1959, The Platters ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’, started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart.
1963, The Beatles made their first national TV appearance in the UK on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ performing ‘Please Please Me’.
1967, Pink Floyd and Marmalade played at The Marquee Club, London, England. Marmalade went on to score a No.1 UK hit with their version of The Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in 1968.
1967, The Monkees were at No.1 on the UK singles with ‘I’m A Believer’, the group’s only UK No.1. The song composed by Neil Diamond had 1,051,280 advance orders, and went gold within two days of release. It is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.
1967, The Beatles began recording ‘A Day In The Life’ at Abbey Road studios London, recording four takes of the new song. According to Lennon, the inspiration for the first two verses was the death of Tara Browne, the 21-year-old heir to the Guinness fortune who had crashed his Lotus Elan on 18 December 1966 in Redcliffe Gardens, London.
1971, Tracks from The Beatles The White Album (including ‘Helter Skelter), were played in the courtroom at the Sharon Tate murder trial to find out if any songs could have influenced Charles Manson and his followers to commit murder. Actress Sharon Tate who was married to film director Roman Polanski, was eight and a half months pregnant when she was murdered in her home, along with four others, by followers of Charles Manson.
1980, ‘Brass In Pocket’ gave The Pretenders their first UK No.1 single. The bands self-titled debut album started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK chart also on this day.
1980, Pink Floyd’s The Wall started a 15-week run at No.1 on the US album chart. The group’s third US No.1, it went on to sell over 23 million copies in the US alone. The Wall is still the third largest grossing album in the US, behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Eagles’ ‘Greatest Hits’.
1988, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe manager Doc McGhee pleaded guilty to importing more than 40,000lb of marijuana into the US from Colombia via a shrimp boat. McGhee received a five-year suspended prison sentence, a fine of $15,000, and was ordered to set up an anti-drugs foundation.
1993, Fleetwood Mac re-formed to perform at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. The band’s “Don’t Stop” was used as the theme for his campaign.
1998, American singer, songwriter Carl Perkins died aged 65 from throat cancer. He wrote the classic rock & roll song ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, the first record on the Sun label to sell a million copies. His songs were recorded by Elvis Presley The Beatles Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash. Paul McCartney claimed that “if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles.”
2001, It was reported that Paul McCartney was set to become the world’s first pop star billionaire. McCartney was said to be worth £725 million ($1,233) and was expected to become a billionaire after huge sales from The Beatles compilation hits album.
2006, American soul singer, Wilson Pickett died in hospital near his Ashburn, Virginia home of a heart attack aged 64. Pickett recorded the soul classics ‘Mustang Sally’, ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ and ‘In The Midnight Hour’ plus Pickett scored 15 other US Top 40 singles.
2007, Canadian singer songwriter and former Mamas and the Papas singer Denny Doherty died at the age of 66 at his home near Toronto, Canada after a short illness. The group scored the 1966 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Monday Monday.’ Doherty started his musical career in 1956 with a band called the Hepsters and in 1963, established a friendship with Cass Elliot when she was with a band called The Big 3.
2008, American songwriter and singer John Stewart, who wrote the Monkees 1967 hit ‘Daydream Believer’ died aged 68 after he suffered a brain aneurysm in San Diego. Stewart was a member of folk group The Kingston Trio and went on to record more than 45 solo albums with his biggest solo success being a US top five single, ‘Gold’, in 1979.
2011, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler made his debut appearance as a judge on American Idol, during the premiere of the show’s tenth season, (replacing Simon Cowell).
2012, Jamaican singer, songwriter and record producer Winston Riley died aged 68. He had been shot in the head at his home in Kingston. After being in a coma since the shooting, he died on 19 January. He formed the band The Techniques in 1962 and Riley’s own song, ‘Double Barrel’, performed by Dave and Ansell Collins under his own production, was one of the first international reggae hits, reaching No.1 in the Dutch and UK Singles Chart.
2014, Bruce Springsteen scored his 10th UK No.1 album with High Hopes, putting him ahead of the likes of Abba, David Bowie and Michael Jackson. The achievement puts him on level pegging with The Rolling Stones and U2, who also have 10 UK No.1’s. The Beatles lead the way, with 15, followed by Madonna on 12, while Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams both had 11 each.
2016, Don McLean was arrested on a charge of domestic violence assault after police were called to a property in Camden, Maine.
2017, The former business manager of Alanis Morissette has admitted stealing over $7m from the singer and other celebrities. Jonathan Schwartz was charged with fraud over claims he transferred the singer’s money into his own accounts. When initially confronted about the theft, Mr Schwartz lied and said he had invested the money in an illegal marijuana growing business.
