of the towers (1977)... Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic (1978)... Frankie Goes To Hollywood starts a five-week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Relax!' BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read expresses on air his distaste for both the record's suggestive sleeve and its lyrics, and announces his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC has already decided that the song is not to be played on the network anyway... Backstage after a Mötley Crüe show in Buffalo, NY, Tommy Lee finds out that his girlfriend has posed for the current issue of Penthouse magazine without his knowledge after a fan passes him a copy of the publication. Tommy knocks the fan unconscious with one punch, but MC manager Doug Thaler later convinces the man not to press charges (1984)... The USA for Africa super-session organized by Quincy Jones records 'We Are the World' (1985)... Eleven years after its original release, The Sex Pistols album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols goes Gold in the US with sales over 500,000 (1988)... Paula Abdul starts a 10-week run at № 1 on the US album chart with Forever Your Girl'. Abdul's record spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one, setting a record for the longest time taken by an album to reach the top spot (1990)... Paul and Linda McCartney attend the premiere of Wayne's World II in London. The couple then go on to the Hard Rock Cafe, where Mike Myers presents them with a cheque for £25,000 made out to the LIPA [the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts] (1994)... Lou Reed releases his Edgar Allan Poe concept album The Raven (2003)... Elvis fans express their anger at plans to cut up a rare tape of the King's early songs and sell the snippets at auction. The tape, which features a recording made by Presley during the early 1950s, is now too fragile to play. US firm Master Tape Collection said the tape would be cut into two-inch snippets and sold for $460 each (2004).

January 27th

 

Musical birthdays today include Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason (77), Ronettes vocalist Nedra Talley (75), Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey (70), J. Geils Band keyboardist Seth Justman (70), Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers (64), New Order keyboardist Gillian Gilbert (60), Cowboy Junkies lead singer Margo Timmins (60), rapper Adrian 'Tricky' Thaws (53), ex-Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton (53), Take That vocalist Mark Owen (49), and country singer Katy Rose (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on this day in 1756... for composer Édouard Lalo, born in 1823... for Broadway composer Jerome Kern, born in 1885... for trumpeter Oran 'Hot Lips' Page, born in 1908... for Elmore James, born today in 1919... for Bobby 'Blue' Bland, born in 1930... for jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, who would have been 80... for singer-songwriter Kate Wolf, who would have been 79... for Giuseppi Verdi, who died on this date in 1901... for Mahalia Jackson, who passed away in 1972... for singer-songwriter Gene McFadden, who died in 2006... and for former Ohio Players lead guitarist Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on January 27th: Verdi's opera La battaglia di Legnano premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome (1849)... Elvis Presley's single 'Heartbreak Hotel' is released by RCA Records, who have just purchased the singer's contract from Sun Records for $35,000 (1956)... John Coltrane rejoins the Miles Davis group, making the trumpeter's ensemble a sextet... Little Richard enters the Oakwood Theological College in Huntsville, AL, where he will be ordained as a Seventh Day Adventist minister (1958)... Frank Sinatra plays a benefit concert for Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference at Carnegie Hall (1961)... The Beatles appear at the Aintree Institute in Liverpool. The group has played here many times before, but this will be their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein becomes infuriated when promoter Brian Kelly pays the band's £15 fee with handfuls of loose change. Epstein takes this as an insult to the group, and resolves that The Beatles will never play for Kelly again (1962)... After another day of frustration in Columbia Studio A in NYC, Bob Dylan calls an indefinite halt to work on Blonde on Blonde. Producer Bob Johnston suggests moving the sessions to the CBS studios on Music Row in Nashville. Dylan entrusts Johnston with rounding up the musicians while he and the Hawks go back out on the road (1966)... The Bee Gees make their US live debut at the Civic Center in Anaheim, CA (1968)... David Bowie arrives in the US for the first time; he cannot play live because of unresolved work permit difficulties, but he does generate publicity when he wears a dress to a promotion event in Manhattan (1971)... 'Superstition', the lead single from Stevie Wonder's Talking Book album, gives the singer his second № 1 single in the US, 10 years after his first. Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of Berry Gordy, Wonder himself recorded it first (1973)... The Clash sign with CBS Records in the UK for £100,000 (1977)... John Lennon's final album, a collaboration with Yoko Ono entitled Milk and Honey, is released... Madonna makes her first appearance in the UK on the Channel 4 music program The Tube performing 'Holiday'. The show is broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester (1984)... Oasis make their London live debut when they play at the King's Cross club 'Water Rats'. The gig is by invitation only (1994)... James Brown is charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a firearm after police are called to his South Carolina home. Brown later claims that he is using the cannabis to improve his eyesight (1998).

