This Date In Music History-January 3

Birthdays:


Record producer George Martin was born in London in 1926. Martin signed the Beatles in 1962 and produced all of their records until 1969. The Beatles chose not to use George Martin for their Let It Be album, but he was asked to produce the last Beatles' album, Abbey Road.

Pop singer and songwriter Van Dyke Parks (1941)

Stephen Stills - Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1945)

John Paul Jones, bassist for Led Zeppelin, was born in London in 1946. Before Zeppelin, Jones was an active session musician playing, directing and/or arranging for the Rolling Stones, the Outlaws, Jeff Beck, Mickey Most, the Yardbirds, the Mindbenders, the Everly Brothers, and the Supremes. Since Zeppelin's breakup, Jones has produced a variety of bands including the Butthole Surfers.

Raymond McGinley - Teenage Fanclub (1964)


They Are Missed:

Blues singer Amos Milburn died in Houston, Texas in 1980 at the age of 52. Milburn was one of the most consistent hitmakers in rhythm-and-blues from the mid-1940's to the early '50s. His 1947 recording of "Chicken Shack Boogie" was a million seller. Famous for his drinking songs including, "Let Me Go Home, Whiskey" and "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer."

Randy California, guitarist for the 1960's rock band Spirit, drowns in a riptide while swimming off the coast of Molokai, Hawaii in 1997. He was 45. Spirit did have a Top-25 single in 1968, "I Got a Line on You," but they were known primarily for their critically-acclaimed albums, which blended hard rock, blues, country, folk and jazz.



Zak Foley bassist with EMF died in 2002 (age 31). The group had the 1990 world-wide hit single "Unbelievable."


History:

In 1955, Elvis Presley appeared in Boonesville, Virginia. The 20 year-old singer was still a regional star, but by the end of 56' he had become a national sensation, recording two albums, (which included 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'), appeared on national television 11 times, played over 100 concerts and signed a seven year contract with Paramount Pictures.

Fats Domino records "I'm Walkin'" in 1957.

In 1957, joined by Lester "Prez" Young and other jazz legends, Billie Holiday sings "Fine and Mellow" on the historic The Sound of Jazz telecast.

In 1959, Berry Gordy moved all of Motown's operations into a two-story house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, which he christened "Hitsville."

The Beatles were seen for the first time on US TV in 1964 when a clip from the BBC's 'The Mersey Sound' showing the group playing "She Loves You" was shown on The Jack Paar Show. The Beatles would make their live US TV debut a month later on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

The Beatles get an early positive review from Billboard magazine in 1964 for “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

The Beatles appeared on "Hullabaloo in 1966," performing "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" on videotape.

In 1967, Carl Wilson (Beach Boys) refused to be sworn in after receiving a U.S. Army draft notice. He said he was a conscientious objector.

In 1968, police at New Jersey's Newark Airport confiscate 30,000 copies of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Two Virgins album, saying the cover photo of the nude John and Yoko is "pornographic." In Chicago, vice squad officers close down a record shop for displaying the cover.

In 1969, appearing live on UK TV's Lulu Show, Jimi Hendrix stopped performing his new single after a few bars and instead launched into a version of the Cream song "Sunshine Of Your Love" as a tribute to the band who had split a few days earlier.

B J Thomas started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1970 with "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." The song was featured in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Working on the Get Back sessions at Studio Two of EMI Studios, London in 1970, three Beatles (Paul, George, and Ringo) recorded 16 takes of the George Harrison song "I Me Mine." John Lennon was away in Denmark at the time. It was the last song that the band would record together. A decade later it becomes the title of George Harrison's autobiography.

Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" goes gold in 1974, the second of three posthumous hits for the late singer/songwriter.

In 1974, Bob Dylan and The Band started a 39- date US tour, Dylan's first live appearance for over 7 years. There were more than 5 million applications for the 660,000 tickets.

The Bay City Rollers went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1976 with "Saturday Night." At the height of their US success, the Scottish group signed a deal to promote breakfast cereal.



In 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2000, Luciano Pavarotti agreed to pay the Italian authorities £1.6 million ($2.72 million) after losing an appeal against tax evasion charges. It was reported that the singer was worth £300 million ($510 million) at the time.

Remember," a John Lennon compilation CD, was issued as part of Starbucks' Hear Music's Opus Collection series in 2007. The 18-track disc featured solo Lennon hits, album cuts and rare recordings that previously appeared on The Beatles' "Anthology" retrospective.

A year later, also at Starbucks - songs by Lennon, Paul McCartney & Wings, Eric Clapton, Police, Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills & Nash are on a two-CD set, "The Grammys -- 50th Anniversary Collection."