January 26 Born –
Stéphane Grappelli (1908) – Jazz violinist with Django Reinhardt.
Jimmy Van Heusen (1913) – songwriter (“Love And Marriage”).
Page Cavanaugh (1922) – Jazz/pop pianist, arranger.
Anne Jefferys (aka Annie Carmichael, 1923) – Broadway actress/singer
(Kiss Me, Kate).
Ronnie Hilton (aka Adrian Hill, 1926) – British singer.
Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd (1932) – Jamaican record producer.
Claude Gray (1932) – Country music singer (“Family Bible”).
Huey "Piano" Smith (1934) – R&B pianist.
Marshall Leib (1939) – The Teddy Bears.
Jean Knight (aka Jean Caliste, 1943) – R&B/soul singer (“Mr. Big
Stuff”).
Ashley “Tyger” Hutchings (1945) – bassist for Fairport Convention.
Deon Jackson (1946) – Soul singer/songwriter (“Love Makes The World Go
Round”).
Corky Laing (1948) – drummer for Mountain.
Derek Holt (1949) – guitarist for The Climax Blues Band.
David Briggs (1951) – guitarist for The Little River Band.
Andy Hummel (1951) – bassist for Big Star.
Lucinda Williams (1953) – singer/songwriter.
Edward Van Halen (1955)
Norman Hassan (1958) – percussionist for UB40.
Anita Baker (1958) – R&B/soul/jazz singer.
Andrew Ridgeley (1963) – Wham!
Susannah Melvoin (1964) – backing singer for Prince, The Family
(Prince spin-off band).
Chris Hesse (1974) – drummer for Hoobastank.
January 26 R.I.P. –
Donnie Elbert (1989) – stroke. Age 52. Soul singer ("A Little Piece Of
Leather").
Gladys Horton (2011) – stroke. Age 65. The Marvelettes.
Charlie Louvin (2011) – Age 83. The Louvin Brothers.
January 26 album releases –
Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Chicago – Chicago (aka Chicago II) (1970)
Deep Purple – Who Do We Think We Are (1973) U.S.
Elton John – Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player (1973)
Generation X – Valley Of The Dolls (1979)
David Lee Roth – Skyscraper (1988)
The Bouncing Souls – Maniacal Laughter (1996)
Napalm Death – Words From The Exit Wound (1999) U.S.
January 26 events –
1934 – The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem as a “Negro” vaudeville
theater.
1956 – Buddy Holly records “Blue Days, Black Nights,” “Love Me,”
“Don’t Come Back Knockin’” and “Midnight Shift” at his first of three
official recording sessions for Decca Records at Owen Bradley's
recording studio. Nothing much comes from these recordings.
1957 – Johnny Cash makes his national television debut on The Jackie
Gleason Show, performing “I Walk The Line.”
1958 – Buddy Holly and The Crickets record “Rave On” at Bell Sound
studios in New York City. In the evening, the group appears for the
second and final time on The Ed Sullivan Show, when Sullivan, who
considers Holly's hit "Oh Boy!" too "raunchy," forbids him from
singing it on the show. Holly refuses to back down, causing Sullivan
to limit Buddy to one song instead of two, sabotage him with bad
lighting and sound, and mispronounce his name. Holly is visibly upset
on stage.
1962 – Buffalo, New York Catholic Church Bishop Joseph A. Burke bans
“The Twist” from being heard or danced to in any area Catholic school
or event.
1962 – Frankie Avalon marries Kathryn “Kay” Diebel. They are still
married.
1962 – Claude King records "Wolverton Mountain," based on real
character Clifton Clowers, at Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut studio in
Nashville.
1963 – The Beatles play two gigs - the first at the El Rio Dance Hall
in Macclesfield, Cheshire, with opening act Wayne Fontana and The
Jets. Afterward, the group drives 20 miles to Stoke-on-Trent in
Staffordshire for their next gig at King's Hall.
