January 23 Born –
Jean Baptiste “Django” Reinhardt (1910) – virtuoso guitarist.
Marty Paich (1925) – L.A. session musician.
Ken Errair (1930) – The Four Freshmen.
Cyril Davies (1932) – Blues harmonica player.
Chita Rivera (aka Dolores del Rivero, 1933) – Broadway actress/singer
(Guys And Dolls).
Eugene Church (1938) – The Cliques, Eugene Church & The Fellows
(“Pretty Girls Everywhere”).
Joe Dowell (1940) – American pop singer ("Wooden Heart").
Johnny Russell (1940) – Country singer/songwriter ("Act Naturally").
Sam George (1942) – The Capitols.
Jerry Lawson (1944) – The Persuasions.
Anita Pointer (1948) – The Pointer Sisters.
Bill Cunningham (1950) – bassist for The Box Tops.
Danny Federici (1950) – keyboardist for The E Street Band.
Robin Zander (1953) – Cheap Trick.
Richard Finch (1954) – producer and bassist for KC and The Sunshine
Band.
Reggie Calloway (1955) – trumpeter for Calloway, and Midnight Star.
Earl Falconer (1957) – bassist for UB40.
Marc K. Nelson (1971) – R&B singer/songwriter, Boyz II Men.
Sampsa Astala (aka Kita, 1974) – former drummer for Lordi, vocalist
for Stala & So.
Nicholas Harmer (1975) – bassist for Death Cab For Cutie.
January 23 R.I.P. –
Big Maybelle (1972) – diabetic coma. Age 47. R&B singer/pianist.
Edward “Kid” Ory (1973) – pneumonia. Age 86. Jazz trombonist,
bandleader.
Paul Robeson (1976) – stroke. Age 77. Singer ("Ol' Man River").
Terry Kath (1978) – accidental self inflicted gunshot. Age 31.
Chicago.
Vic Ames (1978) – car crash. Age 52. The Ames Brothers.
Allen Collins (1990) – chronic pneumonia due to paralysis. Age 37.
Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Thomas A. Dorsey (1993) – Age 93. Gospel songwriter (“Peace In The
Valley”).
Bill Horton (1995) – Age 66. The Silhouettes.
Richard Berry (1997) – heart failure. Age 61. The Flairs and The
Robins, wrote "Louie Louie."
Johnny Funches (1998) – emphysema. Age 62. Singer for The Dells.
“Brother” Jack McDuff (2001) – heart failure. Age 74. Jazz organist.
Lou Levy (2001) – heart attack. Age 72. Jazz pianist for Ella
Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee.
January 23 album releases –
The Supremes – The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (1967)
Family – A Song For Me (1970)
Rick Wakeman – The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (1973)
David Bowie – Station To Station (1976)
Pink Floyd – Animals (1977)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Trust (1981)
David Crosby – Oh Yes I Can (1989)
John Mellencamp – Freedom’s Road (2007)
Little Feat – Rocky Mountain Jam (2007)
January 23 events –
1941 – Artie Shaw and His Orchestra records “Moonglow.”
1943 – Duke Ellington plays the first of his annual black-tie concerts
at Carnegie Hall. The concert is recorded, but the recordings are not
released until 1977.
1956 – Rock and roll fans in Cleveland, under 18 years of age, are
banned from dancing in public unless accompanied by an adult, thanks
to an archaic municipal law dating back to 1931.
1956 – Producer and talent scout Ralph Bass travels to Macon, Georgia
to sign James Brown to the King/Federal label.
1957 – Andy Williams records “Butterfly.”
1957 – Two days after winning on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, Patsy
Cline appears on Godfrey’s morning show, Arthur Godfrey Time. While
she is on the show, her husband Gerald Cline files for divorce.
1958 – The Rock Party Tour plays the Cincinnati Gardens in Ohio,
featuring The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Eddie
Cochran, The Tune Weavers, Paul Anka, The Shepherd Sisters, The Rays,
Jimmie Rodgers, Danny and The Juniors, The Royal Teens and others.
1958 – Dean Martin records “Return To Me” at Capitol in Hollywood.
1958 – The Crickets release their single, “Maybe Baby” b/w “Tell Me
How” on Brunswick Records.
1959 – The first concert of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party tour,
featuring Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper, takes place
at Devine's Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee. Also on the tour are
Dion and The Belmonts and Frankie Sardo.
