More About Music History On This Day
21 Jan 1963
The Beatles made their third appearance on the Radio Luxembourg program The Friday Spectacular. The Beatles were interviewed by the host and played two tracks, 'Please Please Me' and 'Ask Me Why.
21 Jan 1965
Over 3,000 screaming fans met The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison at Sydney Airport when they arrived for a 16 date tour of Australia and New Zealand.
21 Jan 1966
George Harrison married Patti Boyd at Leatherhead Register Office in Surrey with Paul McCartney as Best man. George had first met Patti on the set of The Beatles movie 'A Hard Day's Night'. She left Harrison in the mid-'70s and started an affair with Harrison's friend Eric Clapton, who wrote the song "Layla" about her. The two married in May 1979, but split in 1988.
21 Jan 1968
Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of the Bob Dylan song 'All Along the Watchtower' at Olympic Studios in London. Rolling Stone Brian Jones (percussion) and Dave Mason from Traffic (twelve-string guitar) both played on the session. The track was released in the US as a single in 1968, peaking at No.20.
21 Jan 1972
Pink Floyd appeared at The Guildhall, Portsmouth, England. This was the first time that they were able to perform the whole of what became the The Dark Side Of The Moon album in its entirety, the previous night's performance in Brighton having been halted for technical reasons.
21 Jan 1978
The soundtrack album 'Saturday Night Fever' started a 24 week run at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over 30 million copies world wide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.
21 Jan 1982
B.B. King donated his entire record collection of over 20,000 discs to Mississippi University's centre for the Study of Southern Culture.
21 Jan 1983
The Allman Brothers Band bassist Lamar Williams died of lung cancer age 34. He joined the band in 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley. His doctors believed that the disease was derived from exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service. Opposed to the war and to killing in general, Williams went AWOL frequently and wandered around the jungles of South Vietnam, occasionally returning to various units. He was given an honorable discharge in 1970.
21 Jan 1984
Soul singer Jackie Wilson died aged 49. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing 'Lonely Teardrops', and had remained in a coma until his death 8 years later. His 1957 single Reet Petite became a posthumous No.1 when re-issued in 1987 due in part to a new animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson. Van Morrison wrote 'Jackie Wilson Said' which was covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners.
21 Jan 1987
Keith Richards inducted Aretha Franklin at the second annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Awards, held in New York City. Keith later took part in a jam with Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, Sting, and Daryl Hall.
21 Jan 1989
Six weeks after his death Roy Orbison started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'The Legendary Roy Orbison' collection.
21 Jan 1992
Billy Idol pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges after an incident outside a West Hollywood restaurant. He was fined $2,700 and ordered to appear in a series of anti-drug commercials.
21 Jan 1997
'Colonel' Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager and agent died of a stroke in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 87. Born Andreas van Kuijk, a Dutch immigrant who changed his name as soon as he arrived in the US, Parker never applied for a green card and feared deportation his entire life. He briefly managed country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow.
21 Jan 1997
American songwriter Irwin Levine died of kidney failure aged 58. He co-wrote, 'Knock Three Times' and 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon' both US & UK No.1's for Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early Seventies.
21 Jan 2002
American singer and actress Peggy Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at the age of 81. 1958 US No. 8 & UK No.5 single 'Fever.' Lee worked with Benny Goodman, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones and was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit 'Is That All There Is?'
21 Jan 2003
David Palmer, former keyboard player for Jethro Tull changed his name to Dee Palmer after a successful sex change operation. Palmer was the keyboard player for Jethro Tull between 1969 and 1980. He played on all the Tull classics including 'Thick As A Brick' and 'Aqualung.'
21 Jan 2004
As the third season of American Idol was aired on US TV a memo was leaked showing a list of songs banned from being performed at this year's auditions that included, Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind' and 'Fallin' by Alicia Keys. Also all songs by Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, R. Kelly, Tom Petty, Korn and Linkin Park were not allowed after concerns over the cost of securing rights for the song's use, (or the composers not wanting their song's to be performed on the show).
21 Jan 2007
Mika scored his debut UK number one hit single with 'Grace Kelly', which went on to be became the third biggest-selling single in the UK in 2007. Amy Winehouse kept her place at the top of the UK album chart with 'Back to Black'.
21 Jan 2012
Adele was at No.1 on the US album chart with her second studio album 21. The album which yielded five hit singles including the lead single 'Rolling in the Deep', has now sold over 26.4 million copies worldwide.
21 Jan 2015
An Israeli man was arrested on suspicion of hacking into the computers of pop stars including Madonna and selling unreleased songs online. During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken into the computers of a number of international artists, stole unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the internet.
21 Jan 2022
Adele postponed her entire Las Vegas residency, just 24 hours before the opening night due to half of her team having Covid. The shows would have been her first live concerts in five years and Adele was forecast to make more than $500,000 per performance.
