ANNIVERSARIES
2009-The life, career and charitable work of folksinger and activist Pete Seeger are celebrated at Madison Square Garden in New York. Leading the list of performers on hand to wish Seeger a happy 90th birthday are Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn and Richie Havens.
2006-Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris's duets album All the Roadrunning lands at number-17 on the Billboard album chart with 47-thousand copies sold. It's the best sales week for either singer since SoundScan started tracking album sales in 1991.
2005-Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry releases his fourth solo album, and first in 21 years. He celebrates the release with an in-store appearance at a Newbury Comics record store in Boston.
2001-Gregg Allman ties the knot for the sixth time, eloping with girlfriend Stacey Fountain.
2000-Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich delivers to Napster a list of 335-thousand people who've downloaded M-P-3 files of the group's music. The company promises to stop users from trading Metallica songs via its service.
1999-Paul McCartney is named the "Greatest Composer of the Millennium" in an online poll conducted by BBC News.
1999-Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti is recognized for sales of 15-million copies. Led Zeppelin Four is certified for sales of 21-million copies, Led Zeppelin Three for sales of six-million and Led Zeppelin for eight-million copies sold.
1980-Against the Wind by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band hits number-one on the Billboard album chart.
1978-FM, a film about the conflicts at a radio station, premieres in Los Angeles. The soundtrack, featuring Steely Dan's title track, plus songs by Steve Miller, The Eagles, Neil Young, Billy Joel and Warren Zevon, proves more successful than the movie.
1976-Paul McCartney kicks off his first post-Beatles US tour, Wings Over America, at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas-the very day Wings at the Speed of Sound gets a platinum album for selling one-million copies.
1976-Aerosmith releases its fourth album, Rocks. It will become the band's first Top 10, peaking at number-three.
1975-The Chicago Eight album, which features "Old Days," hits number-one.
1975-Elton John is the first white performer to guest on Soul Train, thanks to the popularity and sound of "Philadelphia Freedom."
1971-Grand Funk Railroad invites 150 members of the press to meet the band at New York's Gotham Hotel. Six journalists show up.
BIRTHDAYS
Bruce Hall -
REO Speedwagon bassist. Born 1953.
Mary Hopkin -
The teenaged singer Twiggy recommended to Paul McCartney had the first non-Beatles hit on Apple Records. "Those Were the Days," an adaptation of a Russian folk melody, sold over six-million copies worldwide. The follow-up, "Goodbye," proved to be prophetic -- it was her final trip to the Top 20. Born 1950.
James Brown - Died in 2006
The "Godfather of Soul," aka "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," was the most successful artist in R&B history, with more than 100 hits on the soul charts. "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "Living in America" (from Rocky IV), among others, crossed over to pop radio. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame charter member in 1986, Brown died in Georgia on Christmas Day 2006. Born 1933.
Pete Seeger - Died in 2014
A onetime member of The Weavers, the legendary folksinger, environmentalist and political activist wrote Peter Paul & Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and adapted Biblical verse into "Turn Turn Turn," which The Byrds turned into a number-one hit. He died at 94 on January 27th, 2014. Born 1919.
