January 20 Born –
Lead Belly (aka Huddie Ledbetter, 1888) – Folk/blues singer/songwriter
(“Goodnight Irene”).
Roy Plomley (1914) – BBC radio host, Desert Island Discs.
Yvonne King (1920) – The King Sisters.
Ray Anthony (1922) – trumpeter/songwriter, bandleader (“Hokey Pokey”).
Slim Whitman (aka Otis Dewey Whitman, Jr., 1924) – Country singer/
songwriter.
Lee Pockriss (1924) – songwriter (“Johnny Angel”).
David Tudor (1926) – pianist, composer of experimental music.
Earl Grant (1931) – keyboardist.
Ron Townson (1933) – The 5th Dimension.
William Powell (1942) – The O'Jays.
Rick Evans (1943) – Zager & Evans.
Eric Stewart (1945) – guitarist for The Mindbenders, Hotlegs and 10cc.
Jimmy Chambers (1946) – vocalist for Londonbeat.
George Grantham (1947) – drummer for Poco.
Melvyn Pritchard (1948) – drummer for Barclay James Harvest.
Ian Hill (1951) – bassist for Judas Priest.
Paul Stanley (1952) – KISS.
Tracii Guns (aka Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich, 1966) – L.A. Guns.
Nicky Wire (aka Nicholas Allen Jones, 1969) – bassist for Manic Street
Preachers.
Sidney “Ratboy” Wilson (1977) – turntabler for Slipknot.
Rob Bourdon (1979) – drummer for Linkin Park.
January 20 R.I.P. –
Alan Freed (1965) – uremia and cirrhosis. Age 43. DJ, promoter.
Buster Benton (1996) – diabetes. Age 63. Blues singer/guitarist
("Spider In My Stew").
Gerry Mulligan (1996) – complications from knee surgery. Age 68. Jazz
saxophonist.
Bill Albaugh (1999) – Age 53. Drummer for The Lemon Pipers.
Ray Jones (2000) – Age 60. Bass player for Billy J. Kramer and The
Dakotas.
Johnny Bienstock (2006) – heart disease. Age 83. Record executive, A&R
man, publisher.
Etta James (2012) – leukemia. Age 73.
Larry Butler (2012) – died in his sleep. Age 69. Country music
producer/songwriter.
January 20 album releases –
The Beatles – Meet The Beatles (1964) U.S.
The Rolling Stones – Between The Buttons (1967) UK
Jerry Garcia – Garcia (1972)
Jimmy Buffett – Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (1977)
Gerry Rafferty – City To City (1978)
Journey – Infinity (1978)
XTC – White Music (1978)
The Oak Ridge Boys – American Made (1983)
Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983)
Bruce Willis – The Return Of Bruno (1987)
Daft Punk – Homework (1997) UK
Ace Frehley – Loaded Deck (1998)
January 20 events –
1942 – Kay Kaiser and his orchestra, with Harry Babbit and Trudy Erwin
on vocals, record “Who Wouldn’t Love You” for Columbia.
1957 – Sonny James, Ivory Joe Hunter, Betty Johnson, The Tarriers,
Russell Arms, Jill Corey and Marion Marlowe all appear on The Ed
Sullivan Show.
1958 – Radio station KWK in St. Louis, Missouri, finishes its "Record
Breaking Week" of weeding out rock and roll and rhythm and blues
records from its playlist by spinning the records once, then breaking
them on air.
1965 – The Miracles record “Tracks Of My Tears” at Hitsville U.S.A. in
Detroit.
1965 – The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Dave Clark 5, Gerry and The
Pacemakers, The Walker Brothers, Glen Campbell, Bobby Sherman, Donna
Loren, Petula Clark, and Jackie and Gail all appear on the first 60-
minute broadcast of Shindig!
1965 – Roger McGuinn, along with the Wrecking Crew, records “Mr.
Tambourine Man” at Columbia Studios in L.A.
1967 – The Monkees TV show debuts in the UK.
1967 – Arthur Conley records “Sweet Soul Music” at Fame Studios in
Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
1968 – Bob Dylan makes his first concert appearance since his 1966
motorcycle accident at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert at Carnegie
Hall. Also appearing are Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie,
Odetta, Richie Havens, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and The Band.
1968 – Fleetwood Mac, The Move, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and
Fairport Convention all appear at Brunel University Rag Night at the
Roundhouse in London.
1969 – Elvis Presley begins recording “In The Ghetto” at American
Studios in Memphis.
1969 – Led Zeppelin appears at the Wheaton Youth Center in Maryland.
Less than 100 people attend the show.
1969 – Bruce Springsteen, in his second semester at Ocean County
College in Toms River, New Jersey, has two of his poems published in
the college’s literary yearbook, Seascapes.
1969 – Bluegrass artists Flatt & Scruggs perform at President Nixon’s
inaugural celebration.
1969 – David Ruffin releases his single “My Whole World Ended (The
Moment You Left Me)” b/w “I’ve Got To Find Myself A Brand New Baby” on
Tamla Motown.
1971 – John Lennon meets Yoko Ono’s parents for the first time in
Japan.
1971 – Diana Ross, pregnant with Berry Gordy’s child, marries music
executive Robert Silberstein in Las Vegas.
1972 – Pink Floyd plays the first night of their UK tour at The Dome
in Brighton, debuting their new album Dark Side Of The Moon.
Unfortunately, the show is riddled with technical problems, forcing
Gilmour and Waters to leave the stage several times to help the crew
at the soundboard. When the show resumes, Waters informs the audience
that they’ll have to play something else.
1973 – Jerry Lee Lewis makes his debut appearance at the Grand Ole
Opry. Prior to taking the stage, officials instruct him to play only
country music and to keep his comments clean, but Lewis breaks both
rules, playing some of his classic rock and roll hits, and declaring
himself "the rock and rollin', country and western, rhythm and blues
singin' motherfucker.”
1982 – Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a bat thrown on stage in Des
Moines, Iowa. Not realizing the bat was real, Osbourne is rushed to
the Broadlawns Medical Center following the concert to undergo rabies
shots.
1985 – Andy Gibb appears as piano teacher Tony Glenn in the “Play It
Again, Punky” episode of NBC’s Punky Brewster.
1986 – Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder perform together at a celebration
marking the first Martin Luther King Day. Other performers include
Joan Baez, Neil Diamond, Diana Ross, Peter, Paul & Mary, Kenny Loggins
and many others.
1988 – The Beatles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
George, Ringo, and Yoko, Sean, and Julian Lennon all attend. Paul does
not, stating that continuing business differences with the other ex-
Beatles is the reason for his absence. Beach Boy Mike Loves makes his
famous speech, insulting and challenging most of the artists in the
audience.
1996 – Bobby Brown is fined $1,000, sentenced to two years probation
and ordered to attend anger management classes after pleading guilty
to assaulting a security guard.
1997 – Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream unveil their new Phish Food ice cream,
in honor of the band Phish.
2001 – A memorial service is held for Kirsty MacColl who was killed in
a boating accident off the coast of Mexico in December 2000.
2005 – The band Journey receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
