January 16 Born – Ethel Merman (1908) – singer/actress. Wilbert “G.T.” Hogan (1929) – Jazz drummer. Bob Bogle (1934) – guitarist for The Ventures. Ray Phillips (1939) – vocalist/bassist for The Nashville Teens. William Francis (1942) – keyboardist for Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show. Barbara Lynn (1942) – singer/guitarist. Ronnie Milsap (1943) – Country music singer/songwriter. Jim Stafford (1944) – Country singer/songwriter. Katherine Anderson (1944) – The Marvelettes. Yan Style (aka Ian Stile, 1955) – guitarist for Kenny. Sade (aka Helen Folasade Adu, 1959) – singer (“Smooth Operator”). Paul Raven (1961) – bassist for Killing Joke. Paul Webb (1962) – bassist for Talk Talk. Maxine Jones (1962) – En Vogue. Brendan O'Hare (1970) – drummer for Teenage Fan Club. Aaliyah (aka Aaliyah Houghton, 1979) – R&B singer (“Try Again”). Nick Valensi (1981) – guitarist for The Strokes.
January 16 R.I.P. – Arturo Toscanini (1957) – Age 89. Italian orchestra conductor. David Seville (1972) – heart attack. Age 52. Songwriter, The Chipmunks. Clara Ward (1973) – stroke. Age 48. The Famous Ward Singers. Paul Beaver (1975) – Age 49. Moog synthesizer player for The Monkees and The Byrds. Will "Dub" Jones (2000) – diabetes. Age 71. Bass vocalist for The Coasters. James "Pookie" Hudson (2007) – cancer. Age 72. Lead vocalist for The Spaniels. Carl Smith (2010) – natural causes. Age 82. Country music singer, “Mr. Country.” Jimmy Castor (2012) – heart failure. Age 71. The Jimmy Castor Bunch. January 16 album releases – ZZ Top – ZZ Top's First Album (1971) Blue Öyster Cult – Blue Öyster Cult (1972) The Temptations – A Song For You (1975) Michael Jackson – Forever, Michael (1975) Wang Chung – Points On The Curve (1984) U.S. Joan Jett – The Hit List (1990) The Knack – Serious Fun (1991) Cibo Matto – Viva! La Woman (1996) Diana Ross – I Love You (2007) January 16 events – 1932 – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra records "It Don't Mean A Thing." 1938 – Benny Goodman brings jazz music to Carnegie Hall for the first time. 1942 – Kay Kaiser and His Orchestra, with Sully Mason on vocals, records “A Zoot Suit (For My Sunday Gal).” 1943 – Ernest Tubb makes his Grand Ole Opry debut. 1957 – Little Richard records “Lucille.” 1957 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool. 1957 – Elvis Presley records “Teddy Bear” at the Paramount Scoring Stage in L.A. 1959 – While on a whirlwind tour of the UK, The Everly Brothers are named the world's #1 vocal group and receive a New Musical Express Award. 1960 – Eddie Cochran appears on ITV’s music show Boy Meets Girl in the UK. 1964 – The Beatles play the first night of their 18-night residence at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, performing two shows. 1964 – The Whiskey A Go-Go opens on Sunset Blvd. in L.A. 1964 – The original Broadway production of Hello Dolly! opens at the St. James Theatre in New York City. 1965 – The Beatles play the 16th and final night of their Another Beatles Christmas Show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. 1965 – In an interview in Britain's Melody Maker music magazine, Beatles manager Brian Epstein is quoted as saying, "I give The Beatles two or three years more at the top.” 1965 – The Guess Who release their debut single, “Shakin’ All Over” b/ w “Till We Kissed.” 1969 – Fleetwood Mac, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Albert Collins all appear at Fillmore West in San Francisco. 1969 – With George Harrison back in the group, The Beatles spend a long day at Twickenham Studios focusing on the song “Get Back.” 1970 – John Lennon's London Art Gallery exhibit of erotic lithographs, "Bag One," is closed by Scotland Yard when the prints are ruled obscene. 1971 – Elvis Presley is once again honored in Memphis, Tennessee, by the U.S. Jaycees as one of Ten Outstanding Men. In a press conference during the event, Elvis declares, "I don't go along with music advocating drugs and desecration of the flag. I think an entertainer is for entertaining and to make people happy." 