January 1976 in Music History

Events in Music

Music Single

Jan 9 Ringo Starr releases single "Oh My My" in the UK

Music Premiere

Jan 11 Stephen Sondheim's musical "Pacific Overtures" opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 193 performances, wins 2 Tony and 2 Drama Desk Awards

Jan 13 Sarah Caldwell is 1st woman to conduct at NYC Metropolitan Opera House as she led orchestra in a performance of "La Traviata"
Jan 16 "Donny & Marie" [Osmond] musical variety show premieres on ABC TV

#1 in the Charts

Jan 17 "I Write the Songs" cover by Barry Manilow hits #1

Music Single

Jan 17 Blondie release their debut single "X Offender" written by Debbie Harry and Gary Valentine

Album Release

Jan 23 RCA releases "Station to Station", David Bowie's 10th studio album, recorded in Los Angeles; it peaks in the U.S. charts at No.3, and No. 5 in the U.K.

Jan 27 Revival of Sidney Howard's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1924 stage drama "They Knew What They Wanted", opens at the Playhouse Theatre, NYC; runs for 23 performances
Jan 31 "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1

American Music Awards

Jan 31 3rd American Music Awards: Olivia Newton-John & John Denver win

Birthdays in Music

Jan 5 Matt Wachter, American bassist (30 Seconds to Mars), born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Jan 9 Svitlana Azarova, Ukrainian-Dutch contemporary classical music composer (Momo and the Time Thieves), born in the Ukrainian SSR
Jan 12 Miki Nakatani, Japanese actress and singer, born in Tokyo, Japan
Jan 17 Aga Zaryan [Agnieszka Skrzypek], Polish jazz singer (A Book of Luminous Things), born in Warsaw, Poland
Jan 18 Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter (Australian Idol, 2006), born in Dublin, Ireland

Emma Bunton (47 years old)

Jan 21 British Pop Singer (Spice Girls - "Girl Power"), born in London, England

Jan 23 Angelica Lee, Taiwanese actress & singer, born in Alor Setar, Malaysia
Jan 26 Willie Adler, American rock guitar player (Lamb Of God), born in Richmond, Virginia
Jan 27 Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
Jan 28 Jarrod Montague, American rock drummer (Taproot), born in Linden, Michigan
Jan 28 Rick Ross [William Leonard Roberts II] American rapper and songwriter (Port Of Miami; "Aston Martin Music"), born in Clarksdale, Mississippi

Deaths in Music

Jan 3 Mateusz Glinski, Polish conductor, musicologist, and composer, dies at 83
Jan 5 Georges Migot, French composer, and poet (Les Agrestide; L'Arche), dies at 84
Jan 5 Mal Evans, British Beatles roadie and personal assistant, dies in a confrontation with police at his Los Angeles home at 40
Jan 10 Howlin' Wolf [Chester Arthur Burnett], American blues musician (Smokestack Lightnin', Killing Floor), dies of complications during kidney surgery at 65
Jan 23 Paul Robeson, American stage and screen bass-baritone singer ("Old Man River"), actor, and civil rights activist, dies of stroke complications in Philadelphia at 77
Jan 28 Chris Kenner, American R&B singer-songwriter (I Like it Like That), dies at 46
Jan 30 Beau De Glen "Mance" Lipscomb, American blues singer and guitarist ("Shine On, Harvest Moon"), dies of a stroke at 80
Jan 31 Buster Brown, American blues singer and harmonica player (Fannie Mae), dies at 64