Rock 'n' Roll History for
January 26


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Buddy Holly And The Two Tunes record their first tracks for Decca Records in Nashville. Backing Buddy on four songs are Grady Martin on guitar and Doug Kirkham on drums.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Bishop Joseph A. Burke of the Buffalo, New York Catholic Diocese bans the Twist, in any form, from all of his school's functions. In a directive sent to the city's Catholic schools, the bishop said, "For a number of reasons, not the least of which is the development of pupils in a proper sense of decorum and good taste, the current popular dance, commonly referred to as "the twist” is not to be permitted at any school or parish dance." The ban would gradually disappear after Burke passed away the following October.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
The Four Seasons' "Walk Like A Man" is released by Vee-Jay Records. Five weeks later, it will become their third Billboard, Hot 100 chart topper. The record also reached #3 on the R&B chart and #12 in the UK.

January 26
A trio called The Rooftop Singers took "Walk Right In" to the top of the Billboard Pop chart. The song had been written in 1929 by Gus Cannon, who had been living in poverty until he started earning royalties from the hit record. The tune went to #4 on the R&B chart, #23 on the Country chart, and #10 on the UK Official Chart.


1974 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Ringo Starr went to #1 on the Billboard singles chart with his version of Johnny Burnette's 1960, #8 hit "Your Sixteen". The track featured Paul McCartney on kazoo and Harry Nilsson on background vocals. It reached #3 in the UK.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
As the Punk music movement continued to grow, The Clash sign a 100,000 Pound contract with CBS Records, a remarkable amount for a band that had played a total of about thirty gigs and very few as a headliner.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Three years after signing with Warner Brothers Records, 21 year old Prince makes his US television debut on American Bandstand where he performs his R&B chart topping hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover".

1996 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
The halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI includes performances by The Blues Brothers, James Brown and ZZ Top. All the performers ended the show by performing "Gimme Some Lovin'" together.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Tommy Dee, who reached #11 on the Billboard chart in 1959 with "Three Stars", a song dedicated to Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, died at the age of 70 after a long illness.

January 26
Michael Jackson returned to the United States after living in Bahrain, France and Ireland for more than a year in self-imposed exile following his acquittal in a high-profile child molestation trial that ended in June 2005.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Gladys Horton, whose lead vocals helped The Marvelettes establish their career with such hits as "Mr. Postman", "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789", died following a stroke at the age of 66.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
The Ohio Players front man Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner died of unknown causes at the age of 69. He led the group to the top of The Hot 100 with "Fire" in 1974 and "Love Rollercoaster" in 1975.


2020 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Bob Shane, a founding member of The Kingston Trio, died of complications connected with pneumonia at the age of 85. Best known for their 1958 hit, "Tom Dooley", the trio placed sixteen other songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and seventeen albums on the Billboard 200 chart.

2022 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Spotify complies with Neil Young's request and removes all of his music from their service. Young's beef with Spotify is their podcast of The Joe Rogan Experience, which he feels is spreading false information about vaccines. Joni Mitchell also removes her music, but Spotify stands by Rogan, whose subscriber count grows by leaps and bounds because of the controversy.

2023 - ClassicBands.com

January 26
Atlanta Rhythm Section co-founder and keyboardist Dean Daughtry died of natural causes at the age of 76. The band placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 chart between 1974 and 1981, including "So Into You" (#7 in 1977), and "Imaginary Lover" (#7 in 1978).



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