10 ready-to-read segments for January 1, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1966, 60 years ago: "The Sound of Silence" hits No. 1 on the Hot 100. Producer Tom Wilson overdubbed electric guitar, bass and drums onto the duo's quiet acoustic track and put it out without telling them. The remix's success pulled the separated pair back together to make a second album. Here's Simon & Garfunkel with “The Sound of Silence.”
On this day in 1773, 253 years ago: "Amazing Grace" is first used at a sermon. Clergyman John Newton wrote the words for his New Year's Day service in Olney, England, and published them in 1779. The tune now sung with them, "New Britain", was paired with the words only in 1835.
On this day in 1962, 64 years ago: The Beatles fail their Decca Records audition. In a West Hampstead studio the band ran through fifteen songs, but Decca signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, who auditioned the same day. Brian Epstein later said the label told him guitar groups were "on the way out", a remark Dick Rowe denied.
On this day in 1964, 62 years ago: Top of the Pops airs for the first time. Jimmy Savile hosted the first show from Dickenson Road Studios in Rusholme, Manchester. Dusty Springfield opened it, and the Beatles closed with that week's No. 1, "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
On this day in 1977, 49 years ago: The Clash headline the Roxy's gala opening. The London club had held a first show in mid-December, but its official gala opening came on New Year's Day with the Clash and the Heartbreakers on the bill. It had been set up as the first London club for live punk.
On this day in 1900, 126 years ago: Bandleader Xavier Cugat is born in Girona, Spain. Raised in Cuba, he became America's "Rumba King", leading the Waldorf-Astoria's house orchestra for sixteen years. His 1943 recording of "Brazil" spent seven weeks at No. 2.
On this day in 1923, 103 years ago: Vibraphonist Milt Jackson is born in Detroit. Known as "Bags", he is best remembered for his solos with the Modern Jazz Quartet. His own tune "Bags' Groove" became a jazz standard.
On this day in 1958, 68 years ago: Grandmaster Flash is born. Joseph Saddler's turntable inventions, such as looping a drum break between two copies of a record, shaped hip-hop DJing. In 2007 his group became the first hip-hop act in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On this day in 1953, 73 years ago: Hank Williams dies on the way to a show. The 29-year-old country star was being driven to a New Year's Day concert in Canton, Ohio. When his drivers stopped for fuel in Oak Hill, West Virginia, they realized he had already died.
On this day in 2013, 13 years ago: Patti Page dies at 85. Her "Tennessee Waltz" sold millions in the early 1950s and is the biggest-selling song of that decade by a woman. She also scored No. 1 hits with "All My Love" and "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window?".
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