January 1st

 

Musical birthdays today include Country Joe McDonald (82), ex-Mott the Hoople keyboardist Morgan Fisher (74), Alpha Blondy (71), original Sonic Youth drummer Richard Edson (70), Grandmaster Flash (66), saxophonist & composer Chris Potter (53), and Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for vibraphonist Milt Jackson, born on this day in 1924... for choreographer Maurice Béjart, born in 1928... for jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, who would have been 78... for  rapper Tim Dog, who would have been 57... for Hank Williams, who died on this date in 1953... for Alexis Korner, who passed away in 1984... for Townes van Zandt, who died in 1997... for former Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, who died in 2009... and for Patti Page, who left us today in 2013.

Also on January 1st: The hymn that will become known as 'Amazing Grace' [then known as 'I Chronicles 17:16,17] is first sung to accompany a sermon by its author John Newton in Olney, England (1773)... Franz Schubert's Missa Solemnis premieres in Vienna, 35 years after the composer's death (1863)... BBC TV airs the pilot episode of its first rock 'n roll show, 'Cool for Cats'. Host Ker Robertson will soon be replaced by Kent Walton, hitherto know chiefly as a wrestling  commentator (1957)... Johnny Cash gives his first prison concert, at the San Quentin penitentiary (1958)... The Beatles audition for Decca Records in West Hampstead, London. Producer Tony Meehan listens to the group's one hour set and then submits their demo to the label's upper management (1962)... The first edition of Top Of The Pops is transmitted from a church hall in Manchester. Introduced by DJ Jimmy Savile, acts lip synching to their latest releases include The Rolling Stones (I Wanna Be Your Man), The Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over), The Hollies (Stay), and The Swinging Blue Jeans (Hippy Hippy Shake). The first song played is Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You'. Also featured on disc and film are The Beatles (I Want to Hold Your Hand), Freddie & the Dreamers, Cliff Richard &  the Shadows, and Gene Pitney... The Hollies release their debut album Stay with the Hollies (1964)... Simon & Garfunkel go to № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Sounds of Silence' (1966)... The Doors make their first live television appearance performing their debut single 'Break on Through' on 'Shebang', the pop music program presented by KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles (1967)... Billboard Magazine reports that 1967 was the first year in which the total number of albums sold in the US was greater than the number of singles (1968)...  The Scottish group Marmalade are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with their version of 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da' (1969)... Radio Luxembourg in the UK airs nearly 8 hours of continuous Beatles music to celebrate the group's tenth year in the music business. The marathon also includes tracks from the Fab Four's solo albums (1971)... The Clash are the first act to play at London's new Roxy Club (1977)... ABBA make their final live appearance as a group when they play a New Year's Day celebration in Stockholm (1982)... Breakdancers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan sign a contract with Boney M producer Frank Farian, and Milli Vanilli are born (1988)... Nirvana sign a one-year recording contract with Sub Pop records. The Seattle-based label began not as a record label but as a fanzine called Subterranean Pop (1989)... New radio station WKRL in Jacksonville, FL plays 'Stairway To Heaven' on a continuous loop for 24 hours, as a prelude to the launch of an all Zeppelin format (1990)... Eric Clapton marries 25-year old Melia McEnery, the mother of his baby daughter, at a secret ceremony at the 15th Century St Mary Magdalen Church in Ripley, Surrey (2002)... Chuck Berry cuts short a concert at the Congress Theater in Chicago after collapsing on stage an hour into the show. Berry slumped over a keyboard and did not move for a couple of minutes before being helped off stage ~ he returned 15 minutes later only to be forced off again almost immediately. The 84 year-old later re-emerges on stage but tells fans he has no strength to continue performing (2011).