What Happened Today In Music
January 23rd
1956 - Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll fans in Cleveland aged under 18 were banned from dancing in public (unless accompanied by an adult), after Ohio Police introduced a law dating back to 1931.
1965 - Petula Clark
'Downtown' made Petula Clark the first UK female singer to have a No.1 on the US singles chart since Vera Lynn in 1952. The song was also a No.2 hit in the UK. Recorded in three takes (with the second take ultimately chosen as the completed track), session players in the studio recording included Jimmy Page.
1967 - Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd spent the first of three days recording the Syd Barrettsongs Arnold Layne and Candy And A Current Bun at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. According to Roger Waters, Arnold Layne was based on a real person - a transvestite whose primary pastime was stealing women's clothes and undergarments from washing lines in Cambridge.
1969 - The Beatles
Working at Apple studios in London, The Beatles (with Billy Preston on keyboards) recorded ten takes of a new song called 'Get Back'.
1971 - Bruce Springsteen
Steel Mill played their final show when they appeared at the Upstage Club, Asbury Park, New Jersey. Singer Bruce Springsteenformed new bands during the rest of the year known under such names as the Bruce Springsteen Jam, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, and finally the Bruce Springsteen Band.
1971 - George Harrison
George Harrison became the first solo Beatle to have a No.1 when ' 'My Sweet Lord' went to the top of the UK single charts. The song from his 'All Things Must Pass' album stayed at No.1 for five weeks. The track returned to the top of the UK charts in 2002, following his death.
1971 - Dawn
Dawn started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Knock Three Times', the group's first No.1, which was also an UK No.1.
1976 - David Bowie
David Bowie released his tenth studio album Station to Station, which was the vehicle for his last great character, the Thin White Duke. The album was recorded after he completed shooting Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth, and the cover artwork featured a still from the movie. The album made the top five in both the UK and US charts.
1978 - Terry Kath
American musician and songwriter Terry Kath, best known as the original guitarist, and founding members of the rock band Chicago accidentally shot himself dead. After a party at roadie and band technician Don Johnson's home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, Kath picked up a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol and, leaning back in a chair, said to Johnson, "Don't worry about it ... look, the clip is not even in it." To satisfy Johnson's concerns, Kath showed the empty magazine to Johnson. Kath then replaced the magazine in the gun, put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Apparently unbeknownst to Kath, however, there was still one round in the chamber, and he died instantly from the gunshot
1988 - Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Way You Make Me Feel'. It was the third single from Jackson's seventh studio album Bad for which Jackson had written over sixty songs for the album, with plans of releasing a three disc album, but producer Quincy Jones convinced Jackson to make Bad a one disc LP.
1990 - Allen Collins
Allen Collins guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd died of pneumonia after being ill for several months. Collins who was one of the founding members also co-wrote most of the band's songs (including Free Bird), with late front man Ronnie Van Zant. He survived a plane crash in 1977 that killed two other band members. Collins was behind the wheel in a car accident in 1986 that killed his girlfriend and left him paralyzed from the waist down. He later pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
1990 - David Bowie
David Bowie announced his forthcoming Sound And Vision world tour, during which he would invite each local audience to decide on a 'greatest hits' running order, organised through local radio stations. The concert tour surpassed Bowie's previous Serious Moonlight (1983) and Glass Spider (1987) tours' statistics by visiting 27 countries with 108 performances.
1991 - Led Zeppelin
John Sebastian, owner and general manager of KLSK FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, played Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' for twenty-four solid hours to inaugurate a format change to Classic Rock. Police showed up with guns drawn: once after a listener reported that the DJ had apparently suffered a heart attack, and later because of suspicion that, this being eight days into the Gulf War, the radio station had been taken hostage by terrorists dispatched by Zeppelin freak Saddam Hussein.
1995 - Bill Horton
American singer Bill Horton with The Silhouettes died. The doo wop/R&B groups single 'Get A Job' was a No.1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics. 'Get A Job' is included in the soundtracks of the film American Graffiti, Trading Places and Stand By Me. The Silhouettes performed in the 1986 movie Joey.
