Rock 'n' Roll History for
January 29
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1958
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
A band called The Champs release "Tequila", an instrumental that will hit number one in mid-March. The group included sax player Jim Seals and drummer Dash Crofts, who would go on to score several hits in the seventies, including "Summer Breeze" (US #6), "Diamond Girl" (US #6) and "Get Closer" (US #6) as Seals And Crofts.
1962
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Warner Brothers Records signed Peter, Paul And Mary to their first recording contract. Their self-titled album would stay in the US Top 10 for ten months, remained in the Top 20 for two years and did not drop off the Hot 100 album chart until three-and-a-half years after its release. Their only single to make it all the way to number one was 1969's, "Leaving On a Jet Plane", written by John Denver.
1965
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
The British press is informed that P.J. Proby has been fired from a tour of England for splitting his pants onstage. Mary Whitehouse, a self-appointed guardian of British morals, spread the word that Proby's actions were "indecent, vulgar, poisoning the minds of our teenagers." In fact, Proby's pants had split at the knee, and he later claimed the whole incident was an excuse to fire him and make way for Tom Jones, whose manager, Gordon Mills, had paid promoters to get rid of him.
1966
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
"I Fought The Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four is released by Decca Records on the Coral label. It will enter the Hot 100 two weeks later and eventually reach #9 during an eight week chart run. In 2004, the tune would be ranked at #175 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
1969
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Using "Gentle On My Mind" as the opening theme, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour debuts on CBS-TV, where it would run until June 13th, 1972.
1970
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
RCA Records releases Elvis Presley's version of "Kentucky Rain". Written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, the song will rise to #16 on the Hot 100 and #21 in the UK. It would go on to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, the track includes future Country music star, Ronnie Milsap on piano.
January 29
Johnny Cash's 33rd album, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" is certified Gold by the RIAA just three days after it was released. Reaching #6 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Country chart, the LP contained Johnny's Grammy Award winning duet with June Carter, "If I Were A Carpenter".
1973
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Johnny Rivers received a Gold record for the Billboard #6 single, "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". Huey "Piano" Smith And The Clowns had a #52 hit with it in 1957. The record was Johnny's third to go Gold for sales of 500,000, and his fifth highest charting record. On the Cash Box Best Sellers chart, the song peaked at number five, and in Canada it reached number three. Johnny was backed by members of The Wrecking Crew, with Larry Knechtel on piano.
1977
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Rose Royce, the former backing band for
The Temptations, went to #1 on the Hot 100 chart with "Car Wash". The song peaked at #9 in the UK.
1983
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac marries Kim Anderson at her Los Angeles home. They would divorce the following year.
January 29
Men At Work top the UK and US singles charts with "Down Under" and the UK and US album charts with "Business As Usual". This feat had not been accomplished since Rod Stewart did it in 1971.
1986
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Allen Collins, of the southern Rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, was involved in a car accident that claimed the life of his girlfriend, Debra Jean Watts. The crash paralyzed the guitarist from the waist down, leaving him with limited use of his arms and hands, and he would never play on stage again as a result of his injuries. He would later plead no contest to vehicular manslaughter as well as driving under the influence of alcohol. As part of his plea bargain, Collins would address fans at every Skynyrd concert with an explanation of why he could not perform, citing the dangers of drinking and driving. Collins would die on January 23, 1990 from chronic pneumonia, a complication of the paralysis.
1989
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Billy Joel sings the national anthem at Superbowl XXIII. (23)
1994
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Former Supremes singer Mary Wilson was injured when her Jeep hit a freeway median and flipped over while driving outside of Los Angeles. Her 14-year old son was killed in the accident.
January 29
Natalie Cole sings the national anthem at Superbowl XXVIII. (28)
1996
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Country superstar Garth Brooks refused to accept his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist, saying that Hootie And The Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did.
2005
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
David Lerchey, a founding member of The Dell-Vikings, died of cancer at the age of 67. The group reached the Billboard Top 40 with "Come Go With Me" (#4), "Whispering Bells" (#9) and "Cool Shake" (#12), all in 1957,
2010
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Sly Stone filed a $50 million lawsuit against his former manager Jerry Goldstein, alleging fraud and twenty years of stolen royalties. Goldstein later filed a counter suit for slander following a rant by Stone at the Coachella Festival in California.
January 29
Pete Townshend's 2003 child pornography scandal came back to haunt him just days before he was to perform during the half-time show at The Super Bowl in Miami, Florida. Protect Our Children officials distributed flyers to local homes, warning parents that The Who's guitarist admitted using his credit card to view images on a child porn website. Townshend was placed on a British sex offenders list following his arrest, but was not convicted after protesting that he was only researching a book.
2012
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Elton John took another swipe at his Pop rival, Madonna. When asked if he had any advice for her before she played the half-time show at The Super Bowl, Elton replied "Make sure you lip-sync good. Of course you have to play live, but I don't think you can."
2015
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Rod McKuen, whose music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and '70s won him an Oscar nomination and made him one of the best-selling poets in history, passed away at the age of 81.
2016
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Three weeks after his death, David Bowie had twelve albums in the UK top 40, equalling a record set by Elvis Presley in 1977.
2019
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Grammy Award winning R&B singer James Ingram died of brain cancer at the age of 66. Between 1981 and 1990, he placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40, including the chart topping "Baby, Come To Me" with Patti Austin in 1983. Over the next ten days following his death, sales of Ingram's back catalog jumped over 6,500%.
2021
- ClassicBands.com
January 29
Hilton Valentine, guitarist and founding member of The Animals, passed away at the age of 77. His guitar work was instrumental in the success of the band's hits, "The House of the Rising Sun" (#1 in 1964), "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (#15 in 1965), "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (#13 in 1965) and "Don't Bring Me Down" (#12 in 1966).
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