January 16 – Today in Music History
1932 Duke Ellington records “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got that Swing).”
1934 Robert Lenard “Bob” Bogle born in Wagoner, Oklahoma. US Bass Player/Guitarist/Songwriter with The Ventures, (1960 UK No.4 single ‘Perfidia’, 1960 US No.2 ‘Walk Don’t Run’). Bogle died at age 75 on June 14, 2009 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Vancouver, Washington
1942 Raymond Philips born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff. Singer with The Nashville Teens, (1964 UK No.6 & US No.16 single ‘Tobacco Road’).
1942 William Francis born in Sacramento, Sacramento County, California. US Keyboard Player with Dr Hook, (1972 UK No.2 & US No.5 single ‘Sylvia’s Mother’).
1942 Barbara Lynn born in Beaumont, Texas. American rhythm and blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her R&B chart-topping hit, “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” (1962). (1962 US No.8 single ‘You’ll Lose A Good Thing’).
1943 Ronnie Milsap born in Robinsville, North Carolina. Blind US Country Singer. (1981 US No.5 single ‘There’s No Gettin’ Over Me’).
1944 Jim Stafford born in Florida. American comedian, musician, and singer-songwriter. While prominent in the 1970s for his records “Spiders & Snakes”, “Swamp Witch”, “Under The Scotsman’s Kilt”, “My Girl Bill”, and “Wildwood Weed”,[1] Stafford has headlined at his own theater in Branson, Missouri, since 1990.[2] Stafford is self-taught on guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica.
1950 Damo Suzuki (lead singer of the German band Can) is born Kenji Suzuki in Japan.
1956 Tennessee Ernie Ford was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the Merle Travis coal-mining song ‘Sixteen Tons.’ Written in 1947 about the misery of coal mining.
1956 Greedy Smith (Andrew Smith) Vocalist/Keyboard Player with Mental As Anything.
1957 The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool. It became the home of many Liverpool bands including The Beatles who appeared at the club 292 times.
1957 Little Richard recorded Lucille on this day.
1959 Sade (Helen Folasade Adu) born in Nigeria. Lead Vocalist for her band Sade. 1984 UK No.6 single ‘Your Love Is King’, 1985 US No.5 single ‘Smooth Operator’.
1962 Paul Webb born in Essex England. US Bass Player with Talk Talk, (1986 UK No.16 single ‘Life’s What You Make It’).
1962 Maxine Jones born in Oakland, California. Us Singer with En Vogue, (1992 US No.2 & UK No.4 single ‘My Lovin’).
1964 The Dave Clark Five were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Glad All Over’, the group’s only UK No.1.
1964 The Beatles played two shows at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France, the first of an 18-night engagement. This first show was attended mostly by Paris’ ‘top society’ members (all dressed in formal evening attire). The French press had little good to say about The Beatles in the next day’s papers, but The Beatles didn’t care, because they’d just received news that their single ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ had hit No.1 in the US, selling 10,000 copies an hour in New York City alone.
1964 The musical Hello, Dolly! opens on Broadway, starring Carol Channing in the title role. The show is a huge hit, and a recording of the title song by Louis Armstrong goes to #1 in May, knocking The Beatles out of the top spot.
1965 The Beatles played the last of a 16 night run billed as ‘Another Beatles’ Christmas Show’ that had started on Jan 1st at The Hammersmith Odeon, London.
1965 Maxine Jones, singer, En Vogue, (1992 US No.2 & UK No.4 single ‘My Lovin’).
1965 “Love Potion Number Nine” by The Searchers peaked at #3 on the US singles chart.
1965 “The Jerk” by The Larks peaked at #7 on the US singles chart.
1969 Marmalade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of The Beatles song ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’.
1969 Fleetwood Mac, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Albert Collins all appeared at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, California.
1970 Brendan O’Hare born in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. Drummer with Teenage Fanclub, (1992 UK No. 31 single ‘What You Do To Me’).
1970 John Lennon’s London Art Gallery exhibit of erotic lithographs, ‘Bag One’ was closed by Scotland Yard.
1972 David Seville (real name: Ross Bagdasarian), who created The Chipmunks, dies of a heart attack at age 52.
1973 Bruce Springsteen appeared at Villanova University, Philadelphia to an audience of 25 people. His concert had not been advertised due to a strike by Villanova’s school newspaper The Villanovan.
1973 Gospel singer Clara Ward (leader of The Famous Ward Singers) dies at age 48 after suffering two strokes.
1974 The New Seekers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their second and final UK No.1 single ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’.
1975 Daryl Braithwaite went No.1 on the Australian singles chart with ‘You’re My World’. Staying at the top spot for 1wk.
1975 McCartney and Wings arrive in New Orleans to begin sessions on their Venus and Mars album at Allen Toussaint’s Sea Saint studios. They stay through Mardi Gras.