1972 – Cher releases her single, “The Way Of Love” b/w “Don’t Put It On Me” on MCA. 1973 – Bruce Springsteen appears at St. Mary’s Hall Auditorium at Villinova University in Pennsylvania in front of approximately 25 people. 1975 – Sly and The Family Stone play the first night of a disastrous eight-show, six-night "comeback" bid at Radio City Music Hall, barely selling 700 tickets in the 6,000 seat venue. 1975 – Paul McCartney and Wings arrive in New Orleans to begin sessions for their Venus And Mars album at Allen Toussaint's Sea Saint studios. They will stay through Mardi Gras. 1976 – The Donnie And Marie Show debuts on ABC-TV. 1979 – Cher's divorce from Gregg Allman is finalized. 1980 – Paul McCartney is arrested in Tokyo attempting to transport six ounces of marijuana into Japan. He will spend nine days in jail before being deported. 1983 – Jefferson Starship raises $10,000 for the Walden House Drug Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco. 1984 – Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested in Barbados for drug possession and are each fined $200. 1985 – David Bowie's schizophrenic half-brother, Terry Burnes, kills himself by lying down on the railway lines at Coulsdon South Station in London. He was 47. 1986 – ABBA performs for the last time ever, singing “Tivedshambo” at Polar Studios for a Swedish television birthday tribute to their manager Stig Anderson. 1987 – TV host Jools Holland is suspended from Channel 4's UK music show The Tube for 6 weeks, after using the phrase “groovy fuckers” during a live trailer broadcast. 1988 – Tina Turner makes history by performing in front of 184,000 people at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on her Break Every Rule Tour. It is the largest audience ever gathered for a single artist. 1989 – Michael Jackson plays the first of five nights at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles: the last shows on the singer’s Bad World Tour. 1990 – Ike Turner is convicted of driving under the influence of cocaine and sentenced to a four year prison sentence in California. 1992 – Mick Jagger attends the Los Angeles premiere of his film Freejack at Mann's Chinese Theatre. 1992 – Eric Clapton records his Unplugged session for MTV. 1994 – Bryan Adams becomes the first Western entertainer to play in Vietnam since the end of the war 19 years before, performing a concert in Ho Chi Minh City. 1994 – Diana Ross makes her made-for-television movie debut in CBS’s Out Of Darkness. 1996 – Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono is also on the plane. Neither singer is injured in the incident. 1996 – Singer Wayne Newton performs his 25,000 show in Las Vegas. 1999 – Jonny Lang, Delbert McClinton, America, and Warren Zevon all appear at the Governor’s Inaugural Ball at the Target Center in Minnesota for the state’s new governor, Jesse “The Body” Ventura. 1999 – The Whiskey A Go-Go begins a week-long series of shows to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the club. First night artists include Johnny Rivers, Nancy Sinatra, The Grass Roots, The Robbie Krieger Band, Jan and Dean and others. 2002 – A section of California Interstate 10, east of the City of Coachella, is re-named the "Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway.” 2003 – Former frontman for Visage, Steve Strange tells London’s Crown Court how he was beaten over the head and robbed in March 2002 by a 17- year old “beggar” who stole a bracelet given to him by Kylie Minogue. 2004 – Michael Jackson appears in court and pleads not guilty to seven charges of child molestation. 2007 – Bob Dylan and his brother buy Aultmore House, a mansion in the Scottish Cairngorms National Park, near Nethybridge, Inverness-shire. 2008 – Radiohead are forced to abandon their intimate gig at Rough Trade East Records in London after police raise safety fears when 1,500 fans turn up for the 200 available tickets. The show is immediately moved to the 93 Feet East club. 2009 – Boy George is sentenced to 15 months in prison after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.
