Music Almanac: February 4

Alice Cooper

Birthdays

• 1929 - Paul Burlison (Rock and Roll Trio) (d. 2003)
• 1930 - Bernie West (Five Keys) (82)
• 1941 - John Steel (Animals) (71)
• 1942 - Kenny Wertz (Flying Burrito Brothers) (70)
• 1942 - John Gambale (Classics) (70)
• 1943 - Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) (d. 2009)
• 1944 - Florence LaRue (Fifth Dimension) (68)
• 1948 - Marguerite Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1996)
• 1948 - Mary Ann Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1970)
• 1948 - Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier) (64)
• 1949 - Roy Yeager (Atlanta Rhythm Section) (63)
• 1950 - Phil Ehart (Kansas) (62)
• 1950 - James Dunn (Stylistics) (62)
• 1952 - Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie) (60)
• 1960 - Tim Booth (James) (52)
• 1962 - Clint Black (50)
• 1963 - Noodles (born Kevin Wasserman) (Offspring) (49)
• 1965 - Chris McDaniel (Confederate Railway) (47)
• 1968 - Steve Queralt (Ride) (44)
• 1969 - Duncan Coutts (Our Lady Mercy) (43)
• 1975 - Natalie Imbruglia (37)
• 1975 - Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) (37)
• 1976 - Cam'ron (born Cameron Giles) (36)
• 1977 - Gavin DeGraw (35)
• 1980 - Cameron Muncey (Jet) (32)
• 1982 - Kimberly Wyatt (Pussycat Dolls) (30)

Deaths

• 1975 - Louis Jordan - Heart attack (66)
• 1982 - Alex Harvey - Heart attack (46)
• 1983 - Karen Carpenter (Carpenters) - Cardiac arrest attributed to her eating disorder (32)
• 1984 - Paul Gardiner (Gary Numan, Tubeway Army) - Heroin overdose (25)
• 1987 - Liberace - AIDS (67)
• 1989 - Kenneth "Jethro" Burns (Homer & Jethro) - Prostate cancer (65)
• 1999 - Gwen Guthrie - Uterine cancer (48)
• 2000 - Doris Coley (Shirelles) - Breast cancer (58)
• 2007 - Barbara McNair - Throad cancer (72)
• 2009 - Lux Interior (Cramps) - Aortic disection (62)

On This Day

• 1959 - Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton were brought on to the Winter Dance Party after the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper.
• 1960 - Billy Walker joined the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1961 - Johnny Burnette is rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.
• 1966 - Bob Dylan opened a world tour in Louisville, KY. It was his first with electric instruments.
• 1969 - Jackson, TN declared it Carl Perkins Day.
• 1970 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair to the Black Power movement.
• 1972 - Senator Strom Thurmond sent a note to Attorney General John Mitchell recommending that John Lennon be deported.
• 1974 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono temporarily separated.
• 1975 - The movie W.W. & the Dixie Dancekings, who counted among its stars Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Don Williams, premiered.
• 1984 - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble opened their Couldn't Stand the Weather tour in Nashville, TN.
• 1996 - Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli tried to steal a car and was hit with a baseball bat by the owner, requiring hospitalization.
• 1999 - Rykodisc became the first label to OK the use of the MP3 format.
• 1999 - Freddy Fender received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 2000 - Bjorn Ulvaeus said that ABBA had, indeed, turned down an offer of $1 billion to reform the group.
• 2001 - Jimmy Buffett was tossed from a NY Knicks-Miami Heat basketball game for verbally abusing a referee.
• 2002 - Stevie Wonder sang Happy Birthday to Rosa Parks on her 89th birthday.
• 2003 - Courtney Love was charged with endangering an aircraft after abusing the flight crew on a transatlantic flight.
• 2004 - Art Garfunkel plead guilty to marijuana possession and was fined $200.
• 2004 - Janet Jackson was dropped from the Grammy Awards show after her costume malfunction at the Super Bowl.

Recorded

• 1940 - Willie Dixon recorded his first sides for Bluebird Records.
• 1954 - Honey Love, Bells of St. Mary's, White Christmas - Drifters
• 1955 - Please, Please, Please - James Brown
• 1963 - Faded Love - Patsy Cline
• 1968 - Across the Universe - Beatles

Released

• 1977 - Rumors - Fleetwood Mac

Broadcasts

• 1962 - Thank Your Lucky Stars (ITV U.K.) - Gene Pitney
• 1971 - Make Room For Granddaddy - Diana Ross
• 1977 - American Bandstand 25th Anniversary (ABC)
• 1991 - Cher at the Mirage (CBS)