January 31

Births

1921: Mario Lanza (Italian Singer)

1923: Carol Channing (Broadway Singer)

1944: Charlie Musselwhite (Blues Harmonica Player)

1946: Terry Kath (Guitar for Chicago)

1951: KC (Harry Wayne Casey) (Vocals & Keyboards in KC and the Sunshine Band)

1951: Phil Manzanera (Lead Guitar in Roxy Music)

1954: Vandenberg (Adrian Vandenberg) (Guitarist for Vanderberg & Whitesnake)

1956: Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) (Lead Vocals for Sex Pistols & Public Image Lmt.)

1961: Lloyd Cole (Singer / Songwriter)

1964: Jeff Hanneman (Guitar for Slayer)

1967: Fat Mike (Michael John Burkett) (Lead Vocals & Bass for NoFX & Me First and the Gimme Gimmes)

1967: Jason Cooper (Drums for The Cure)

1981: Justin Timberlake (Singer for N’Sync & Solo, Pimp)

Events

1959: Just three days before their death in a plane crash, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper play the Armory in Duluth, MN. In attendance: a seventeen-year-old Robert Zimmerman, who would be inspired to become a musician by this performance. We now know him as Bob Dylan.

1961: NBC airs the Bobby Darin And Friends television special, originally meant as a pilot for a weekly variety series.

1963: A seventeen-year-old Neil Young makes his stage debut at a country club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1967: While in Sevenoaks, Kent, England, John Lennon visits an antique shop and purchases a circus poster from 1843. It is this poster which inspires most of the lyrics to the Beatles' "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite."

1969: Billy Preston signs with Apple Records.

1970: Blues musician Slim Harpo died of a heart attack while recording in London at age 46.

1970: The Jackson Five went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Want You Back'. The song was originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips and was the first of four No.1's for the group.

1970: In New Orleans, the Grateful Dead are arrested for possession of LSD and barbituates, an incident which would inspire one of their most famous songs, "Truckin'." (Apparently the band had fun afoul of mob interests in Texas, and the mob alerted the NOPD. This explains lines like "Houston, too close to New Orleans" and "Set up, like a bowling pin.")

1971: The Jackson 5 are given the key to their hometown of Gary, IN, by Mayor Robert Pastrick.

1972: Mahalia Jackson's funeral is held at Chicago's Great Salem Baptist Church. Over 40,000 mourners attend the open-casket service, which features a closing version of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" performed by Aretha Franklin.

1978: Greg Herbert saxophone player with Blood Sweat & Tears died of an accidental drug overdose in Amsterdam, Holland at age 30.

1979: Bo Diddley opens up for punk band The Clash at the beginning of their first US tour.

1985: Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty gives his first live performance in fourteen years at the Chaplin Stage in Hollywood, CA.

1998: The Bruce Springsteen "Come Together" benefit concert, organized for the family of a New Jersey police officer killed in the line of duty, turns into an impromptu E Street Band reunion that also features Southside Johnny and other Jersey musicians.

2001: It was announced that Peter Criss was leaving KISS and that he would be replaced by Eric Singer for the remainder of dates of the farewell tour. Criss' last show was on October 7, 2000.

2010: Beyoncé set a Grammy record for females when she won six. The six awards were Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album. 

January 30

Births

1942: Marty Balin (Lead Vocals for Jefferson Airplane/Starship)

1947: Steve Marriott (Vocals & Guitar for Humble Pie & Small Faces)

1951: Phil Collins (Drummer & Vocals for Genesis & Solo)

1959: Jody Watley (Singer for Shalamar & Solo)

1961: Angie Stone (R&B Singer)

1967: Jay Gordon (Lead Vocals for Orgy)

1967: Bill Leverty (Guitar for Firehouse)

1980: Josh Kelley (Singer / Songwriter)

1984: Kid Cudi (Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi) (Rapper)

Events

1969: The Beatles give their last public live performance on the roof of their own Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London. The band had come up with the idea of a rooftop performance a few days earlier, but the roof had to be shored up first in order to handle the weight of the group's equipment. Filmed for the movie that eventually became Let It Be, the set performed was as follows: "Get Back" (take 1), "Get Back" (take 2), "Don't Let Me Down," "I've Got A Feeling" (take 1), "One After 909," "Dig A Pony," "I've Got A Feeling" (take 2), "Don't Let Me Down" (take 2), "Get Back" (take 3). (The band also does a version of "God Save The Queen" that is not recorded.) The concert, which lasts 42 minutes, comes to an abrupt end when police, tipped off by the complaints of a nearby shop owner, shut the concert down.

1973: KISS play their first concert, at the Coventry Club in Queens, New York. They wear makeup onstage, but not the look they would become known for. The band performed 2 sets at the club that night for a crowd of under 10 people.

1974: Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer is arrested for swimming nude in a hotel pool in Salt Lake City, NV. The pool was clearly visible from the street.

1988: INXS had their first US No.1 hit single with 'Need You Tonight'.

1990: France's Culture Ministry honors Bob Dylan by naming him a commander in the Order of Arts and Letters.

2007: R&B Singer Brandy (Brandy Norwood) was sued for wrongful-death by the parents of a woman that was killed in a car crash involving Brandy on Decenber 30, 2006.

January 29

Births

1933: James Jamerson (Bass for The Funk Brothers)

1952: Tommy Ramone (Thomas Erdelyi) (Drummer in The Ramones)

1961: Eddie Jackson (Bass for Queensryche)

1981: Jonny Lang (Blues Singer / Songwriter)

1982: Adam Lambert (Singer)

Events

1942: BBC Radio launches a new program called Desert Island Discs. Still on the air today, it's the second-longest-running radio program in existence, next to the Grand Ole Opry show.

