Brian Vibberts // Recording and Mixing Engineer //

Jan 1, 1953: Legendary country singer Hank Williams died of a heart attack in the rear seat of a Cadillac en route to a concert in Ohio. He was only 29.

Jan 1, 1960: Johnny Cash played his first of many free concerts at San Quentin Prison, California. Country star-to-be Merle Haggard was a convict in the audience.

Jan 1, 1962: Decca Records A&R head Dick Rowe established his place in history when he turned down The Beatles after they had auditioned for his A&R man, Mike Smith. Rowe said, "Groups with guitars are on the way out. You really should stick to selling records in Liverpool."

Jan 3, 1950: Sun Records - future home of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley - opened for business by Sam Phillips in Memphis, TN.

Jan 4, 1936: Billboard magazine, founded in 1894, published its first music chart for record sales. The first # 1 record (on 78 RPM ) was "Stop! Look! Listen!" by jazz artist Joe Venuti.

Jan 5, 1940: The first test of FM radio was heard by the FCC. A year later, the public would hear the new static-free signals of FM radio.

Jan 6, 1986: Rob Halford of Judas Priest, after getting help for his wild cocaine and Jack Daniels usage, starts his days of being sober. Rob is still sober since this day!

Jan 7, 1964: Cyril Davies, a pioneering British blues harpist, died today. He started with Chris Barber's Jazz Band and by 1957 had opened the Roadhouse Blues Club, where the likes of Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Brian Jones got their start. His band, Blues Incorporated, had a revolving door of later-to-be legends, like Robert Plant, Ginger Baker, Charlie Watts, and Jack Bruce in the early 1960s.

Jan 11, 1967: Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney see Jimi Hendrix perform at the Bag O'Nails Club in London.

Jan 13, 1979: The YMCA filed a libel suit against the Village People for their "Y.M.C.A." hit single. It considered the song defamatory. The suit was later dropped.

Jan 14, 1973: Elvis Presley's Aloha from Hawaii performance was broadcast live via satellite from the International Convention Center Arena in Honolulu to most of the Far East, more than 20 European nations, and the Americas. The concert was seen by the largest audience ever - over one and a half billion people!!!!

Jan 22, 1959: Buddy Holly made his final demos in his New York apartment. The six rough solo voice-guitar tracks included "Bo Diddley," "Love Is Strange," Little Richard's "Slippin' & Slidin'," and Leiber & Stoller's "Smokey Joe's Café." He died 12 days later.

Jan 28, 1986: The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy. 73 seconds into the flight, the shuttle blew up. What does this have to do with MUSICAL history? NASA mission specialist Ron McNair was on that flight, along with his saxophone and a small recorder. He was to make the FIRST musical recording in space. He was going to overdub a song for Jean Michel Jarre's Rendez-Vous album. Jarre completed the album, renaming the last song to "Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece)".

Jan 29, 1985: 46 rock stars gathered at A&M Studios in Studio A in Los Angeles to record "We Are The World" to raise money for starving children in Africa. Artists included Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Quincy Jones.

Jan 30, 1969: The Beatles performed their now famous " Rooftop Concert" on top of their London office. It would become the final live Beatles concert. They played "Don't Let Me Down," " Dig a Pony," "The One After 909," "I've Got a Feeling," "God Save the Queen," and "Get Back."

Brian's suggested LINKS: