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January 1

1893   Blues singer Elizabeth "Libba" Cotton born.
1900   Xavier Cugat born, cha-cha-cha.
1917   Johnny Young (vocalist/disc jockey) born.
1923   Peripatetic vibes player with the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson, is born.
1942   Country Joe McDonald born. Founder of Californian Folk-Rock protest group Country Joe & the Fish.
1950   Morgan Fisher, member of Love Affair, Mott the Hoople and an eccentric model for experimental art/rock noodeling, born.
1953   Hank Williams dies at age 29 of "heart failure". The coroner guessed he was 37.
1955   In the space between the death of the big bands and nascent Rock & Roll, between 78s and microgroove recordings, record sales are in the basement. One rescue attempt, "Operation TNT", is launced by RCA Victor Records who drastically drop the price of all their recordings, taking nearly two dollars off their LPs that were selling for $5.95. Others soon follow suit.
1956   EMI takes over Capitol Records.
1957   On Britian's ITV channel the record rating "Cool for Cats", hosted by Kent Walton, debuts.

Joseph Saddler, aka Grandmaster Flash, is born. [may be'58???]

1958   Elvis Presley's induction into the army is delayed three months to allow filming of "King Creole".
1960   Johnny Cash plays San Quentin prison for the first time.
1962   Beatles' first record company audition. They fail it. Manager Brian Epstein is told "Four-groups are out". Decca man Dick Rowe OR Mike Smith turns band down in favor of Brian Poole & the Tremelos after Beatles sang 15 songs, mostly standards.
1964   British teen TV show "Top Of The Pops" debuts from Manchester with DJ Jimmy Savile as host. Acts include...???
1965   According to the UK's top music mag, New Musical Express, The US Immigration Bureau, inexplicably begins denying working visas to British rock acts. Even bands already in the country are forced to cancel scheduled shows, including an upcoming Murray the K concert at the Y in New York City featuring the Nashville Teens, the Zombies and the Hullabaloos.
1967   Moon Mullican dies
1970   John Lennon renames the year 1970 "Year One, AP" (After Peace).
1972   Edgar Winter disbands his White Trash.

French bal musette singer and later film star Maurice Chevalier dies. Subject of skit in the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera"(?) in which the brothers attempt to impersonate the singer in order to pass customs. Harpo solves the obvious problem by strapping a Victrola to his back.

1975   John Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrichman and R. Mardian are found guilty at the Watergate cover-up trial.

At their annual New Year's Day Extravaganza, the New York Poetry Project presents readings by both Patti Smith and Yoko Ono, Ms. Smith's "The Histories of the Universe" recorded for the LP, Big Ego.

1977   The Roxy Disco in London's Covent Garden re-opens as a punk venue, headlined by the Clash. The area had once been a major green market, abandoned, and the the isolation made the venue perfect for the city's premier gay disco. In the late 70s when clubs and pubs in high traffic areas were being denied permits for presenting punk bands, the club once again became a haven for percieved outsider activity and music.
1979   Winterland Theater in San Francisco closes following a New Years show with the Blues Brothers and the Grateful Dead. The Dead had performed there a record 48 times.

Invaders play final gig at London's Filmmakers Co-op, soonafter to emerge as the re-named, 'Madness".

Proving that indeed Cleveland is the spiritual home of all things rock & roll, a fan tosses fireworks at Bruce Springsteen while playing a New Year's concert and cuts his cheek. stiches?

1980   Queen Elizabeth II award Cliff Richard the MBE for being the closest thing to a rock star the country could muster before the Beatles. The Beatles and Elton John have also earned this honor before Cliff, but theirs were more clearly for the money they brought into the economy.
1984   Alexis Korner dies of lung cancer in London at the age of 55. Blues enthusiast and promoter, along with Cyril Davis he formed the influential Blues Incorporated, the UK Band which featured Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Eric Burdon, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and others!
1985   ZZ Top's Dusty Hill accidentally shoots himself in the stomach. He survives. Grows beard to cover wound?