The Beatles made their third appearance on the Radio Luxembourg program The Friday Spectacular. The Beatles were interviewed by the host and played two tracks, 'Please Please Me' and 'Ask Me Why.
21 Jan 1965
Over 3,000 screaming fans met The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison at Sydney Airport when they arrived for a 16 date tour of Australia and New Zealand.
21 Jan 1966
George Harrison married Patti Boyd at Leatherhead Register Office in Surrey with Paul McCartney as Best man. George had first met Patti on the set of The Beatles movie 'A Hard Day's Night'. She left Harrison in the mid-'70s and started an affair with Harrison's friend Eric Clapton, who wrote the song "Layla" about her. The two married in May 1979, but split in 1988.
21 Jan 1968
Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of the Bob Dylan song 'All Along the Watchtower' at Olympic Studios in London. Rolling Stone Brian Jones (percussion) and Dave Mason from Traffic (twelve-string guitar) both played on the session. The track was released in the US as a single in 1968, peaking at No.20.
21 Jan 1972
Pink Floyd appeared at The Guildhall, Portsmouth, England. This was the first time that they were able to perform the whole of what became the The Dark Side Of The Moon album in its entirety, the previous night's performance in Brighton having been halted for technical reasons.
21 Jan 1978
The soundtrack album 'Saturday Night Fever' started a 24 week run at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over 30 million copies world wide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.
21 Jan 1982
B.B. King donated his entire record collection of over 20,000 discs to Mississippi University's centre for the Study of Southern Culture.
21 Jan 1983
The Allman Brothers Band bassist Lamar Williams died of lung cancer age 34. He joined the band in 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley. His doctors believed that the disease was derived from exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service. Opposed to the war and to killing in general, Williams went AWOL frequently and wandered around the jungles of South Vietnam, occasionally returning to various units. He was given an honorable discharge in 1970.
21 Jan 1984
Soul singer Jackie Wilson died aged 49. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing 'Lonely Teardrops', and had remained in a coma until his death 8 years later. His 1957 single Reet Petite became a posthumous No.1 when re-issued in 1987 due in part to a new animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson. Van Morrison wrote 'Jackie Wilson Said' which was covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners.
21 Jan 1987
Keith Richards inducted Aretha Franklin at the second annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Awards, held in New York City. Keith later took part in a jam with Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, Sting, and Daryl Hall.
21 Jan 1989
Six weeks after his death Roy Orbison started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'The Legendary Roy Orbison' collection.
21 Jan 1992
Billy Idol pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges after an incident outside a West Hollywood restaurant. He was fined $2,700 and ordered to appear in a series of anti-drug commercials.
21 Jan 1997
'Colonel' Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager and agent died of a stroke in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 87. Born Andreas van Kuijk, a Dutch immigrant who changed his name as soon as he arrived in the US, Parker never applied for a green card and feared deportation his entire life. He briefly managed country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow.
21 Jan 1997
American songwriter Irwin Levine died of kidney failure aged 58. He co-wrote, 'Knock Three Times' and 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon' both US & UK No.1's for Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early Seventies.
21 Jan 2002
American singer and actress Peggy Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at the age of 81. 1958 US No. 8 & UK No.5 single 'Fever.' Lee worked with Benny Goodman, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones and was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit 'Is That All There Is?'
21 Jan 2003
David Palmer, former keyboard player for Jethro Tull changed his name to Dee Palmer after a successful sex change operation. Palmer was the keyboard player for Jethro Tull between 1969 and 1980. He played on all the Tull classics including 'Thick As A Brick' and 'Aqualung.'
21 Jan 2004
As the third season of American Idol was aired on US TV a memo was leaked showing a list of songs banned from being performed at this year's auditions that included, Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind' and 'Fallin' by Alicia Keys. Also all songs by Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, R. Kelly, Tom Petty, Korn and Linkin Park were not allowed after concerns over the cost of securing rights for the song's use, (or the composers not wanting their song's to be performed on the show).
21 Jan 2007
Mika scored his debut UK number one hit single with 'Grace Kelly', which went on to be became the third biggest-selling single in the UK in 2007. Amy Winehouse kept her place at the top of the UK album chart with 'Back to Black'.
21 Jan 2012
Adele was at No.1 on the US album chart with her second studio album 21. The album which yielded five hit singles including the lead single 'Rolling in the Deep', has now sold over 26.4 million copies worldwide.
21 Jan 2015
An Israeli man was arrested on suspicion of hacking into the computers of pop stars including Madonna and selling unreleased songs online. During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken into the computers of a number of international artists, stole unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the internet.
21 Jan 2022
Adele postponed her entire Las Vegas residency, just 24 hours before the opening night due to half of her team having Covid. The shows would have been her first live concerts in five years and Adele was forecast to make more than $500,000 per performance.
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