 

January 26th

 Musical birthdays today include R&B singer Jean Knight (78), French chansonnier Michel Sardou (74), former Little River Band guitarist David Briggs (70),  ex-Big Star bassist Andy Hummel (70), Lucinda Williams (68), Eddie van Halen (66), Anita Baker (63), Counting Crows accordion player Charlie Gillingham (61), Cinderella lead singer Tom Keifer (60), Andrew Ridgeley (58), gospel singer Kirk Franklin (51), Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré (47), Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon (41), and conductor & violinist Gustavo Dudamel (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Maria von Trapp, born on this day in 1905... for jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, born in 1908... for record producer Eddie Barclay, born in 1921... for cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who would have been 76... for musicologist and American folk song collector John Lomax, who died on this date in 1948... and for former Marvelette Gladys Horton, and country singer Charlie Louvin, both of whom left us today in 2011. 

Also on January 26th: Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte premieres in Vienna (1790)... The Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, having changed its name to the Apollo, reopens on 125th St. in NYC and admits black patrons for the first time (1934)... Josef Stalin and the Politburo attend a performance of Shostakovich's new opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District at the Bolshoi Theatre. Stalin's displeasure at the music leads to a wave of condemnation in the Soviet press that makes the composer a virtual pariah until World War II begins (1936)... Elvis has the № 1 single in Britain with 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' (1961)... During the Rolling Stones' tour of Australia, Keith Richards has his shirt torn off after 50 fans invade the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane (1964)... Bob Dylan, Al Kooper and Dylan's personal assistant Victor Maimudes appear on the early morning show on radio station WBAI in NYC. Both Dylan and DJ Bob Fass sound extremely stoned. The two-hour phone-in becomes a series of hilarious verbal confrontations with the star. When one caller says that he is hungry, Dylan retorts "Tell me, are you as hungry as a man in drag?" After the show, Dylan decides to cancel what was to have been the last of four days of recording sessions at Columbia Studios, which have yielded very little useable material (1966)... At Southampton University, Pink Floyd play their first gig without Syd Barrett. The opening act is Tyrannosaurus Rex, (later to shorten their  name to T Rex) featuring Marc Bolan and percussionist Steve Peregrine Took (1968)... John Lennon writes, records and mixes his new single 'Instant Karma' all in one day. It ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history, recorded at Abbey Road Studios and arriving in shops only ten days later... Simon & Garfunkel's final studio album Bridge over Troubled Water is released (1970)... Elvis plays the first night of a 31-date run at the Las Vegas Hilton. The King plays an 8:30 and a midnight show on most days (1971)... Sean 'Puffy' Combs' father Melvin is shot dead in his car in Manhattan at the age of 33. The future music industry mogul is 2 at the time (1972)... Ringo Starr is at № 1 in the USA with his version of the Johnny Burnette oldie 'You're 16' (1974)... The David Bowie documentary 'Cracked Actor' is shown on British TV for the first time (1975)... Original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green is committed to a mental hospital after threatening his accountant with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a £30,000 royalty cheque to him (1977)... Prince makes his US TV debut on American Bandstand (1980)... Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera', now the longest-running musical in Broadway history, opens at the Majestic Theater (1988)... Queen have their second UK № 1 with 'Innuendo'. At 6 minutes 30 seconds, it exceeds their epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by 35 seconds and becomes the third longest British № 1 song of all time, behind 'Hey Jude' and Simple Minds' 'Belfast Child'. [Subsequently the 9 minutes 38 seconds long 'All Around The World' by Oasis will take over the top slot,demoting 'Innuendo' to fourth place]. For 'Innuendo's' flamenco guitar solo, Brian May is joined by Yes guitarist Steve Howe (1991)... Billy Joel is airlifted to hospital after his car smashes into a tree. The singer lost control of his Mercedes S500 in the Hamptons and skidded for 100 yards before crashing. (2003)... John Lydon is one of ten contestants to take part in the latest I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! TV show set in the Australian outback. The former Sex Pistols singer is seen by 11 million viewers on the first night covered in bird seed being pecked by giant ostriches. Lydon, who was paid £25,000 ($42,500) to appear in the show, will walk off the set after four days (2004).

