This Date In Music History-January 31

Birthdays:

Blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite (1944)

Harry Wayne Casey - KC and the Sunshine Band (1951)

Phil Manzanera - Roxy Music (1951)

Curley Smith - Jo Jo Gunne (1952)

Adrian Vandenburg - Whitesnake (1954)

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) - Sex Pistols (1956)

Singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole (1961)

Jeff Hanneman - Slayer (1964)

Al Jaworski - Jesus Jones (1966)

Jason Cooper- The Cure (1967)

Justin Timberlake - *NSYNC (1981)


They Are Missed:

The late Terry Kath, guitarist with Chicago, was born in 1946.

Blues singer and songwriter Slim Harpo died in 1970 of a heart attack in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at age 46.

Memphis harmonica player and vocalist Buster Brown died in 1976 (age 64).

Blood Sweat & Tears saxophone player Greg Herbert died in 1978 of an accidental drug overdose in Amsterdam during the band's European tour. He was 30 years age.

Barbara Cowsill, mother of the family group the Cowsills, died in Tempe, Arizona in 1985 (age 56). The Cowsills consisted of Barbara and six of her children - five boys and a girl. Their bubblegum hits in the late 1960's included the title song from "Hair." It was the Cowsills who provided the inspiration for TV's "The Partridge Family."

Rhythm-and-blues singer Donnie Elbert died in Philadelphia in 1989 two weeks after suffering a stroke. He was 52.

Dewey Martin died in his Van Nuys, CA, home in 2009. The drummer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Buffalo Springfield in ‘97. He was 68.


History:

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.

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.

Bobby Darin becomes the youngest person to headline a TV special when "Bobby Darin & Friends" (including Joanie Sommers) aired on NBC in 1961.

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

The Beach Boys recorded "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Shutdown" in 1963.

In 1967, the Beatles spent a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, England to complete filming for the ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ promotional video. The film was shot in color, for the benefit of the US market, since UK television was still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming John Lennon bought a 1843 poster from an antiques shop in Surrey which provided him with most the lyrics for The Beatles song "Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite."



John Fred and his Playboy Band's "Judy in Disguise" and the American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me" were certified gold in 1968. Neither group came even close to selling that many records with any other release.

Crow recorded "Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me" in 1969.



Led Zeppelin opened for the Iron Butterfly in 1969 and so thrilled the audience the headliners refused to go on.

The Jackson Five went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1970 with "I Want You Back." The song was originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips.

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

In 1972, more than 40,000 mourners file past Mahalia Jackson's open coffin in Chicago's Great Salem Baptist Church. Funeral services are held the next day. Those in attendace are Coretta Scott King, Mayor Richard Daley and Sammy Davis, Jr. who reads a telegram from President Nixon. Aretha Franklin closed things by singing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

The Ohio Players went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1976 with "Love Rollercoaster" the group's second #1 hit.



Paul McCartney and Wings signed with Columbia Records in 1979, ending a 16-year association between the former Beatle and Capitol Records.

Blondie went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1981 with "The Tide Is High," the group's third US #1, also a #1 in the UK.

Janet Jackson started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart with "Together Again."

Michael Jackson's halftime performance at Superbowl XXVII in 1993 draws the largest viewing audience in the history of American television.

In 2007, Jim Morrison was enlisted to help fight global warming more than 35 years after his death. ‘Woman in the Window’, a previously unreleased poem written and recorded by The Doors frontman shortly before he died in 1971 was being set to music and used to publicise the Global Cool campaign.

In 2005, it took Cream (that would be Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker) a mere two hours to sell out four shows (May 2nd through 6th) at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The last time the group played together was at their induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in ‘93.