1955: 
"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets debuted on the U.K.
chart.
1961: 
Johnny Tillotson had the #1 U.K. song with "Poetry In Motion".
1964:  Long
John Baldry formed the Hoochie Coochie Men.
1964:  Cyril Davies, harmonica
player who formed Blues Incorporated with Alexis Korner, died of leukemia at age
32.
1964:  The
Beatles recorded for the BBC program Saturday Club, performing Chuck
Berry's "Johnnie B. Goode", along with "All My Loving", "Money", "The Hippy
Hippy Shake", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Roll Over Beethoven", and "I Wanna'
Be Your Man".
1967:  The
Doors and the Young Rascals played at Winterland in San Francisco,
California.
1967:  Aaron
Neville had the first #1 R&B song of the New Year with "Tell It Like It
Is".



           
The Four Tops vaulted into the Top 10
1967:  The
Monkees continued at #1 into the New Year with "I'm a Believer".  One of the
all-time great novelty songs, "Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron" by the Royal Guardsmen
was second with Aaron Neville making a push for the top with "Tell It Like It
Is".  Former #1 "Winchester Cathedral" by the New Vaudeville Band grabbed the #4
spot, followed by Nancy Sinatra ("Sugar Town") and Dad Frank ("That's Life").
The rest of the Top 10:  Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere & the Raiders with "Good
Thing", the Mamas & Papas climbed from 19-8 with "Words of Love", the Four
Tops nearly matched that with "Standing in the Shadows of Love (15-9) while
Donovan took a turn down with "Mellow Yellow".


1967:  The
Monkees made it nine weeks on top of the album chart with their self-titled
release.
1970:  Max
Yasgur was sued for $35,000 in property damages by neighboring farmers where the
famous 1969 Woodstock Music Festival was held.  There's always party
poopers.
1971: 
Black Sabbath released the album Paranoid.
1974:  James
Taylor and Carly Simon celebrated the birth of daughter Sarah
Maria.
1974: 
Aerosmith began a tour with a show at the Michigan Theater in
Detroit.
1976: 
Kenneth Moss, record company executive, was sentenced to 120 days in jail for
involuntary manslaughter in the death of Robbie McIntosh, drummer of the Average
White Band.  McIntosh died of drugs in 1974.


1978:  Con
Funk Shun moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Ffun", taking over from the
seven-week chart topper "Serpentine Fire" from Earth, Wind &
Fire.
1978:  Billy
Joel had the new #1 adult song with "Just the Way You Are".
1978:  The
Bee Gees made it three weeks at #1 with "How Deep Is Your Love".  Player made a
move (6-2) with "Baby Come Back" while Linda Ronstadt remained third with "Blue
Bayou".

                             
                "The Chain"

1978:
Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, already the record holder for weeks at #1 with
29, returned to #1 on the album chart after 46 weeks of
release. 
1981: 
The Police kicked off their Zenyatta Mondatta tour at the University of
Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
1984:
DeBarge logged a fifth straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Time Will
Reveal".
1984:  Barry
Manilow remained at #1 for a third week on the Adult Contemporary chart with
"Read 'Em and Weep".

               The best
song from Yes since "Roundabout"

1984:  Paul
McCartney & Michael Jackson's fourth week at #1 with "Say Say Say"
highlighted a good Top 10.  Hall & Oates had several #1's in their career
but they couldn't quite do it here--"Say It Isn't So".  I know.  Double Duran
("Union of the Snake") and Yes ("Owner of a Lonely Heart") were content in their
spots while Olivia Newton-John moved "Twist of Fate" to #5, although few
stations played it.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Romantics moved from 12-6 with
"Talking In Your Sleep", Matthew Wilder jogged up to #7 with "Break My Stride",
Elton John registered his 18th Top 10 with "I Guess That's Why They Call It the
Blues", the Rolling Stones were stuck at 9 with "Undercover of the Night" and
Lionel Richie was at 10 with "All Night Long (All Night)".


