On This Day in Music History: January 6th 

1957 – Over 20 minutes were devoted to Elvis Presley on his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The King performed seven songs: “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Peace In The Valley,” “Too Much” and “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again.”

1958 – Gibson guitars launched its “Flying V” electric guitar. Guitarists who played a Flying V include Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.

1968 – Magical Mystery Tour became The Beatles’ 11th U.S. album chart-topper when it started an eight-week reign at No. 1. The double EP was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for a Grammy, despite the widespread media criticism of the Magical Mystery Tour film.

1973 – Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” started a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. In 2015, after keeping quiet for more than 40 years, Carly Simon admitted that the song (with Mick Jagger on backing vocals) was about Warren Beatty, but only one verse of it. Simon said the other verses were about two other men.

1975 – Pink Floyd started sessions at Abbey Road Studios in London for their album Wish You Were Here.

1977 – Only three months after signing The Sex Pistols to a recording contract, EMI terminated the deal, rumor had it, as a result of the group’s “disgraceful, aggressive behavior.” The record company more or less paid them approximately $80,000 just to go away.

1979 – The Village People went No. 1 with “Y.M.C.A”. At its peak, the single was selling over 150,000 copies a day.

1980 – Georgeanna Gordon of The Marvelettes died at age 46.

1993 – David Bowie reportedly lost nearly $5 million in royalties due to an Italian Mafia-linked bootleg fraud.

2007 – Country-rock steel guitar player ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow, died at age 72. He was one of the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers with the Byrds’ Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, and he also worked with John Lennon and Joni Mitchell.

2017 – Norway announced that it would become the first country in the world to gradually stop using the FM radio network. The move, which aimed to ditch the analog platform in favor of a digital one called Digital Audio Broadcasting, would bring a clearer sound to the nation’s five million people.

2020 – Martin Griffin, former drummer of Hawkwind and spin-off project Hawklords, died following a short illness at age 69.

Birthdays:

Syd Barrett, the original lead singer of Pink Floyd, was born today in 1946.

Malcolm Young of AC/DC was born today in 1953.

Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge is 62.

Mark O’Toole of Frankie Goes To Hollywood is 57.

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