January 7th

Musical birthdays today include Covent Garden orchestral conductor Richard Armstrong (74), Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner (71), Kenny Loggins (69), country singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman (68), film score composer José María Vitier (63), former Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine (58), and ex-Pop Will Eat Itself frontman Clint Mansell (54), singer-songwriter Vladimir Ondrasik AKA Five for Fighting (52), trumpeter & pop singer David Longoria (46), and Black Veil Brides guitarist Jeremy 'Jinxx' Ferguson (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Francis Poulenc, born on this day in 1899... for jazz trumpeter Red Allen, born in 1906... for country singer Jack Greene, who would have been 87... for classical violinist Iona Brown, who would have been 76... for pioneering British blues harmonica player Cyril Davies, who died at the age of 31 today in 1964... for New Orleans R&B singer Larry Williams, who took his own life in 1980 at age 44... and for L.A. session drummer John Guerin, who left us today in 2004. 

Also on January 7th: Marian Anderson makes her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, becoming the first black person to perform there as a company member... 'Rock around the Clock' by Bill Haley & His Comets enters the UK charts for the first time (1955)... Black Sabbath release Paranoid, their second studio album in the US. The collection features the band's best-known signature songs, including the title track, 'Iron Man' and 'War Pigs'. The LP was originally titled War Pigs, but the record company allegedly changed it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War (1971)... James Taylor and Carly Simon and James Taylor become parents when their daughter Sarah Maria is born... Aerosmith kick off their 56-date North American 'Get Your Wings' tour with a show at the Michigan Theater in Detroit (1974)... Pink Floyd release the single 'Another Brick in the Wall (part 2) in the US (1980)... R.E.M. play a Greenpeace Benefit show at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA for 500 people. The gig is recorded with a solar powered mobile recording studio (1993)... 'The Beatles Book Monthly' ceases publication after 40 years. Author Sean O'Mahony, who set up the magazine in 1963, says that with only two of the Fab Four left alive, the round number of four decades is a good point to stop (2003).

January 6th

Musical birthdays today include singer & pianist Paolo Conte (80), Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson (66), ex-Frankie Goes to Hollywood bassist Mark O'Toole (53), Bowling for Soup drummer Gary Wiseman (46), Uh Huh Her lead singer Camila Grey (38), and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Alexander Scriabin, born on this day in 1872... for bluegrass banjo player Earl Scruggs, born in 1924... for R&B singer-songwriter Doris Troy, who would have been 80... for Syd Barrett, who would have been 71... for Sandy Denny, who would have been 70... for original Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser, who would have been 55... for composer and violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, who died on this date in 1831... for Dizzy Gillespie, who passed away in 1993... for Lou Rawls, who died today in 2006... and for Flying Burrito Brothers pedal steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow, who left us in 2007. 

Also on January 6th: Elvis Presley performs in the gymnasium of Randolph High School in Randolph, MS. It is the last concert that he will give in a venue that can hold fewer than 5,000 spectators (1956)... Gibson launches the 'Flying V' electric guitar (1958)... Magical Mystery Tour becomes the Beatles' 11th US № 1 album (1968)... Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young make their European live debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London (1970)... Bob Dylan has his first telephone conversation with A.J. Weberman, the obsessive fan and self-styled 'Dylanologist' who has been rummaging through the garbage cans outside the singer's Greenwich Village home for the past several weeks (1971)... Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain' goes to № 1 on the US singles chart (1973)... Pink Floyd begin recording Wish You Were Here at Abbey Road Studios... After waiting overnight in the lobby of the Boston Garden for tickets for Led Zeppelin's February 3rd concert at the venue to go on sale, over a thousand of the group's fans riot when they are informed that the sale will be delayed for several days, and do some $30,000 worth of damage (1975)... Peter Frampton releases Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)... EMI drop the Sex Pistols, paying the band £40,000 and releasing them from their contract (1977)... The Village People score their only UK № 1 single with 'YMCA' (1979)... Bill Wyman announces that he is leaving the Rolling Stones (1994)... Two bronze busts worth £50,000 are stolen from a garden at George Harrison's estate in Henley-on- Thames, Oxfordshire. Thieves climbed a 10- foot-wall and cut the figures of two monks from their stone plinths (1997).

