THIS DAY IN HISTORY OF MUSIC
THIS DAY IN HISTORY OF MUSIC
JANUARY 20
BIRTHS
1888: Leadbelly
1922: Ray Anthony
1924: Slim Whitman
1926: David Tudor
1933: Earl Grant
1935: Buddy Blake
1941: Ron Townson (The 5th Dimension)
1945: Eric Stewart (The Mindbenders, 10CC)
1947: George Grantham (Poco)
1948: Melvin Pritchard (Barclay James Harvest)
1952: Ian Hill (Judas Priest), Paul Stanley (KISS)
1955: Michael Anthony (Van Halen)
DEATHS
1965: Alan Freed
EVENTS
1958: Radio station KWK in St. Louis, MO, finishes its "Record Breaking Week" of weeding out rock and roll and rhythm and blues records from its playlist. Records were spun once, then broken on air.
1958: Elvis Presley receives his draft notice in Memphis, TN. It allows a sixty-day deferment for the King to finish his film King Creole.
1965: The Rolling Stones and the Kinks both make their debut on ABC's Shindig! along with guests Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Bobby Vee, Bobby Sherman and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
1966: Promoter Bill Graham holds a three-day "Trips Festival" at Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco, CA, featuring Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the Grateful Dead, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
1968: In his first public appearance since his motorcycle accident two years earlier, Bob Dylan joins Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Odetta, Richie Havens, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and the Band at a Carnegie Hall tribute concert for Woody Guthrie.
1971: Diana Ross marries Bob Silberstein.
1973: Following his newfound success as a country and western artist, Jerry Lee Lewis finally takes the stage at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Although officials instruct him to play only country and to keep his comments clean, Lewis eventually breaks both rules, playing his classic rock and roll hits and declaring himself "the rock & rollin', country and western, rhythm and blues singin' motherf-----."
1974: After only five months of recovery from a near-fatal car crash, Stevie Wonder returns to performance with a show at London's Rainbow Theatre.
1988: The Third Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes. Beach Boy Mike Love raises eyebrows with his acceptance speech, which methodically insults most of the honorees (among others).
RELEASES
1958: The Silhouettes, "Get a Job"
1964: The Beatles, Meet the Beatles!
RECORDING
1942: Kay Kyser and His Orchestra, "Who Wouldn’t Love You"
1967: The Beatles, "A Day In The Life"
1967: Arthur Conley, "Sweet Soul Music"
1969: Elvis Presley, "In The Ghetto"
CHARTS
1957: Ricky Nelson's album Ricky hits #1
1968: John Fred and His Playboy Band's "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" hits #1
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EVENTS
1950 - "Dance Me a Song" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 35 performances
1964 - "Meet The Beatles" album released in US
1965 - Beatles appear on Shindig (ABC-TV)
1991 - "Shogun - The Musical" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 72 perfs
BIRTHS
1586 - Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (Fontana d'Israel)
1681 - Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, composer
1703 - Joseph-Hector Fiocco, composer
1743 - Pascal Boyer, composer
1761 - Giovanni Domenico Perotti, composer
1762 - Jerome-Joseph de Momigny, composer
1783 - Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
1809 - Sebastian de Iradier, Spanish composer (La Paloma)
1844 - Johan Peter Selmer, composer
1855 - Amedee-Ernest Chausson, composer
1867 - Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
1870 - Guillaume Jean Joseph Nicolas Lekeu, composer
1876 - Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
1877 - Ruth St Denis, Newark NJ, ballerina (Dances of the 5 Senses)
1888 - Lead Belly, Louisiana, blues 12 string guitarist (Rock Island Line), (d. 1949)
1891 - Mischa Elman, Talnoye Ukraine, US violinist
