This Day in Music: January 15th

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Born on this day:
1893, Ivor Novello, songwriter, actor
1909, Gene Krupa, drummer
1941, Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), singer, songwriter
1948, Ronnie Van Zant, vocals, Lynyrd Skynyrd
1961, Damian O’Neill, guitar, The Undertones
1965, Adam Jones, guitar, Tool
1967, Lisa Lisa, R&B singer
1981, Pitbull, rapper

1961, The Supremes signed a worldwide recording contract with Motown Records.

1965, The Who released their first single, “I Can’t Explain.” With Jimmy Page on guitar and The Ivy League on backing vocals, it went on to reach #8 on the U.K. chart.

1967, The Rolling Stones were forced to change the lyrics of “Let’s Spend the Night Together” to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together” when appearing on the The Ed Sullivan Show after the producers objected to the content of the lyrics.

1969, George Harrison had a five-hour meeting with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr where he made it clear that he was fully prepared to quit The Beatles for good. Harrison wasn’t happy with plans for live performances and the Let It Be film project.

1972, Don McLean’s “American Pie” started a four-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart.

1977, The Eagles went to #1 on the U.S. album chart with Hotel California, the group’s third U.S. #1 album.

1982, The Police kicked off the North American leg of their 119-date Ghost in the Machine world tour at Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, supported by The Go-Go’s.

1983, Men at Work started a four-week run at #1 in the U.S. singles chart with “Down Under,” the Australian group’s second U.S. #1, also a #1 in the U.K.

1992, Dee Murray, bass player with the Elton John band, died after suffering a stroke at age 45. He first appeared with Elton on the 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection and also played on the milestone albums Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

1994, American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson died in his sleep of heart failure after spending the previous day in the recording studio. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

2006, James Blunt was at #1 on the U.K. album chart with his debut album and biggest-selling U.K. album of 2005, Back to Bedlam.

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