January 5th

Musical birthdays today include former Seekers bassist Athol Guy (77), jazz guitarist Louis Stewart (73), Blondie guitarist Chris Stein (67), producer & former Cure bassist Phil Thornalley (57), country singer Iris DeMent (56), ex-Soul Asylum drummer Grant Young (54), Marilyn Manson (48), and Angels & Airwaves bassist Matt Wachter (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for blueswoman Elizabeth Cotton, born on this day in 1893... for Sun Records founder & owner Sam Phillips, born in 1924... for R&B singer Wilbert Harrison, who would have been 88... for blues singer Jo Ann Kelly, who would have been 73... for former Beatles road manager Mal Evans, who was shot by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department today in 1976 at the age of 40. The police were summoned by Evans' girlfriend, who had come home to find him in a distraught state and holding a rifle. When Evans pointed the weapon at the police, they opened fire, killing him instantly...  for Charles Mingus, who left us in 1979... for Sonny Bono, killed in a skiing accident today in 1998... and for Ken Forssi, the original bassist for Love, who passed away that same day. 

Also on January 5th: Charles Garnier's new opera house opens in Paris (1875)... Patsy Cline goes into the studio in Nashville to begin recording her debut album (1957)... Decca A&R man Dick Rowe calls Brian Epstein to tell him that the label has decided to turn down the Beatles for a recording contract. The manager will later quote Rowe as saying "Frankly, Mr. Epstein, we don't like your boys' sound. We think that groups of guitarists are on their way out" (1962)... Pink Floyd appear at The Marquee Club, in London. A review in Queen Magazine later says: 'The two guitarists looked moody, the drummer thrashed wildly about and the lights kept flashing. After about twenty minutes it became very boring, and after half an hour I left' ... At Abbey Road Studios, Paul records his vocal track for 'Penny Lane' (1967)... Jimi Hendrix is jailed for one day in Stockholm on charges of being drunk & disorderly after going berserk and destroying everything in his room at the Göteberg Hotel (1968)... Bruce Springsteen releases his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Recorded in a single week, the album will sell fewer than 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both 'Blinded By The Light' and 'Spirit In The Night' are released as singles but neither makes a dent in the charts (1973)... Bob Dylan releases Desire (1976)... The Sex Pistols open their maiden US tour with a gig in Atlanta, GA before an estimated audience of 500 people (1978)... Prince makes his live debut at the Capri Theater in Minneapolis, MN (1979)... Kenny Rogers becomes the last country singer to date to hit № 1 on the singles chart in Britain with 'Coward of the County' (1980)... Iron Maiden go to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter', even though the record sold only 42,000 copies in its first week of release, the lowest initial sales figure for a № 1 song since 1960 (1991)... Kirsty MacColl is laid to rest at a private funeral ceremony, ahead of a public memorial to pay tribute to her life. The singer songwriter was killed in a boating accident on the 18th of December (2001).

January 4th

Musical birthdays today include operatic soprano Grace Bumbry (80), John McLaughlin (75), ex-Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler (70), avant garde banjoist Eugene Chadbourne (63), former Talk Talk lead singer Mark Hollis (62), Wilco guitarist Nels Cline (61), Bernard Sumner (61), Patty Loveless (60), Michael Stipe (57), Cocteau Twins co-founder Robin Guthrie (55), Rammstein lead singer Till Lindemann (54), Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons (52), former Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan (52), country singer Deanna Carter (51), and Spanish pop singer María Isabel (22). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist & singer Slim Gaillard, born on this day in 1916... for folk & gospel singer-guitarist Precious Bryant, who would have been 75 today... for soul singer Arthur Conley, who would have been 71... for Thin Lizzy founder & frontman Phil Lynott, who died today in 1985 at the age of 36... for bandleader Les Brown, who passed away in 2001... and for Gerry Rafferty, who left today in 2011. 

