What happened on January 8
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1735291 yrs ago
Handel's opera Ariodante premieres in London
Based on episodes from Ariosto's Orlando furioso, the opera opened at Covent Garden. Its lament "Scherza infida," with a mournful bassoon line, is counted among Handel's finest arias.
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196660 yrs ago
The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" tops the Hot 100
The single took over from Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" and traded the No. 1 spot with it through January 1966.
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196858 yrs ago
Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" is released
Stax's Volt label issued the song about a month after Redding died in a plane crash, three days after his final session on it. Co-written with Steve Cropper, it became the first US No. 1 single by an artist who had already died.
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201610 yrs ago
David Bowie releases Blackstar on his 69th birthday
Made with a New York jazz quartet led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin, the album arrived two days before Bowie died of cancer. It became his first No. 1 album in the US.
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20215 yrs ago
Olivia Rodrigo releases "Drivers License"
The heartbreak ballad smashed Spotify streaming records within days and debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, making Rodrigo the youngest artist ever to enter the chart at the top. It stayed there eight weeks.
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1792234 yrs ago
Hymn composer Lowell Mason is born
Born in Medfield, Massachusetts, Mason arranged "Joy to the World," wrote the tune for "Nearer, My God, to Thee" and is credited with bringing music lessons into American public schools.
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193591 yrs ago
Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, 35 minutes after his twin brother Jesse was stillborn, Elvis grew up to become rock and roll's defining star, with an estimated 500 million records sold.
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193789 yrs ago
Shirley Bassey is born in Cardiff
Born on Bute Street in Cardiff's Tiger Bay, Bassey became the voice of three James Bond themes, including "Goldfinger", and is the only artist with more than one official Bond song.
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197551 yrs ago
Met Opera tenor Richard Tucker dies on tour
A former cantor from Brooklyn, Tucker sang at the Met for about 30 years. He died of a heart attack in Kalamazoo, and his funeral was held on the Met's stage, an honor no other singer has received.
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201511 yrs ago
Gospel great Andraé Crouch dies at 72
Crouch wrote "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power" at 15 and won seven Grammys. His choir sang on Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror."
Nothing matches these filters on January 8.