January 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include jazzman Benny Golson (92), former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Dave Walker (76), ex-Fine Young Cannibals guitarist Andy Cox (65), Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurthy (63), former Brownstone vocalist Kina Cosper (52), Broken Social Scene keyboardist Emily Haines (47), Alicia Keys (40), and French pop singer Sheryfa Luna (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, born on this day in 1886... For bluesman Sleepy John Estes, born in 1899... for folksinger Ewan MacColl, born  in 1915... for bossa nova singer & songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim, born in 1927... ... for Etta James, and Russian singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky, both of whom would have been 83... and for  Albert Grossman, the first manager of Bob Dylan and later of Janis Joplin and The Band, among others, who left us today in 1986.

Also on January 25th: The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn from the Midsummer Night's Dream overture is played at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria and Friedrich of Prussia, launching the tradition of the tune as a wedding recessional (1858)... Richard Strauss' opera Elektra receives its premiere at the Dresden State Opera (1909)... Bob Dylan travels out to Greystone Hospital in Morristown, NJ and visits Woody Guthrie for the first time (1961)... The Beatles do a last-minute remix of 'Penny Lane' before the pressing of their next double A sided single 'Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane'. Both songs were originally intended for the forthcoming album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)... Pink Floyd appear at the Sixty Nine Club in the Royal York Hotel on the Isle of Wight, England. Their opening act is The Cherokees, who had had a minor hit single in 1964 with 'Seven Golden Daffodils'. They later change their name to New York Public Library (1969)... David Bowie finishes a week of rehearsals at the Royal Ballroom, Tottenham, London, for the forthcoming UK leg of his Ziggy Stardust tour (1973)... The Carpenters go to № 1 on the US singles chart with their version of The Marvelettes' 1961 hit 'Please Mr. Postman... The last Sunbury Rock Festival in Victoria, Australia is held. The promoters, who have made heavy losses, can only pay penultimate act Deep Purple, and come up with no cash for closers AC/DC. A brawl ensues on stage between road crews after Purple's set when they begin packing up the lights and PA and deny use of them to AC/DC, who then leave the festival site without playing at all (1975)... Joy Division make their live debut in Manchester (1978)... Yoko Ono donates £250,000 to the Strawberry Fields Home in Liverpool (1984)... Madonna begins divorce proceedings against Sean Penn for the second time (1989)... A former Miss Canada finalist becomes the first person in the world to graduate with an M.A. in The Beatles. Canadian singer Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, 53, was one of the first students to sign up for the course on the Fab Four when it launched at Liverpool Hope University in March 2009. The ground-breaking course looked at the studio sound and composition of The Beatles and how Liverpool helped to shape their music as well as examining the significance of the music of The Beatles and their impact on Western culture (2011).

 

January 24th

Musical birthdays today include fiddler Doug Kershaw (85), country singer Ray Stevens (81), Neil Diamond (80), Aaron Neville (80), singer-songwriter Michael Des Barres (73), ex-Squeeze keyboardist & TV presenter Jools Holland (63), Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek (54), Dream Theater bassist John Myung (54), Beth Hart (49), Diane Birch (38), and former Sugababe Jade Ewen (33).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for castrato singer Carlo Broschi AKA Farinelli, born on this day in 1705... for pianist and composer Muzio Clementi, born in 1752... for New Orleans R&B pianist Isidore 'Tuts' Washington, born in 1907... for jazz pianist Joe Albany, born in 1924... for R&B and gospel singer Ann Cole, who would have been 87... for countertenor Klaus Nomi, who would have been 77... for Limelites lead singer James Sheppard, found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway in 1970 ~ Sheppard had been beaten and robbed... and for operatic soprano June Bronhill, who left us today in 2005. 

