January 10 – Today in Music History Events

1917 Jerry Wexler, producer and record company executive. Co-owner of Atlantic records, vice president at Warner Brothers, worked with Ray Charles, Phil Spector, Dr John, Dusty Springfield, Dire Straits, Bob Dylan. Died on Aug 15th 2008, aged 91. 
1927 Johnny Ray born in Dallas, Oregon. US Teen Idol/Singer. Died of liver failure 21/2/90. (1956 UK No.1 & US No.2 single, ‘Just Walking In The Rain’, plus over 20 Top 40 singles between 1952 & 60). 
1935 Ronnie Hawkins born in Huntsville, Arkansas. US Singer, (1959 US No.26 single ‘Mary Lou’, formed The Band, (then known as The Hawks). 
1939 Sal Mineo born in West Hollywood, California. US Actor & Singer. Biggest Hit “Start Movin’ In my Direction’ in 1957. Sal was stabbed to death on 12th Feb, 1976. 
1939 Scott McKenzie (Philip Blondheim) born in Florida. US Singer. His only hit was in 1967 with San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair). McKenzie died on August 18, 2012, at the age of 73, in Los Angeles. He had suffered from Guillain–Barré syndrome from 2010 until his death
1943 Jim Croce born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. US singer, songwriter, killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert 20/9/73. (1973 US No.1 single ‘Time In A Bottle’). 
1945 Martin Turner born in Torquay, Devon. Guitarist with Wishbone Ash, (1972 UK No.3 album ‘Argus’ and 8 other Top 40 albums). 
1945 Rod Stewart (Roderick Stewart) born in London, England. British Singer/Songwriter, The Hoochie Coochie Men, Steampacket, Shotgun Express, Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, (UK No.6 & US No.17 single ‘Stay With Me’). Solo, (1971 UK & US No.1 single ‘Maggie May’,
1946 Aynsley Dunbar born in Liverpool England. He joined the group Journey in 1974 as their Drummer. (1982 US No.2 single ‘Open Arms’),
1946 Bob Lang born in Machester. England. Vocalist with Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders & the Mindbenders without Wayne Fontana. (1965 US No.1 single ‘Game Of Love’, 1966 UK No.2 single ‘Groovy Kind Of Love’). 
1946 Neal Smith, drums, Alice Cooper Band, (1972 UK No.1 & US No.7 single ‘School’s Out’). 
1948 Donald Fagen born in Passaic, New Jersey. US Keyboard Player/Singer/Songwriter with Steely Dan, (1973 US No.11 single ‘Reeling In The Years’ and nine other US Top 30 hits). 
1948 Cyril Neville, vocals, percussion, The Neville Brothers, (1989 UK No.47 single ‘With God On Our Side’). 
1949 The vinyl record format war heats us as RCA introduces the 45 RPM, 7 inch record. It would eventually replace the 78 RPM record for “singles” – one song on each side. The format takes off in the early years of the rock era. 
1952 Scott Thurston – He joined the Motels as a Guitarist in 1982. 
1953 Pat Benatar (Pat Andrzejewski) born in Brooklyn, New York. US Singer. (1985 UK No.17 single ‘Love Is A Battlefield’). 
1953 Jo Stafford was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You Belong To Me’. Originally a singer with Tommy Dorsey until 1942, Stafford was the first female to have a No.1 on the UK singles Chart. 
1955 Luci Martin – US Vocalist with Chic. She joined in 1977. (1978 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Le Freak’). 
1955 Michael Schenker, German guitarist, formed The Scorpions, member of UFO. (1982 UK No.5 album with the Michael Schenker group ‘One Night At Budokan’). 
1956 Elvis Presley made his first recordings for RCA Records at The Methodist television, radio & TV Studios in Nashville. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was one of the songs recorded during this session. 
1957 Tommy Steele and the Steelmen were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Singing The Blues’. Guy Mitchell had been at No.1 the previous week with his version and then returned to No.1 the following week. 
1958 Shawn Colvin born in Vermillion, South Dakota. US Singer/Songwriter She had a hit with ‘Sunny Came Home’ in 1997. It won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record Of The Year. 
1958 Jerry Lee Lewis was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Great Balls Of Fire’. Lewis was the only major white rock ‘n’ roll star to play piano rather than guitar. 
1958 The Quarry Men (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, and Len Garry) played at the New Clubmoor Hall, Norris Green, Liverpool. 
1960 Marty Robbins hit tune, “El Paso”, held the record for the longest #1 song up to this date. The song ran 5 minutes and 19 seconds, giving many radio station Program Directors fits; because the average record length at that time was around 2 minutes, and formats didn’t allow for records much longer than that, (e.g., 2-minute record, 3 minutes for commercials, 60 seconds for promo, 2-minute record, etc.) DJ’s got used to the longer length quickly, however, realizing it gave them time, before the record ended, to actually think of something to say next…
1963 On his second visit to the UK in less than a month Bob Dylan played at the Troubadour Club in London. 
1964 Brad Roberts born in Winnipeg, Canada. Lead Singer for The Crash Test Dummies, (1994 UK No.2 & US No.4 single ‘MMM MMM MMM MMM’). 
1964 The Beatles went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. Staying at the top spot for 5wks. 
1964 The first US Beatles album, ‘Introducing The Beatles’, was released on Vee-Jay records. The album cover showed John, Paul and George with their now famous “mop top” haircuts, but Ringo had yet to convert. Vee-Jay would be forced to stop selling the disc by the end of the year because of legal complications, but by then over 1.3 million copies had been sold. 
1964 The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Not Fade Away’ at Regent Sound Studios in London, England. 
1965 Joey Santiago, guitar, Pixies, (1990 UK No.28 single ‘Velouria’). 
1965 Nathan Moore – UK Singer with Brother Beyond, (1988 UK No.2 single ‘The Harder I Try’). 
1965 John Lennon appeared on the UK TV Peter Cook and Dudley Moore show, ‘Not Only But Also.’ 
1968 The Beatles went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus’. Staying at the top spot for 1wk. 
1969 “Hey Little One” album by Glen Campbell was certified Gold by the RIAA
1970 “La La La (If I Had You)” by Bobby Sherman peaked at #9 on the US singles chart.
1973 Aerlee Taree, vocals, Arrested Development, (1992 UK No.2 single ‘People Everyday’). 
1973 Cliff Richard appeared on the Cilla Black Show, singing the six entries chosen to represent Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest. TV viewers picked ‘Power To All Our Friends’. 
1974 Ross Ryan went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘I Am Pegasus’. Staying at the top spot for 3 wks. 
1976 Blues artist Howlin Wolf, (Chester Burnett), died in hospital of cancer aged 66. The guitarist, singer and harmonica player’s well known songs included ‘Smoke Stack Lightning’, ‘Little Red Rooster’ and ‘Spoonful.’ 
1976 CW McCall went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Convoy’, it made No.2 in the UK. CW McCall was in fact an advertising agent whose real name was Bill Fries. 
1976 Deep Purple split up at the end of an UK tour. David Coverdale went on to form Whitesnake, Jon Lord and Ian Paice formed a band with Tony Ashton. The classic line up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord & Paice reformed in 1984. 
1977 Rolling Stone Keith Richards was fined £750 with £250 costs after being found guilty of possessing cocaine. He was also fined £25, for driving without a MOT or car tax. 
1978 Matt Roberts, guitarist, 3 Doors Down, (2003 US No.4 single When I’m Gone’, 2005 US No.1 album ‘Seventeen Days’). 
1978 The Sex Pistols make their US TV debut on the show ‘Variety’. 
1979 Chris Smith, Kris Kross, (1992 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Jump’). The duo of Chris Smith and Chris Kelly were 12 and 13 when they recorded the song. 
1981 John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart, 10 years after it was recorded. Lennon had two other songs in the Top 5 this week, ‘Happy Christmas, (War Is Over’) and ‘(Just Like) Starting Over.’ ‘Imagine’ was voted by the viewers of BBC TV as the best lyrics of all time in a poll broadcast in Oct 1999. Also on this day John and Yoko’s ‘Double Fantasy’ album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. ‘Just Like Starting Over’ was at No.1 on the US singles chart. 
1981 “Double Fantasy” album by John Lennon & Yoko Ono was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA, a little over a month after Lennon’s assassination. Including ‘Just Like Starting Over’, ‘Watching The Wheels’, ‘Woman’, ‘Beautiful Boy’ ‘I’m Losing You’ & ‘Dear Yoko’. The album is Number One for eight weeks.
1981 “Guilty” by Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb peaked at #3 on the US singles chart.
1981 “Love On The Rocks” by Neil Diamond peaked at #2 on the pop singles chart.
1981 “Tell It Like It Is” by Heart peaked at #8 on the US singles chart.
1981 Natalie Cole is trapped in the 22-story Las Vegas Hilton hotel when it catches fire. The blaze kills 8 people, but Cole is rescued. She would later say this was her “rock bottom,” as during the fire, she didn’t leave her room because she wanted to smoke crack cocaine. She went into rehab in 1983 and beat her addiction. 
1984 Motley Crue played their opening show on the first leg of Ozzy Osbournes Bark At The Moon tour in front of nine and a half thousand people in Portland, Maine. 
1984 Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year. 
1985 “Arena” album by Duran Duran was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA
1985 Paul Hewson – Dragon Keyboard Player died aged 32 as a result of drug causes. 
1985 Band Aid went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Do They Know Its Christmas’ staying at No.1 for 3wks. 
1985 “Like A Virgin” single by Madonna was certified Gold by the RIAA
1985 “The Glamorous Life” album by Sheila E was certified Gold by the RIAA
1987 “Notorious” by Duran Duran peaked at #2 on the US singles chart.
