This Day in Music: January 21st

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Born on this day:

1941, Placido Domingo, opera singer
1941, Richie Havens, folk singer
1942, Edwin Starr, singer
1950, Billy Ocean, singer
1965, Jam Master Jay, DJ, Run-D.M.C.
1976, Emma Bunton (a.k.a. Baby Spice), vocals, The Spice Girls

1965, More than 3,000 screaming fans met The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison at Sydney Airport when they arrived for a 16-date of tour in Australia and New Zealand.

1966, George Harrison married Patti Boyd at Leatherhead Register Office in Surrey with Paul McCartney as the best man. George had first met Patti on the set of The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night.

1968, Jimi Hendrix recorded his version of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower” at Olympic Studios in London. Rolling Stone Brian Jones and Dave Mason from Traffic both played on the session.

1978, The soundtrack album Saturday Night Fever started a 24-week run at #1 on the U.S. album charts. It went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling soundtrack album at that time.

1984, Soul singer Jackie Wilson died at age 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.

1987, Bruce Springsteen inducted Roy Orbison into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1997, Col. 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 U.S., Parker never applied for a green card and feared deportation his entire life. He briefly managed country singers Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow.

2002, American singer and actress Peggy Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at the age of 81. She had the 1958 U.S. #8 and U.K. #5 single “Fever.”

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.” For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

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