1894 - Walter Hamor Piston, Rockland Maine, composer (Incredible Flutis)
1895 - Eva A Jessye, US singer/actress/songwriter (Hallelujah)
1896 - Elmer R Diktonius, Finnish musicologist/author (Janne Kubik)
Blues Musician Lead BellyBlues Musician Lead Belly (1888)
1899 - Alexander Tcherepnin, composer
1900 - Boris Semyonovich Shekhter, composer
1908 - Wilfred Conwell Bain, composer
1910 - Ennio Porrino, composer
1910 - Nina Verchinina, dancer choreographer/teacher
1919 - Royalton Kisch, British(?) conductor
1919 - Stepan Lucky, composer
1922 - Ray Anthony, Penn, orchestra leader (Ray Anthony Show, Peter Gunn Theme)
1922 - Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader and actor
1923 - Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
1924 - Yvonne Loriod, Houilles France, pianist
1924 - Slim Whitman, American singer
1926 - David Eugene Tudor, Phila Penn, composer
1931 - Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese songwriter and pianist (d. 1992)
1933 - Ron Townson, St Louis Mo, rock vocalist (5th Dimension-Up Up & Away)
1940 - Jorge Peixinho, composer
1941 - Pierre Lalonde, Quebec singer and television host
1942 - Slim Whitman, yoddler/country singer (Home on the Range)
1943 - Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician
1945 - Eric Stewart, rock guitarist (10cc-I'm Not in Love)
1947 - George Grantham, rocker (Poco-Crazy Eyes)
1947 - Ronald Townson, rock singer (5th Dimension-We Can Fly)
1948 - Melvyn Paul Pritchard, England, rocker (Barclay James Harvest)
1950 - Henk Batenburgh, cabaret performer/singer (Waaldrecht)
1951 - Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
1952 - Ian Hill, bass guitarist (Judas Priest-Breakin the Law)
1952 - Paul Stanley, [Eisen], rock guitarist (KISS-Beth)
1955 - Hiromi Ōta, Japanese singer
1965 - Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
1965 - John Michael Montgomery, American singer
1966 - Tracii Guns, rock guitarist (LA Guns-It's Over Now)
1967 - Joe Pasquale, rocker (Prey)
1969 - Nicky Wire, British Musician (Manic Street Preachers)
1970 - Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter, actor
1971 - Gary Barlow, English singer (Take That)
1971 - Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, American drummer (The Roots)
1977 - Melody, Belgian singer
1979 - Rob Bourdon, American musician (Linkin Park)
1979 - Will Young, British singer
1980 - Matthew Tuck, Welsh guitarist (Bullet for My Valentine)
1983 - Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1984 - Toni Gonzaga, Filipina Actress and Singer
DEATHS
1691 - Christian de Placker, composer, dies at 77
1789 - Johann Christoph Oley, composer, dies at 50
1798 - Christian Cannabich, German composer/royal chaplain master, dies at 66
1830 - Michal Bogdanowicz, composer, dies at 50
1838 - Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges, composer, dies at 64
1857 - Edward Francis Fitzwilliam, composer, dies at 32
1859 - Bettina Brentano, composer, dies at 73
1890 - Franz Paul Lachner, composer, dies at 86
1905 - Stanislaw Pilinski, composer, dies at 65
1914 - Emil Liebling, composer, dies at 62
1914 - Henry Southwick Perkins, composer, dies at 80
1943 - Giacomo Benvenuti, composer, dies at 57
1952 - Arthur Farwell, composer, dies at 74
1964 - Jan Rychlik, composer, dies at 47
1975 - Franz Andre, Belgian conductor, dies at 81
1979 - Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (b. 1925)
1985 - Jo Juda, Dutch musician, dies at 75
1990 - Miloslav Istvan, composer, dies at 61
1990 - Hayedeh, Persian singer (b. 1942)
1996 - Buster Benton, singer/guitarist, dies at 63
1996 - Gerald Joseph Mulligan, baritone saxophonist/composer, dies at 68
1996 - Peter Stadlen, pianist/critic, dies at 85
2002 - Carrie Hamilton, actress and singer (b. 1963)
2009 - David Newman, American jazz musician, nicknamed "Fathead" (b. 1933)
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EVENTS
1966, The Spencer Davis Group were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Keep On Running'.
