January 26

Births

1943: Jean Knight (R&B Singer)

1948: Corky Laing (Drummer for Mountain)

1951: David Briggs (Guitar for The Little River Band)

1951: Andy Hummel (Bass for Big Star)

1953: Lucinda Williams (Singer / Songwriter)

1955: Eddie Van Halen (Guitar for Van Halen)

1958: Anita Baker (R&B Singer)

1961: Tom Keifer (Guitar & Vocals for Cinderella)

1963: Andrew Ridgeley (The other guy in  Wham!)

1963: Jazzie B (Trevor Beresford Romeo) (DJ in Soul II Soul)

1970: Kirk Franklin (Gospel Singer)

1976: Willie Adler (Guitar for Lamb Of God)

1986: Matt Heafy (Lead Guitar & Vocals for Trivium)

Events

1934: The Apollo Theatre opens in Harlem, New York City, as a "Negro vaudeville theatre."

1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets make their second appearance on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Before the show Sullivan, who considered Holly's hit "Oh, Boy!" too "raunchy," forbids him from singing it on tonight's show. Holly refuses, 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 the stage.

1962: Buffalo, New York Catholic Church Bishop Joseph A. Burke bans the Twist from being heard or danced in any area Catholic school or event.

1969: The Beatles, recording the Get Back (later Let It Be) album and film at Apple Corps headquarters, decide to stage a concert on the roof (although it wouldn't happen on this day). Ringo writes "Octopus's Garden" today, as well.

1970: John Lennon writes "Instant Karma!" in the morning and records it the same afternoon with producer Phil Spector and a backing "choir" assembled from pubcrawlers at London's Hatchetts Club. The single is mixed the same day and released just ten days later (hence the song's name).

1970: Elvis Presley introduces "An American Trilogy" into his performances at the Las Vegas Hilton.

1972: Elvis Presley begins wearing one-piece jumpsuits during his gigs at the International Hotel, Las Vegas.

1972: Sean Combs (Puff Daddy) father Melvin was shot dead in his car in a Manhattan park aged thirty-three. Sean was aged 2 at the time.

1977: Original Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Peter Green is committed to a psychiatric facility in his native England for firing a pistol at a delivery boy who was attempting to deliver a royalty check.

1977: After removing the diamond from his famous "TCB" ring, Elvis Presley has it placed in an engagement ring for girlfriend Ginger Alden. Elvis proposes to her in the bathroom at Graceland.

1980: Prince made his TV debut on the US show American Bandstand.

1986: Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed his car, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. Collins had survived a plane crash in 1977 that killed two other band members.

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 the cause of John Denver's fatal 1997 airplane crash: 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.