Also on January 4th: Das Reingold, the first opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle, has its American premiere at the Met in NYC (1889)... Billboard Magazine introduces the first pop music chart that ranks records on the basis of national sales; jazz violinist Joe Venuti has the first official US № 1 ever with 'Stop, Look and Listen' (1936)... RCA announce that they will begin producing 33 1/3 RPM records, following the example of Columbia, who first introduced the LP in 1948 (1950)... Elvis Presley has his pre-induction medical check up at Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis, a preliminary to his call up from the US Army (1957)... The Fender Guitar Co. is bought by CBS for $13 million (1965)... The Doors release their eponymous debut album (1967)... The UCLA music department announces that all composition majors will henceforth have to study the songs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (1968)... The Beatles (minus John) re-record vocals and a new guitar solo on Paul's song 'Let It Be' at Studio Two, Abbey Road. This session will be the last studio appearance for The Beatles in any configuration. [The final date that all four Beatles were in the studio together was August 20, 1969] (1970)... Yes release the album Fragile (1972)... Bruce Springsteen plays the first of a three night run at Joe's Place in Cambridge, MA, with Peter Johnson & the Manic Depressives as the opening act. On the tickets is printed the proviso 'Because of the energy crisis all our outside lights except for one will be shut off' (1974)... Elton John has the № 1 single in America with his cover of 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', John Lennon guesting on guitar (1975)... The Sex Pistols create yet another incident, spitting and vomiting whilst boarding a flight to Amsterdam at Heathrow Airport (1977)... Paul Simon becomes a father for the second time when wife Edie Brickell gives birth to their son Adrian (1993)... Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London reveals that Oasis singer Liam Gallagher came third in their poll to determine the 'Most Hated Characters' list of exhibits, behind Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic (2001)... Britney Spears has her surprise marriage annulled less than 55 hours after tying the knot at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas with childhood friend Jason Alexander. The couple married on a Saturday morning after a night out in Las Vegas; her lawyers immediately filed for an annulment, however, saying Spears 'lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage' (2004)... The house where Johnny Cash lived for 35 years is bought by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. The rustic house near Nashville went on the market in June 2005 with an asking price of $2.9 million. Gibb says he plans to preserve the house to honour the Cash memory. Unfortunately Gibb's ownership of the house will be short-lived ~ in April 2007, the house burns to the ground. Gibb is having the house renovated when a flammable spray sealer causes fire to break out during construction (2006)

January 3rd

Musical birthdays today include Van Dyke Parks (76), Stephen Stills (72), John Paul Jones (71), Dictators lead guitarist Ross the Boss Friedman (63), Slits original drummer Paloma 'Palmolive' McCardy (62), Daft Punk co-founder Thomas Bangalter (42), and Lloyd (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Victor Borge, born 0n this day in 1909... for George Martin, born in 1926... for Maxene Andrews, born in 1916... for R&B singer-songwriter Zulema Cusseaux, who would have been 70... and for classical violinist and conductor János Fürst, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on January 3rd: The Symphonic Society of Boston gives the first performance of Brahm's 1st Symphony in America (1878)... Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler makes his American debut, leading the NY Philharmonic in a performance of Beethoven's 5th and 7th Symphonies at Carnegie Hall (1925)... The Beatles are seen for the first time on US TV when a clip from the BBC's 'The Mersey Sound' showing the group playing 'She Loves You' is broadcast on 'The Jack Paar Show' (1964)... Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys refuses to comply with his draft notice from the US Army and requests conscientious objector status (1967)... The Byrds release The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)... Appearing live on 'The Lulu Show' in the UK, Jimi Hendrix performs 'Voodoo Child', the first of two songs that he was scheduled to sing, then stops in the middle of 'Hey Joe', launching instead into a version Cream's 'Sunshine Of Your Love' as a tribute to the band, who had split a few days earlier. Hendrix then proceeds to continue jamming with the Experience, running over their allocated time slot on the live show, preventing hostess Lulu from closing the show properly (1969)... B.J. Thomas starts a month-long run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head'. In the UK, Syd Barrett's debut solo album The Madcap Laughs is released  (1970)... Pink Floyd begin two weeks of rehearsals for the forthcoming Dark Side Of The Moon tour at The Bermondsey in London [the club is  owned by The Rolling Stones] (1972)... In Chicago, Bob Dylan and the Band kick off a 39-date US tour. It is Dylan's first full-scale tour in 8 years ~ there were more than 5 million applications for the 660,000 tickets (1974)... The Bay City Rollers have the № 1 
single in America with 'Saturday Night'. Further down the chart is Bob Dylan's 'Hurricane', which is peaking at № 33 (1976)... David Bowie closes his run in the play 'The Elephant Man' on Broadway (1981)... Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987)... Liam and Noel Gallagher top a poll of 'Celebrities you would least like to live next to', getting 40% of the vote. Readers of Britain's 'Your Home' magazine voted the brothers from Oasis as 'Neighbours From Hell' (2002).

