ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

January 10th

1957 - Tommy Steele

Tommy Steele and the Steelmen were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Singing The Blues'. Guy Mitchell had been at No.1 the previous week with his version and then returned to No.1 the following week.

1958 - Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Great Balls Of Fire'. Lewis was the only major white rock 'n' roll star to play piano rather than guitar.

1964 - The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones recorded 'Not Fade Away' at Olympic Studios, London, England. The song which was first recorded by Buddy Holly and his band, the Crickets, became The Stones first US single.

1964 - The Beatles

The first US Beatles album, 'Introducing The Beatles', was released on Vee-Jay records. The album cover showed John, Paul and George with their now famous "mop top" haircuts, but Ringo had yet to convert. Vee-Jay would be forced to stop selling the disc by the end of the year because of legal complications, but by then over 1.3 million copies had been sold.

1965 - John Lennon

John Lennon appeared on the UK TV Peter Cook and Dudley Moore show, 'Not Only But Also.'

1976 - Howlin Wolf

Blues artist Howlin Wolf, (Chester Burnett), died in hospital of cancer aged 66. The guitarist, singer and harmonica player's well known songs included 'Smoke Stack Lightning', 'Little Red Rooster' and 'Spoonful.'

1981 - John Lennon

John Lennon's 'Imagine' started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart, 10 years after it was recorded. Lennon had two other songs in the Top 5 this week, 'Happy Christmas, (War Is Over') and '(Just Like) Starting Over.' 'Imagine' was voted by the viewers of BBC TV as the best lyrics of all time in a poll broadcast in Oct 1999. Also on this day John and Yoko's 'Double Fantasy' album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. 'Just Like Starting Over' was at No.1 on the US singles chart.

1984 - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

2003 - The Beatles

A haul of 500 Beatles tapes known as the 'Get Back sessions' stolen in the 1970s were found after UK police cracked a major bootleg operation in London and Amsterdam. Five men were arrested.

2005 - Spencer Dryden

American drummer Spencer Dryden died from colon cancer at his home in California aged 66. Was the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, (replaced Skip Spence), New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Dinosaurs. Dryden was the Nephew of Charlie Chaplin.

Drum Magazine - The Exquisite Drumming of Spencer Dryden

2005 - Gene Simmons

A woman was suing Gene Simmons from Kiss for slander, alleging a documentary made her out to be a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac". Georgeann Walsh Ward, 53, of New York, said during a VH1 documentary her photo was flashed up as Simmons talked about his past sexual encounters. Ms Walsh Ward had dated Simmons for three years when he was a student. In the documentary, Simmons boasted of having sex with over 4,600 women.

2006 - Elvis Presley

An Australian woman appeared in court charged with repeatedly stabbing her partner with a pair of scissors in the back, shoulder and thigh because he played Elvis Presley's song 'Burning Love' over and over again. I'd let her off!
Phoning it in?! Heck this is faxing it in!

2008 - Radiohead

Radiohead topped the US album charts with the physical release of 'In Rainbows', originally sold via the internet for a price chosen by fans. The album sold 122,000 copies during its first week on release, giving the band a second US chart topper following 2000's 'Kid A', which sold an initial 207,000 copies.

2013 - Montreux Jazz Festival

Claude Nobs the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival died aged 76. During a 1971 Frank Zappa concert, at the Montreux Casino the venue caught fire. Nobs saved several young people who had hidden in the casino, thinking they would be sheltered from the flames. This act earned him a mention (as Funky Claude in the line "Funky Claude was running in and out pulling kids out the ground") in the Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water, which is about the incident.

2016 - David Bowie

English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, painter, and actor David Bowie died from liver cancer at his New York home two days after releasing the album 'Blackstar' on his 69th birthday. His first UK Top 40 single was the 1969 'Space Oddity' which became a UK No.1 in 1975, plus over 50 other UK Top 40 hits including five No.1's. Bowie has also scored two US No.1 singles, the 1975 'Fame' and 1983 'Let's Dance'. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million albums worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists.

David - the last picture

BIRTHDAYS

1953 - Pat Benatar

Pat Benatar, singer, and four-time Grammy winner, (1985 US No.5 and UK No.17 single 'Love Is A Battlefield' plus 10 other US Top 40 singles).

1948 - Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen, vocals, keyboards, Steely Dan, (1973 US No.11 single 'Reeling In The Years' and nine other US Top 30 hits). Steely Dan's 'Two Against Nature' won a Grammy in 2001 for Album of the year. Also a solo artist.

1948 - Fayette Pinkney

The Three Degrees - Fayette, Victoria and Sheila

American singer Fayette Pinkney from The Three Degrees. Their 1974 single 'When Will I See You Again', which was a huge international success topping the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 2 on the US chart. Pinkney died on 27 June 2009 of acute respiratory failure after a short and sudden illness at the age of 61.

Fayette and 'friend' 

1946 - Aynsley Dunbar

Aynsley Dunbar, drums, Journey, (1982 US No.2 single 'Open Arms'), Whitesnake, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again').

1945 - Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart, singer, songwriter, The Hoochie Coochie Men, Steampacket, Shotgun Express, Jeff Beck Group, the Faces (UK No.6 & US No.17 single 'Stay With Me'). Solo, (1971 UK & US No.1 single 'Maggie May', plus five other UK No.1's & over 35 Top 40 hits). His 1971 debut album 'Every Picture Tell's A Story' was the first album ever to simultaneously be No.1 in the UK & US.
Back when he was a rocker and not some MOR crooner . . . . . . . 

1939 - Scott McKenzie

Scott McKenzie, (1967 UK No.1 & US No.4 single 'San Francisco, Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair'. McKenzie also auditioned for The Monkees.) McKenzie died on August 18, 2012 aged 73.


1935 - Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins, singer, (1959 US No.26 single 'Mary Lou', formed The Band, (then known as The Hawks). Dedicate the first track 'Shape I'm In' to Ronnie, Levon and Richard and Rick . . . . . . all sorely missed, take it easy now boys, I'll join you at the bar later . . . . . big time, big time . . . . . . TURN IT UP and dance around the living room in yo' pants!

with thanks to 'On This Day in Music' as ever . . . .