1963 – The Four Seasons release their single, “Walk Like A Man” b/w
“Man Talk.”
1965 – Keith Richards has his shirt torn off after 50 fans invade the
stage when The Rolling Stones appear at the Town Hall in Brisbane,
Australia.
1966 – The Animals' Eric Burdon fills in for an ailing Paul Jones and
performs with Manfred Mann at the Marquee in London.
1967 – The American Breed is signed by ACTA Records after the label
president sees them perform in Chicago while he is stuck in blizzard.
1968 – Pink Floyd plays their first gig without Syd Barrett at
Southampton University, with opening act Tyrannosaurus Rex.
1969 – Prior to the day’s sessions, Ringo Starr writes “Octopus’
Garden” with George Harrison’s help. Later, The Beatles and Billy
Preston focus on “Let It Be” and “The Long And Winding Road” on their
15th day of sessions for their next album.
1969 – Tommy James and The Shondells, Shirley Bassey and George
Hamilton all appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1970 – John Lennon writes, records and mixes "Instant Karma" at Abbey
Road studios with Phil Spector producing.
1970 – The Ourimbah rock festival, Australia's first, opens with an
audience of 11,000.
1970 – Ringo Starr's film The Magic Christian premieres in Hollywood.
Ringo, wife Maureen, and Peter Brown attend.
1970 – Elvis Presley begins a four-week stay at the Las Vegas Hilton,
and begins performing “An American Trilogy” for the first time.
1972 – Elvis Presley plays the first night of 31 at the International
Hotel in Las Vegas, now wearing his one-piece jumpsuits.
1972 – Melvin Combs, father of two-year old Sean (Puffy) Combs, is
shot to death in his car in Central Park in New York. He was 33-years
old.
1974 – TheDoobie Brothers begin their first European tour at the
Rainbow in London.
1975 – The acclaimed David Bowie documentary, Cracked Actor, airs on
BBC2 in the UK.
1977 – Elvis Presley proposes to girlfriend Ginger Alden in the
bathroom at Graceland, giving her an engagement ring with the diamond
from his famous "TCB" ring.
1979 – Bob Dylan forms his own record label, Accomplice.
1980 – Prince makes his U.S. television debut on American Bandstand,
lip-synching to “I Wanna Be Your Lover.”
1986 – Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd, crashes his car,
paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra
Jean Watts.
1988 – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom Of The Opera opens at the
Majestic Theatre on Broadway. The play will become the longest running
Broadway musical in history, celebrating 25 years and 10,375
performances as of January 6, 2013. The show has earned over $875
million.
1989 – Bon Jovi plays the first night of their New Jersey Syndicate
tour at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
1989 – The Broadway production of Black And Blue, celebrating the
black culture of dance and music in Paris between World War I and
World War II, opens at the Minskoff Theatre for 829 performances.
Performers include Ruth Brown, Linda Hopkins, Savion Glover, Grady
Tate, Jimmy Slyde, Bill Easley, Bunny Briggs and many others.
1995 – Joni Mitchell performs at the Wells Fargo Theater inside the
Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in L.A.
1997 – ZZ Top, James Brown, and The Blues Brothers perform at the
Super Bowl XXXI halftime show in New Orleans.
1999 – The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the
cause of John Denver's fatal 1997 airplane crash was that Denver
neglected to fill his main tank with enough fuel, and in the process
of switching over to his backup tank, inadvertently put the plane into
a deadly roll.
2003 – Jennifer Lopez’s divorce from husband Cris Judd becomes final,
with Judd getting $15 million in the divorce settlement.
2006 – B.B. King performs at the White House for President George W.
and Mrs. Bush.
2007 – Michael Jackson returns to the U.S. after almost two years of
self-imposed exile in Bahrain, France and Ireland following his
acquittal on child molestation charges.
2011 – Jimmy Buffett is hospitalized for minor injuries when he falls
off the stage at the end of his concert in Sydney, Australia.
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