January 15 Born –
Ivor Novello (1893) – singer/composer.
Gene Krupa (1909) – Jazz drummer.
Thelma Carpenter (1922) – Jazz singer with Count Basie.
Earl Hooker (1929) – Chicago blues guitarist.
Captain Beefheart (aka Don Van Vliet, 1941)
Edward “Sonny” Bivins (1942) – The Manhattans.
Joan Marie Johnson (1945) – The Dixie Cups.
Pete Waterman (1947) – British songwriter/producer.
Ronnie Van Zant (1948) – vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Duke Erickson (aka Douglas Elwin Erickson, 1951) – guitarist for
Garbage.
Melvyn Gale (1952) – cellist for Electric Light Orchestra.
Boris Blank (1952) – Yello.
Pete Trewavas (1959) – bassist for Marillion.
Damian O’Neill (1961) – guitarist for The Undertones.
Adam Jones (1965) – guitarist for Tool.
Lisa Lisa (aka Lisa Velez, 1966) – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.
January 15 R.I.P. –
Dee Murray (1992) – stroke. Age 45. Bass player for Elton John's band.
Sammy Cahn (1993) – Age 79. Songwriter/lyricist ("Three Coins In The
Fountain").
Harry Nilsson (1994) – heart attack. Age 52.
Sollie McElroy (1995) – cancer. Age 61. The Flamingos.
Les Baxter (1996) – Age 73. Composer and conductor.
Artie Dunn (1996) – Age 73. Organist for The Three Suns.
Junior Wells (1998) – lymphoma. Age 63.
Leroy Smith (2009) – bronchial pneumonia. Age 56. Sweet Sensation.
January 15 album releases –
The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965) UK
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love (1968) U.S.
The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
The MC5 – Back In The U.S.A. (1970)
John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat – Hooker 'N Heat (1971)
Marvin Gaye – In Our Lifetime (1981)
Barbara Dickson – All For A Song (1982)
John Fogerty – Centerfield (1985)
The Commodores – Nightshift (1985)
The Sundays – Reading, Writing And Arithmetic (1990)
David Lee Roth – A Little Ain't Enough (1991)
Accept – Predator (1996)
January 15 events –
1942 – The Glen Gray Orchestra records “It’s The Talk Of The Town” for
Decca Records.
1955 – Elvis Presley performs on the Louisiana Hayride. In the
audience is “Colonel” Tom Parker.
1955 – Billboard magazine reports that "music with an R&B beat is no
longer regarded as a passing phase by major recording firms," citing
the recent success of white pop covers of R&B hits.
1957 – Perry Como records “Round And Round” at Webster Hall in New
York City.
1958 – The Everly Brothers appear on British TV for the first time on
The Perry Como Show (filmed December 7, 1957).
1958 – Elvis Presley records "Hard Headed Woman," "Trouble," "New
Orleans," "King Creole," and "Crawfish" at Radio Recorders in
Hollywood.
1958 – The Champs release their single, "Train To Nowhere" b/w
"Tequila."
1959 – Neil Sedaka records “I Go Ape” at RCA Studios in New York City.
1961 – The Supremes sign with Motown.
1964 – The Beatles perform a warm-up show at the Cinéma Cyrano in
Versailles in preparation for their 18-night residency at the Olympia
Theatre in Paris.
1964 – Capitol Records files an injunction against Vee Jay Records in
a Chicago courtroom to prevent the label from manufacturing, selling,
distributing and advertising any and all recordings by The Beatles.
1965 – The Who release their first single, "I Can't Explain" b/w "Bald
Headed Woman," on Decca.
1967 – The Rolling Stones perform "Let's Spend 'Some Time' Together"
on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1967 – The Buckinghams begin recording “Don’t You Care.”
1967 – Roy Orbison’s one and only movie, The Fastest Guitar Alive,
featuring a cameo appearance by Sam the Sham, premieres in New York
City.
1968 – Elvis Presley records “Too Much Monkey Business” at RCA in
Nashville.
1969 – George Harrison meets at Ringo's house for a five-hour meeting
with John, Paul and Ringo, telling them that he is prepared to quit
The Beatles for good because of planned live performances for the Let
It Be project.
1971 – George Harrison releases his single "My Sweet Lord" b/w "Isn't
It A Pity" in the UK.
1971 – Chase, featuring vocalist Terry Richards, records "Get It On"
in Chicago.
1973 – The Rolling Stones announce they will put on a benefit concert
for the people of Managua, Nicaragua, who were devastated by an
earthquake the previous month.
1980 – The Ramones appear on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test.
1982 – Harry Casey, leader of KC and The Sunshine Band, is partially
paralyzed in an automobile accident in Hialeah, Florida, and is unable
to walk for six months.
1982 – The Police begin their Ghost In The Machine Tour at the Boston
Gardens, with The Go-Gos as opening act.
1982 – Country artist Ronnie Milsap records “Any Day Now” at
Groundstar Laboratory in Nashville.
1983 – The new pop music show, Gastank, debuts on Channel 4 TV, hosted
by ex Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman and Tony Ashton from Ashton,
Gardner & Dyke.
1991 – A star-studded, re-recorded version of John Lennon’s “Give
Peace A Chance” is released to coincide with the United Nations’
midnight deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Participants in
the re-recording include Sean Lennon, Lenny Kravitz, Cyndi Lauper,
Peter Gabriel, Randy Newman, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Felix Cavaliere
and many others.
1998 – James Brown checks into a South Carolina hospital to get help
for his addiction to painkillers. He stays a week.
2000 – 73-year old Ralph Stanley joins the Grand Ole Opry.
2003 – Lou Rawls is arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on one count
of battery against his girlfriend. Charges will later be dropped.
2008 – Rolling Stone Ron Wood undergoes a successful hernia operation.