Also on January 24th: Mussorgsky's opera Boris Gudunov premieres in St. Petersburg (1874)... Elvis is at the top of the UK singles chart with 'Jailhouse Rock'. It is the first single ever to enter the chart at № 1... The Quarrymen make their first and only appearance at the Cavern Club under their current name. When they return to play the establishment in 1961, they will be known as The Beatles (1958)... Bob Dylan arrives in NYC for the first time accompanied by a friend from Minneapolis named Fred Underhill. They head immediately for the Cafe Wha in Greenwich Village, where it is a hootenany night ~ Dylan plays two songs (1961)... Brian Epstein signs a management deal with The Beatles. Epstein is to receive 25 per cent of the band's gross earnings, the normal management deal at the time being 10 per cent (1962)... The Doors appear at Madison Square Garden. They receive over $50,000 for the gig, making them one of the highest paid acts this year... New Jersey state prosecutors issue a warning to US record dealers that they will be charged with distributing pornography if they are caught selling the John Lennon / Yoko Ono LP Two Virgins. The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover shows them from behind (1969)... Led Zeppelin appear at Leeds University. After the show, Zeppelin have a meeting with fine arts lecturer Zacron to discuss their ideas for the album sleeve of the band's next album, Led Zeppelin III. Zacron, born Richard Drew, studied at the Kingston College of Art with members of the Yardbirds (1970)... Michael Jackson's debut solo album Got to Be There is released on Motown Records (1972)... Bob Dylan hits № 1 on the US album chart with Desire, which will occupy the top spot for the next 6 weeks. Tops on the singles chart is Diana Ross with 'Theme from Mahogany' (1976)...  Workers at EMI's record pressing plant refuse to press copies of The Buzzcocks' forthcoming single 'What Do I Get' because of the title on the B-side 'Oh Shit' (1978)... The Clash release their first US single, their cover of 'I Fought the Law'... Brian Wilson and his wife Marilyn are divorced after 15 years of marriage (1979)...  A billboard is erected on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood to promote Pink Floyd's new album The Wall. A blank wall is pasted up, and each day a brick is removed to slowly reveal the inside spread and title of the album (1980)... Nirvana play their first ever show in Australia at the Phoenician Club in Sydney. Opening for them are local heroes Tumbleweed and The Meanies (1992)... Oasis go to № 1 in the UK with 'All Around The World'. It sets a record for longest running-time for a British chart-topper with a total duration of 9 minutes 38 seconds. It was one of the first songs to be written by Noel Gallagher, with the band rehearsing it as early as 1992 (1998)... Country singer Lynn Anderson is arrested for shoplifting after being caught stealing a Harry Potter DVD from a Santa Fe, NM supermarket and punching a police officer during her arrest. The 57 year-old had the 1970 Top 5 hit 'Rose Garden' (2005).

January 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara (86), pop singer Joe Dowell (81), Anita Pointer (73), original Box Tops bassist Bill Cunningham (71), former Henry Cow bassist John Greaves (71), Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander (68), KC and the Sunshine Band producer & bassist Richard Finch (67), Legendary Pink Dots lead singer Edward Ka-Spel (67), UB40 bassist Earl Falconer (64), and R&B singer and Boyz II Men founder member Marc Nelson (50). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Django Reinhardt, born on this day in 1910... for country singer-songwriter Johnny Russell, who would have been 81 today... For E Street Band organist Danny Federici, who would have been 71... for pianist and composer John Field, considered the originator of the nocturne, who died on this date in 1837... for composer Edward McDowell, who died in 1908... for jazz trombonist Kid Ory, who passed away in 1973... for original Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, who fatally shot himself while cleaning a handgun that he thought was unloaded today in 1978 at the age of 32... for Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Allen Collins, who died on this day in 1990 at the age of 32 from complications resulting from a car crash four years earlier... for gospel singer-songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey, who died in 1993... for doo-wop singer and songwriter ['Louie Louie'] Richard Berry, who passed away on this day in 1997... and for South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who left us two years ago today. 

Also on January 23rd: Duke Ellington plays Carnegie Hall for the first time (1943)... Rock 'n' Roll fans in Cleveland under the age of 18 are banned from dancing in public (unless accompanied by an adult), after local police enforce a law dating from 1931 (1956)... Tony Bennett records 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' (1962)... 'Downtown' makes Petula Clark the first British female singer to have a US № 1 since Vera Lynn in 1952 (1965)... Pink Floyd spend the first of three days recording the Syd Barrett songs 'Arnold Layne' and 'Candy and a Current Bun' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. According to Roger Waters, Arnold Layne was based on a real person ~ a transvestite whose primary pastime was stealing women's clothes and undergarments from washing lines in Cambridge (1967)... Working at Apple Studios, The Beatles record 'Get Back' with Billy Preston on keyboards (1969)... George Harrison becomes the first solo Beatle to have a № 1 single when 'My Sweet Lord' goes to the top of the UK chart, where it will stay for 5 weeks... In the US, Tony Orlando & Dawn are at № 1 with 'Knock Three Times' (1971)... The Sex Pistols play their first gig of the year at Watford College, north of London (1976)... Patti Smith breaks two lower vertebrae when she falls off the stage during a show in Tampa, FL... Pink Floyd's Animals is released (1977)... The first induction ceremony for the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame is held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC. The living inductees are Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers and Little Richard, while Elvis, Sam Cooke and Buddy Holly are honoured posthumously (1986)... Nirvana record a 10-song demo with Seattle producer Jack Endino. Sub Pop records boss Jonathan Poneman hears the tape and offers to put out a Nirvana single (1988)... David Bowie announces his forthcoming world tour, 'Sound And Vision 1990', which he says will be his last. The singer says that he will invite each local audience to decide on a 'greatest hits' running order, organised through local radio stations (1990)... John Sebastian, owner and general manager of KLSK FM in Albuquerque, NM, plays Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' continually for twenty-four hours to inaugurate a format change to Classic Rock. Police show up at the station twice: once after a listener calls in to report that the DJ has apparently suffered a heart attack, and later with guns drawn because of suspicion that, eight days after the beginning of the Gulf War, the radio station has been taken over by terrorists dispatched by Saddam Hussein, known to be a rabid Zeppelin fan (1991)... Rage Against The Machine headline the Rock For Choice benefit at The Palladium in Hollywood. Also appearing are Screaming Trees, Eddie Vedder, Mary's Danish, 7 Year Bitch and Green Apple Quick Step (1994)... An English coroner criticises the rap singer Eminem's lyrics as 'depressing in the extreme' during an inquest into the death of a schoolboy who threw himself in front of a train. The 17-year old boy had printed out the lyrics to Eminem's track 'Rock Bottom' before his death (2001)... One of the biggest charity concerts since Live Aid raises £1.25 million ($2 million) for victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. The concert held at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff features Eric Clapton, Manic Street Preachers, Keane, Charlotte Church, Snow Patrol, Embrace, Feeder, Craig David and Liberty X, who appear before 60,000 fans at the sold-out concert (2005).

