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.)