Today in Oldies Music History: January 26

Births

1908: Stephane Grappelli
1913: Anne Jeffreys, Jimmy Van Heusen
1922: Page Cavanaugh
1932: Claude Gray ("The Tall Texan")
1934: Huey "Piano" Smith
1943: Jean Knight
1948: Corky Laing (Mountain)
1951: David Briggs (The Little River Band), Andy Hummell (Big Star)
1957: Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)

Deaths

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Events

1934: The Apollo Theatre opens in Harlem, New York City, as a "Negro vaudeville theatre."
1956: Buddy Holly begins the first of three Decca Records sessions for famed producer Owen Bradley in Nashville. They don't amount to much, however.
1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets make their second appearance on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Before the show Sullivan, who considered Holly's hit "Oh, Boy!" too "raunchy," forbids him from singing it on tonight's show. Holly refuses, causing Sullivan to limit Buddy to one song instead of two, sabotage him with bad lighting and sound, and mispronounce his name. Holly is visibly upset on the stage.
1962: Buffalo, New York Catholic Church Bishop Joseph A. Burke bans the Twist from being heard or danced in any area Catholic school or event.
1966: When Manfred Mann's lead singer, Paul Jones, falls ill, the Animals' Eric Burdon fills in at this evening's concert at the Marquee in London.
1969: The Beatles, recording the Get Back (later Let It Be) album and film at Apple Corps headquarters, decide to stage a concert on the roof (although it wouldn't happen on this day). Ringo writes "Octopus's Garden" today, as well.
1970: John Lennon writes "Instant Karma!" in the morning and records it the same afternoon with producer Phil Spector and a backing "choir" assembled from pubcrawlers at London's Hatchetts Club. The single is mixed the same day and released just ten days later (hence the song's name).
1970: The Ourimbah rock festival, Australia's first, opens to an audience of 11,000.
1970: Ringo Starr's film The Magic Christian premieres in Beverly Hills, CA.
1970: Elvis Presley introduces "An American Trilogy" into his performances at the Las Vegas Hilton.
1972: Elvis Presley begins wearing one-piece jumpsuits during his gigs at the International Hotel, Las Vegas.
1974: The Doobie Brothers begin their first European tour in London.
1975: The BBC airs the David Bowie documentary Cracked Actor.
1977: Original Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Peter Green is committed to a psychiatric facility in his native England for firing a pistol at a delivery boy who was attempting to deliver a royalty check.
1977: After removing the diamond from his famous "TCB" ring, Elvis Presley has it placed in an engagement ring for girlfriend Ginger Alden. Elvis proposes to her in the bathroom at Graceland.
1979: Bob Dylan forms his own record label, called Accomplice.
1997: ZZ Top, James Brown, and the "Blues Brothers" perform at the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show in New Orleans.
1999: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the cause of John Denver's fatal 1997 airplane crash: Denver neglected to fill his main tank with enough fuel, and in the process of switching over to his backup tank inadvertently put the plane into a deadly roll.

Releases

none

Recording

1969: The Beatles, "Dig It," "Let It Be," "The Long And Winding Road"
1970: John Lennon, "Instant Karma"

Certifications

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Charts

1955: Bill Haley's "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" enters the R&B charts
1963: The Rooftop Singers' "Walk Right In" hits #1
1964: The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man" enters the pop charts
1974: Ringo Starr's "You're Sixteen" hits #1