25 JANUARY
In Music History
1984 John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, donates $375,000 to Liverpool's Strawberry Field, an orphanage which served as the inspiration for the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever."
1980 The BET network goes on the air, providing a showcase for music videos by Black artists.
1980 Paul McCartney is released and deported from Japan after spending nine days in a Tokyo jail. He was arrested at the airport when customs officials found 219 grams of marijuana in his luggage.
1978 Bob Dylan's Renaldo and Clara, a semi-documentary of his famous Rolling Thunder Revue tour, premieres in Los Angeles.
1976 New Orleans R&B singer Chris Kenner, struggling with alcoholism, dies of a heart attack at age 46.
1975 "Please Mr. Postman" hits #1 in America for the second time when The Carpenters' version goes to the top. The song was a #1 for The Marvelettes in 1961.
1969 Nina Simone's "Ain't Got No; I Got Life" peaks at #94, where it stays for one week.
1964 Phil Spector appears as a panelist on Britain's Juke Box Jury program. Earlier in the day, he calls famous English producer Joe Meek to arrange a meeting. Meek accuses Spector of stealing his ideas and hangs up the phone so hard he breaks the receiver.
1963 Cilla Black makes her stage debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.
1958 Gary Tibbs (bass guitarist for Adam & The Ants, Roxy Music) is born in Northwood, London, England.
1957 Edmund Sylvers of The Sylvers is born in Memphis.
1956 Andy Cox (guitarist for Fine Young Cannibals) is born in Birmingham, England.
1950 Michael Cotten (of The Tubes) is born in Kansas City, Missouri.
1929 Singer/actress Elizabeth Allen is born Elizabeth Ellen Gillease in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1925 Jazz pianist Barbara Carroll is born Barbara Carole Coppersmith in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Etta James Is Born
1938Blues singer Etta James, known for the enduring ballad "At Last," is born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California.
Read more25 JANUARY
Featured Events
1991 Paul McCartney appears on the second season of MTV's Unplugged, including some Beatles songs in his set. In June, he becomes the first artist to release his performance as an album.
1980 Alicia Keys is born Alicia Augello Cook in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York. Her background as a classically trained pianist influences her stage name. "It's like the piano keys," she explains, "And it can open so many doors." Her first album, Songs In A Minor, featuring her own compositions, goes to #1 in 2001.
1971 Grace Slick and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane welcome a baby girl they name "God." Her name is later changed to "China," and as "China Kantner" she becomes a VJ on MTV.
1915 Folk singer Ewan MacColl is born James Henry Miller in London. In 1957 he takes an hour to write "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for a play his mistress is appearing in and, 15 years later, it becomes a #1 hit for Roberta Flack.
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