1975 Jazz musician Paul Beaver (of Beaver and Krause) dies at age 49.
1976 Stuart Fletcher, The Seahorses, (1997 UK No.3 single ‘Love Is The Law’).
1976 Peter Frampton’s top selling live album Frampton Comes Alive was released in the US.
1976 The television variety show Donny and Marie, starring Donny and Marie Osmond, debuts on ABC in the U.S.
1977 One half of TV cop show “Starsky & Hutch” (he was blonde Hutch), David Soul went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’. Also a No.1 in the US.
1978 Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious fell through a glass door at a San Francisco hotel, took a drug overdose and was rushed to hospital.
1979 Aaliyah (Aaliyah Houghton) born in New York. , US singer, actress, killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas 25/8/01. (2000, US No.1 single ‘Try Again’, 2002 UK No.1 single ‘More Than A Woman’).
1979 Cher’s divorce from Gregg Allman was finalised.
1979 “My Life” single by Billy Joel was certified Gold by the RIAA
1979 Roger Miller sings a medley of songs on The Muppet Show. He also sings “In the Summertime” in a patch of musically skilled watermelons and drops the bombshell news that he, like the all-chicken cast of Vet’s Hospital, once suffered from “Cluckitis
1980 In 1980, Paul McCartney was jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on 1/2 pound of marijuana possession found in his suitcase at Tokyo Airport. After ten days, he was deported back to Britian. The remainder of his tour is canceled.
1980 Paul McCartney was jailed for nine days in Tokyo for marijuana possession after being found with 219g on his arrival at Narita Airport.
1980 “Kenny” album by Kenny Rogers was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA. Including ‘You Decorated My Life’ & ‘Coward Of The Country’.
1980 Michael Jackson went No.1 on the Australian singles chart with ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’. Staying at the top spot for 2wks.
1981 Nick Valensi, guitarist with The Strokes who had the 2001 UK #14 single ‘Last Nite’ and the 2001 UK #2 album Is This It?’ Valensi is married to TV presenter Amanda de Cadenet (who was formally married to Duran Duran bassist John Taylor).
1981 “Never Knew Love Like This Before” single by Stephanie Mills was certified Gold by the RIAA
1981 The TV series Harper Valley P.T.A., inspired by the Jeannie C. Riley song and the 1978 movie of the same name, airs on NBC. Barbara Eden reprises her role as scandalous single mom Stella Johnson.
1982 Samuel Dylan Murray Preston, lead singer of The Ordinary Boys.
1982 Bucks Fizz were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their second No.1 ‘Land Of Make Believe’. The lyrics to the song were written by ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield.
1982 “Trouble” by Lindsey Buckingham peaked at #9 on the US singles chart.
1984 Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Barbados for drug possession and were each fined $200.
1984 “Seven And The Ragged Tiger” album by Duran Duran was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA
1984 “Uptown Girl” single by Billy Joel was certified Gold by the RIAA
1984 Four years later to the 1980 day, Paul and Linda McCartney was once again arrested for possession of marijuana, this time in Barbados and were each fined $200 (£117).
1984 The Rolling Stones flew back in Mexico City to shoot videos for “She Was Hot” and “Too Much Blood.” For “She Was Hot” Bill Wyman dressed up as old man, and for “Too Much Blood” Keith and Woody wield chainsaws.
1984 “On The Rise” album by S.O.S. Band was certified Gold by the RIAA
1985 David Bowie’s schizophrenic half-brother Terry Burnes killed himself after laying down on the railway lines at Coulsdon South station, London. He was killed instantly by a passing train. He was 47.
1986 “Welcome To The Real World” album by Mr. Mister was certified Platinum by the RIAA Including ‘Kyrie’ & ‘Broken Wings’.
1987 TV presenter Jools Holland was suspended from Channel 4’s UK music show The Tube for 6 weeks, after using the phrase ‘groovy fuckers’ during a live trailer broadcast in children’s hour.
1988 24 years after The Beatles first topped the chart, George Harrison went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Got My Mind Set On You’.
1988 Former Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle scored her first UK No.1 single with ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth.’ The promotional video was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance of Carlisle’s husband Morgan Mason.
1988 George Michael went to No.1 on the US album charts with his debut solo album ‘Faith’. It went on to sell over 8 million copies.
1988 George Harrison hits #1 with “Got My Mind Set On You,” becoming the act with the longest time between #1 hits – it was 24 years since “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth).” The Beach Boys break this record when “Kokomo” hits #1.
1988 Tina Turner gave herself a place in the record books when she performed in front of 182,000 people in Rio De Janeiro. The largest audience ever for a single artist.
1988 “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” by Belinda Carlisle peaked at #1 on the U.K. pop singles chart.
1988 Wet Wet Wet went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP ‘Popped In ‘Souled Out’.
1989 Bryan Ferry played the first of three nights at London’s Wembley Arena. Tickets were £12.50 ($21.25).
1989 Michael Jackson played the first of five nights at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. These were the last shows on the singers Bad World Tour. Jackson donated more than $1m of the final concert’s takings to an organisation fighting child cruelty.
1990 Ike Turner was convicted of driving under the influence of cocaine and being under the influence of cocaine and sentenced to a four year prison sentence in California.
