TODAY IN HISTORY – JANUARY 4th
1936 - Billboard Magazine introduced the first ever-pop music chart that ranked records on national sales; big band violinist Joe Venuti was the first No.1.
1950 - RCA Victor announced that it would manufacture long-playing (LP) records. This news came two years after Columbia Records debuted the ‘album’.
1954 - Young truck driver Elvis Presley recorded a ten-inch acetate demo at the Memphis Recording Service, an open-to-the-public business run by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. The two songs Presley recorded were Casual Love Affair and I'll Never Stand in Your Way. It was Presley's second visit, and the first time he met Phillips, his future producer. The previous summer he had recorded another demo, My Happiness and That's When Your Heartaches Begin, only one copy of which now exists. According to reports, Presley recorded it for his mother. The two songs so impressed Phillips that he had Elvis record his first professional sides for Sun Records the following August.
1956 - Born this day, Bernard Sumner aka Bernie Albrecht (Dicken), musician, guitar, singer, Warsaw, Joy Division - Transmission, 1980 UK No.13 single, Love Will Tear Us Apart, New Order - 1983 UK No.9 single Blue Monday, Confusion, Shellshock, Electronic - 1991 UK No.8 single Get The Message).
1960 - Born this day, Michael Stipe, Grammy Award-winning singer, (Out of Time [1991]; group: R.E.M.: Losing My Religion [1991], Radio Free Europe, Talk About the Passion, So Central Rain, [Don’t Go Back to] Rockville, Seven Chinese Brothers). R.E.M. over 20 top 40 UK singles, 1992 UK No.1 album Automatic For The People, 1993 UK No.7 single with Everybody Hurts.
1962 - Liverpool's Mersey Beat published its first popularity poll, with The Beatles coming in first place and Gerry and the Pacemakers voted second.
1967 - The Doors released their self-titled debut album The Doors. Unique packaging of the album included each band members bio.
1968 - The University of California, Los Angeles announced that students taking music degrees would have to study the music of The Rolling Stones saying they had made such an important contribution to modern music.
1970 - Chauffeur Neil Boland was accidentally killed when Keith Moon ran over him when trying to escape from a Gang of skinheads after a fight broke out at a pub in Hatfield, England. Moon had never passed his driving test.
1975 - Elton John started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of The Beatles song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. His 3rd US No.1, the song featured John Lennon on guitar.
1976 - Former Beatles roadie Mal Evans was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles apartment. Police were called by his girlfriend when she found Evans upset with a rifle in his hand, he pointed the gun at the police who opened fire.
1977 - The Sex Pistols shocked passengers and airline staff at Heathrow Airport when they spat and vomited boarding a plane to Amsterdam.
1986 - Irish singer, songwriter and bassist Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy died of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. Had the 1973 hit 'Whiskey in the Jar', (their version of the traditional Irish song), 1978 album 'Live and Dangerous' spent 62 weeks on the UK chart. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin in 2005.
1992 - Simply Red went back to No.1 on the UK album chart for a five week run with 'Stars' making it the third time it had been at the top of the charts.
1993 - Paul Simon became a father when his wife Edie Brickell gave birth to a son.
2001 - Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against her alleged stalker claiming that Lesley Barber, the ex-wife of her current flame Jim Barber, drove over her foot, forcing her to forfeit her role in the film and the £200,000 fee that went with it.
2001 - Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London revealed that Oasis singer Liam Gallagher had come third in 'The Most Hated Characters' list of exhibits, behind Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic.
2001 - US rapper Vanilla Ice spent the night in jail after allegedly 'ripping out some of his wife's hair' during a row.
2004 - Britney Spears had her surprise marriage annulled less than 55 hours after tying the knot at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas with childhood friend Jason Alexander. They couple married on Saturday morning, during a night out in Las Vegas, but immediately her lawyers filed for an annulment, saying Spears 'lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage.'
2006 - The house where Johnny Cash lived for 35 years was bought by Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb. The rustic house near Nashville, Tennessee went on the market in June 2005 with an asking price of $2.9m (£1.7m). Gibb said he planned to preserve the house to honour the Cash memory. Unfortunately Gibb's ownership of the house was short-lived. In April 2007, the house burned to the ground. Gibb was having the house renovated when a flammable spray sealer caused fire to break out during construction.
2009 - Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was voted the Greatest Voice In Rock by listeners of radio station Planet Rock. Plant beat Queen's Freddie Mercury, Free's Paul Rodgers and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to the top spot in the UK poll.
2010 - Scottish singer songwriter Gerry Rafferty died aged 63 after a long illness. Rafferty had been a member of Stealers Wheel, who had the 1973 US No.3 & UK No.8 single 'Stuck In The Middle With You' and had the solo 1978 UK No.3 and US No.2 single 'Baker Street.'
