Thursday, January 31, 2008

This Day In Music History- Jan 31

"I Want You Back," the first of four consecutive #1 hits in a nine-month period from the Jackson 5, reaches the top of the charts in 1970. The others: "ABC" (April 1970), "The Love You Save" (June 1970) and "I'll Be There" (October 1970).

In 1995, 'Skeletons from the Closet,' the Grateful Dead’s “best of” record from their years at Warner Bros., was certified triple platinum (3 million copies sold). It was the top-selling album of the Dead’s career.

KC (Harry Wayne Casey) of KC & the Sunshine Band ("Get Down Tonight") turns 57.

Slim Harpo ("Baby Scratch My Back") dies of a heart attack while recording in London in 1970.

Bob Dylan was reported to be in the audience as Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper play Duluth, Minnesota less than three days before their fatal plane crash in 1959.

Seventeen year-old Neil Young performed his first professional date at a Winnipeg country club in 1963.

In 1970, The Grateful Dead's bust for LSD and barbiturates in a New Orleans hotel becomes the inspiration for their song, "Truckin.”

In 1956, Elvis Presley signed a contract with the William Morris Agency to represent him in film deals.

Today in 1976, the song "Love Rollercoaster" by the Ohio Players topped the charts and stayed there for a week.

The song "The Tide Is High" by Blondie topped the charts and stayed there for a week in 1981.

Johnny Rotten (from Sex Pistols) was born in 1956.

In 1978, Blood, Sweat & Tears sax player Greg Herbert died in Amsterdam from an accidental overdose at age 30.

In 1967, at an antique shop in Kent, England, John Lennon, who is filming the promo clip for "Strawberry Fields Forever" nearby, purchases an 1843 circus poster reading "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite."

Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera was born in London in 1951.

Genesis drummer turned solo hitmaker Phil Collins was born in Chiswick, England in 1951.

Blues singer Chuck Willis, who recorded a definitive version of "C. C. Rider" and wrote songs like "It's Too Late," was born in Atlanta in 1928.

Singer Mario Lanza was born in Philadelphia in 1921.

The Cure’s Jason Cooper was born in 1967.

In 1969, Led Zeppelin opened for Iron Butterfly and so thrills the audience the headliners refuse to go on.

In 1957, Decca Records announced that Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" had sold over a million copies in the UK, mostly on 10 inch 78's.

The mother of the group The Cowsills, Barbara Cowsill, passed away in Arizona on January 31st at the age of 56. She and her family were the real life inspiration for the Partridge Family TV show.

In 1987, Paul Simon's "Graceland" went to number 1 on the UK album chart. The LP would stay on the list for 101 weeks.