1961: After performing in New York, Bob Dylan visits the home of a friend in East Orange, NJ, and meets his idol, Woody Guthrie.

1967: Jimi Hendrix makes his UK stage debut, performing at London's Saville Theatre. In the audience is a young Brian May, future guitarist for Queen.

1968: After a show at The Pussy Cat A Go Go in Las Vegas, the Door's Jim Morrison pretends to smoke a joint in the club's parking lot, leading to a scuffle and arrest by police.

1972: Smokey Robinson left The Miracles.

1975: After girlfriend Linda Thompson wakes up and finds him struggling to catch his breath, Elvis Presley is admitted to Memphis' Baptist Hospital for "a liver problem," which in reality is an attempt by Presley's personal physician "Dr. Nick" to curtail his growing addiction to prescription medication.

1979: Emerson, Lake and Palmer announce their breakup, the first of many.

1983: Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks marries Warner Brothers promo man Kim Anderson in Los Angeles. The marriage would last just over a year.

1992: American blues singer and guitarist Willie Dixon died of heart failure at age 76.

1994: Tragedy strikes Mary Wilson of the Supremes when her Jeep hits the curb near Los Angeles and flips, injuring her and killing her 14-year-old son.

1996: Garth Brooks refuses to accept the American Music Awards' Favorite Artist of the Year honor, saying he "cannot agree with this." Backstage, he says it should have gone to Hootie + The Blowfish. Brooks does take two other awards, while The Eagles get three.

1997: Paul Simon's notorious flop musical, The Capeman, opens on Broadway. It would close just 68 performances later.

2001: The Monkees' Peter Tork appears as himself on tonight's "One Hundred" episode of the WB's Seventh Heaven.

2001: A court rules the P-Funk mastermind George Clinton is not eligible for royalties on songs sampled by rappers, George having sold the rights to the songs off years before.

2004: Claiming bigamy on her part, James Brown annuls his marriage to third wife Tommie Rae Brown.

2010: Sly Stone sues former manager Jerry Goldstein for $50 million dollars in what he claims are unpaid royalties.

2010: Roy Orbison is awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame at 1750 N. Vine.

2010: Members of the group Protect Our Children distribute flyers around Miami, protesting Who guitarist Pete Townshend's participation in the Superbowl halftime show. (Townshend had been charged with viewing child porn on the internet in 2003, but charges were later dropped.)

January 28

Births

1941: King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock) (Reggae Producer)

1943: Dick Taylor (Bass for The Pretty Things)

1945: Robert Wyatt (Drums & Vocals for Soft Machine)

1951: Billy Base Nelson (William Nelson) (Bass for Funkadelic)

1959: Dave Sharp (Guitar for The Alarm)

1963: Dan Spitz (Guitar for Anthrax)

1968: DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud) (DJ for Cypress Hill)

1968: Sarah McLachlan (Singer / Songwriter)

1968: Rakim (William Michael Griffin Jr.) (Rapper)

1971: Anthony Hamilton (R&B Singer)

1976: Rick Ross (William Leonard Roberts II) (Rapper)

1977: Joey Fatone (Singer in N’Sync)

1980: Nick Carter (Singer in Backstreet Boys)

1985: J. Cole (Jermaine Lamarr Cole) (Rapper / R&B Singer)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley makes his television debut on CBS' Dorsey Brothers Stage Show. Backed by the house band, he sings "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Heartbreak Hotel." The national furor over Presley would not erupt, however, until subsequent appearances on Milton Berle and Steve Allen's shows.

1965: The Who make their first UK television appearance on BBC's Ready Steady Go!, which helps place their debut single "I Can't Explain" in the British Top Ten.

1968: During their tour in Australia, members of The Who and the Small Faces, among others, are escorted off their flight from Adelaide to Essendon for drinking beer on the plane, being rowdy, and using "very bad language." Two of the flight's four attendants are said to be in tears.

1968: Jim Morrison of The Doors was arrested and charged with public drunkenness after harassing a security guard at a Las Vegas adult movie theatre.

1978: The Doobie Brothers guest star on an episode of ABC's What's Happening!

1978: By request, Ted Nugent carves his autograph into the arm of a fan using his bowie knife.

1982: Jackson Browne and his second wife, Lynne Sweeney, become the proud parents of their first child, Ryan Daniel.

1984: Backstage after a Motley Crue show in Buffalo, New York, Tommy Lee found out that his girlfriend has posed for the current issue of Penthouse magazine without his knowledge, after a fan passes comment on the pictures. Tommy punched the fan unconscious with one hit, Motleys manager Doug Thaler convinced the fan not to press any charges.

1985: The recording took place for We Are The World, the US equivalent of Band Aid, at A&M Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the all star cast included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan (who contributed four lines to the charity single), Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof. The session was produced by Quincy Jones.

1995: TLC started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Creep' the group's first US No.1, it made No.6 in the UK the following year.

2003: H-Town singer Keven Conner was killed in a car crash in Houston aged 28. Conner died when an SUV ran a red light and crashed into the car he was a passenger in, which had just picked him up from the recording studio.

2004: James Brown is arrested on charges of domestic violence in Beech Island, SC.

2005: Traffic Drummer and singer/songwriter Jim Capaldi died of stomach cancer aged 60.