Rock 'n' Roll History for
January 24


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1962 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
The Beatles signed a contract to have Brian Epstein manage the group, giving him 25% of what they earned. Epstein never added his signature to the document.

January 24
Chubby Checker had four albums in the Top Ten of the Billboard LP chart. They were "For Twisters Only", "Your Twist Party", "Bobby Rydell / Chubby Checker" and "Let's Twist Again". The single, "The Twist" sat at the top of Cashbox Best Sellers chart.


1967 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
After receiving at $25,000 signing bonus, Aretha Franklin records her first tracks for Atlantic Records. Over her career, she would have twenty #1 singles and ten #1 albums on the Billboard R&B charts.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
New Jersey state prosecutors issue a warning to record dealers that they will be charged with distributing pornography if they are caught selling the John Lennon / Yoko Ono LP "Two Virgins". The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover showed them from behind. The rather unflattering photo would later be described by Lennon as a picture of "two slightly overweight ex-junkies". Somehow "Two Virgins" still managed to reach #124 in the US, but failed to chart at all in the UK, where only 5,000 copies were ever pressed.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
34-year-old James "Shep" Sheppard, the lead singer for The Heartbeats and Shep And The Limelites, is found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway. He had been beaten, robbed and stabbed to death. The Limelites reached #2 in the US in 1961 with "Daddy's Home".

January 24
The mini-moog synthesizer was introduced by Dr. Robert Moog. Artists could now have the sound of strings and horns on stage without having a full orchestra with them. The American Federation of Musicians considered banning the $2,000 keyboard, fearing that its ability to simulate acoustic instruments could put musicians out of work, but later relented.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Nearly two years after he split from Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon released his second solo studio album. It yielded two Top 40 singles, "Mother and Child Reunion", which peaked at #4 in the US and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", which went to #22. The album itself went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, and #1 in the United Kingdom, Japan and Norway.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
The theme from Diana Ross' second movie Mahogany becomes her third, solo US number one hit. It reached #5 in the UK.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Randy Newman had a lot of people upset when his song "Short People" hit the top of the Cash Box best sellers list. The song was meant to poke fun at all prejudice and did just that with the line "short people got no reason to live". Before "Short People", Newman was most noted for writing Three Dog Night's 1970 chart topper, "Mama Told Me Not To Come". More recently, he could be heard singing "It's a Jungle Out There", the theme to the US TV show Monk.


1979 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys divorces his wife Marilyn after 15 years together. She was a member of The Honeys and mother of Wendy and Carnie Wilson, who would go on to sing in Wilson - Phillips.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Diana Ross sings the national anthem at Superbowl XVI (16)

January 24
The Beach Boys' cover of The Dell-Vikings 1957 hit, "Come Go With Me", peaks at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. They would have to wait four more years until they cracked the Top 40 again with "Getcha Back".

1992 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
The producer of the New Kids On The Block LP "Hangin' Tough" claimed that the boys only sang about 20% of the lyrics. He sued for creative contributions and royalties. The group denied the allegations and the suit was eventually dropped.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Tex-Mex artist Freddy Fender, who topped the Hot 100 in 1975 with "Before The Next Teardrop Falls", receives one of his daughter's kidneys in a transplant operation. He would survive until November, 2006.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Lynn Anderson, whose Country crossover hit "Rose Garden" reached number 3 on the US pop charts in December 1970, was arrested for shoplifting. The 57-year-old singer was accused of stealing a Harry Potter DVD from a New Mexico supermarket and punching a police officer during her arrest. Both charges were eventually dropped.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported that although music downloads rose by 40% in 2007, global music sales fell by an estimated 10%.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Fleetwood Mac announced that the re-issue their 1977 album "Rumours" would be packed with unreleased material from the studio and live versions of old favorites. They were slated to hit the road for their first tour since 2009, starting in April.


2015 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
74-year-old Dionne Warwick was hospitalized following a slip and fall accident in her shower. During her two week stay, Dionne underwent surgery on her ankle.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Butch Trucks, a drummer and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, passed away at the age of 69. His real name was Claude Hudson Trucks.

January 24
The Ludwig drum set used by Andy White to record The Beatle's first hit, "Love Me Do", while Ringo played a tambourine, was scheduled to be sold at an auction. The kit, which included the bass drum head with White's name and The Beatles' logo, was expected to bring a bid of $75,000.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
Great Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation 4.5 million Pounds ($5.9 million) for breaking British competition laws. The guitar maker admitted restricting retailers from offering online discounts and requiring stores to sell its guitars at or above a minimum price between 2013 and 2018.

January 24
Gordon Lightfoot announced his first album of new material in nearly sixteen years. "I thought my fans would be interested in hearing what songs sound like when first written," Lightfoot said about the LP, called "Solo", which features the singer accompanied only by his guitar.

2023 - ClassicBands.com

January 24
A press release from The Doors announced that guitarist Robby Krieger and the estate of late keyboardist Ray Manzarek had sold their rights to the band's publishing catalogue, master recordings, trademarks, and merchandising rights to Primary Wave Music, a private music publishing and talent management company. Rights owed to late frontman Jim Morrison and drummer John Densmore were not factored into the sale.



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