 

January 22nd

Musical birthdays today include prog rock guitarist Phil Miller (72), Steve Perry (72), L.A. Guns drummer Steve Riley (65), Daniel Johnston (60), Widespread Panic lead guitarist Jimmy Herring (59), original Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler (56), Jeffrey 'DJ Jazzy Jeff' Townes (56), Mike & the Mechanics singer Andrew Roachford (56), singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (54), former Evanescence frontman Ben Moody (40), and guitarist Orianthi Panigaris (36). 

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 90 today... for Malcom McLaren, who would have been 75... for INXS frontman Michael Hutchence,  who would have been 60... 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... Neil Young releases his eponymous debut album (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).

January 21st

 

Musical birthdays today include Plácido Domingo (80), Troggs lead guitarist Chris Britton (77), Caravan frontman Pye Hastings (74), Billy Ocean (71), Massive Attack  founding member Robert Del Naja (56), Charlene 'Tweet' Keys (50), Cat Power (49), Emma 'Baby Spice' Bunton (45), and Dru Hill producer Tamir 'Nokio the N-Tity' Ruffin (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for singer & Flamenco dancer Lola Flores, born on this day in 1923... for DJ Robert 'Wolfman Jack' Smith, who would have been 83 today... for Ritchie Havens, who would have been 80... for Edwin Starr and Mac Davis, both of whom would have been 79... for Jason 'Jam Master Jay' Mizell, who would have been 56... for Québecois composer Calixa Lavallée [best remembered for 'O Canada'], who died on this date in 1891... for soul singer Jackie 'Mr. Excitement' Wilson, who passed away in 1984... for Colonel Tom Parker, who died in 1997... and for Peggy Lee, who left us on this day in 2002. 

Also on January 21st: A performance of  Gounod's opera Faust at the Auditorium Building in Chicago is transmitted over the Westinghouse Network for the first nationwide broadcast of a musical event in American history (1927)... Over 3,000 screaming fans meet The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison at Sydney Airport when they arrive for a 16-date tour of Australia and New Zealand (1965)... George Harrison marries Patti Boyd at Leatherhead Register Office in Surrey with Paul McCartney as best man. George first met Patti on the set of  'A Hard Day's Night' when she had a small part as  schoolgirl on a train... Bob Dylan goes back into Columbia Studios in NYC to begin work on his next album. The Hawks, who are currently backing him on his world tour, are with him (1966)... Jimi Hendrix records his version of the Dylan's 'All Along the Watchtower' at Olympic Studios in London. Brian Jones and Dave Mason from Traffic both play on the session... Simon & Garfunkel's soundtrack to The Graduate is released (1968)... Pink Floyd appear at the Guildhall in Portsmouth on the Dark Side of the Moon tour. This time they are able to perform the entire album without a hitch (1972)... The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever goes to № 1 on the US album chart ~ it will occupy the top spot for the next 24 weeks (1978)... B.B. King donates his entire record collection of over 20,000 discs to the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi (1982)... Yes have the № 1 single in the USA with 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'... The Pretenders release the Learning to Crawl album (1984)... Keith Richards inducts Aretha Franklin at the 2nd annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Awards, held at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. Keith later takes part in a jam with Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, Sting and Daryl Hall (1987)... David Palmer, former keyboard  player for Jethro Tull changes his name to Dee Palmer after a successful sex change operation. Palmer was the keyboardist for Tull between 1969 and 1980, played on all the group's classics including 'Thick As A Brick' and 'Aqualung' (2003).

