12 JANUARY
In Music History
1974 Melanie Chisholm - also known as Mel C or "Sporty Spice" of The Spice Girls - is born in Whiston, England.
1974 Jim Croce's album You Don't Mess Around with Jim, the one with "Time In A Bottle" and "Operator," hits #1 in America three months after his death in a plane crash.
1971 Janis Joplin's album Pearl is released, three months after her death from a heroin overdose. It goes to #1 and yields her only chart-topping single, "Me And Bobby McGee."
1970 Raekwon, aka "The Chef" of Wu-Tang Clan, is born Corey Quontrell Wood in Staten Island, New York.
1970 Zack de la Rocha, the lead singer and lyricist of Rage Against The Machine, is born in Long Beach, California. He uses his platform to draw attention to causes like the military-industrial complex ("Bulls On Parade") and police brutality ("Killing In The Name") while pushing musical boundaries by merging rock with rap.
1969 Led Zeppelin's self-titled debut album is released in America.More
1968 The Supremes play a trio of nuns on the Tarzan episode "The Convert."
1968 The Doors' album Strange Days is certified gold.
1965 Rob Zombie is born Robert Cummings in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He works as a production assistant for the popular children's series Pee-Wee's Playhouse before forming the band White Zombie.
1965 NBC debuts the variety show Hullabaloo!, their answer to ABC's Shindig!. The first episode features The New Christy Minstrels, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Zombies (introduced by Jack Jones), and Woody Allen.
1963 Steve Lawrence's "Go Away Little Girl," written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, hits #1 in the US.
1959 Per Gessle of Roxette is born in Sweden.
1955 A teenaged Etta James releases her first single, the #1 R&B hit "The Wallflower," re-titled from the scandalous-sounding "Roll With Me, Henry."
1955 NRBQ drummer Tommy Ardolino is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1954 Felipe Rose (The Indian from The Village People) is born in New York City. An original member, he's with the group until 2017, when Victor Willis (the cop) assumes control and brings in a new lineup.
Britney Spears Releases Debut Album
1999Britney Spears releases her first album, ...Baby One More Time.
Read more12 JANUARY
Featured Events
2010 Vampire Weekend release their second album, Contra, which goes to #1 in America. The cover girl is an unwilling subject, leading to a lawsuit.More
2003 While awaiting emergency surgery for a strangulated intestine, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees dies unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 53.More
1998 The 13th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas & The Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, and Gene Vincent.
1993 At the eighth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Cream, Ruth Brown, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Frankie Lymon & the teenagers, Etta James, Van Morrison, and Sly & the Family Stone are welcomed into the hall. Cream reunite on stage, but Morrison skips the ceremony, becoming the first living inductee to do so.More
1991 "I Touch Myself" by Australian new wave girl group Divinyls hits #1 on the Australian ARIA chart, #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #10 on the UK charts. This is a landmark event, as the song deals very frankly with female libido and sexual desire - not just as the passive object of a male.
1974 Steve Miller's "The Joker" hits #1 in the US, leaving many to wonder what exactly is the "pompatus of love."
1959 Berry Gordy, who had a hit as a songwriter with "Lonely Teardrops," launches the Tamla Record Company with $800 he borrowed from his family. A year later, he changes the label's name to Motown Records.
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