Music Almanac - February 4

Birthdays

• 1929 - Paul Burlison (Rock and Roll Trio) (d. 2003)
• 1930 - Bernie West (Five Keys)
• 1941 - John Steel (Animals)
• 1942 - Kenny Wertz (Flying Burrito Brothers)
• 1942 - John Gambale (Classics)
• 1943 - Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) (d. 2009)
• 1944 - Florence LaRue (Fifth Dimension)
• 1947 - Spyder Turner
• 1948 - Marguerite Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1996)
• 1948 - Mary Ann Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1970)
• 1948 - Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier)
• 1949 - Roy Yeager (Atlanta Rhythm Section)
• 1950 - Phil Ehart (Kansas)
• 1950 - James Dunn (Stylistics)
• 1952 - Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie)
• 1960 - Tim Booth (James)
• 1962 - Clint Black
• 1963 - Noodles (born Kevin Wasserman) (Offspring)
• 1965 - Chris McDaniel (Confederate Railway)
• 1968 - Steve Queralt (Ride)
• 1969 - Duncan Coutts (Our Lady Mercy)
• 1975 - Natalie Imbruglia
• 1975 - Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World)
• 1976 - Cam'ron (born Cameron Giles)
• 1977 - Gavin DeGraw
• 1980 - Cameron Muncey (Jet)
• 1982 - Kimberly Wyatt (Pussycat Dolls)

Deaths

• 1975 - Louis Jordan - Heart attack (66)
• 1982 - Alex Harvey - Heart attack (46)
• 1983 - Karen Carpenter (Carpenters) - Cardiac arrest attributed to her eating disorder (32)
• 1984 - Paul Gardiner (Gary Numan, Tubeway Army) - Heroin overdose (25)
• 1987 - Liberace - AIDS (67)
• 1989 - Kenneth "Jethro" Burns (Homer & Jethro) - Prostate cancer (65)
• 1999 - Gwen Guthrie - Uterine cancer (48)
• 2000 - Doris Coley (Shirelles) - Breast cancer (58)
• 2007 - Barbara McNair - Throat cancer (72)
• 2009 - Lux Interior (Cramps) - Aortic disection (62)
• 2013 - Reg Presley (Troggs) - Lung cancer (71)
• 2016 - Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Parkinson's disease (74)

On This Day

• 1959 - Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton were brought on to the Winter Dance Party after the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper.
• 1960 - Billy Walker joined the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1961 - Johnny Burnette is rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.
• 1966 - Bob Dylan opened a world tour in Louisville, KY. It was his first with electric instruments.
• 1969 - Jackson, TN declared it Carl Perkins Day.
• 1970 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair to the Black Power movement.
• 1972 - Senator Strom Thurmond sent a note to Attorney General John Mitchell recommending that John Lennon be deported.
• 1974 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono temporarily separated.
• 1975 - The movie W.W. & the Dixie Dancekings, who counted among its stars Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Don Williams, premiered.
• 1984 - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble opened their Couldn't Stand the Weather tour in Nashville, TN.
• 1996 - Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli tried to steal a car and was hit with a baseball bat by the owner, requiring hospitalization.
• 1999 - Rykodisc became the first label to OK the use of the MP3 format.
• 1999 - Freddy Fender received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 2000 - Bjorn Ulvaeus said that ABBA had, indeed, turned down an offer of $1 billion to reform the group.
• 2001 - Jimmy Buffett was tossed from a NY Knicks-Miami Heat basketball game for verbally abusing a referee.
• 2002 - Stevie Wonder sang Happy Birthday to Rosa Parks on her 89th birthday.
• 2003 - Courtney Love was charged with endangering an aircraft after abusing the flight crew on a transatlantic flight.
• 2004 - Art Garfunkel plead guilty to marijuana possession and was fined $200.
• 2004 - Janet Jackson was dropped from the Grammy Awards show after her costume malfunction at the Super Bowl.
• 2009 - Robert Plant said their would be no Led Zeppelin reunion tour because the band felt incomplete without John Bonham.
• 2016 - Van Morrison was knighted.
• 2017 - Black Sabbath played their final show in Birmingham.

Marriages

• 1939 - Frank Sinatra and Nancy Barbato
• 2006 - Carlene Carter and Joe Breen

Recorded

• 1940 - Willie Dixon recorded his first sides for Bluebird Records.
• 1954 - Honey Love, Bells of St. Mary's, White Christmas - Drifters
• 1955 - Please, Please, Please - James Brown
• 1963 - Faded Love - Patsy Cline
• 1968 - Across the Universe - Beatles
• 1976 - Moody Blue - Elvis Presley

Released

• 1977 - Rumors - Fleetwood Mac

Broadcasts

• 1962 - Thank Your Lucky Stars (ITV U.K.) - Gene Pitney
• 1971 - Make Room For Granddaddy - Diana Ross
• 1977 - American Bandstand 25th Anniversary (ABC)
• 1991 - Cher at the Mirage (CBS)
• 2012 - CMT Crossroads (CMT) - Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood (live)

Number Ones - U.S. Singles

• 1978 - Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees (4 weeks)
• 1984 - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club (3 weeks)
• 1989 - When I'm With You - Sheriff (1 week)
• 2006 - Check On It - Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug (5 weeks)
• 2012 - Set Fire to the Rain - Adele (2 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. Albums

• 2006 - Unpredictable - Jamie Foxx (1 week (2 previous weeks))

Number Ones - U.S. R&B Singles

• 1978 - Theme From Which Way Is Up - Stargard (2 weeks)
• 1989 - Can You Stand the Rain - New Edition (2 weeks)
• 2012 - Make Me Proud - Drake Featuring Nicki Minaj (3 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. Country Singles

• 1984 - Show Her - Ronnie Milsap (1 week)
• 1989 - What'd I Say - Earl Thomas Conley (1 week)
• 1995 - Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) - Pam Tillis (2 weeks)
• 2012 - I Don't Want This Night to End - Luke Bryan (1 week)

Number Ones - U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles

• 1967 - My Cup Runneth Over - Ed Ames (4 weeks)
• 1978 - Desiree - Neil Diamond (1 week)
• 1984 - Think of Laura - Christopher Cross (4 weeks)
• 1989 - Holding On - Steve Winwood (2 weeks)

Number Ones - U.K. Singles

• 1955 - Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney with the Mellomen (2 weeks (1 previous week))
• 1965 - You've Lost That Loving Feeling - Righteous Brothers (2 weeks)
• 1978 - Up Town Top Ranking - Althia & Donna (1 week)
• 1995 - Think Twice - Celine Dion (7 weeks)
• 2006 - Nasty Girl - Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm
• 2012 - Twilight - Cover Drive (1 week)

Number Ones - U.K. Albums

• 1967 - The Monkees - Monkees (7 weeks)
• 1978 - The Album - ABBA (7 weeks)
• 1984 - Touch - Eurythmics (2 weeks)
• 2006 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys (4 weeks)
• 2012 - + - Ed Sheeran (1 week (2 previous weeks))