5 JANUARY
Featured Events
1998 Sonny Bono (of Sonny & Cher) dies in a skiing accident in Nevada, near South Lake Tahoe, California, at age 62. An advanced skier, he goes off course to do some "tree skiing" when he crashes and dies. His wife and two children are with him on the slopes, but don't witness the accident.
1998 In the Ally McBeal episode "Cro-Magnon," a thirty-something Ally is reminded of her ticking biological clock when she hallucinates a baby dancing to the tune of Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling." By the end of the episode, Ally relents and grooves along with the tot.More
1997 Johnny Cash plays Coyote, Homer Simpson's imaginary guru, on The Simpsons. Coyote tells Homer to buy more material possessions.
1979 The double-album soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever reaches sales of 25 million worldwide, making it the best-selling LP in history.More
1976 Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot and killed by police in Los Angeles after he brandishes an unloaded rifle (some claim it was an air gun) after becoming despondent.
1975 The Wiz premieres at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. An adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all-black cast, it stars future disco diva Stephanie Mills ("Never Knew Love") as Dorothy. In 1978, the production is turned into a movie starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
1969 Marilyn Manson is born Brian Hugh Warner in Canton, Ohio. Contrary to the urban myth, Warner does not start his entertainment career playing Paul on The Wonder Years (that would be Josh Saviano). After a stint as a music journalist, he teams up with guitarist Scott "Daisy Berkowitz" Putesky and reinvents himself as Marilyn Manson in 1989.
5 JANUARY
In Music History
2019 The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne marries Katy Weaver in his hometown of Oklahoma City. The wedding itself takes place inside a plastic bubble like the one Coyne uses to surf crowds.
2017 Babymetal guitarist Mikio Fujioka dies from injuries resulting from a December 30 fall from an observation deck.
2016 Guns N' Roses confirm that Slash and Duff McKagan, who have not performed with the band since 1993, will join them for their headline set at Coachella. They later announce a full tour with Slash and McKagan.
2015 Good Charlotte's Benji Madden marries actress Cameron Diaz. Nicole Richie and Drew Barrymore are among the bridesmaids.
2010 Record producer Willie Mitchell, who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, dies of a cardiac arrest at age 81.
2009 Sam "The Bluzman" Taylor dies of complications from heart disease in Islandia, New York, at age 74.
2005 Danny Sugerman, second manager for The Doors who wrote a number of books about the band, dies of lung cancer at age 50.
2005 Amerie releases "1 Thing."
2004 Ray Davies of The Kinks is shot in the leg when he pursues two men who snatched his girlfriend's purse. He sings about it on his 2018 track "The Big Guy."
2003 Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong is arrested for drunk driving in Berkeley, California, after he is caught speeding in his BMW convertible and blows a .18.More
2003 Little Richard guest stars on the "Special Edna" episode of The Simpsons.
2002 With the Pittsburgh Steelers down 24-7 in a playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, they play "Renegade" by Styx, which fires up the crowd and impels them to a comeback win. The song becomes a regular feature at Steelers home games, played in the second half when the team needs a boost.
1998 Ken Forssi (original bassist for Love) dies of a brain tumor in Tallahassee, Florida, at age 54.
1991 Madonna's "Justify My Love," a new song included on her compilation album The Immaculate Collection, goes to #1 in America, her ninth topper on the tally. The song, co-written by Lenny Kravitz, gets a lot of attention thanks to its video, which was banned by MTV and subsequently released on home video.
1981 DJ/producer Deadmau5 is born in Niagara Falls, Canada. His birth name is Joel Zimmerman; he takes the name Deadmau5 (pronounced "Deadmouse") as his chatroom handle after claiming to find a dead mouse in his computer.
Springsteen Releases First Album
1973With a boulder on his shoulder, feelin' kinda older, 23-year-old Bruce Springsteen releases his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
The album is credited as a solo effort, although members of his E Street Band, including bass player Garry Tallent and sax man Clarence Clemons, play on it. Released on Columbia Records, it sells a modest 25,000 copies but contains a song that would become a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1977: "Blinded By The Light." Springsteen never again writes a #1 hit, but he enjoys one of the most prolific and celebrated careers in music history, becoming one of the top live acts of all time. Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is loaded with enigmatic lyrics that tell non-linear stories, earning him comparisons to Bob Dylan. He had built up the surfeit of words from his experiences playing eight years in bars, mostly in the Asbury Park area for which the album is named. These ideas went into the songs, giving fans plenty to deconstruct on repeated listens. The next Springsteen album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, comes out later in 1973 and is more of a straight-ahead rock record, complete with his live anthem, "Rosalita."
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