1967, The Monkees TV show was shown for the first time in the UK.
1968, One hit wonders John Fred and the Playboy Band started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Judy In Disguise, (With Glasses)', it made No.3 in the UK. The song was inspired by The Beatles 'Lucy In The Sky'.
1968, Fleetwood Mac, The Move, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and Fairport Convention all appeared at the Roundhouse Chalk Farm in London, England.
1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Wheaton Youth Center, Wheaton, during their first North American tour. Some reports suggest that only 55 fans attended this show, (if so, this would make it the smallest audience they ever played to). This show was on a Monday and the night of Richard Nixon's inauguration. Zeppelin were paid $250 to appear.
1969, Bruce Springsteen had two of his poems published in the Ocean County College Literary Yearbook Seascapes. Springsteen was in his second semester at the Toms River, New Jersey College.
1972, On the first date of a UK tour at The Dome, Brighton, England, Pink Floyd attempted to premiere their new album The Dark Side Of The Moon but due to technical problems this was abandoned after a performance of the track 'Money'.
Read the full story:
Nothing Eclipses The Moon
No-one in March 1973 could have imagined that an album released in that month would still be thrilling listeners 38 years later, but it's true.
Pink Floyd, in conjunction with EMI, have undertaken an overhaul of their catalogue, and for the first time, allowed us to see part of their creative process, by compiling a 6-disc box set of 'Dark Side' including various multi-channel mixes, much memorabilia and restored screen films from their live show, but, most importantly, a newly-mixed live concert from 1974 and a disc of alternative versions and outtakes.
Generally regarded as Pink Floyd's masterwork, the qualities of The Dark Side Of The Moon have perhaps been taken for granted in recent years, but a return to it with fresh ears reminds the listener of its strengths. Part of its enduring appeal is the quality of the material, there simply isn't a bad track on it, with a listening experience greater even than the sum of the parts.
As to its subject matter, Roger Waters said in 2003 that it was "An expression of political, philosophical, humanitarian empathy that was desperate to get out." He said it was about "all the pressures and difficulties and questions that crop up in one's life and create anxiety, and the potential you have to solve them or choose the path that you?re going to walk."
The band initially convened in December 1971 and January 1972 at Decca's West Hampstead Studios in Broadhurst Gardens, London and then at a warehouse owned by The Rolling Stones at 47 Bermondsey Street, South London. One of the musical elements, to become Us And Them, already existed, having begun life as a rejected musical sequence by Richard Wright for Antonioni's Zabriskie Point. Another, to become Brain Damage, was a piece of Roger Waters', created in the writing sessions of the Meddle album in January of that year.
In the pre-Internet age, it wasn't too commercially suicidal to preview new material before its release, so Floyd were able to knock the album into shape over several months of road work. The first full-length performance was at the Guildhall in Portsmouth, England, on January 21st, 1972, after which almost the entire year was spent with the band performing Dark Side live, interspersed with visits to Abbey Road studios from May onwards to work on individual songs.
With Alan Parsons engineering, the first version of the Dark Side album was mixed in December 1972. On the box set, check out the first mix on CD 6 of The Dark Side Of The Moon, which is quite revealing about the gestation of the final version. Speak To Me as a track was a late addition, the album originally starting only with a backwards piano chord leading straight into Breathe (In The Air). The most obvious change is to The Great Gig In The Sky, which, before the addition of Clare Torry's vocal performance in January 1973, was comprised mainly of Richard Wright's organ accompanied by, in concert, taped religious incantations and in the first mix, voices of the Apollo 17 space mission. At the time, it was known as The Mortality Sequence or The Religious Sequence. It shows that all the band's subsequent decisions on the album were creatively correct, including even the completely redone Travel Sequence, which was replaced by On The Run.
As much of a revelation as the newly-released material and the works in progress is the 1974 live album, compiled from performances at London's Wembley Empire Pool in November 1974. As opposed to the then-live radio broadcast, mixed by the BBC in real time with an unflattering balance, this sourced the original multitrack tapes and, as mixed by Floyd engineers Andy Jackson and Damon Iddins, shows Floyd at the top of their game, rhythmic, swinging, emotive and punchy. If you can't afford the box, it's available as a 2-CD Experience edition alongside the remastered original album.
Perhaps you don't need a reminder that the album is one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, but it's not too late to rediscover it. I think you'll agree that it's also one of the best.
1975, The US Top 5 singles: No.5, Stevie Wonder, 'Boogie On Reggae Woman', No.4, Ohio Players, 'Fire', No.3, Barry Manilow, 'Mandy', No.2, Neil Sedaka, 'Laughter In The Rain', No.1, The Carpenters, 'Please Mr Postman'.
1982, During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw a bat onto the stage. Stunned by the light, the bat lay motionless, and thinking it was a rubber fake, the singer picked it up and attempted to bite its head off. As he did this, the bat started to flap its wings and Ozzy soon realized it wasn't fake but in fact a living thing. After the show Ozzy was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for rabies shots.
1982, Stiff Little Fingers played the first night of an 11-date tour at The Tower in Hull, promoting their new 4-track EP. The press ads said, 'Pay no more than £1.10, more cuts than Maggie Thatcher.'
1983, Def Leppard released their third studio album 'Pyromania' which featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album has now sold over 10 million copies in the US.
1985, Foreigner had their only UK No.1 single with 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. London-born Mick Jones wrote the song and sang lead vocals with the British-American rock band.
1986, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan appeared at a concert to celebrate the first Martin Luther King day in the US.
1988, The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Yoko, Sean, and Julian Lennon all attend. Paul McCartney does not attend, sending instead a letter stating that continuing business differences with the other ex-Beatles was the reason for his absence.
1990, Michael Bolton started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without You', the singers first No.1 and the first No.1 single of the 90's in the US.
1996, Bobby Brown was fined $1,000 (£560), sentenced to two years probation and ordered to attend anger management classes after assaulting a security guard.
1997, Ben and Jerry's introduced 'Phish food', a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients were chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge.
2000, Tourism chiefs in Liverpool were banned from putting up motorway signs saying 'Liverpool, the Birthplace Of The Beatles', because the Highways Agency thought the signs would distract motorists.
2001, A memorial service was held for Kirsty MacColl who was killed in a boating accident off the coast of Mexico in December 2000. Bono from U2 and Billy Bragg were among friends and fans that packed St Martin-in-the-fields church in London.
2002, George Harrison had the posthumous UK No.1 single with the re-release of the 1971 former No.1 'My Sweet Lord'. Harrison's single replaced Aaliyah's 'More Than A Woman', the only time in chart history that one deceased artist had taken over from another at No.1.
2002, Stereophonics started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second No.1 'Just Enough Education To Perform.'
2003, 8 Mile, starring Eminem toppled The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from its four-week hold at the top of the UK box office. The story of a Detroit rapper took £4,440,334 at 423 cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
2008, Scouting For Girls went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut and self titled album.
BIRTHS
1889, Born on this day, Leadbelly, (Huddi William Ledbetter), Blues musician, who wrote 'Goodnight Irene', 'The Rock Island Line', and 'The Midnight Special'. He was once jailed for shooting a man dead during an argument over a woman. Leadbelly died on 6th December 1949.
1924, Born on this day, Slim Whitman, American country singer, (1955 UK No.1 single 'Rose Marie', 1977 UK No.1 album 'Red River Valley').
1933, Born on this day, Ron Townson, The 5th Dimension, (1969 US No.1 & UK No.11 single 'Aquarius'). Died on 3rd August 2001.
1942, Born on this day, Billy Powell, vocals, The O'Jays, (1973 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Love Train'). Powell died on 26th May 1982.
