Pick a Day

19 JANUARY

In Music History

1974 Al Wilson's "Show And Tell" hits #1.

1974 Two Miami shows featuring Bob Dylan and The Band prove so popular that they cause a nine-mile-long traffic jam. Many ticket holders only get to see half of the show(s).

1973 The Bobby Darin Show, starring the singer, debuts on NBC. It is canceled in April.

1971 John Wozniak (lead singer of Marcy Playground) is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1971 Alan Passaro, a member of the Hells Angels biker gang who stabbed 18-year-old Meredith Hunter to death during a concert by The Rolling Stones at their Altamont Speedway concert in Livermore, California on December 6, 1969, is acquitted of murder after 17 days of testimony in which the jury sees footage of the documentary Gimme Shelter that shows the stabbing. The Hells Angels were hired as security at the concert, and when Hunter brandished a gun, Passaro killed him. The Stones kept playing, unaware that a fan had been killed.

1970 The Easy Rider soundtrack, featuring "Born To Be Wild," "If 6 Was 9" and "Ballad of Easy Rider," is certified Gold.

1969 R&B singer Trey Lorenz is born Lloyd Lorenz Smith in Florence, South Carolina. He starts his music career as a backing singer for Mariah Carey and gains notoriety when they team up on the duet "I'll Be There."

1967 Lesley Gore shows up on the Batman TV series, playing Catwoman's sidekick, Pussycat. She sings her new single "California Nights" on the show.

1967 The Beatles start recording "A Day In The Life," leaving a placeholder in the middle section that is later filled with Paul McCartney's "Woke up, fell out of bed" part, taken from another song he was working on.

1966 Simon & Garfunkel release "Homeward Bound."

1966 The documentary A Boy Called Donovan airs on British TV. The film follows the singer Donovan as he goes to parties and makes music. In one scene, one of his associates is seen smoking marijuana, which is kind of shocking. This makes Donovan a target for the London drug squad, who make him their first high-profile bust when they arrest him in June for possession of marijuana. Members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are later victims.

1963 Caron Wheeler (lead singer of Soul II Soul) is born in Acton, London, England.

1959 Arbitron ratings reveal that ABC's American Bandstand is now the nation's most popular daytime show.

1959 The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is on top of the Billboard Pop Chart.

1957 Pat Boone performs at the inaugural ball for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.