1989 Texas Appearing at The Borderline, London, Texas, tickets £5. 
1989 “Wild, Wild, West” single by Escape Club was certified Gold by the RIAA
1989 “A Groovy Kind Of Love” single by Phil Collins was certified Gold by the RIAA
1989 “Kokomo” single by The Beach Boys was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA
1989 “American Dream” album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was certified Gold by the RIAA
1989 “Desire” single by U2 was certified Gold by the RIAA
1989 “Green” album by R.E.M. was certified Gold by the RIAA
1990 “All Around The World” single by Lisa Stansfield was released
1990 Bon Jovi played the first of seven sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England on their New Jersey Syndicate Tour. 
1997 English singer Kenny Pickett with the 60’s band Creation died aged 54 of a heart attack. Had the 1966 hit ‘Painter Man’. 
1997 James Brown received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 
1999 Norman Cook scored his third UK No.1 single under the name of Fatboy Slim with ‘Praise You’. Cook’s other No.1’s were with The Housemartins and Beats International. 
1999 DMX were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood.’ 
2000 Sean Conlon from boy band Five was offered a place with Rugby team Hunslet Hawks after training with the team over Christmas. Sean was offered the place of reserve half- back. 
2000 Singer Melissa Etheridge announced that David Crosby was the sperm donor of her two children with girlfriend Julie Cypher. 
2000 Macy Gray went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘I Try’ staying at the top spot for 2wks. 
2000 Singer Melissa Etheridge announced that David Crosby was the sperm donor of her two children with girlfriend Julie Cypher. 
2001 American guitarist and songwriter and founder member of The Cramps Bryan Gregory died after suffering a heart attack aged 46 at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, Anaheim, California. 
2003 A haul of 500 Beatles tapes known as the ‘Get Back sessions’ stolen in the 1970’s were found after UK police cracked a major bootleg operation in London and Amsterdam. Five men were arrested. 
2003 Bee Gee Maurice Gibb was fighting for his life after a heart attack following major stomach surgery. The 53 year-old singer had been rushed to hospital after collapsing at his Florida home. 
2005 American drummer Spencer Dryden died from colon cancer at his home in California aged 66. Was the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, (replaced Skip Spence), New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Dinosaurs. Dryden was the Nephew of Charlie Chaplin. 
2005 A woman was suing Gene Simmons from Kiss for slander, alleging a documentary made her out to be a “sex-addicted nymphomaniac”. Georgeann Walsh Ward, 53, of New York, said during a VH1 documentary her photo was flashed up as Simmons talked about his past sexual encounters. Ms Walsh Ward had dated Simmons for three years when he was a student. In the documentary, Simmons boasted of having sex with over 4,600 women. 
2006 An Australian woman appeared in court charged with repeatedly stabbing her partner with a pair of scissors in the back, shoulder and thigh because he played Elvis Presley’s song ‘Burning Love’ over and over again. 
2007 Madame Tussauds unveiled its fourth waxwork of Kylie Minogue, making the Australian pop star the most modelled celebrity after the Queen. The model became the first scented waxwork, wearing Minogue’s Darling perfume. 
2008 Rod Allen Bainbridge, lead singer of The Fortunes, died aged 63 after battling liver cancer. The group’s biggest hit was ‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’ which was a UK No.2 hit in 1965, also reaching No.7 seven in the US. 
2008 Radiohead topped the US album charts with the physical release of ‘In Rainbows’, originally sold via the internet for a price chosen by fans. The album sold 122,000 copies during its first week on release, giving the band a second US chart topper following 2000’s ‘Kid A’, which sold an initial 207,000 copies. 
2009 Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie married actor Josh Duhamel at the Church Estates Vineyards in Malibu. Guests included her bandmate Will.i.am and actress Kate Hudson. 
2013 Claude Nobs the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival died aged 76. During a 1971 Frank Zappa concert, at the Montreux Casino the venue caught fire. Nobs saved several young people who had hidden in the casino, thinking they would be sheltered from the flames. This act earned him a mention (as Funky Claude in the line “Funky Claude was running in and out pulling kids out the ground”) in the Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water, which is about the incident. 
2016 English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, painter, and actor David Bowie died from liver cancer at his New York home two days after releasing the album Blackstar on his 69th birthday. His first UK Top 40 single was the 1969 ‘Space Oddity’ which became a UK No.1 in 1975, plus over 50 other UK Top 40 hits including five No.1’s. Bowie has also scored two US No.1 singles, the 1975 ‘Fame’ and 1983 ‘Let’s Dance’. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million albums worldwide, made him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. 
2018 British guitarist Eddie Clarke, who was a member of heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead died in hospital, where he was being treated for pneumonia. He was 67 years old. Of Motörhead’s classic lineup, which consisted of Lemmy, himself and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, he was the last surviving member.