EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY JANUARY 28 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day January 28 in 1956 – Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national TV. He performed ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘I Got a Woman’ on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show.
1965 – With their rendition of ‘Go Now’, The Moody Blues scored their first and only number one single in the United Kingdom.
1965 – The Who also made their debut TV appearance on this day January 28 in music history. They were promoting their newly released single ‘I Can’t Explain’ which peaked at No.8 in the UK the following month.
1978 – Hard rock band Van Halen released their debut single ‘You Really Got Me’ through Warner Bros on this day January 28. Its a cover song written by Ray Davies and originally performed by The Kinks.
1978 – With their eleventh studio album ‘Rumours’, Fleetwood Mac were at No.1 in the UK. The album reached No.1 in several other countries, including the US. As of January 2024, it’s one of the best-selling albums of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide.
1983 – English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ronald Wycherley also known as Billy Fury died on this day January 28, aged 42 from a heart attack. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘Halfway to Paradise’, ‘Wondrous Place’, and ‘Jealousy’.
1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit No.1 in the UK with their debut single ‘Relax’ for the first of five consecutive weeks. The song was a hit worldwide and it became a chart-topper in nine other countries.
1985 – The supergroup USA for Africa recorded the charity single ‘We Are the World’ on this day January 28. The song was released on March 7 and it topped over 20 music charts worldwide, but most importantly it raised over $150 million (inflation-adjusted to 2024) to battle famine in Africa.
1989 – Marc Almond and Gene Pitney started a four-week run at No.1 in the UK with their rendition of the song ‘Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart’.
1995 – With ‘Creep’, girl group TLC scored their first number one single in the US on this day January 28 in music history. They topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four consecutive weeks.
1995 – Canadian singer Celine Dion hit number one in the UK for the first of six weeks with her twelfth studio album ‘The Colour of My Love’.
2005 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James “Jim” Capaldi died on this day January 28, aged 60 from stomach cancer. Best known as the co-founder of the rock band Traffic with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
2006 – With their debut studio album ‘Stars of CCTV’, indie rock band Hard-Fi reached the top spot on the UK Albums chart.
2006 – Alternative rock band Arctic Monkeys scored their second number one single in the UK on this day January 28 with ‘When the Sun Goes Down’.
Arctic Monkeys – When the Sun Goes Down
2009 – American musician William “Billy” Powell died on this day January 28 in music history, aged 56. Best known as the longtime keyboardist for the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
2017 – Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘Shape of You’. The song was a big hit worldwide that year and it reached No.1 in 34 countries in total.
2017 – English multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Nicholls died on this day January 28 at the age of 72. Best remembered for his work with the heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
2021 – Rock band You Me at Six scored their second number one album in the United Kingdom with ‘Suckapunch’.
BORN ON THIS DAY JANUARY 28 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1927 – Jazz tenor saxophonist Ronald Schatt also known as Ronnie Scott was born in London, England on this day January 28 in music history. Besides his musical career, he’s also known for co-founding the popular Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.
1929 – British clarinetist and vocalist Bernard Bilk also known by his stage name Acker Bilk was born in Pensford, England. Best known for the biggest-selling single of 1962 ‘Stranger on the Shore’ which topped the US Singles chart and peaked at No.2 in the UK.
1941 – Jamaican sound engineer and record producer King Tubby was born Osbourne Ruddock on this day January 28 in Kingston.
1943 – British multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Richard “Dick” Taylor was born on this day in Dartford, England. He rose to fame as a founding member and guitarist of the rock band The Pretty Things.
1943 – American musician Brian Keenan was born on this day January 28 in New York City. Best known for playing drums with The Chambers Brothers.
1945 – British multi-instrumentalist and composer Robert Wyatt was born in Bristol, England. Best known as a founding member of the rock bands Matching Mole and Soft Machine.
1949 – American singer-songwriter and record producer Gene McFadden was born in Olanta, South Carolina on this day January 28 in music history. Best known as one half of the R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead.
1951 – Bassist and founding member of Funkadelic, William “Billy Bass” Nelson was born on this day in Plainfield, New Jersey.
1959 – Guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the new wave band The Alarm, Dave Sharp was born on this day January 28 in Salford, England.
1963 – American guitarist Daniel “Dan” Spitz was born in Rockland County, New York. He came to prominence as a member of the thrash metal band Anthrax.
1968 – Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan was born on this day January 28 in Halifax, Canada.
1968 – Disc jockey and record producer Lawrence Muggerud also known by his stage name DJ Muggs was born in Queens, New York. He rose to fame as member of the hip hop group Cypress Hill.
1968 – Influential rapper and record producer William Griffin better known professionally as Rakim was born in New York on this day January 28 in music history.
1975 – Singer and founding member of the pop group Steps, Lee Latchford-Evans was born on this day in Chester, England.
1976 – American rapper and record executive Rick Ross was born William Leonard Roberts II on this day January 28 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
1977 – Heavy metal guitarist Matthew DeVries was born on this day in Cleveland, Ohio. Best known as a member of the bands Chimaira and Fear Factory.
1980 – Founding member of the vocal group Backstreet Boys, Nickolas “Nick” Carter was born on this day January 28 in Jamestown, New York.
1985 – American rapper, songwriter, and record producer Jermaine “J.” Cole was born in Frankfurt, Germany on this day January 28 in music history.