1958, George Harrison joined Liverpool group The Quarrymen. The group who were named after Lennon’s school featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, Eric Griffiths and John Lowe.
1960, 27-year-old Jesse Belvin, who scored a 1956 hit with ‘Goodnight, My Love’, was killed in a car accident in Hope, Arkansas. His wife and the car’s driver also died of their injuries. The three were trying to make a fast get-a-way from the first ever mixed race audience concert in the town of Little Rock, after threats had been made against Belvin’s life.
1965, The Righteous Brothers started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Phil Spector produced ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. The song was also No.1 in the UK for the duo (who were not related in any way).
1965, The Rolling Stones second album ‘Rolling Stones No.2’ started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK charts. The album followed its predecessor’s tendency to largely feature R&B covers. However, it did contain three compositions from the still-developing Mick Jagger – Keith Richards songwriting team.
1967, Pink Floyd were photographed for the weekly British girls magazine Jackie. The magazine was the best-selling teen magazine in Britain for ten years. The best-ever selling issue was the 1972 special edition to coincide with the UK tour of American singer David Cassidy.
1971, Led Zeppelin announced a small UK club tour which would see the group playing Universities and small venues with ticket prices at 12 shillings (60p). Zeppelin manager Peter Grant said ‘We decided to do the clubs and forget about the bread and the big concert halls’.
1981, Composer Hugo Montenegro died in California. Had the 1968 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’ from the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film. Worked for RCA records, producing a series of albums and soundtracks and television themes, including two volumes of Music From The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
1982, Kraftwerk were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Model / Computer Love’, the first German act to score a UK No.1 single. The single spent 21 weeks on the UK chart.
1982, The J Geils Band started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Centrefold’, the bands only US No.1. A No.3 hit in the UK. The bands album ‘Freeze- Frame’ started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart on the same day.
1989, Jamaican sound engineer, and producer King Tubby died after being shot in the street outside his home. Worked with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Carlton Barrett.
1990, Billy Idol suffered serious injuries when he failed to pull up at a stop sign and crashed from his Harley-Davidson motorbike into a car.
1990, Over 200 women filed court actions against Chuck Berry after it was alleged that he had been secretly filming them in the toilets of the restaurant he owned.
1996, Former Jam members Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler reached a high court settlement with Paul Weller after suing him for more than £100,000, after claiming they were owed royalties and group assets.
1998, American singer and guitarist Carl Wilson from The Beach Boys died aged 51 after a long battle with lung cancer, (Wilson was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in early 1997). He sang lead vocal on ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Good Vibrations,’ and ‘I Can Hear Music.’ Wilson also sang backing vocals on Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.’
1998, Austrian singer Falco (Johann Holzel) was killed in a road accident after his car collided with a bus. He scored the 1986 UK & US No.1 single ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ making him the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US No.1 hit single.
2001, Guitarist Don Felder was fired from The Eagles. He would later launch a $50 million law suit against drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glen Frey, alleging wrongful termination and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a “tell-all” book. Both parties settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount.
2005, Eminem was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, the rappers 6th No.1, taken from the album Encore. The track featured samples from ‘Toy Soldiers’ by Martika and ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Paul Simon.
2007, An exhibition of Kylie Minogue’s stage costumes, awards and accessories was launched in central London. The display at the Victoria and Albert Museum showed her changing image from 1987 onwards, from the dungarees she wore as Charlene in the Australian soap Neighbours and the gold hot pants she wore in her Spinning Around video.
2007, Italian American singer, songwriter, and actor Frankie Laine died aged 93. He scored the 1953 UK No.1 single ‘I Believe’, plus over 25 other UK Top 20 singles and the 1956 US No.3 single ‘Moonlight Gambler’. He sang well-known theme songs for many movie Western soundtracks, including 3:10 To Yuma, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Blazing Saddles.
2008, A Los Angeles judge issued a restraining order against Britney Spears’ manager, after her mother made the request to the court. Lynne Spears claimed Sam Lutfi, 33, had drugged the troubled pop star and interfered with her finances. In a six-page declaration, Lynne Spears said Mr Lutfi “moved into Britney’s home and has purported to take control of her life, home and finances”. Her declaration focused on the night of 28 January, a few days before the Grammy-winning superstar was admitted to hospital for a mental evaluation.
2008, Feist won the seventh annual Shortlist Music Prize – American’s version of the Mercury Prize. The Canadian singer-songwriter won for her album The Reminder, which included the song 1234 used in an Apple iPod advert. Feist was also nominated for four Grammy awards, including best new artist.
2011, Irish guitarist and singer Gary Moore died aged 58 in his sleep of a heart attack in his hotel room while on holiday in Estepona, Spain. Moore had been a member of Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, and Colosseum II, before going solo, scoring the 1979 UK No.8 single ‘Parisienne Walkways’. Moore’s greatest influence in the early days was guitarist Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, who was a mentor to Moore when performing in Dublin. His 1990 album Still Got the Blues featured contributions from Albert King, Albert Collins, and George Harrison.
2013, It was announced that Warner Music was set to buy the record label Parlophone which was formerly a part of EMI Music from Universal Music for £487m ($765m). The Parlophone label group also included the Chrysalis and Ensign labels, but The Beatles part of Parlophone, was exempted from the sale.
2014, Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was named as the greatest song of all time by NME. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was one of the last songs written for Nirvana’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’, which was released in 1991. The rest of the top five tracks were: 5: ‘Last Nite’, The Strokes, 4: ‘How Soon Is Now?’, The Smiths, 3: ‘I Feel Love’, Donna Summer, 2: ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, Joy Division
2016, American singer-songwriter Dan Hicks, best-known as the lead musician and founder of the Seventies acoustic band Hicks and His Hot Licks, died at the age of 74 after suffering with throat and liver cancer. Hot Licks’ hits included ‘I Scare Myself’ and ‘Canned Music’, which blended genre such as country, blues, jazz and swing.
2017, US Tax Court Judge Mark Holmes had always been puzzled by the rap at the end of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, so when the star’s former lawyer John Branca appeared in front of him, he took the opportunity to settle the matter. “What exactly does ‘the funk of 40,000 years’ mean?” “Karma,” answered Branca. The exchange came during the first day of a trial looking into Michael Jackson’s debts to the taxman. The IRS claimed that Jackson’s estate owed it over $700 million in taxes and penalties, a massive chunk of the star’s estimated $1bn fortune. It put Jackson’s team in the strange position of arguing the star was worth much less, after his image was tarnished by accusations of child molestation, skin bleaching and drug use.