1998 - Johnny Funches
US soul singer Johnny Funches from The Dells died of pneumonia at the age of 62. The Dells had the 1956 hit 'Oh What a Night' and 1968 US No.10 single 'Stay In My Corner'. The Dells formed in 1952 after all attending high school together.
2000 - Santana
Santana started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Supernatural'. The album which went on to win eight Grammy awards spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 during this year.
2003 - R Kelly
R Kelly was arrested on new child pornography charges. The singer was detained in Miami after police said digital sex pictures were discovered at his home in Florida last June. The singer was already facing 21 charges relating to producing child pornography and appearing in a video having sex with an underage girl. He was charged with a further 12 counts of possession of child pornography.
2005 - Bez
Former Happy Mondays dancer Bez, won the £50,000 Celebrity Big Brother prize, after gaining 54% of the final viewer vote. The "Madchester" pop legend danced his way to becoming the sixth member of the indie-dance band in the late-1980s after playing maracas with them.
2014 - Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber was arrested after racing his yellow Lamborghini against another sports car on a Miami Beach street. Police said the singer did not co-operate when pulled over also charged him with resisting arrest without violence and having an expired driving licence. The 19-year-old singer was granted bail set at $2,500 (£1,500).
2016 - Jimmy Bain
Scottish musician Jimmy Bain died aged 68 while in his cabin on Def Leppard's "Hysteria on the High Seas" cruise. The cause of death was determined to be lung cancer. Bain was best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio, he also worked with Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums as well as Ian Hunter, Gary Moore and John Cale.
2017 - Bobby Freeman
African-American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer Bobby Freeman died of natural causes aged 76. He scored the 1958 US & UK No.5 single 'Do You Want To Dance'. The song has been covered (as 'Do You Wanna Dance') by Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon, Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas and the Ramones.
2021 - Tom Stevens
American bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Tom Stevens died age 64. He worked with roots rock band the Long Ryders and released a string of solo albums.
January 23rd
1910 - Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt, jazz guitarist. He badly burned his third and fourth fingers of his left hand in a house fire aged 18. Doctors suggested he play the guitar to keep his fingers flexible, giving him his two fingered guitar style. Has worked with Stepane Grappelli and Duke Ellington. Reinhardt died of a stroke on 15th May 1953.
1944 - Jerry Lawson
Jerry Lawson, singer with The Persuasions, a-cappella group, who worked with Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder and Don McLean. Lawson died on 10 July 2019 age 75 after a long illness.
1948 - Anita Pointer
Anita Pointer, singer with American R&B singing group The Pointer Sisters who had the 1981 US No.2 single, 'Slow Hand' and the 1984 UK No.2 single 'Automatic'. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985.
1950 - Danny Federici
Danny Federici, organ and keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band who had the 1984 US No.2 and 1985 UK No.4 single 'Dancing In The Dark'. Federici who had worked with Springsteen for over 40 years, including early bands Steel Mill and Child died of cancer on April 17th 2008 at the age of 58.
1950 - Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham, bass, piano, The Box Tops who had the 1967 US No.1 & UK No.5 single 'The Letter'.
1953 - Robin Zander
Robin Zander, singer, songwriter from American rock band, Cheap Trick, who had the 1979 hit single 'I Want You To Want Me', and the 1988 US No.1 single 'The Flame'.
1959 - Earl Falconer
Earl Falconer, bassist with UB40, who had the 1983 UK No.1 & US 1988 US No.1 single 'Red Red Wine' and over 30 other Top 40 hits.
1964 - Jonatha Brooke
American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonatha Brooke. In 2019 she won Overall Grand Prize in the 15th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards), as well as Best Female Artist with her song 'Put the Gun Down'.
1974 - Lordi
Kita, drummer with Lordi. They became Finland's first ever Eurovision Song Contest winners after their song 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' won the contest held in Athens in 2006.
1975 - Nick Harmer
Nick Harmer, bass guitarist with Death Cab for Cutie who scored the 2008 US No.1 album 'Narrow Stairs'.
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