Rock 'n' Roll History for
January 11


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
After changing their name from The Robins, The Coasters record their first single, "Down In Mexico", for Atlantic Records in Hollywood. The L.A. quintet would crack the Hot 100 the following year with the double sided hit "Young Blood" / "Searchin'" and place six consecutive hits in the Billboard Top Ten.


1962 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Cliff Richard became the first British artist to enter the UK chart at number one when "The Young Ones" debuted at the top of the list.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
The now world famous Los Angeles night club, The Whiskey A-Go-Go, opened its doors. Johnny Rivers, Alice Cooper and Kansas have recorded live albums there. Rivers also recorded two Top 10 singles, "Memphis" and "Seventh Son", live at The Whiskey.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
"Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen was the number one song on the Cash Box music chart. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of US radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some naughty words. Even the F.B.I. investigated the song, but finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong. You can read the lyrics to Louie, Louie HERE

January 11
"Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash" becomes the first album to top Billboard's new Country L.P. chart. It would peak at #17 on the Hot 200.

January 11
The Murmaids' only hit, "Popsicles and Icicles" reaches its peak at #3 on the Hot 100. Interestingly, the single version would have four different B-sides on individual pressings.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Herman's Hermits receive a Gold record for the album "The Best of Herman's Hermits". The LP had reached #5 on the Billboard chart, but was not released in the UK.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Jimi Hendrix records "Purple Haze" at De Lane Lea Studios in London, England. According to drummer Mitch Mitchell, he and bassist Noel Redding learned the song in the studio after Hendrix hummed the melody to them. The basic track was completed in three takes. After the single was released on March 17th, it went to #3 in the UK, but stalled at #65 in America.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
James Brown's "Living In America" enters the Billboard Pop chart where it would rise to #4 during an eleven week run. It was his first Top 40 hit in ten years and would also be his last. The song was featured in the film Rocky IV, just as Apollo Creed enters the boxing ring.


1994 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Diana Ross makes Mr. Blackwell's Worst-Dressed List. Blackwell refers to her as "a Martian meter maid."

1996 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Kenny G's LP "Breathless" becomes the first album of instrumental tracks certified Diamond for sales of ten million in America. It reached #1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Pop singer Miss Toni Fisher, known for the 1959, Billboard #3 hit, "The Big Hurt", died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Her song stayed in the Top 40 for an amazing fourteen weeks.

January 11
Peter Tork of The Monkees guest stars as a bandleader on the "Best Man" episode of The King of Queens.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Gary Glitter is released from prison in Britain after serving half of a four month sentence on child pornography charges. He is driven to Heathrow Airport and then flown to Cuba.

January 11
Richard "Dimples" Fields, an American Soul singer most often remembered for his 1982 hit, "If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another", died following a stroke at the age of 58. His song reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #47 on the Hot 100.


2001 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Neil Sedaka undergoes an angioplasty at a New York hospital after he had suffered chest pains while preparing for a performance in Knoxville, Tenn. He would make a complete recovery and return to the tour in a few weeks.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Mickey Finn, drummer for T. Rex, died of kidney and liver problems at the age of 55. Between 1970 and 1973, the band enjoyed a string of eleven UK Top Ten singles, four of which reached number one.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
James Griffin, a founding member of the '70s Soft Rock group Bread, died of lung cancer at the age of 61. From 1969 to 1976, the group placed twelve songs on the Billboard Top 40 and five on the same UK chart. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006.

January 11
Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden passed away at his home in Petaluma, California, after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 66.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
The Beach Boys launched a law suit seeking twenty million dollars in damages from two California men, claiming they stole a collection of photos, recordings and other band memorabilia from a warehouse with the intent to put the items up for auction. The case was dismissed the following December 11th by Judge Manuel Real after Brothers Records' lawyer Danny Morin showed up thirteen minutes late for the hearing.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. revealed that the 5-year-old child of James Brown and his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, would not be included in the late singer's will. While provisions were made for Brown's six other children, Hynie's son, James Jr., was not one of those listed in the document.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Rod Allen, lead singer of The Fortunes, who reached the US Top 10 in 1965 with "You've Got Your Troubles", died at the age of 63 after a short battle with liver cancer.


2012 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Madonna stirred up some controversy when she revealed the name of her new album, "M.D.N.A.", which turns out to be similar to the drug MDMA. Health campaigners immediately criticized the singer for popularizing drug culture.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish became parents for the second time after their California-based surrogate gave birth to a baby boy. The child was named Daniel Furnish-John.

January 11
John Wilkinson, a guitar player who accompanied Elvis Presley for more than a thousand shows as a member of the TCB Band, died at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer.

January 11
Jimmy O'Neill, the host of TV's Shindig! from 1964 to 1966, died at his Hollywood home at the age of 73.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
A funeral service for Natalie Cole was held in Los Angeles with Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mary Wilson, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan among those in attendance. She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, next to her parents Maria and Nat 'King' Cole, sister Carol and brother Kelly.

January 11
David Bowie topped the UK album chart with his latest release "Blackstar" less than 24 hours after his death. With sales of over 43,000 units the collection out paced its nearest competitor, Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream", by 25,000.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

January 11
Tommy Allsup, the guitarist who famously avoided "the day the music died" when he lost his plane seat in a coin toss to Ritchie Valens, died following complications from a hernia operation. He was 85. On that fateful day, Waylon Jennings also avoided the plane crash after giving his seat to J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

January 11
Richard Carpenter filed a lawsuit against Universal Music for unpaid royalties he claimed were owned to him and his sister Karen's estate from downloads on sites like iTunes and Amazon. He said he had been unable to resolve the dispute without suing.



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