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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

January 31st

January 31st Birthday, Early blues artist, singer, pianist Roosevelt Sykes. Sykes was prominent in the New Orleans music scene, born in 1906 in Elmar, Arkansas.

January 31st, 1926 R&B singer, songwriter and arranger Chuck Willis, born in Atlanta, Georgia. Willis died of peritonitis during surgery on April 10th, 1958 at the age of 32.

January 31st Birthday, Composer, pianist and record producer Philip Glass, born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1937.

January 31st Birthday, Harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, born in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 1944.

January 31st Birthday, Chicago lead guitarist and singer Terry Kath, born in 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. Kath accidentally shot himself dead with what he believed to be an unloaded gun on January 23rd, 1978, at the age of 31.

January 31st Birthday, Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, born Philip Targett-Adams in 1951 in London, England.

January 31st Birthday, Jo Jo Gunne drummer Curley Smith, born in 1952 in Wolf Point, Big Sky country of Montana.

January 31st Birthday, Guitarist Adrian Vandenburg, born Adriaan van den Berg in 1954 in The Hague, Netherlands.

January 31st Birthday, Sex Pistols and Public Image Limited vocalist Johnny Rotten, born John Lydon in 1956 in Holloway, London, England.

January 31st Birthday, Singer, songwriter Lloyd Cole, lead singer of Lloyd Cole and The Commotions, born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England in 1961.

Today In Rock and Roll History

January 31st

January 31st, 1956 Elvis Presley records “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry,” and “Tutti Frutti” at RCA Studios in New York City with producer Steve Sholes.

January 31st, 1957 Bill Haley and The Comets’ record company announced that over a million copies of “Rock Around The Clock,” mostly on 10-inch 78rpm records, had been sold in the UK.

January 31st, 1959 Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper play The Armory in Duluth, Minnesota. In attendance was a seventeen-year-old Robert Zimmerman, who would be inspired to become a musician by this performance. You know him as Bob Dylan.

January 31st, 1959 The Diamonds’ “She Say” (Oom Dooby Doom)” enters the singles charts on Mercury Records. written by Barry Mann and Mike Anthony, the 45 reached No. 18 on March 21st.

January 31st, 1963 The Beach Boys record the A and B-sides of their next single, “Surfin’ USA” and “Shutdown.” Original Beach Boys guitarist David Marks played lead on the session. “Surfin’ USA” is essentially lyrics by Brian Wilson set to the music of “Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry. Mike Love also contributed to the lyrics but was not credited. “Shutdown” was co-written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian. Released as a single on March 4th, 1963, the song then appeared later as the title track to their album “Surfin’ USA.” The A-side of the single went to No. 3 in America on May 25th. “Shutdown” peaked at No. 23 on June 22nd.

January 31st, 1963 Two former Shadows members, Jet Harris and Tony Meehan were at No. 1 on the British single charts with the instrumental hit ‘Diamonds’. The guitarist on the session was Jimmy Page.

January 31st, 1966 Tamla Records release “One More Heartache” by Marvin Gaye on 45. Co-written by The Miracles’ Pete Moore, Smokey Robinson, Ronnie White, Robert Rogers and Marv Tarplin and produced by Smokey Robinson, The Andantes, Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps sang backing vocals on the track, Marv Tarplin played guitar and The Funk Brothers were the backing band on the session. The record peaked at No. 19 on March 26th.

January 31st, 1967 The Beatles finish filming a promotional clip for the song “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Filmed over two days in Knole Park in Sevenoaks, It was directed by Swedish television director Peter Goldman. Goldman was a friend of Klaus Voormann, who had recommended Peter to the group.

January 31st, 1967 Columbia Records release “Ups And Downs” by Paul Revere and The Raiders on 45. Co-written by Mark Lindsay and the singles’ producer Terry Melcher, “Ups And Downs” peaked at No. 22 on March 18th.

January 31st, 1969 After working with The Beatles on their “Get Back” sessions, Billy Preston signs with their Apple Records label.

