Today in Tunes
On this day in music

January 17

10 moments from 1734 to 2015: 4 things that happened, 4 birthdays and 2 farewells.

Tune of the day
Uptown Funk
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Why today: 2015 · "Uptown Funk" starts a 14-week run at No. 1
Play on SpotifyApple Music

What happened on January 17

  1. 197452 yrs ago
    HappenedRock

    Bob Dylan releases Planet Waves

    Recorded with his old friends the Band and issued on Asylum Records, Planet Waves gave Dylan something he had never had before: a No. 1 album in the United States.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Planet Waves - Wikipedia
  2. 197650 yrs ago
    HappenedPop

    Barry Manilow tops the Hot 100 with "I Write the Songs"

    The song was written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys and first cut by Captain & Tennille. Manilow's version hit No. 1 and won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: I Write the Songs - Wikipedia
  3. 200917 yrs ago
    HappenedPop

    Lady Gaga scores her first No. 1 with "Just Dance"

    Featuring Colby O'Donis, the dance-pop single held the top of the Hot 100 for three weeks, and Gaga added a second No. 1 before 2009 was out.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2009 - Wikipedia
  4. 201511 yrs ago
    HappenedPop

    "Uptown Funk" starts a 14-week run at No. 1

    Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars's retro-funk party track took over the Hot 100 and stayed on top for fourteen weeks, enough to make it Billboard's biggest song of 2015.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2015 - Wikipedia
  5. 1734292 yrs ago
    BornClassical

    Composer François-Joseph Gossec is born

    Born in a village now in Belgium, Gossec became a leading symphonist in Paris, wrote music for the French Revolution and helped run the new Paris Conservatoire from 1795.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: François-Joseph Gossec - Wikipedia
  6. 192799 yrs ago
    BornJazz & Blues

    Eartha Kitt is born in North, South Carolina

    The singer and actress recorded "C'est si bon" and "Santa Baby" in 1953; the second remains her most recognizable hit.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Eartha Kitt - Wikipedia
  7. 195274 yrs ago
    BornElectronic

    Ryuichi Sakamoto is born in Tokyo

    A co-founder of synth pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra, he later won an Oscar for his score to The Last Emperor, a first for any composer from Japan.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Ryuichi Sakamoto - Wikipedia
  8. 195571 yrs ago
    BornCountry

    Steve Earle is born in Fort Monroe, Virginia

    His 1986 debut Guitar Town made him a standard-bearer for country's New Traditionalists, and the hard-rocking "Copperhead Road" became his best-selling single.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Steve Earle - Wikipedia
  9. 1751275 yrs ago
    DiedClassical

    Tomaso Albinoni dies in Venice at 79

    The Venetian wrote dozens of operas and was the first Italian known to publish concertos with the oboe as soloist. The famous Adagio in G minor bearing his name is thought to be mostly by 20th-century scholar Remo Giazotto.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Tomaso Albinoni - Wikipedia
  10. 201214 yrs ago
    DiedR&B / Soul

    Johnny Otis, "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues," dies

    Bandleader, producer and talent scout, Otis helped launch Etta James and Big Mama Thornton and scored his own hit with "Willie and the Hand Jive." Etta James died just three days later.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Johnny Otis - Wikipedia