Today in Oldies Music History: January 7

Births

1930: Jack Greene
1936: Eldee Young (Young/Holt Unlimited, The Ramsey Lewis Trio)
1938: Paul Revere
1941: James West (The Innocents)
1942: Danny Williams
1943: Leona Williams
1944: Mike McGear (Scaffold)
1946: Andrew Brown (The Fortunes), Jann Wenner
1948: Kenny Loggins

Deaths

1964: Cyril Davies
1980: Carl White (The Rivingtons), Larry Williams

Events

1924: Composer George Gershwin completes "Rhapsody In Blue."
1946: A tornado rips through Tupelo, MS, forcing a ten-year-old Elvis Presley into the cellar with his mother, Gladys.
1950: Ernest Tubb makes his first appearance at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN.
1955: Bill Haley and the Comets hit the UK charts with "Rock Around the Clock," establishing a foothold for rock and roll in Britain.
1963: Gary "U.S." Bonds sues Chubby Checker for copyright infringement to the tune of $100,000, claiming that Checker's "Dancing Party" is a thinly veiled rewrite of Bonds' recent hit "Quarter To Three." The suit is eventually settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum.
1968: KMPX in San Francisco, a pioneer in "underground" FM radio, holds a "grass ballot" vote for national office among its listeners. The results: Bob Dylan is elected President; Paul Butterfield, Vice-President; George Harrison, US ambassador to the UN. Jefferson Airplane are all elected Secretaries of Transportation and the Grateful Dead are all elected Attorneys General.
1970: Max Yasgur, whose farm in upstate New York played host to the original Woodstock Festival, is sued for $35,000 in property damages by neighboring farmers.
1974: Carly Simon and James Taylor become the parents of their second child, Sarah Martin.
1976: Former record exec Kenneth Moss is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for his role in the accidental overdose death of Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh.
1999: Rod Stewart and supermodel Rachel Hunter publicly announce the dissolution of their eight-year marriage.

Releases

none

Recording

1941: Lena Horne, "Good-for-Nothin’-Joe"
1954: Muddy Waters, "Hoochie Coochie Man"
1970: The Friends of Distinction, "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely"

Certifications

1972: Bread's "Baby I'm a Want You" is certified gold

Charts

1950: Gene Autry's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" hits #1
1956: Dean Martin's "Memories Are Made of This" hits #1
1962: Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hits #1 -- again
1978: The Bar-Kays' "Let's Have Some Fun" enters the soul charts
1978: The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Stevie Wonder's Looking Back, and Roberta Flack's Blue Lights in the Basement all enter the soul album charts