Music History for
January 1


Today's:


1764 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played for the Royal Family at Versailles in France.

1925 - Lucrezia Bori and John McCormack of the famous Metropolitan Opera in New York City made their singing debuts on radio.

1953 - Hank Williams died of heart failure caused by a combination of alcohol, morphine and chloral hydrate at the age of 29. Williams had developed serious problems with alcohol and drug addictions due to severe back pain caused by spina bifida.

1955 - RCA Victor announced that they were dropping the prices of their records in an attempt to spur record sales.

1959 - Elvis Presley destroyed his BMW on Germany's Autobahn.

1959 - Johnny Cash peformed his first prison concert at San Quentin State Prison.

1962 - The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in London. The company opted for Brian Poole & the Tremeloes because the group was based in the south of England.
Today in Beatles History

1964 - The BBC broadcasts the first "Top of the Pops" TV rock show.

1964 - The Beach Boys recorded "Fun Fun Fun."







1966 - The final episode of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (with Rick Nelson) was filmed.

1967 - Gary Lewis (Playboys) was drafted into the U.S. Army.

1967 - Sonny and Cher were barred from the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, CA, for their support of the Sunset Strip rioters.

1968 - The Golliwogs, formerly The Blue Velvets, changed the name of their band to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

1979 - Bruce Springsteen's cheek was ripped open by a fire-cracker that was thrown onstage from the audience.

1981 - Prince and the Revolution released their first home video Live. The recording is from the "Purple Rain" tour.

1982 - The last ABBA concert was held in Stockholm.

1985 - VH-1 premiered as an adult contemporary music video channel with Marvin Gaye's "Star Spangled Banner" video.

1989 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) changed the requirements for a musical work to achieve gold and platinum status.

2002 - In Tampa, FL, Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest/opposing a law enforcement officer without violence.