11 ready-to-read segments for January 29, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1977, 49 years ago: Rose Royce's "Car Wash" tops the Hot 100. The title song from the movie Car Wash spent one week at No. 1, giving Rose Royce their first Hot 100 chart-topper before Mary MacGregor's "Torn Between Two Lovers" took over. Here's Rose Royce with “Car Wash.”
On this day in 1959, 67 years ago: Sweden holds its first Melodifestivalen. Eight songs competed at Cirkus in Stockholm to choose Sweden's Eurovision entry. The show became a national obsession, and ABBA's "Waterloo" was later voted the most popular song in its history.
On this day in 1964, 62 years ago: The Beatles record in German in Paris. At EMI's Pathé Marconi studios, the band cut German-language versions of two hits, "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" and "Sie liebt dich." It was the only session the group ever recorded outside Britain.
On this day in 1996, 30 years ago: Venice's La Fenice opera house burns. An arson fire gutted the theater where Verdi's Rigoletto and La traviata had their premieres. Two electricians were later convicted, and the rebuilt house reopened in December 2003.
On this day in 2000, 26 years ago: Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" hits No. 1. The Australian duo's ballad took the top spot from Christina Aguilera's "What a Girl Wants" and went on to spend four weeks at No. 1 in all, with a return visit in late February.
On this day in 1862, 164 years ago: Frederick Delius is born in Bradford, England. Sent to run a citrus plantation in Florida, he heard African-American music there and began composing. He settled in France and wrote richly scored orchestral pieces such as On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring.
On this day in 1936, 90 years ago: Motown bassist James Jamerson is born. Born on Edisto Island, South Carolina, the Funk Brothers mainstay played on 23 Hot 100 No. 1 hits, and his inventive Fender bass lines on records like "My Girl" changed how the instrument was played.
On this day in 1949, 77 years ago: Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone is born in Budapest. Born Tamás Erdélyi, he kept the beat on the Ramones' first three albums and co-produced them, then later produced records for the Replacements.
On this day in 1953, 73 years ago: Teresa Teng is born in Yunlin County, Taiwan. Recording well over a thousand songs in Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese and more, she became the Far East's first pop superstar. "The Moon Represents My Heart" remains a Chinese standard.
On this day in 1992, 34 years ago: Blues songwriter Willie Dixon dies at 76. The Chicago bassist and producer wrote songs that Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley made famous, and later rock acts like the Rolling Stones recorded them too.
On this day in 2009, 17 years ago: Singer-guitarist John Martyn dies at 60. Mixing folk, jazz and blues, he ran his acoustic guitar through an Echoplex to create a floating sound. His album Solid Air includes a title song written for his friend Nick Drake.
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