1984:
Thriller by Michael Jackson was still #1 in its fourth trip to the top
of the album chart since it came out 55 weeks previous.  All told, the epic
album had spent 21 weeks as the #1 album and at this point, was behind only
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac (31) and the Soundtrack to "Saturday Night
Fever" (24).
1989:
Roberta Flack achieved a #1 R&B song with "Oasis".
   
        Jackson's 21st solo
Top 10 in 31 attempts

1989:
Poison of all people had a #1 song for the third week with "Every Rose Has Its
Thorn".  Bobby Brown was poised to take over with "My Prerogative" while "Two
Hearts" from Phil Collins moved from 6 to 3.  Anita Baker peaked with "Giving
You the Best That I Got" but the Bangles were on the move with "In Your Room".
The rest of a good Top 10:  Taylor Dayne with her fourth consecutive Top 10 to
begin her career--"Don't Rush Me", Boy Meets Girl and "Waiting for a Star to
Fall", Chicago's 44th career hit "Look Away", Def Leppard had a record fifth Top
20 song from a hard rock album (Hysteria) with "Armageddon It" and Michael
Jackson joined the group with "Smooth Criminal".
1989:  "Two
Hearts" by Phil Collins was the #1 Adult Contemporary song for the third
week.

       A lot of great cuts on
Hysteria, such as "Run Riot"

1989:  Anita
Baker held on to #1 on the album chart for the third week with Giving You the
Best That I Got.  The "Cocktail" Soundtrack and the "Rattle and
Hum" Soundtrack trailed, while New Jersey from Bon JoviWilburys moved
from 8-5 with Volume One.  The rest of the Top 10:  Def Leppard moved
back up after 73 weeks with the incredible Hysteria album, Guns N' Roses
and Appetite for Destruction, Bobby Brown was on the way down with
Don't Be Cruel, Poison were at position #9 with Open Up and
Say...Ahh! and Kenny G placed Silhouette at #10.
1993:  R.E.M. played a benefit show
for Greenpeace at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia.
1995:  For
the fifth straight week, TLC's "Creep" led the R&B chart.

"Love Will Keep Us
Alive", one of four new songs on Hell Freezes Over

1994:
The Hits by Garth Brooks moved to #1 on the album chart followed by the
previous #1 Miracles - The Holiday Album by Kenny G and Pearl Jam's
excellent Vitalogy.  II by Boyz II Men was up to 4 while Hell
Freezes Over by the Eagles captured the next position.  The rest of the Top
10:  Merry Christmas from Mariah Carey, Dookie by Green Day was
moving back up after 46 weeks, MTV Unplugged in New York from Nirvana
came in at #8, Smash by Offspring and the Beatles took #10 with Live
at the BBC.
2000:  Bob
McFadden ("The Mummy" from 1959) died of ALS in Delray Beach, Florida at the age
of 76.
2004:  Chris
Robinson of the Black Crowes and wife, actress Kate Hudson, celebrated the birth
of son Ryder Russell Robinson in Los Angeles.
2004:  John Guerin, drummer who
worked with Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Frank Zapp and Gram
Parsons, died frompneumonia at age 64.
2004: 
OutKast again had the top album with the double release Speakerboxxx/The
Love Below.  Alicia Keys was right behind with The Diary of Alicia
Keys.
2006: 
Pink married Carey Hart on a beach in Costa Rica.
2006:  The animal was finally
caught and caged.  Gary Glitter ("Rock and Roll, Part II") was formally charged
with committing obscene acts with two girls aged 11 and 12 in
Vietnam.
2010:  The
Royal Mail in Britain issued stamps which honored selected album covers such as
Led Zeppelin IV and Let It Bleed.


2011:  Bobby Robinson,
who produced hits for Gladys Night & the Pips, the Shirelles, Wilbert
Harrison, Lee Dorsey, King Curtis and many others and founded or co-founded Red
Robin Records, Whirlin' Disc Records, Fury Records, Fire Records and Enjoy
Records, died at the age of 93.