January 23

Births:

1910: Django Reinhardt (Jazz Guitarist)

1948: Anita Pointer (R&B Singer in The Pointer Sisters)

1950: Danny Federici (Organ and Keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band)

1953: Robin Zander (Vocals & Rhythm Guitar for Cheap Trick)

1973: Marc Nelson (Singer in Boyz II Men)

1974: Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Actress)

1975: Nick Harmer (Bass Guitar for Death Cab for Cutie)

Events:

1956: Rock 'n' Roll fans in Cleveland under 18 years old were banned from dancing in public (unless accompanied by an adult) after Ohio Police introduced a law dating back to 1931.

1965: Petula Clark becomes the first female Brit to hit the top of the American charts, with her smash "Downtown."

1977: Singer Patti Smith broke her vertebra when she fell off the stage at a gig in Tampa, Florida.

1978: Terry Kath, guitarist with Chicago, accidentally shot himself dead while cleaning (with what he believed) was an unloaded gun. Kath's last words were "Don't worry it's not loaded" as he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He was killed instantly at 32 years old.

1979: Beach Boy Brian Wilson and his wife Marilyn were divorced.

1986: Ray Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the first induction dinner, held in New York City.

1990: 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.

2000: Heart's Nancy Wilson and her husband, famed rock scribe Cameron Crowe, are the proud parents of their first and only children, twins named William and Curtis.

2003: 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.

2011: Ringo Starr attempts to register the word "Ringo" as a trademark in the US.

January 22

Births

1931: Sam Cooke (R&B Singer)

1946: Malcolm Mclaren (Manager of Sex Pistols & Bow Wow Wow)

1949: Steve Perry (Singer for Journey)

1960: Michael Hutchence (Singer for INXS)

1965: DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeffrey Allen Townes)

1965: Steven Adler (Drummer for Guns ‘N’ Roses)

1981: Willa Ford (Pop Singer)

1981: Ben Moody (Lead Guitar for Evanescence)

Events

1955: Porter Wagoner makes his Grand Ole Opry debut.

1959: In his New York City apartment, Buddy Holly sits alone with an acoustic guitar and records what would be his last songs -- "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," "That's What They Say," "What to Do," "Learning the Game" and "That Makes it Tough." After his tragic death, these recordings would be overdubbed to become the Holly songs we know today.

1966: After a rare four-inch snowfall in Memphis, Elvis Presley and members of his "Memphis Mafia" build a snowman in front of Graceland (and have a snowball fight as well).

1966: The Beach Boys went into the studio to record 'Wouldn't It Be Nice', which would be the opening track on their forthcoming album 'Pet Sounds.'

1967: Breaking with a British television tradition, the Rolling Stones refuse to appear on the revolving stage during the finale of ITV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

1969: The Beatles' George Harrison, meeting Billy Preston at the Apple offices, persuades him to join the Get Back sessions (later released as Let It Be).

1971: The Joe Cocker film Mad Dogs and Englishmen, featuring performances by Cocker, Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, and others, premieres in London.

1972: David Bowie 'came out' as bisexual during an interview in the British music weekly Melody Maker.

1977: Singers James Taylor & Carly Simon give birth to a son, Ben Taylor.

1981: The John Lennon obituary issue of Rolling Stone is published, featuring a naked photo of John embracing a fully-clothed Yoko Ono. The photo was taken hours before his death.

1984: Barry Manilow sings the national anthem at Superbowl XVIII in Tampa, FL.

1983: The new 24-hour music video network MTV started broadcasting to the West Coast of America after being picked up by Group W Cable, Los Angeles.

1989: KISS' Gene Simmons and Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed become the proud parents of son Nicholas.

1998: Toni Braxton filed for Chapter 7 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, listing liabilities of more than $1 million.

2001: Chubby Checker guest stars on Fox's Ally McBeal.

2004: Ryan Adams broke a wrist after falling during a gig at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. Adam's fell from the stage and suffered a fractured wrist. A fan said, 'One minute he was on the stage and the next he had disappeared. He went down with a thud and we couldn't believe he was trying to continue singing'.

2012: Adele broke an American chart record that has stood for years after being set by The Beatles and Pink Floyd. The singers second album '21' clocked up 16 weeks at number one on the US chart matching the success of the Titanic original soundtrack. '21', released last January had now beaten The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's and Pink Floyd's 'The Wall', which had previously held the accolade with runs of 15 weeks at Number 1.

January 21

Births

1938: Wolfman Jack (DJ)

1941: Richie Havens (Folk Singer)

1942: Mac Davis (Singer / Songwriter)

1942: Edwin Starr (R&B Singer)

1950: Billy Ocean (R&B Singer)

1965: Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) (DJ for RUN-DMC)

1965: Cordell Crockett (Bass for Ugly Kid Joe)

1966: 3D (Robert Del Naja) (Singer for Massive Attack)

1972: Cat Power (Chan Marshall)

1973: Chris Kilmore (DJ for Incubus)

1976: Baby Spice (Emma Bunton) (Singer in The Spice Girls)

1979: Nokio the N-Tity (Tamir Mateen Raheem Hameed Ruffin) (Singer in Dru Hill)

Events

1957: An unknown singer named Patsy Cline wins on CBS' Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts program with a rendition of the song "Walking After Midnight."