 

January 20th

Musical birthdays today include jazz trumpeter and bandleader Ray Anthony (99), Zager and Evans co-member Rick Evans (78), former 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart (76), ex-Poco drummer George Grantham (74), Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill (70), Paul Stanley (69), ex-Fear bassist Scott Thunes (61), country singer John Michael Montgomery (56), M People lead singer Heather Small (55), L.A. Guns founder Tracy 'Tracii Guns' Ulrich (55), Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire (52), Edwin McCain (51), Gary Barlow (50), Slipknot turntablist Sid Wilson (44), Bullet for My Valentine lead singer Matthew Tuck (44), Cobra Starship keytarist Victoria Asher (37), Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker (35), and rapper Jo-Vaughn 'Joey Badass' Scott (26). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Huddie Ledbetter AKA Lead Belly, born on this day in 1888... for Slim Whitman, born in 1923... for jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, born in 1928... for 5th Dimension founding member Ron Townson, who would have been 88... for Barclay James Harvest drummer Mel Pritchard, who would have been 73... for pioneering rock 'n' roll DJ Alan Freed, who died on this date in 1965... for former Lemon Pipers drummer Bill Albaugh, who passed away in 1999... for Etta James, who died in 2012... and for Tangerine Dream founder Edgar Froese, who left us five years ago today.

Also on January 20th: The Kolisch Quartet premiere Bartók's 6th string quartet ~ his last ~ in NYC (1941)... Meet the Beatles! is released in the USA (1964)... The Byrds go into the  studio in Los Angeles to record 'Mr. Tambourine Man', their first single for Columbia Records (1965)... The Monkees TV show airs in Britain for the first time... The Rolling Stones release the Between the Buttons album in the UK (1967)... Bob Dylan makes his first public appearance in more than a year and a half, playing a 3-song set with the Band [billing themselves as 'The Crackers'] at the Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert at Carnegie Hall (1968)... One hit wonders John Fred and the Playboys are at № 1 in the US with 'Judy in Disguise' (1968)... Led Zeppelin play the Wheaton Youth Center in Wheaton, MD on their first US tour before a reported audience of 55 people. The turnout, the smallest of the band's career, is blamed on the weather, Richard Nixon's inaugural, and the fact that it is Monday night. Zeppelin take home $250 for the gig... Bruce Springsteen has two of his poems published in the Ocean County College Literary Yearbook 'Seascapes'. Springsteen is in his second semester at the Toms River, NJ community college (1969)... Pink Floyd kick off their UK 'Dark Side of the Moon' tour at the Dome in Brighton, but are forced to abandon the show after 'Money' because of technical problems (1972)... Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks (1975)... During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, IA, a member of the audience throws a bat onto the stage. Stunned by the lights, the bat lies motionless; the singer, thinking it is a rubber fake, picks it up and attempts to bite its head off. As he does so, the bat starts to flap its wings and Ozzy soon realizes it is not fake but in fact a living thing. After the show, the former Black Sabbath frontman is immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for rabies shots (1982)... Def Leppard release Pyromania (1983)... Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder headline a concert in Washington, DC to celebrate America's first nationwide Martin Luther King Day (1986)... The Beatles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Yoko, Sean, and Julian Lennon all attend. Paul McCartney absents himself, sending instead a letter stating that continuing business differences with the other ex-Beatles are the reason for his failure to show (1988)... The first № 1 single of the '90s in the US is Michael Bolton's 'How Am I Supposed to Live without You' (1990)... Ben and Jerry's introduce 'Phish food', a new flavour of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge (1997)... Tourism operators in Liverpool are banned from putting up motorway signs saying 'Liverpool, the Birthplace Of The Beatles', because the Highways Division of the Ministry of Transport is concerned that the signs will distract motorists (2000)... George Harrison has a posthumous UK  № 1 single with the re-release of his 1971 chart-topper 'My Sweet Lord'. Harrison's single replaces Aaliyah's 'More Than A Woman', the only time  in chart history that one deceased artist has taken over from another at No. 1 (2002).

