Sunday, January 1, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: January 2

1926:  The first issue of Melody Maker went on sale.
1964:  The Rolling Stones performed "I Wanna' Be Your Man", a song written for them by the Beatles, on Top of the Pops in the U.K.



1965:  Freddie Garrity of Freddie & the Dreamers ("I'm Telling You Now") was thrown out of the windshield of his car in an accident in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England.  (Note:  some websites report the date of the accident as January 26, but our best research indicates it was on January 2.) 

  1965:  Petula Clark nearly took "Downtown" into the Top 10 in its third week of release but she had to stop at a traffic light and only moved from 41 to 12.
1965:  Elvis Presley had his eighth #1 album as the Soundtrack to "Roustabout" climbed to the top.








  "She's A Woman" gave the Beatles two songs in the Top Five.

1965:  The Beatles made it two straight weeks at #1 with "I Feel Fine".  The Supremes were lined up at #2 to try to return to the top spot, "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton was third and the Beatles had another smash--"She's A Woman" at #4.  The Searchers were moving up strong (11-5) with "Love Potion Number Nine".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Goin' Out Of My Head" from Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Zombies' great song "She's Not There" was at position #7, "Amen" from the Impressions emphatically moved into the Top 10, the Larks had #9--"The Jerk" and Julie Rogers was at #10 with "The Wedding".
1968:  Police in Newark, New Jersey actually confiscated a shipment of the new John Lennon album Two Virgins, which featured a nude cover.
1969:  The Beatles began filming for the documentary Let It Be at Twickenham Studios in London.
1969:  Led Zeppelin and opening act Alice Cooper performed for the first of four nights at Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles.
1970:  Its Cliff Richard, a musical variety series starring the popular British singer, premiered on BBC-TV.  It would run in 1971, 1972, 1974, and 1976.
1971:  Taking a cue from the Jackson 5, another family group first appeared on the chart.  The Osmonds' first single "One Bad Apple", debuted on this date.
 One of the great early songs from Zeppelin--"Immigrant Song"...

1971:  All Things Must Pass by George Harrison had a quick trip to the top of the Album chart, just three weeks.  Abraxas by Santana, the great album that it was, nonetheless fell to second while the self-titled Stephen Stills was #3.  The Partridge Family Album moved from 9 to 4 while the Live Album from Grand Funk Railroad remained fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Greatest Hits from Sly & the Family Stone, the Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar", the great Close to You album from the Carpenters, Led Zeppelin III fell from 8 to 9 and Pendulum by CCR moved from 15 to 10 in just its second week.





1971:  The 5th Dimension delivered yet another great song as "One Less Bell To Answer" moved to #1 on the Adult chart.
1971:  Dave Edmunds had the fastest-rising song, as "I Hear You Knocking" pounded its way up from 90 to 62.
1975:  The Allman Brothers Band were named Outstanding Community Organization by the Georgia Department of Corrections.






1975:  John Lennon won a legal victory when U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen ruled that Lennon and his lawyers would have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case.  Lennon had contended for years that President Richard Nixon was trying to have him deported because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and his criticism of Nixon.  The files contained information that proved that Lennon was right.












1978:  Jackson Browne released the single "Running On Empty".
1980:  Larry Williams ("Short Fat Fannie" and "High School Dance") was found dead in his home in Los Angeles with a gunshot wound to the head.  It was never confirmed to be the result of a murder or suicide.  (Note:  There is considerable confusion as to the date that Williams died.  The 'BBC', as well as the book 'Encyclopedia of the Blues' by Edward Komara, state that the correct date was the 2nd.  The book 'The All Music Guide to Soul:  The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul' by Vladimir Bogdanov says the correct date was January 7.  Ordinarily, a check of tombstone photos would provide the best evidence, but Williams lies in an unmarked grave next to his wife in Inglewood Park Cemetery.  Therefore, since 'Allmusic' is the only major source that puts the date as January 7, and since the 'BBC' is more reputable, and we also have Edward Komara's book to back them up, we have to go with January 2.)
1981:  ABBA stayed a sixth week at #1 on the U.K. Album chart with the great album Super Trouper.
1981:  Neil Diamond held on to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the third week with "Yesterday's Songs".


 

1983:  Michael Jackson released the single "Billie Jean".












Father Figure by George Michael on Grooveshark
1988:  George Michael released the single "Father Figure".












1988:  Mike + the Mechanics released the single "The Living Years" in the United States (it had been released December 3 in the U.K.












1990:  Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley released the single "This Old Heart Of Mine".
1993:  For the fifth week, Whitney Houston was perched atop the R&B chart with "I Will Always Love You".
1993:  Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" posted its sixth consecutive week at #1.  









1993:  "I Will Always Love You" was also #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week for Ms. Houston.
1996:  Arrested Development broke up.
1997:  Randy California, guitarist from Spirit ("I Got A Line On You") drowned at age 45 off the coast of Molokai Island in Hawai'i, trying to save his 12-year-old son who had been caught in the undertow.  (Note:  some websites report that Randy died on January 3; however, although his body has never been found, the official date of death was declared as January 2, according to 'Business Week', the newspaper 'The Independent', and the book Stars of David:  Rock'n'roll's Jewish Stories by Scott R. Benarde.)
2001:  Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and wife Donna celebrated the birth of daughter Frankie Jean Sixx.
2001:  Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland of Destinys Child settled a lawsuit with former members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who claimed that Beyonce and Kelly forced them out of the group.  However, Luckett and Roberson went ahead with charges against the group's manager (Knowles' father Matthew).
2004:  Daniel Bedingfield ("If You're Not The One") flipped his Jeep Cherokee in New Zealand and suffered neck injuries and lacerations.
2005:  Green Day topped the U.K. Album chart with American Idiot.

    Green Day's great song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"...

2005:  Green Day had the #1 album on the America chart with American Idiot.
2007:  "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley was the #1-seller of 2006 in the U.K., selling 700,000 copies.
2008:  Josh Groban, who burst onto the scene with "You Raise Me Up" in 2007, had the top-selling album of the year with Noel, which sold 3.7 million copies.
2009:  Taylor Swift sold the most albums in 2008 with four million units.






Born This Day:
1936:  Roger Miller, singer, songwriter and musician ("King Of The Road"), was born in Fort Worth, Texas; died October 25, 1992 of cancer in Los Angeles. 
1946:  "Chick" Churchill, keyboard player of Ten Years After ("I'd Love To Change The World"), was born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England.
1954:  Glenn Goins, singer and guitarist of Parliament, was born in Plainfield, New Jersey; died of Hodgkin's lymphoma on July 29, 1978.
1975:  Douglas Seann Robb, lead singer of Hoobastank, was born in Agoura Hills, California.

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