Rock 'n' Roll History for
January 13


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1958 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Marty Robbins' #1 Country hit, "The Story of My Life" crosses over and peaks at #15 on the Hot 100. It is the first successful collaboration between Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who become one of the most prolific and renowned songwriting duos of the '60s and '70s.


1962 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Chubby Checker's "The Twist", which reached number one on the Billboard chart on September 19th, 1960, makes a surprise return to the top spot on The Hot 100. It is the only Rock record by the same artist to ever accomplish that feat.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Against the advice of Columbia Records executives, Johnny Cash visits Folsom State Prison in California to record a live album. The resulting LP, "Live At Folsom Prison" would become one of Johnny's biggest selling records, reaching #1 on the Country album chart and #13 on the Hot 200. It also produced one of his most memorable hit singles, "Folsom Prison Blues". In 2003, "Live At Folsom Prison" was certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over three million and was ranked #88 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Elvis Presley begins a ten day recording session that will produce his final US number one record, "Suspicious Minds". The tracks are laid down at American Sound Studios in Memphis and mark the first time The King has recorded in his hometown since his Sun Records days in 1956.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Pete Townshend of The Who helped Eric Clapton to overcome some personal problems by getting him involved in a show he called The Rainbow Concert. Clapton had fallen into alcohol abuse and drug dependency. Townshend recruited Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and others to play a sold out show that was later released as the album, "Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert".

January 13
Carly Simon's album "No Secrets" tops the Billboard album chart on the strength of two hit singles, "You're So Vain" (#1) and "The Right Thing To Do". (#17) The LP was officially certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 12th, 1997.


1978 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Elvis Presley's version of Paul Anka's "My Way" goes Gold five months after the King's death.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
34 year old Donny Hathaway ("Where Is The Love" with Roberta Flack) fell from the 15th floor of a New York City hotel. His death was ruled a suicide, although some evidence pointed to the fall being accidental. According to Atlantic Records, Hathaway had been having some psychological problems.

January 13
The Young Men's Christian Association files a lawsuit against Village People over their song, "Y.M.C.A." The suit was eventually dropped.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
The Who's guitarist, Pete Townshend was arrested on suspicion of child porn offences. Police officers impounded seven computers from his home in Richmond, South West London. After a four-month investigation, London's Metropolitan Police would announce that Townshend "was not in possession of any downloaded child abuse images" but had accessed a site containing such images. Townshend himself acknowledged using his credit card to enter a web site advertising child pornography, but said he was doing research for his autobiography. Although he was not charged with any offence, Townshend was placed on a national sex offender registry for five years.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Teddy Pendergrass died of colon cancer at the age of 59. The American Soul singer first rose to fame in the 1970s as the lead vocalist for Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes before enjoying a successful solo career at the end of the decade.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Just two months after The Beatles back catalogue became available on iTunes, their sales figures topped 5 million songs according to Hudson Square Research. During that period, the legendary group also moved more than a million full-length albums.

January 13
Tommy Crain, guitarist for The Charlie Daniels Band on their Grammy-winning single "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and more than twenty albums, died in his sleep at the age of 59.


2016 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Representatives for Barry Manilow were quick to dismiss rumors that the 72-year-old singer had been airlifted to Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Medical Center after suffering a heart attack. A statement to the press said: "It is indeed an established fact that Mr. Manilow does have atrial fibrillation, but he has never had a heart attack nor is this a concern."

January 13
The Rolling Stones' first manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, passed away at the age of 82. After he was replaced by Andrew Loog Oldham in May, 1963, Gomelsky went on to manage The Yardbirds, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger before moving to New York in 1978 and opening The Green Door nightclub. Those who knew him said that he never quite got over losing his job as The Stones' manager.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
One-time Beatles associate Yanni "John" Alexis Mardas, better known as "Magic Alex", died of natural causes at the age of 74. After meeting at the Indica Gallery in London, John Lennon became fascinated with Mardas' "Nothing Box", a blinking light box that stimulated his LSD trips. Mardas was recruited into the Beatles' inner circle and soon became the head of Apple Electronics. He parted ways with Apple after Allen Klein was brought in to straighten out the cash hemorrhaging company.

2021 - ClassicBands.com

January 13
Tim Bogert, a bassist for Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and Beck, Bogert & Appice, died of cancer at the age of 76.

January 13
Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist with Punk icons The New York Dolls, died following a battle with cancer. He was 69.



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