January 31st, 1969 Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East, New York City during the band’s first North American tour. Allegedly, Zeppelin’s set got such an enthusiastic audience response that headliners Iron Butterfly refused to follow them.

January 31st, 1970 Reprise Records release “Something’s Burning’” by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition. The record starts with an actual heartbeat played backwards and was considered lyrically controversial when it came out. The First Edition performed the song on the This Is Tom Jones TV show, where it gained enough exposure to force radio stations in America to put it in rotation. The record spent sixteen weeks on the charts and peaked at No. 11 on May 2nd.

January 31st, 1970 The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” hits No. 1 in the US.

January 31st, 1970 “The Court Of The Crimson King” part 1 by King Crimson enters the singles charts on Atlantic Records. Co-written by group keyboardist Ian McDonald and lyricist Pete Sinfield, Greg Lake sings and plays bass on the track. The record peaked at No. 80 on February 14th.

January 31st, 1970 “Down In The Alley” by Ronnie Hawkins enters the singles charts. First recorded by The Clovers in 1957, the Hawkins version was co-produced by Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. Rare promotional copies of a 45-rpm disc were pressed for radio DJs with John Lennon introducing the song to radio listeners. The record had a five-week stay on the charts, peaking at No. 78 on February 28th.

January 31st, 1970 “New World Coming” by Mama Cass Elliot enters the singles charts. Co-written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, released as the first single from her third solo LP, the record reached No. 42 on the singles charts, peaking on February 28th.

January 31st, 1972 Hi Records release “Let’s Stay Together,” the fourth album by Al Green. The LP reached No. 8 in America on April 1st, No. 1 R&B and featured the record’s title track, which became a No. 1 single in the US.

January 31st, 1975 Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel’s “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)” is released in Britain. The song was written by Harley and co-produced by Harley and Alan Parsons at Abbey Road Studios in London. Originally conceived with a slower, bluesier tempo, Parsons made several suggestions regarding the tempo and arrangement. The 45 went to No. 1 in England on February 22nd. The record entered the US charts a year later, in February 1976 and peaked at No. 96 on March 13th.

January 31st, 1975 “January” by Scottish band Pilot enters the singles charts. Written by group bassist David Paton and produced by Alan Parsons, the record topped the British charts on February 1st. In America, “January” peaked at No. 87 on February 28th.

January 31st, 1976 “Love Rollercoaster” by The Ohio Players is the No. 1 record in the US.

January 31st, 1976 Mercury Records release “How Dare You,” the fourth album by 10cc and the last to feature Lol Creme and Kevin Godley as full-time members of the group. The LP was self-produced by 10cc at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England. The record peaked at No. 47 on March 27th.

January 31st, 1976 “Sara Smile” by Hall and Oates enters the singles charts. Co-written by Daryl Hall and John Oates about Hall’s then-girlfriend, stewardess and songwriter Sara Allen, who contributed to a number of Hall and Oates tracks. “Sara Smile” became the duo’s breakthrough hit, reaching No. 4 on June 26th.

January 31st, 1976 “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Creedence Clearwater Revival featuring John Fogerty enters the singles charts. A three minute, fifty-eight second edit was prepared for the 45 release, paired down from the eleven minute, five second album version of the “Cosmos Factory” LP.

January 31st, 1976 “Let Your Love Flow” by The Bellamy Brothers enters the singles charts on Warner Brothers Records. The record spent nineteen weeks on the charts and went to No. 1 on May 1st.

January 31st, 1981 Columbia Records release “Captured,” a double live album by Journey. Produced by Kevin Elson, the album was recorded on the Departure Tour of 1980, the album also featured one new studio track. The record peaked at No. 9 on March 14th.

January 31st, 1981 Blondie had their third No. 1 single with “The Tide Is High.”

