Sunday, January 20, 2019

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2015Edgar Froese (drummer for Tangerine Dream) dies of a pulmonary embolism at age 70 in Austria.
2013Bob Engemann (of The Lettermen) dies of complications from heart bypass surgery at age 77.
2009David "Fathead" Newman, a jazz and R&B saxophonist who played alongside Ray Charles, dies at age 75 of complications from pancreatic cancer.
2009Bon Iver releases Blood Bank, a four-track EP and follow up to the hugely-successful For Emma, Forever Ago. The song "Woods," which features on the EP, will go on to be sampled by Kanye West on his track "Lost in The World."
2001With the debut Lifehouse album climbing the charts, lead singer Jason Wade marries his longtime girlfriend, Braeden.
1999Bill Albaugh (drummer for the psychedelic pop group The Lemon Pipers) dies at age 53.
1998Bob McBride (lead singer for Lighthouse) dies of heart failure at age 51.
1998With the release of their debut single, "I Want You Back," *NSYNC emerges as a rival to Backstreet Boys, who are taking America by storm.
1997French electronic duo Daft Punk release their debut album, Homework in the UK (it is released in America on March 25). The record is a big hit in Europe but only reaches #150 in the USA. Both members, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, are music producers who use recording technology to combine house music with synthpop.
1988The Beach BoysThe BeatlesThe DriftersBob Dylan, and The Supremesare inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the third class. Mike Love of The Beach Boys gives a Ricky Gervais-at-the-Golden Globes-style speech, insulting many in attendance. Diana Ross skips the ceremony over a spat with fellow Supreme Mary Wilson.
1985Country singer Brantley Gilbert is born in Jefferson, Georgia.
1983Kenny Loggins falls off the stage while making his entrance at a concert in Provo, Utah. The house lights are dimmed, so the crowd doesn't see it. The audience is stunned to learn that Loggins is being taken to the hospital, where he is treated for broken ribs. The show is rescheduled, and while recovering, Loggins writes the song "Footloose" with Dean Pitchford, providing the title track for the movie.
1979Rob Bourdon (Linkin Park drummer) is born in Calabasas, California.
1975Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks, which contains the tracks "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Idiot Wind."
1973Jerry Lee Lewis makes his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, telling the crowd at the end of his set: "Let me tell ya somethin' about Jerry Lee Lewis, ladies and gentlemen; I am a rock 'n' rollin', country-and-western, rhythm 'n' blues-singin' mothaf---er."
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Stevie Wonder Headlines First Official MLK Day

1986
After years of campaigning to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday, Stevie Wonder commemorates the occasion with a star-studded concert celebration in Washington, D.C.
The idea for the national holiday, which is observed on the third Monday of January each year, falling near King's January 15th birthday, was presented just four days after his assassination in 1968. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation to honor the civil rights leader's legacy, but it took many years for Congress to warm up to the plan. When President Jimmy Carter called for a vote on the issue nearly a decade later, the bill was shot down by five votes in the House, despite several states already adopting the holiday. 

"This was the first holiday around a national figure who is not a president, and who is African American," noted Michael Honey, author of Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign. "Many in Congress did not want to recognize an African American that was thought of as a troublemaker by some in his day."

The defeat rankled Stevie Wonder, a major supporter of the cause who toured around the country to bolster the campaign. He penned the anthem "Happy Birthday" in honor of King and performed it at the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. After Congress was deluged with petitions in excess of six million signatures, President Ronald Reagan officially announced the holiday was signed into law in 1983.

It takes another three years for the first celebration out of Washington, but it's a big one. Wonder enlists Quincy Jones as music director and stages an all-star televised gala at the Kennedy Center that kicks off simultaneous concerts in New York and Atlanta. Wonder is joined by Bob Dylan for a performance of the anti-apartheid song "The Bell For Freedom Still Rings," before the pair invites folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary in a singalong of "Blowin' In The Wind." Other guests include Diana RossThe Pointer SistersNeil DiamondAmy Grant, and Tom Petty

For showrunner Quincy Jones, it's an honor to be a part of the event, but the night is special for a different reason. Jones - who worked in the music business for decades as a musician, songwriter, and producer for the industry's hottest acts - is confronted by the breadth of his legacy. He explained in a 2018 interview with The Vulture: "After the performance, we went to a reception, and three ladies came over: The older lady had Sinatra at the Sands, I arranged that; her daughter had my album The Dude; and then that lady's daughter had Thriller. Three generations of women said those were their favorite records. That touched me so much."

For years, some states hold out on observing a day straight-up devoted to King, either by giving the day an alternate name or combining it with other holidays. It's officially celebrated by all 50 states in 2000.

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