1991 “The Way You Do The Things You Do” single by UB-40 was certified Gold by the RIAA
1991 The Sixth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include LaVern Baker, The Byrds, John Lee Hooker, The Impressions, Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Reed, and Ike and TinaTurner.
1992 Eric Clapton recorded his unplugged session for MTV. The set which included his current hit single ‘Tears in Heaven’ and a reworked acoustic version of ‘Layla’, earned six Grammy Awards for the album including Record of the Year.
1992 “Somewhere Out There” single by Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram was certified Gold by the RIAA
1996 singer Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane, “The Flying Boat,” was shot at by Jamaican police who mistook it for a drug smuggling craft; U2’s Bono was aboard the plane with Buffett at the time. Buffett later wrote a song about the incident, “Jamaica Mistaica,” that appeared on the album “Banana Wind.”
1996 “Relish” album by Joan Osborne was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Including ‘One Of Us’ & ‘St. Teresa’.
1996 “The Bridge” album by Ace Of Base was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA
1996 Jamaican authorities opened fire on Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker’s plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane; neither singer was injured in the incident.
1996 Wayne Newton performs his 25,000th show in Las Vegas.
1999 Brandy started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Diane Warren song ‘Have You Ever’ a No.13 hit in the UK.
1999 Norman Cook scored his third UK No.1 single under the name of Fatboy Slim with ‘Praise You’. The song features the prominent vocal sample “Praise You” from the opening of ‘Take Yo’ Praise’ by Camille Yarbrough. Cook’s other No.1’s had been with The Housemartins and Beats International.
1999 At the inaugural ball for Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, America plays “Ventura Highway.” Warren Zevon and Delbert McClinton also perform.
2000 Coasters singer Will Jones died aged 71. (1958 US No.1 single ‘Yakety Yak’, 1959 US No.2 and UK No.6 single ‘Charlie Brown’).
2000 It was reported that Mick Jagger had lost the chance of a knighthood because of his errant ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair had second thoughts about the message it would give about family values.
2000 The Manic Street Preachers went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Masses Against The Classes’, the bands second UK No.1 single. A limited release, the single which was deleted on the day of issue.
2002 A section of Interstate 80 in California is renamed the “Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway.”
2003 Steve Strange former front man of 1980’s band Visage told a London court he was robbed of a bracelet given to him by Kylie Minogue after being beaten over the head in central London. A man had been arrested for the attack.
2004 Michael Jackson appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to seven charges of child molestation. The singer who arrived 21 minutes late was told off by the Santa Barbara judge saying ‘Mr Jackson, you have started out on the wrong foot here, it is an insult to the court.’
2005 Elvis Presley’s single ‘One Night’ made chart history by becoming the 1,000th UK No.1. Elvis, who led last week’s chart with ‘Jailhouse Rock’, had now scored more number one UK hits than any other artist with 20 No.1’s, beating The Beatles’ 17 chart toppers.
2005 The Killers started a two week run at No.1 on the UK charts with their debut album ‘Hot Fuss.’ The Las Vegas band also entered the UK singles chart at No.3 with ‘Somebody Told Me’. Green Day were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘American Idiot.’
2007 James ‘Pookie’ Hudson the lead singer of the 50’s doo-wop group The Spaniels died. Their 1954 hit ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight’ was featured in such films as Three Men and a Baby, Diner and American Graffiti.
2007 Bob Dylan and his brother bought Aultmore House a mansion in the Scottish Cairngorms National Park, near Nethybridge, Inverness-shire.
2008 Radiohead were forced to abandon an intimate gig at Rough Trade East records in London after police raised safety fears. The band moved the gig to a nearby club after over 1,500 fans turned up after the event was announced in the morning promising tickets to the first 200 fans.
2009 Boy George was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort. The Culture Club frontman denied the charge at Snaresbrook crown court and claimed the victim, Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, had stolen photos from his laptop. The singer told police he invited Carlsen back to his home after a cocaine-fuelled pornographic photo shoot in January, 2007, because he suspected the Norwegian of stealing pictures from his computer. He admitted handcuffing Carlsen to a wall in April 2007 but said he did so in order to trace the missing property.
2009 Chesney Hawkes led nearly 600 people in an attempt to set a record for the number of people playing air guitar at the same time. The group strummed along to his 1991 hit ‘The One and Only’ in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square.
2012 Jimmy Castor died from heart failure on January 16, 2012 in Henderson, Nevada, only a week short of his 72nd birthday. He was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as “It’s Just Begun”, “Bertha Butt Boogie”, and the biggest hit single, million-seller “Troglodyte (Cave Man).
2013 It was announced that Joe Strummer was to have a city square named after him in Spain following a Facebook campaign. More than 2,000 residents of Granada, where The Clash frontman became a frequent visitor, signed a petition calling for him to be honoured. City hall officials agreed to the proposals and a square in the area was set to be renamed Plaza de Joe Strummer.
2016 Bruce Springsteen begins The River Tour with a show in Pittsburgh. His 1980 album The River is the centerpiece of the tour, played start to finish at many stops. The tour is the year’s most successful, grossing over $268 million.