1965: The Animals are forced to cancel a show at New York City's famous Apollo Theater after US Immigration officials force the group to leave the country.

1966: The Beatles' George Harrison marries Patricia Anne Boyd at the Esher Register Office, Surrey, England. Fellow Beatle Paul McCartney and Manager Brian Epstein are in attendance. Pattie, a fashion model, had been Harrison's girlfriend since they met on the set of A Hard Day's Night two years earlier. Eventually, Boyd would begin an affair with Harrison's best friend, Eric Clapton, for whom the guitarist would write the classic "Layla."

1968: Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of the Bob Dylan song 'All Along the Watchtower' at Olympic Studios in London. Rolling Stone Brian Jones and Dave Mason from Traffic both played on the session. The track was released in the US as a single in 1968, peaking at #20.

1970: ABC gives the "summer replacement" Johnny Cash Show a permanent home on the prime time schedule.

1974: Governor of Georgia (and future President) Jimmy Carter invites Bob Dylan to a party at the Governor's Mansion at the insistence of his son Chip. Afterwards, Carter declared that "He (Dylan) never initiates conversation, but he'll answer a question if you ask him."

1978: The soundtrack album 'Saturday Night Fever' started a 24 week run at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over 30 million copies world wide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.

1982: B.B. King donates his entire record collection to the University of Mississippi's Center for the Study of Southern Culture. The 20,000-record collection includes 7,000 discs King aired as a disc jockey at Memphis' WDIA in the Fifties.

1984, Soul singer Jackie Wilson died aged 49. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing 'Lonely Teardrops', and had remained in a coma until his death 8 years later.

1987: The Second Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B. B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, and Jackie Wilson.

1990: MTV's "Unplugged" made its debut with Squeeze as the first performers.

1996: Wynonna Judd marries Arch Kelley at the Christ Church in Nashville, then holds the reception at her mother's Trilogy restaurant.

1997: 'Colonel' Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager and agent died of a stroke in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 87.

1998: James Brown is released from a South Carolina hospital after undergoing treatment for an addiction to painkillers.

2002: Peggy Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at age 81.

2003: David Palmer, former keyboard player for Jethro Tull changed his name to Dee Palmer after a successful sex change operation.

January 20

Births

1888: Leadbelly (Blues Musician)

1922: Ray Anthony (Big Band Leader)

1924: Slim Whitman (Country Singer)

1951: Ian Hill (Bass for Judas Priest)

1952: Paul Stanley (Vocals & Guitar for KISS)

1955: Michael Anthony (Bass for Van Halen)

1965: John Michael Montgomery (Country Artist)

1965: Greg Kriesel (Bass for The Offspring)

1966: Tracii Guns (Guitar for L.A. Guns & Guns N’ Roses first Guitarist)

1971: ?uestlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson) (Drummer for The Roots)

1971: Gary Barlow (Singer for Take That and Solo)

1979: Rob Bourdon (Drummer for Linkin Park)

1980: Matthew Tuck (Lead Vocals & Rhythm Guitar for Bullet For My Valentine)

1981: Nathan Connolly (Lead Guitar for Snow Patrol)

1985: Brantley Gilbert (Country Artist)

Events

1958: Elvis Presley receives his draft notice in Memphis, TN. It allows a sixty-day deferment for the King to finish his film King Creole.

1964: The Beatles album “Meet The Beatles” is released in the US.  The whole album was 27:00 minutes long.

1965: The Rolling Stones and the Kinks both make their debut on ABC's Shindig! along with guests Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Bobby Vee, Bobby Sherman and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

1968: In his first public appearance since his motorcycle accident two years earlier, Bob Dylan joins Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Odetta, Richie Havens, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and the Band at a Carnegie Hall tribute concert for Woody Guthrie.

1969: Elvis Presley recorded "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds." It was the first time he had recorded in Memphis since 1956.

1971: Diana Ross marries Bob Silberstein.

1973: Following his newfound success as a country and western artist, Jerry Lee Lewis finally takes the stage at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Although officials instruct him to play only country and to keep his comments clean, Lewis eventually breaks both rules, playing his classic rock and roll hits and declaring himself "the rock & rollin', country and western, rhythm and blues singin' motherf-----."

1974: After only five months of recovery from a near-fatal car crash, Stevie Wonder returns to performance with a show at London's Rainbow Theatre.

1982: During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw a bat onto the stage. Stunned by the light, the bat lay motionless, and thinking it was a rubber fake, the singer picked it up and attempted to bite its head off. As he did this, the bat started to flap its wings and Ozzy soon realized it wasn't fake but in fact a living thing. After the show Ozzy was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for rabies shots.

1988: The Third Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes. Beach Boy Mike Love raises eyebrows with his acceptance speech, which methodically insults most of the honorees (among others).

1999: Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), while on probation for a 1997 heroin case, was arrested for failing to provide a urine sample to his live-in drug treatment center.