1936 - Billboard Magazine introduced the first ever-pop music chart that ranked records on national sales; big band violinist Joe Venuti was the first No.1.
1950 - RCA Victor announced that it would manufacture long-playing (LP) records. This news came two years after Columbia Records debuted the ‘album’.
1954 - Young truck driver Elvis Presley recorded a ten-inch acetate demo at the Memphis Recording Service, an open-to-the-public business run by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. The two songs Presley recorded were Casual Love Affair and I'll Never Stand in Your Way. It was Presley's second visit, and the first time he met Phillips, his future producer. The previous summer he had recorded another demo, My Happiness and That's When Your Heartaches Begin, only one copy of which now exists. According to reports, Presley recorded it for his mother. The two songs so impressed Phillips that he had Elvis record his first professional sides for Sun Records the following August.
1956 - Born this day, Bernard Sumner aka Bernie Albrecht (Dicken), musician, guitar, singer, Warsaw, Joy Division - Transmission, 1980 UK No.13 single, Love Will Tear Us Apart, New Order - 1983 UK No.9 single Blue Monday, Confusion, Shellshock, Electronic - 1991 UK No.8 single Get The Message).
1960 - Born this day, Michael Stipe, Grammy Award-winning singer, (Out of Time [1991]; group: R.E.M.: Losing My Religion [1991], Radio Free Europe, Talk About the Passion, So Central Rain, [Don’t Go Back to] Rockville, Seven Chinese Brothers). R.E.M. over 20 top 40 UK singles, 1992 UK No.1 album Automatic For The People, 1993 UK No.7 single with Everybody Hurts.
1962 - Liverpool's Mersey Beat published its first popularity poll, with The Beatles coming in first place and Gerry and the Pacemakers voted second.
1967 - The Doors released their self-titled debut album The Doors. Unique packaging of the album included each band members bio.
1968 - The University of California, Los Angeles announced that students taking music degrees would have to study the music of The Rolling Stones saying they had made such an important contribution to modern music.
1970 - Chauffeur Neil Boland was accidentally killed when Keith Moon ran over him when trying to escape from a Gang of skinheads after a fight broke out at a pub in Hatfield, England. Moon had never passed his driving test.
1975 - Elton John started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of The Beatles song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. His 3rd US No.1, the song featured John Lennon on guitar.
1976 - Former Beatles roadie Mal Evans was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles apartment. Police were called by his girlfriend when she found Evans upset with a rifle in his hand, he pointed the gun at the police who opened fire.
1977 - The Sex Pistols shocked passengers and airline staff at Heathrow Airport when they spat and vomited boarding a plane to Amsterdam.
1986 - Irish singer, songwriter and bassist Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy died of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. Had the 1973 hit 'Whiskey in the Jar', (their version of the traditional Irish song), 1978 album 'Live and Dangerous' spent 62 weeks on the UK chart. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin in 2005.
1992 - Simply Red went back to No.1 on the UK album chart for a five week run with 'Stars' making it the third time it had been at the top of the charts.
1993 - Paul Simon became a father when his wife Edie Brickell gave birth to a son.
2001 - Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against her alleged stalker claiming that Lesley Barber, the ex-wife of her current flame Jim Barber, drove over her foot, forcing her to forfeit her role in the film and the £200,000 fee that went with it.
2001 - Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London revealed that Oasis singer Liam Gallagher had come third in 'The Most Hated Characters' list of exhibits, behind Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic.
2001 - US rapper Vanilla Ice spent the night in jail after allegedly 'ripping out some of his wife's hair' during a row.
2004 - Britney Spears had her surprise marriage annulled less than 55 hours after tying the knot at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas with childhood friend Jason Alexander. They couple married on Saturday morning, during a night out in Las Vegas, but immediately her lawyers filed for an annulment, saying Spears 'lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage.'
2006 - The house where Johnny Cash lived for 35 years was bought by Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb. The rustic house near Nashville, Tennessee went on the market in June 2005 with an asking price of $2.9m (£1.7m). Gibb said he planned to preserve the house to honour the Cash memory. Unfortunately Gibb's ownership of the house was short-lived. In April 2007, the house burned to the ground. Gibb was having the house renovated when a flammable spray sealer caused fire to break out during construction.
2009 - Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was voted the Greatest Voice In Rock by listeners of radio station Planet Rock. Plant beat Queen's Freddie Mercury, Free's Paul Rodgers and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to the top spot in the UK poll.
2010 - Scottish singer songwriter Gerry Rafferty died aged 63 after a long illness. Rafferty had been a member of Stealers Wheel, who had the 1973 US No.3 & UK No.8 single 'Stuck In The Middle With You' and had the solo 1978 UK No.3 and US No.2 single 'Baker Street.'