January 19th

 

Musical birthdays today include filmmaker Richard Lester [who directed the Beatles in 'A Hard Day's Night' and Help!] (89), former Audience bassist Trevor Williams (76), Dolly Parton (75), original Deep Purple lead singer Rod Evans (74), producer and songwriter Tony Mansfield (66), conductor Simon Rattle (66), Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson (62), Ugly Kid Joe lead singer Whit Crane (53), Trey Lorenz (52), Marcy Playground frontman John Wozniak (50), and Japanese pop singer Risha Ishikawa (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Broadway musical performer John Raitt, born on this day in 1917... for Phil Everly, who would have been 82 today... for Janis Joplin, who would have been 78... for Robert Palmer, who would have been 71... for Carl Perkins, who died on this date in 1998... for Wilson Pickett, who passed away in 2006... for Denny Doherty, who died in 2007... and for jazzman Jimmy Heath, who left us one year ago today. 

Also on January 19th: Verdi's Il Trovatore premieres in Rome (1853)... The Platters' 'Smoke gets in Your Eyes' goes to № 1 on the US charts (1959)... The Beatles make their first national TV appearance in the UK, performing 'Please Please Me' on the variety show Thank Your Lucky Stars (1963)... The Monkees are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'I'm  Believer', the group's only British № 1... The Beatles begin recording 'A Day In The Life' at Abbey Road Studios, recording four takes of the new song. According to John Lennon, the inspiration for the first two verses was the death of Tara Browne, the 21-year-old heir to the Guinness fortune who ran a red light and crashed his Lotus Elan on the 18th of December 1966 in Redcliffe Gardens, London (1967)... 

Tracks from the White Album (including 'Helter Skelter') are played in the courtroom at the Sharon Tate murder trial to determine if any of the songs could have influenced Charles Manson and his followers to commit murder (1971)... Johnny Rotten is fired from the Sex Pistols for 'not being weird enough anymore' (1978)... Pink Floyd's The Wall becomes the № 1 album in the US ~ it will occupy the top spot for the next 4 months... The Pretenders self-titled debut album is released (1980)... Fleetwood Mac reunite to rehearse for their performance at Bill Clinton's first inaugural tomorrow. 'Don't Stop Dreaming about Tomorrow' was the Clinton campaign's principal theme song (1993)... The New Musical Express  reports that Paul McCartney is set to become the world's first English pop star billionaire in pounds. The NME estimates that McCartney is worth £725 million and is expected to become a Sterling billionaire thanks to sales from the forthcoming Beatles compilation hits album (2001).

 

January 18th

Musical birthdays today include Bobby Goldsboro (80), English session keyboardist Dave Greenslade (78), singer-songwriter & Nashville session man R. Stevie Moore (69), Hudson Brothers vocalist Brett Hudson (68), former Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey (67), producer and guitarist Jim O'Rourke (52), ex-Black Crowes lead guitarist Luther Dickinson (48), former BBMak vocalist Christian Burns (47), Hard-Fi frontman Richard Archer (44), R&B singer Estelle (41), and Joanna Newsom (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for sound engineer Ray Dolby, who would have been 88 today... for former Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, who would have been 80... for Greek bouzouki virtuoso & Rebetika pioneer Vassilis Tsitsanis, who died on this date in 1984... for former Agent Orange bassist Brent Liles, who passed away in 2007... and for Kate McGarrigle, who left us today in 2010. 

Also on January 18th: The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC hosts its first jazz concert. On the bill are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden (1944)... The Beatles break into the American Top 40 for the first time, as 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' enters the upper reaches of the Billboard chart at № 35. The song will go on to spend 7 weeks at № 1  (1964)... The Rolling Stones record 'The Last Time' and 'Play with Fire' at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, with Phil Spector contributing the memorable acoustic guitar figure on the latter track (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience tape a performance of 'Purple Haze' for broadcast on Top of the Pops (1967)... Former members of Free (Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke), Mott The Hoople (Mick Ralphs), and King Crimson (Boz Burrell) form Bad Company. The band goes on to score a US № 1 album with their debut release (1974)... Barry Manilow is at № 1 on the US charts with 'Mandy'. In Britain, the top spot is occupied by Status Quo with 'Down Down', the group's only № 1 of their 52 UK chart hits between 1968 and 1996 (1975)... Warren Zevon's album Excitable Boy is released (1978)... Wendy O. Williams of The Plasmatics is arrested on stage in Milwaukee and charged with the offence of public lewdness for simulating sex with a sledgehammer. Williams later files a multimillion dollar civil suit against the Milwaukee Police, claiming they sexually assaulted and beat her during the arrest, but a jury rejects her claims (1981)... Van Halen launch their aptly named 103-date '1984' tour with a show in Jacksonville, FL (1984)... Dionne Warwick's 'That's What Friends Are for' goes to № 1 in the US. All profits from the single will go to AIDS charities (1986)... At the age of 38, Stevie Wonder becomes the youngest living person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At a ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC, other inductees include The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Otis Redding and Dion DiMucci (1989)... Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson are divorced after less than two years of marriage (1996)... Tori Amos has the № 1 single in the UK with 'Professional Widow',  a song which has widely been interpreted as an attack on Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love (1997)... Animals in Michael Jackson's private zoo are declared to be in good health after officials pay a surprise visit to the singer's Neverland ranch. A medical officer from the US Department of Agriculture inspects the property following concerns voiced by the animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Jackson earlier moved out of Neverland and took up residence in Bahrain (2006)... An extensive collection of Beatles memorabilia goes on display in a new museum in Buenos Aires. Rodolfo Vazquez, a 53-year-old accountant, turned his mammoth Beatles collection into a museum with more than 8,500 objects, setting the new world record for the largest collection of Beatles memorabilia. Some of the items include a box of condoms bearing the names of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a brick from the Cavern Club, a chunk of the stage from the Star Club in Hamburg, and certified copies of the band members' birth certificates. Among his favorite items were 64 boxes of chewing gum in the form of Beatles records (2011).