January 31st, 1989 Virgin Records posthumously release “Mystery Girl” by Roy Orbison. The LP was recorded from July 1987 through November 1988 at Rumbo Studios in Los Angeles, A&M in Hollywood, California and George Harrison’s FPSHOT Studios in Oxfordshire, England. Six different producers are listed, Orbison, Mike Campbell, Jeff Lynne, T Bone Burnette, Barbara Orbison and Bono, all of whom make cameo appearances on the album. Other guests include Tom Petty, Jim Keltner, Howie Epstein, Benmont Tench, Al Kooper, George Harrison, Steve Cropper, Ian Wallace, Ray Cooper and others. Orbison completed the recording for the LP a month before his death. The record peaked at No. 5 on April 8th.

Miscellaneous January

January 1959 Del Fi Records release “Fast Freight” backed with Big Baby Blues” by Arvee Allens on 45. Both instrumentals, the name was a pseudonym for Ritchie Valens, who wrote the songs. Rereleased later under his real name, it was Valens’ last single issued in his lifetime.

January 1967 Verve Folkways Records release “More Than A New Discovery,” the first album by Laura Nyro. The LP was produced by Milton Okun from July through November 1966 at Bell Sound Studios in New York City. Verve reissued the tracks as “The First Songs” in 1969 on their Verve Forecast imprint and Columbia did the same in 1973, reissued with a new cover, when it peaked at No. 97 on March 24th.

January 1968 CBS Records in Britain release “Come Out Fighting Genghis Smith,” the second album by Roy Harper. The LP was produced by Shel Talmy.

January 1969 CBS Records in Britain release “Love Chronicles,” the second album by Al Stewart. The LP was co-produced by Roy Guest, John Wood and Al Stewart. Session musicians included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and four members of Fairport Convention, Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble and Ashley Hutchings.

January 1971 Warner Brothers Records release the self-titled debut album by Little Feat. Produced by Russ Titelman, the LP didn’t chart. Little Feat were formed by guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in Los Angeles in 1969.

January 1972 Reprise Records release “The Spotlight Kid,” the sixth studio album by Captain Beefheart. The album was recorded in the Autumn of 1971 with Beefheart and Phil Schier co-producing.

January 1972 Buddah Records release “City Of New Orleans” by songwriter Steve Goodman. Although Goodman’s version didn’t chart, two subsequent cover versions did. Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson both had hits with the song. Goodman received a posthumous Grammy award for best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Nelson’s cover of the song.

January 1973 Palladium Records release “Back In ‘72” by Bob Seger. The album contains the original studio version of one of Seger’s signature songs, “Turn the Page.”

January 1974 Warner Brothers Records release “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath on 45. The single version of the song was edited to three minutes and thirty-three seconds from the album version that was nearly six minutes long.

January 1974 Ardent Records release “Radio City,” the second album by Big Star. Down to the three-piece unit of Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel, former guitarist Chris Bell did contribute to the writing of a few songs on the LP before departing in late 1972. A few of the songs were completed by Chilton with session players. Sales were hampered by poor distribution of the album when Ardent’s parent company had disagreements with Columbia Records, who otherwise would have placed the album in stores.

January 1975 Wilco Johnson’s band, Dr. Feelgood, release their first LP “Down The Jetty” on United Artists Records in Britain.

January 1976 Mercury Records release “Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed” by Thin Lizzy on 45. The song was co-written by Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham and Brian Downey. The track was produced by John Alcock from the band’s “Johnny The Fox” LP.

January 1977 Private Stock Records release the eponymous first album by Blondie. Produced by Richard Gottehrer, the group bought back their contract with Private Stock and re-signed with Chrysalis Records, wrote re-released the album the following September.

January 1981 Full Moon/Epic Records release “Outside” by Ambrosia as a single backed with the Eagles song “I Can’t Tell You Why” on the flip side. Both songs were featured in the 1980 Richard Donner film soundtrack Inside Moves. The record peaked at No. 102 in the US.

January 1981 Sire Records release Talking Heads “Once In A Lifetime” on 45. Co-produced and written by the band and Brian Eno. It was the lead single from Talking Heads’ fourth studio album, “Remain In Light.” The LP went to No. 19 on December 6thbut the single never entered the Top One Hundred despite significant airplay on early MTV broadcasts. A live version released in 1986 peaked at No. 91.