Rock History January 18
1964, The Beatles made their US chart debut when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the chart at number 45 just ten days after its release, making it the fastest-breaking and the fastest selling single in Capitol Records history. It went on to spend seven weeks at the number one position.
1965, The Rolling Stones recorded “The Last Time” and “Play With Fire” at the RCA studios in Hollywood, California. Phil Spector played acoustic guitar on “Play With Fire.”
1967, Jimi Hendrix recorded an appearance on UK TV show Top Of The Pops and also played a show at the Seven and a Half Club in Mayfair, London.
1969, Yes appeared at the Portsmouth College Of Education, Portsmouth, England.
1969, Fifth Beatle Pete Best wins a defamation suit against the band. Although rumors had been flying that the Beatles would perform a surprise concert at London’s Roundhouse on this day, it doesn’t happen.
1969, Pink Floyd plays two gigs. An afternoon show at Homerton College in Cambridge, and an evening performance at the London College of Printing, Elephant and Castle, London.
1969, The Beatles release the soundtrack to their animated film Yellow Submarine.
1970, The Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy played at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
1970, Pink Floyd appeared at Fairfield Halls, in Croydon, England. The set list: Careful With That Axe, Eugene / The Embryo / Main Theme from “More” / Biding My Time / Astronomy Domine / The Violent Sequence / Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun / Atom Heart Mother // encore: A Saucerful Of Secrets.
1973, The Rolling Stones play a benefit for the citizens of earthquake-stricken Nicaragua in Inglewood, Calif. The concert raises $200,000 and the Stones add $150,000 of their own money.
1974, former members from Free (Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke), Mott The Hoople (Mick Ralphs), and King Crimson (Boz Burrell), formed Bad Company. The band went on to score a number one album with their self-titled debut release.
1975, Elton John’s Greatest Hits remain atop the US album charts for the eighth consecutive week.
1975, Barry Manilow scored his first US chart topping single when “Mandy,” went to the top of the charts. The song was originally titled “Brandy,” but Manilow changed the title to avoid confusion with a song of the same name recorded in 1972 by Scott English.
1975, KISS played at Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.
1977, Rush performed at the County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas.
1978, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Auditorium in Stockton, California.
1981, Wendy O. Williams of The Plasmatics was arrested on stage at Milwaukee and was charged with the offence of simulating sex with a sledgehammer. Williams later filed a multimillion dollar civil suit against the Milwaukee Police, claming they sexually assaulted and beat her during the arrest, but a jury rejected her claims.
1981, Styx appeared at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.
1982, The Allman Brothers Band played at University of Miami, Miami, Florida.
1984, Van Halen kicked off their 103-date 1984 North American tour at Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.
1989, Stevie Wonder became the youngest living person (age 38) to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Other inductees include The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Otis Redding and Dion DiMucci.
1993, Elton John resigned his directorship of Watford Football Club. Having supported Watford Football Club since growing up locally, Elton John became the club’s chairman and director in 1976, investing large sums of money as the club rose three divisions into the English First Division. In 2015, the team ascended to the Premiere League, the pinnacle of English soccer.
1996, Lisa Marie Presley divorced Michael Jackson after less then two years of being married.
1997, Songwriter and producer Keith Diamond died of a heart attack. He wrote, “Caribbean Queen” and “Suddenly” for Billy Ocean, as well as hits for Donna Summer, James Ingram, Mick Jagger, Sheena Easton, and Michael Bolton.
2005, Motown producer Norman Whitfield pleaded guilty for failing to report royalty income he earned from 1995 to 1999 to the US Internal Revenue Service. Facing charges of tax evasion on over $2 million worth of income, he was sentenced to six months of house arrest and a $25,000 fine. The producer was not imprisoned because of health problems.
2010, Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle died of cancer at home in Montreal at the age of 63. She was once married to folk singer Loudon Wainwright lll. Kate was the mother of singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright. She rose to prominence with sister Anna when they recorded together in the 1970s. Other artists who covered the pair’s songs included Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl and Judy Collins.
2011, The largest collection of Beatles memorabilia went on display in a new museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rodolfo Vazquez, a 53-year-old accountant, turned his mammoth Beatles collection into a museum with more than 8,500 objects, setting the new world record for the largest collection of Beatles memorabilia. Some of the items included a box of condoms bearing the names of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a brick from the Cavern Club, a chunk of the stage from the Star Club in Hamburg, and certified copies of the band members’ birth certificates. Among his favorite items were 64 boxes of chewing gum in the form of Beatles records.
Born on January 18: Bobby Goldsboro (1941); David Ruffin, vocals, The Temptations, (1941); Legs Larry Smith, drums, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1944); Tom Bailey, vocals, keyboards, The Thompson Twins (1958); Jonathan Davis, vocals, Korn (1971); Crispian Mills, guitar, vocals, Kula Shaker (1973); Richard Archer, singer-songwriter, guitarist, Hard-Fi (1977)
Read more Today in Rock History
Barry Manilow, Elton John, Free, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Rush, Stevie Wonder, Styx, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Yes.