January 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include Betty White [she sings, too!] (99), classical violinist Ulf Hoelscher (79), Chris Montez (78), Françoise Hardy (77), former Rolling Stones lead guitarist Mick Taylor (72), Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Ryuichi Sakamoto (69), jazz fusion bassist Jeff Berlin (68), Steve Earle (66), Paul Young (65), Susanna Hoffs (62), former Berlin guitarist John Crawford (61), Magnetic Fields lead singer Stephin Merritt (56), Richard Hawley (54), Kid Rock (50), and Kaiser Chiefs lead singer Ricky Wilson (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Eartha Kitt, born on this day in 1928... for Dalida, who would have been 88... for Slits lead singer Ariane 'Ari Up' Forster, who would have been 59... for composer Tomaso Albinoni, who died on this date in 1751... for early country fiddler Blind Alfred Reed, who died in 1956... for scat singer Billy Stewart, who was killed in a road accident on this day in 1970 at the age of 32... for rock impresario & TV presenter Don Kirshner, who passed away in 2011... and for Johnny Otis, 'The Godfather of Rhythm and Blues', who left us today in 2012. 

Also on January 17th: Massenet's opera Manon premieres at the Opéra Comique in Paris (1884)...  The Beatles play at the Cavern Club at lunchtime and in the evening at the Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead. The latter show sells out completely, leaving 500 disappointed fans waiting outside... The Rolling Stones are the first of two opening acts for The Velvets at London's Marquee Club ~ tickets at the door are 4 shillings [$0.56] (1963)... The Rolling Stones release their first EP, which includes ‘You Better Move On’, ‘Poison Ivy’, ‘Bye Bye Johnny’ and ‘Money’ (1964)... Simon & Garfunkel release the Sounds of Silence album... NBC buys The Monkees series, placing it on the autumn schedule (1966)... The Daily Mail runs a story about a local council survey in Blackburn, Lancashire that has found 4,000 potholes in the local roads ~ the article catches John Lennon's eye...  40-year-old London Symphony Orchestra member David Mason records the piccolo trumpet solo for The Beatles' 'Penny Lane' at Abbey Road Studios. He is paid £27, 10 shillings ($42) for his performance. In August, 1987, the trumpet he used sold at a Sotheby's auction for $10,846...  The Jimi Hendrix Experience record a session for Radio Luxembourg's program  'Ready Steady Radio'. The band run up a bar bill of £2.5 shillings, ($6.21), which they were unable to pay (1967)... The Beatles release the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album in Britain, and Led Zeppelin I comes out in America (1969)... A section of Bellevue Boulevard in Memphis is renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The remaining length of road keeps its original name after protests from the Bellevue Baptist Church (1972)... Bob Dylan & the Band release Planet Waves... Joni Mitchell releases Court and Spark... Dean Martin's son Dino is arrested after attempting to sell two AK-47 assault rifles to an undercover FBI agent (1974)... Barry Manilow has the № 1 single in the US with 'I Write the Songs' (1976)... Donny Osmond takes part in a charity boxing match held in Chicago against former Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce ~ Donny is knocked out in the third round (1994)... A long-lost recording featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger is set to spark a bidding war at a forthcoming London auction. The acetate record was recorded in 1974 with Jagger singing the blues song 'Too Many Cooks' and Lennon playing guitar. The track had never been released because the two artists were signed to different record companies (2003).