1962 – Tony Bennett records “Once Upon A Time” at CBS Studios in New
York City.
1963 – 20-year old Janis Joplin and her friend Chet Helms leave Port
Arthur, Texas and hitchhike to San Francisco.
1963 – The Kingston Trio records “Reverend Mr. Black” at the Capitol
tower in Hollywood.
1964 – The Temptations release their single, "The Way You Do The
Things You Do" b/w “Just Let Me Know” on the Gordy label.
1965 – The King Family Show, featuring The King Sisters, debuts on ABC-
TV, replacing the sci-fi show The Outer Limits. The King’s variety
show will last one year.
1965 – Billboard reinstates its R&B Singles chart after doing away
with it on November 30, 1963, because of the similarities of the songs
charting on both the R&B and Pop charts.
1965 – Petula Clark becomes the first British female to hit the top of
the American charts when her smash "Downtown" hits #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100.
1966 – Stevie Wonder appears at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
1967 – Pink Floyd begins recording “Arnold Layne” and “Candy And A
Currant Bun” at Sound Techniques Studios in London.
1969 – Elvis Presley records "Suspicious Minds" at American Studios in
Memphis.
1969 – The Beatles, along with Billy Preston, spend the day recording
numerous takes of “Get Back,” none of which will be released.
1970 – Marty Robbins releases his single, “My Woman, My Woman, My
Wife” b/w “Martha Ellen Jenkins” on Columbia Records.
1970 – At the trial of the Chicago Seven - accused of starting a riot
during the 1968 Democratic National Convention - singers Judy Collins,
Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe McDonald, Phil Ochs and Pete Seeger are
denied the right to sing a relevant song during Judy Collins’
testimony.
1971 – Bruce Springsteen’s band Steel Mill plays their final show at
the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
1971 – George Harrison’s single “My Sweet Lord” enters the UK singles
chart at # 7.
1971 – Dawn’s single “Knock Three Times” hits #1 on the Billboard Hot
100, where it will stay for three weeks.
1973 – While on stage at Madison Square Garden, Neil Young is handed a
note declaring "an accord has been reached for peace in Vietnam."
Young immediately tells the crowd, "Peace has come," then launches
into "Southern Man."
1976 – The Sex Pistols appear at the Watford Technical College in
Watford.
1977 – Patti Smith accidently dances off the stage at a concert at
Curtis-Hixon Hall in Tampa, Florida, and falls 15 feet to the concrete
floor, breaking several vertebrae in her neck.
1980 – Marvin Gaye appears at the Liverpool Philharmonic, with opening
act Edwin Starr.
1986 – Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino,
Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, The Everly Brothers and
Elvis Presley are all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at
the first induction ceremony.
1988 – Nirvana records a ten-song demo at Reciprocal Recording Studios
in Seattle.
1989 – James Brown is sentenced to six years in prison for his
notorious two-state police chase, as well as having an unlicensed
handgun, drug possession, assaulting a police officer, and other
charges. He will serve only three years.
1990 – 45-year old Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson, along with husband
movie director and former rock writer Cameron Crowe, gives birth to
twin boys. They are her only children.
1991 – John Sebastian, owner and general manager of KLSK-FM in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, plays Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" for
twenty-four solid hours to inaugurate a format change to Classic
Rock.
1994 – Rage Against The Machine headlines the Rock For Choice benefit
at the Palladium in Hollywood, with opening acts Screaming Trees,
Eddie Vedder, Mary's Danish, 7 Year Bitch and Green Apple Quick Step.
2002 – Virgin Records pays Mariah Carey $28 million to buy her out of
her contract and end their association.
2003 – R&B singer R. Kelly is arrested on 12 new counts of possession
of child pornography in Miami, Florida. The singer is already facing
21 charges relating to producing child pornography and appearing in a
video having sex with an underage girl.
2009 – U2 releases their single, “Get On Your Boots” b/w “No Line On
The Horizon 2.”
2011 – Ringo Starr, as Richard Starkey, files a U.S. trademark
registration for "Ringo" under the goods and services description of
"computer game software" and “downloadable computer games via the
Internet and wireless devices.” It’s unclear what his plans and
intentions are.
2012 – Aretha Franklin calls off her planned summer wedding to long-
time partner Willie Wilkerson.