January 2nd

Musical birthdays today include singer Julius La Rosa (87), classical clarinetist David Shifrin (67), singer-songwriter Christine Lavin (65), funk singer Dawn Silva (63), Tia Carrere (50), Taye Diggs (46), and jazzman Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews (31). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Sir Michael Tippett, born on this day in 1905... for Roger 'King of the the Road' Mitchell, who would have been 81... for cowboy balladeer Tex Ritter, who died on this date in 1974... for Erroll Garner, who passed away in 1977... for former Platters vocalist David Lynch, who died in 1981... and for Spirit guitarist Randy California, who drowned on this day in 1997 at the age of 45 while saving his young son from a rip current in waters off Molokai, Hawaii. 

Also on January 2nd: Richard Wagner's opera Der Fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutchman] premieres in Dresden (1843)... The first issue of Melody Maker goes on sale in the UK priced at 3 shillings. The monthly magazine is for 'all who are interested in the production of popular music'. The first issue includes Dance Band News, and features on the ukulele and on how to read music by sight (1926)... Eddie Calvert tops the UK singles chart with 'O Mein Papa', the first № 1 to be recorded at Abbey Road Studios (1954)... The entire shipment of John and Yoko's album 'Two Virgins' is seized by authorities at the port of Bayonne, NJ due to the full frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover. The album will eventually make it to record stores wrapped in plain brown paper (1968)... Led Zeppelin finally earn stateside headline status, kicking off a four-night stand at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles with the Alice Cooper Band as their opening act... Filming of the Beatles rehearsing for their projected get Back album begins at Twickenham Studios (1969)... George Harrison's All Things Must Pass is the № 1 album in America, and will remain at the top of the chart for the next 7 weeks (1971)... Sid Vicious goes on trial in NYC on the charge of allegedly murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen three months earlier (1979)... Ron Wood marries his girlfriend Jo Karslake in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Guests include Keith Richard, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck (1985)... Brett Anderson of Suede is quoted in a Melody Maker interview as saying  "I honestly think lack of sex is vital to my writing process... I don't know if the same goes for Aerosmith" (1993)... Arrested Development announce that they have disbanded (1996)... Green Day have the № 1 album on both sides of the Atlantic with American Idiot (2005).

January 1st

Musical birthdays today include Country Joe McDonald (74), ex-Mott the Hoople keyboardist Morgan Fisher (66), Alpha Blondy (63), original Sonic Youth drummer Richard Edson (62), Grandmaster Flash (58), rapper Tim Dog (49), saxophonist & composer Chris Potter (45), and Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for vibraphonist Milt Jackson, born on this day in 1924... for choreographer Maurice Béjart, who would have been 89... for jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, who would have been 70... for Hank Williams, who died on this date in 1954... 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 four years ago. 

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).