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← January 6CalendarJanuary 8 →

Rock History: January 7

Notable rock and roll birthdays, releases, and milestones that happened on January 7 throughout history.

1950

Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” hits #1 on Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart. Rock history records that The listing reflects the song’s climb through late December and into the first chart of the new year. Rock history records that (Billboard charts are dated for the week ending on that day).

1956

Dean Martin’s rendition of “Memories Are Made of This” rises to #1 on the Billboard Top 100 for the first of five weeks. Rock history records that The song also topped the Most Played by Jockeys, Best Sellers in Stores, and the Most Played in Juke Boxes charts. Rock history records that A competing version by Gale Storm would peak at #16 a week later.

1961

Rock history records that Johnny Tillotson held down the top spot on the UK’s New Musical Express chart with “Poetry In Motion”. Songwriters Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony later stated that their inspiration came from seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk each afternoon. The song had climbed as high as #2 in America in November, 1960.

1963

Rock history records that Gary “U.S.” Bonds files a $100,000 suit against Chubby Checker , charging Checker plagiarized “Quarter to Three” and turned it into “Dancin’ Party”. Rock history records that The suit was later settled out of court.

1970

Rock history records that Area residents file a $35,000 lawsuit for property damages against Max Yasgur, owner of the New York farm that hosted the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Rock history records that Festival organizers themselves faced over seventy other lawsuits. Rock history records that Recognizing that the event had completely overwhelmed the surrounding infrastructure, the show’s producers assumed liability for the neighborhood’s claims and paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle local grievances. Rock history records that In addition to resolving the complaints of Yasgur’s neighbors, the promoters awarded Yasgur a personal $50,000 settlement to compensate for the physical destruction of his own dairy farm.

1971

Rock history records that Judy Collins cracked the Billboard Top 40 with her rendition of “Amazing Grace”, a track recorded inside St. Rock history records that Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University specifically to capture the building’s natural acoustics. Rock history records that The hymn eventually topped out at #15, proving to be the second highest-charting single of her career. Rock history records that It was surpassed only by her 1968 classic “Both Sides Now”, which had climbed all the way to #8 in 1968.

1972

Rock history records that Bread ‘s Soft Rock classic “Baby I’m-A Want You” is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It had climbed to #3 on the Cashbox Best Sellers chart and the Billboard Hot 100, as well as climbing to #14 in the UK.

1972

Rock history records that RCA issues the David Bowie single “Changes”, from the album “Hunky Dory”. Rock history records that Although it has gained regular rotation on many American Classic Rock radio stations, the song was considered a flop at the time, as it completely missing the British charts and peaked at a modest #66 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rock history records that A late-1974 single reissue eventually pushed the song to #41 in the United States, while a posthumous surge in 2016 finally brought it to #49 in the United Kingdom. Rock history records that Despite its lack of chart success, “Changes” was ranked #200 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in the magazine’s 2021 list. Rock history records that It is also included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, and in late 2016 the American Recording Academy inducted the song into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1974

Carly Simon and James Taylor welcomed their first child, daughter Sarah Maria Taylor, who would grow up to follow in her parents’ footsteps as a musician. Rock history records that The couple later had a son named Benjamin before their ten-year marriage officially ended in divorce in 1983.

1976

Rock history records that Former record company executive Kenneth Moss is sentenced to one hundred twenty days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation. Rock history records that He had earlier pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 1974 death of Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh, who had died after accidentally sniffing lethal doses of heroin passed around at a party hosted by Moss in the Hollywood Hills.

1978

The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever enters the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart where it will eventually hit number one and stay there for 24 consecutive weeks beginning February 18th. Rock history records that The album had a chart stay of 120 weeks and has sold over forty million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest-selling albums in music history.

1978

Rock history records that Johnny Paycheck’s cover of David Allan Coe’s ode to workplace frustrations, “Take This Job and Shove It”, reached the top spot on the Billboard Country chart. Rock history records that Although the song could only climb to #91 on the Hot 100, it still seems to be one that we all know and can relate to.

1980

Rock history records that Led Zeppelin ‘s “In Through the Out Door” is awarded a Platinum disc by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. Rock history records that The album was a huge commercial success, topping the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in just its second week on the list, while concurrently leading the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. It would prove to be the last album issued before the September 25th death of drummer John Bonham.