1943, Born on this day, Rick Evans, singer, Zager and Evans, (1969 US & UK No.1 single 'In The Year 2525').
1945, Born on this day, Eric Stewart, guitar, keyboards, vocals, Mindenders, (1966 UK No.2 single Groovy Kind Of Love'), Hotlegs, (1970 UK No.2 single 'Neanderthal Man'), 10cc, (1975 UK No.1 & US No. 2 single 'I'm Not In Love' plus 10 other Top 30 hits).
1946, Born on this day, Jimmy Chambers, singer, Londonbeat, (1990 UK No.2 & 1991 US No.1 single 'I've Been Thinking About You').
1947, Born on this day, George Grantham, drums, Poco, (1979 US No.17 single 'Crazy Love').
1948, Born on this day, Mel Pritchard, Barclay James Harvest, 8 UK Top 40 albums from 1974-87.
1950, Born on this day, Paul Stanley, guitar, vocals, Kiss, who had 1976 US #11 album 'Rock and Roll Over' which spent 26 weeks on the chart. Plus the 1987 UK #4 single 'Crazy Crazy Nights'. Kiss have been awarded 24 gold albums to date, the most of any American rock band - selling more than 40 million albums.
1952, Born on this day, Ian Hill, bass, Judas Priest, (1980 UK No.12 single 'Living After Midnight', 1980 UK No.4 album 'British Steel').
1965, Born on this day, Heather Small, singer, M People, (1993 UK No.2 single 'Moving On Up' plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles).
1969, Born on this day, Nicholas Allen Jones, Manic Street Preachers, (1996 UK No.2 single 'A Design For Life' 1998 UK No.1 album 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours').
1969, Born on this day, Tina O'Neill, drummer, We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It, (1989 UK No.11 single 'International Rescue').
1971, Born on this day, Gary Barlow, vocals, piano, songwriter, Take That, (1995 UK No.1 single ‘Back For Good’ plus eight other UK No.1 singles, 1993 UK No.1 album 'Everything Changes spent 78 weeks on the UK chart). Solo, (1996 UK No.1 single ‘Forever Love’). Written songs for Donny Osmond, Charlotte Church, Bryan McFadden and Atomic Kitten. Re-formed Take That without Robbie Williams in 2006 for a sold-out European tour. Topped the UK singles and album charts simultaneously for the first time in their career when the single ‘Patience’ and album ‘Beautiful World’ both reached No.1 in Dec 2006.
1979, Born on this day, Rob Bourdon, drums, Linkin Park, (2002 US No.2 & UK No.4 single 'In The End', 2002 US No.2 & 2001 UK No.4 album 'Hybrid Theory').
1979, Born on this day, Will Young, singer, UK TV's Pop Idol winner, (2002 UK No.1 single 'Anything Is Possible / Evergreen').
1981, Born on this day, Nathan Connolly, Snow Patrol, (2006 UK No.1 album 'Eyes Open', 2006 UK No.6 single 'Chasing Cars').
DEATHS
1965, American disc-jockey Alan Freed died from uraemia at the age of 42. Freed called himself the "father of rock and roll", appeared in the movies such as Rock Around The Clock and Don't Knock the Rock. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s.
1999, Bill Albaugh drummer from the 1960's psychedelic group The Lemon Pipers died aged 53. The Lemon Pipers scored the 1967 US No.1 single 'Green Tambourine'. Albaugh died on 20th Jan 1999 at the age of 53.
2000, Ray Jones, bass player with Billy J Kramer and the The Dakotas died. They had the 1964 UK No.1 & US N0.7 single 'Little Children'.
2006, American music executive Johnny Bienstock died of complications from heart disease aged 83. Owned Moss Rose Music, worked with Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Elvis Presley, The Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Del Shannon and Meat Loaf.
2012, Etta James, most often remembered for her signature song, 'At Last', which reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart, died from complications of leukemia at the age of 73. She also placed nine other songs in the American Top 40, won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.