Today In Music History
Important events in music history for the month of January.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 4, 1967 | The Doors release their eponymously titled debut album. The record's lead single "Light My Fire" quickly becomes a hit, reaching #1 on the charts. |
| January 5, 1973 | Bruce Springsteen releases his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Sales are modest but the record is a hit with rock critics who praise the 23-year-old as a songwriting prodigy. |
| January 6, 1957 | Elvis Presley performs on The Ed Sullivan Show and is only filmed from the waist up, leaving television viewers to speculate on what the audience could possibly be screaming about. |
| January 7, 1955 | Marian Anderson performs as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in at the Metropolitan Opera, becoming the first African-American singer to perform with the company. |
| January 8, 1993 | The U.S. Postal Service issues a stamp baring the likeness of Elvis Presley on what would have been the singer's 58th birthday. |
| January 9, 1944 | James Patrick "Jimmy" Page is born in Heston, Middlesex, England. |
| January 10, 1949 | RCA introduces the 45-RPM, 7-inch record. The format eventually replaces the 78-RPM record, and becomes the go-to format for singles––one song on each side, which become increasingly popular during the rock era. |
| January 11, 1954 | Legendary music venue the Whiskey-a-Go-Go opens on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. The Animals, The Doors, Johnny Rivers and Otis Redding, among others grace the stage during the establishment's early days. |
| January 12, 1995 | Jacksonville's The Allman Brothers Band are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Frank Zappa. |
| January 13, 1972 | Aretha Franklin performs the first of two concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles for her live album Amazing Grace, which goes on to sell more than two million copies. |
| January 14, 1967 | An estimated 25,000 people show up for an event called "A Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In" in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The Summer of Love would soon follow. |
| January 15, 1969 | After walking out of a recording session for what would become Let It Be, George Harrison fails to show up for a third day in a row. The Beatles will hold an impromptu meeting at Ringo Starr's house, and convince Harrison to re-join the band. Plans for a live concert are scrapped and the filming and recording of the project are moved to Apple headquarters. |
| January 16, 1938 | Benny Goodman plays the first-ever jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. |
| January 17, 2016 | David Bowie's Blackstar debuts at #1 on the Billboard charts, just seven days after the singer died of cancer. It's his first-ever #1 record. |
| January 18, 1977 | Linda Ronstadt and Aretha Franklin perform at President Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Concert. |
| January 19, 1961 | On the night before the inauguration President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra throws a star-studded fundraiser to help wipeout the Democratic party's campaign debt. Nat King Cole, Harry Belafonte, Gene Kelly and Ethel Merman entertain the crowd. |
| January 20, 1969 | Elvis Presley records "In The Ghetto." |
| January 21, 1984 | Prog-rockers Yes score a #1 hit in America with "Owner Of A Lonely Heart." It's the band's only top hit. |
| January 22, 1931 | Sam Cooke is born in Clarksdale, MS. |
| January 23, 1965 | "Downtown" by Petula Clark hits #1 in the US, the first song by a female artist from the UK to top the US singles chart since Vera Lynn did so in 1952. |
| January 24, 2000 | David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young go on tour as a full-quartet for the first time in 25 years. |
| January 25, 2003 | Norah Jones' album Come Away With Me hits #1 on the charts, 11 months after its release. |
| January 26, 1970 | Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water is released. |
| January 27, 1985 | After wrapping up his Born in The U.S.A. tour, Bruce Springsteen flies to Los Angeles to take part in the recording of "We Are The World." |
| January 28, 1956 | Elvis Presley makes his television debut on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show, singing "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Heartbreak Hotel." |
| January 29, 1969 | Bob Dylan visits his ailing folk hero, Woody Guthrie, in East Orange, New Jersey, just five days after moving to New York from Minnesota. |
| January 30, 1969 | The Beatles stage their famous rooftop concert, performing on top of Apple Records in London. |
| January 31, 1963 | The Beach Boys record "Surfin' U.S.A.," a big hit that borrows unabashedly from Check Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen." |