10 ready-to-read segments for January 16, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1938, 88 years ago: Benny Goodman brings swing to Carnegie Hall. It was the first time a big band played the famous hall. Goodman's band, with guests from the Basie and Ellington orchestras, made a concert record first issued in 1950. Here's Benny Goodman with “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
On this day in 1957, 69 years ago: The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool. It started as a jazz club before rock and roll took over. The Beatles first played there on February 9, 1961.
On this day in 1964, 62 years ago: Hello, Dolly! opens on Broadway. Carol Channing starred at the St. James Theatre, and the show ran 2,844 performances and won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
On this day in 1988, 38 years ago: George Harrison tops the Hot 100 with "Got My Mind Set on You." The former Beatle's bouncy single spent a week at the top of the Hot 100 in early 1988.
On this day in 1992, 34 years ago: Eric Clapton tapes his MTV Unplugged show. Recorded before a small audience at Bray Studios in Windsor, England, the acoustic set went on to outsell every other live album ever made, with 26 million copies sold worldwide.
On this day in 1943, 83 years ago: Ronnie Milsap is born in North Carolina. Blind almost from birth, Milsap became a country and pop crossover star with "Smoky Mountain Rain" and "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me."
On this day in 1959, 67 years ago: Sade Adu is born in Ibadan, Nigeria. Helen Folasade Adu fronted Sade, whose hits included "Smooth Operator" and "The Sweetest Taboo."
On this day in 1979, 47 years ago: Aaliyah is born in New York. Aaliyah Haughton became the first artist to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 on airplay alone, with "Try Again," and critic Simon Reynolds named her "Are You That Somebody?" 1998's most radical pop single.
On this day in 1891, 135 years ago: Léo Delibes dies in Paris at 54. The French composer wrote the ballets Coppélia and Sylvia and the opera Lakmé, home of the much-loved Flower Duet.
On this day in 1957, 69 years ago: Conductor Arturo Toscanini dies at 89. The Parma-born maestro died at home in the Bronx. The NBC Symphony Orchestra was created with him as its first music director, and he led its radio concerts from 1937 to 1954.
Every segment comes from a fact checked against the source linked with it. Spot a problem? Email hello@todayintunes.com.