Music Almanac: January 20

Paul Stanley of KISS

Birthdays

• 1888 - Leadbelly (born Huddie Ledbetter) (d. 1949)
• 1896 - George Burns (d. 1996)
• 1918 - Esquivel! (born Juan Esquivel) (d. 2002)
• 1922 - Ray Anthony (90)
• 1924 - Slim Whitman (88)
• 1933 - Ronald Townson (5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
• 1942 - William Powell (O'Jays) (d. 1977)
• 1943 - Rick Evans (Zager & Evans) (69)
• 1943 - Dave Libert (Happenings) (69)
• 1945 - Eric Stewart (Mindbenders, 10cc) (67)
• 1946 - Jimy Chambers (Mercury Rev, Londonbeat) (66)
• 1947 - George Grantham (Poco) (65)
• 1948 - Mel Pritchard (Barclay James Harvest) (d. 2004)
• 1951 - Ian Hill (Judas Priest) (61)
• 1952 - Paul Stanley (Kiss) (60)
• 1960 - Scott Thunes (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Waterboys) (52)
• 1965 - John Michael Montgomery (47)
• 1965 - Heather Small (M People) (47)
• 1965 - Greg Kriesel (Offspring) (47)
• 1966 - Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) (46)
• 1969 - Nicky Wire (born Nicholas Jones) (Manic Street Preachers) (43)
• 1970 - Edwin McCain (42)
• 1971 - ?uestlove (born Ahmir Thompson) (Roots) (41)
• 1971 - Gary Barlow (Take That) (41)
• 1971 - Derrick Green (Sepultura) (41)
• 1979 - Rob Bourdon (Linkin Park) (33)
• 1979 - Will Young (33)
• 1980 - Matthew Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine) (32)
• 1981 - Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol) (31)

Deaths

• 1965 - Alan Freed - Uremia and cirrhosis (43)
• 1996 - Buster Benton - Diabetes (63)
• 1999 - Bill Albaugh (Lemon Pipers) (53)
• 2000 - Ray Jones (Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas)

On This Day

• 1958 - "Record Breaking Week" ended at St. Louis station KWK where the management have the DJ's play every rock record in their library once and then break it to pieces. It was their way of "weeding out undesirable music."
• 1958 - Elvis Presley received his orders to report to the U.S. Army but was given a 60-day deferment to finish the movie King Creole.
• 1968 - A Carnegie Hall tribute to Woody Guthrie includes performances by Bob Dylan and the Band, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Odetta and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.
• 1969 - Flatt & Scruggs played at Richard Nixon's inauguration.
• 1972 - Pink Floyd premiered Dark Side of the Moon during a concert in Brighton, England.
• 1973 - Jerry Lee Lewis performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.
• 1974 - Stevie Wonder played his first show since his serious auto accident.
• 1982 - Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off of what he thought was a rubber bat during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa. It turned out that the bat was real, Ozzy had to undergo rabies injections.
• 1986 - Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan played at a concert celebrating the first Martin Luther King Day.
• 1988 - The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Paul McCartney didn't attend, blaming ongoing business differences with other members of the group. Also inducted were the Beach Boys, the Drifters, Bob Dylan, the Supremes, Berry Gordy, Jr., Les Paul, Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly.
• 1996 - Bobby Brown received a sentence of $1,000, two years probation and anger management classes after being found guilty of assaulting a security guard.
• 1997 - Russell Senior quit the group Pulp.
• 1997 - Ben and Jerry's introduced their new flavor Phish Food.
• 1998 - Alice Nutter said on a TV program that her group, Chumbawumba, supported people who steal their album. The Virgin Megastore chain pulled the CD from their stores.
• 1999 - Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was arrested for failing to provide a urine sample as required by his 1997 conviction on heroin possession.
• 2001 - The memorial service was held for Kirsty MacColl who had been killed in a boating accident.
• 2003 - Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys made his Broadway debut in Chicago.

Recorded

• 1967 - Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley
• 1969 - In the Ghetto and Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley (first time recording in Memphis since 1958)
• 1973 - Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid - Bob Dylan (first day of recording soundtrack)

Released

• 1958 - Get a Job - Silhouettes (single)
• 1964 - Meet the Beatles - Beatles (U.S. debut)
• 1983 - Pyromania - Def Leppard

Awards

• 2002 - Golden Globes
• Best Song From a Motion Picture - Until - Sting (from Kate & Leopold)

Broadcasts

• 1965 - Shindig! (season premier) - Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, the Kinks, the Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Bobby Vee, Bobby Sherman and Gerry & the Pacemakers.
• 1967 - The Monkees (U.K. debut)