Music Almanac: January 5
Birthdays
- 1895 - Elizabeth Cotton (d. 1987)
- 1923 - Sam Phillips (Sun Records) (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Wilbert Harrison (d. 1994)
- 1932 - Johnny Adams (d. 1998)
- 1940 - Athol Guy (Seekers) (73)
- 1940 - George Malone (Monotones) (d. 2007)
- 1941 - Grady Thomas (Parliament-Funkadelic) (72)
- 1942 - Danny Williams (d. 2005)
- 1944 - Jo Ann Kelly (d. 1990)
- 1948 - Thom Mooney (Nazz) (65)
- 1949 - George Brown (Kool & the Gang) (64)
- 1950 - Chris Stein (Blondie) (63)
- 1954 - Bryan Hitt (REO Speedwagon) (59)
- 1954 - Verlon Thompson (Restless Heart) (59)
- 1960 - Phil Thornley (producer, songwriter (Torn)) (53)
- 1961 - Iris DeMent (52)
- 1963 - Grant Young (Soul Asylum) (50)
- 1966 - Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson, Beastie Boys) (47)
- 1969 - Marilyn Manson (born Brian Warner) (44)
- 1976 - Matt Wachter (30 Seconds to Mars, Angels & Airwaves) (37)
Deaths
- 1979 - Charles Mingus - Lou Gehrig's Disease (56)
- 1980 - Carl White (Rivingtons)
- 1998 - Sonny Bono - Skiing accident (62)
- 1998 - Ken Forssi (Love) - Brain tumor (54)
- 2005 - Danny Sugerman (manager (Doors, Iggy Pop)) - Lung cancer (50)
- 2010 - Willie Mitchell - Cardiac arrest (81)
On This Day- 1954 - Elvis Presley cut a ten-minute demo tape in Memphis, TN.
- 1957 - Pat Boone began shooting the film Bernadine.
- 1963 - Bob Dylan wrote Girl From the North Country and Boots of Spanish Leather while in Rome, Italy.
- 1975 - The musical The Wiz opened on Broadway.
- 1978 - The Sex Pistols played their first U.S. show in Atlanta, GA.
- 1978 - Prince made his solo debut in Minneapolis, MN.
- 1984 - The Police announced that they would play a farewell concert on March 2 in Australia.
- 2000 - Celine Dion was named the best selling Canadian Artist of the Century by the Canadian Record Industry Association.
- 2000 - Rob Halford wrote to his former Judas Priest bandmates in an attempt to reconcile.
- 2003 - Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested for drunk driving after failing a breathalyzer test.
- 2004 - B2K announced they were splitting up.
- 2004 - A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys chased and caught a man who had just stolen a $40,000 ring for a Las Vegas Jeweler.
Recorded
- 1965 - Stop! In the Name of Love - Supremes
- 1967 - Penny Lane - Beatles (Paul McCartney's vocal track)
Released
- 1959 - It Doesn't Matter Anymore / Raining in My Heart - Buddy Holly (last release before his death)
- 1962 - My Bonnie - Beatles
