Today in Tunes
On this day in music

January 20

10 moments from 1726 to 2022: 4 things that happened, 3 birthdays and 3 farewells.

Tune of the day
Le Freak
Chic
Why today: 1979 · Chic's "Le Freak" returns to No. 1
Play on SpotifyApple Music

What happened on January 20

  1. 1726300 yrs ago
    HappenedClassical

    Bach premieres his cantata BWV 13 in Leipzig

    As Leipzig's Thomaskantor, Bach led the first performance of Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen at the Thomaskirche, written for the second Sunday after Epiphany.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13 - Wikipedia
  2. 196462 yrs ago
    HappenedRock

    Capitol releases Meet the Beatles! in the US

    The band's first American album on Capitol opened with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and held the No. 1 spot on the album chart for eleven weeks.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Meet the Beatles! - Wikipedia
  3. 197947 yrs ago
    HappenedR&B / Soul

    Chic's "Le Freak" returns to No. 1

    Chic's disco smash climbed back to the top of the Hot 100 and held it for three more weeks into February.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1979 - Wikipedia
  4. 198244 yrs ago
    HappenedRock

    Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a bat in Des Moines

    Someone threw a bat onstage at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and Ozzy bit its head off thinking it was rubber. He said later he needed rabies shots.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Ozzy Osbourne - Wikipedia
  5. 1855171 yrs ago
    BornClassical

    Ernest Chausson is born in Paris

    The French composer left a small but treasured body of work, including a single symphony and the Poème, a staple of the violin repertoire.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Ernest Chausson - Wikipedia
  6. 1923103 yrs ago
    BornCountry

    Slim Whitman is born in Tampa, Florida

    The yodeling country crooner's "Rose Marie" spent eleven weeks at No. 1 in the UK in 1955, a record that stood until Bryan Adams broke it in 1991.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Slim Whitman - Wikipedia
  7. 197155 yrs ago
    BornHip-hop

    Questlove is born in Philadelphia

    The Roots' drummer and co-leader also directed Summer of Soul, about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Questlove - Wikipedia
  8. 199630 yrs ago
    DiedJazz & Blues

    Baritone sax great Gerry Mulligan dies

    Mulligan wrote and arranged for Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool sessions and led a famous pianoless quartet with Chet Baker in the early 1950s.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Gerry Mulligan - Wikipedia
  9. 201214 yrs ago
    DiedR&B / Soul

    Etta James dies in Riverside, California

    Her version of "At Last," released in 1961, became her signature song and the best-known recording of the tune.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Etta James - Wikipedia
  10. 20224 yrs ago
    DiedRock

    Meat Loaf dies in Nashville at 74

    His 1977 album Bat Out of Hell is estimated to have sold 43 million copies around the world, 15 million of them in the United States.

    Play on Spotify Apple Music Source: Meat Loaf - Wikipedia