1980

44-year-old Larry Williams, who had hit songs with “Short Fat Fannie” (#5 in 1957) and “Bony Maronie” (#14 in 1957), was discovered dead in his Los Angles home of a gunshot wound to the head. Rock history records that The case has never been solved.

1980

Doo-wop singer Carl White, lead vocalist for The Rivingtons, died of acute tonsillitis in Los Angeles, California aged 47. The band’s novelty hit, “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” climbed to #48 in America in 1962.

1981

Rock history records that The album “Eagles Live” is awarded a Platinum Record by the Recording Industry Association of America. Rock history records that Mixed by Glenn Frey and Don Henley via mail to fulfill a lingering record label contract, the compilation captured the band at the height of their late ’70s touring peak. Rock history records that The two-record set will turn out to be the final Eagles album until 1994’s comeback LP, “Hell Freezes Over”.

1992

US Postmaster General Anthony Frank reveals that a commemorative stamp honoring Elvis Presley will be issued next year on the King’s birthday. True to the scheduling, the sticker was officially issued to the public one year later on January 8, 1993 as part of the “Legends of American Music” stamps series.

1999

Rock history records that As he approached his 54th birthday, Rod Stewart and his 29-year-old wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation after eight years of marriage. Rock history records that Together they had two children, Renee and Liam.

2003

Rock history records that The UK fan magazine called The Beatles Book Monthly closed after forty years. Author Sean O’Mahony, who set up the publication in 1963, stated there was nothing more to say, as the number of things the former Beatles are doing got less and less as the years went by.

2005

Rock history records that James Brown ‘s former publicist, 48-year-old Jacque Hollander, launched a lawsuit against The Godfather of Soul, claiming that he raped her at gun point in 1988. Brown strongly rejected the allegations, with his legal team dismissing the lawsuit as a meritless attempt at financial extortion. Rock history records that A judge would later dismiss the case because the two year statute of limitations on that charge had run out.

2009

Rock history records that Led Zeppelin ‘s Robert Plant was voted the Greatest Voice In Rock by listeners of the UK’s Classic Rock radio station Planet Rock, beating out Queen ‘s Freddie Mercury, Free’s Paul Rodgers and Deep Purple ‘s Ian Gillan.

2009

Michael Jackson ‘s manager issued a statement that stated that The King Of Pop had leased a $100,000 a month, Bel-Air mansion in order to be closer to “where all the action is” in the entertainment industry.

2009

Great Britain’s commercial radio show Hit 40 UK revealed that it will no longer use CD sales for its official figures. Rock history records that The networked Top 40 chart program, which broadcast across 130 stations, would base its weekly charts solely on digital downloads.

2010

Rock history records that According to Nielsen SoundScan’s final 2009 figures, Michael Jackson was the best selling artist of the year, moving 8,286,000 units. Rock history records that Forty years after their break-up, The Beatles were still the best selling group, thanks to their remastered catalog which sold 3,282,000 copies. Rock history records that Digital downloads however, were a different story. Rock history records that Lady Gaga led the way by selling 15,297,000 digital tracks. Rock history records that The Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift all finished in the vicinity of 12 million digital units.

2016

Troy Shondell, who climbed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “This Time (We’re Really Breaking Up)” in 1961, died from complications related to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease aged 76. Shondell, whose real name was Gary Wayne Schelton, later went on to become a songwriter, publisher, and regional director for ASCAP in Nashville.

2020

Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the Progressive Rock band Rush, died aged 67 after a three year battle with brain cancer. The band climbed to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart with “New World Man” in 1982.

2022

Rock history records that R. Dean Taylor, a Canadian musician most often remembered for his 1970, Billboard #5 hit, “Indiana Wants Me”, died aged 82 after contracting COVID-19. Rock history records that While often remembered as a one-hit wonder in the United States, Taylor actually placed four singles on the Billboard Hot 100, while securing four Top 40 hits in the UK and achieving six chart placements in his native Canada.

2025

Rock history records that Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul And Mary , died at his home in Manhattan after battling bladder cancer for several years. Rock history records that He was 86. A major force on the Folk scene of the 1960s, the trio placed sixteen songs on the Billboard Hot 100 during that decade, among them a chart topping rendition of John Denver’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane” in 1969. Rock history records that Sadly, many will remember Yarrow for his 1970 conviction for taking “improper liberties” with a 14-year-old girl in a Washington, DC hotel room. He served three months in prison for that offense, and was issued a presidential pardon by Jimmy Carter on January 19, 1981.

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