This Month in Rock and Roll - January

This Month in Rock and Roll – January

By Hunter60

January 20, 2000: The film 'The Filth and The Fury' is released. Julian Temple releases his second bio-pic about the much heralded punk band, the Sex Pistols. His first film, released in 1980, 'The Great Rock and Roll Swindle' although an interesting picture, suffered from no direct involvement of Johnny Rotten or Glen Matlock and a far too skewed perspective from former manager Malcom McLaren (who was often quoted as saying about his famous clients "they were talentless"). The title of his second film came as a result of newspaper headline following the bands outrageous interview with the television show Thames Today on December 1, 1976. Temple tells the story of the band through a series of interviews with the surviving members of the band Viscious's own story being told through archival footage of interviews during his dark and torturous final days as well as clips from Temple's first film, 'Swindle'.

January 11, 1992: Nirvana's "Nevermind" reaches #1. Although there had been a growing Indie scene in America's northwest corner for a few years, it was the release and subsequent worldwide embrace of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' that quite literally changed the direction of rock music. Their second studio album, their first for a major label (Geffen), was expected to perform modestly on the charts, riding on the then slowly blooming popularity of bands like Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam. 'Nevermind' was released in September of 1991 and by January 11, 1992 had replaced Michael Jacksons 'Dangerous' at the top of the charts. Based on the heavy, almost minimalistic guitar work and passionate/distracted lyrics of Kurt Cobain, the rock steady bass of Kurt Novoselic and the driving, half-mad drums of David Grohl, 'Nevermind' has gone on to become one of the most influential rock albums ever recorded and one that continues to maintain a steady popularity. It has sold over 26 million copies to date.

January 23, 1986: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame conducts its first round of inductions. Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in April, 1983 (co-founded by Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine and Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records), it had no physical location. On January 23, 1986, the Foundation held it's first induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City and the first class included many who are considered to be the founders of rock and roll including Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Eventually however, Cleveland, Ohio beat out Memphis, Tennessee in a petition drive by 100,000 votes and the location for the hall was made. Designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, the Hall opened on the north shore of Lake Erie on September 2, 1995. The Hall is not without its controversy though with its allegations of musical snobbery and petty politics and the fact that the actual fans of the music have no input into the names of those inducted.

January 6, 1976: "Frampton Comes Alive" released. Even Rolling Stone Magazine, the Holy Oracle of Rock and Roll music in the 70's, had to wonder about the wisdom of releasing a double live album for an artist who had yet to clearly establish a solid fan base at that time. However, it turned out to be quite a masterstroke by then Frampton manager Dee Anthony who had previously used the format to propel his previous clients, The J. Geils Band and Framptons former band, Humble Pie, to greater exposure with the double live format. Anthony considered that this was the best way to bring out Framptons best work from previous studio albums while capturing the raw excitement of his live act. The album known primarily now for his showcase songs "Baby, I love your way', 'Show me the way' and the 14 minute long version of 'Do you feel like we do?' and his use of the 'talk box', the album also revealed Frampton to be a solid vocalist and a very talented guitarist. The album quickly became the biggest rock album in 1976, certified gold within weeks of it's release and set the live double album as a 'must do' for just about every stadium rock act to follow for several years to come.

January 1, 1964: 'Top Of The Pops' is first aired in the Britain. The long running music charts program debuted on BBC One on January 1st, 1964. The idea behind the show was for performances (or promotional films if the band were truly indisposed) by some of the weeks top selling artists and a rundown of that weeks singles chart. The performances on the initial show included: The Rolling Stones – "I wanna be your man", Dusty Springfield – "I only want to be with you', The Dave Clark Five – 'Glad All Over', The Hollies –'Stay', The Swinging Blue Jeans –'Hippy Hippy Shake and The Beatles – 'I want to hold your hand'. Some critics held their nose over the Top Of The Pops performances since the bands were allowed to lip-sync, however most of the bands preferred to mimic their songs as opposed to taking a chance on a bad live performance on national television. The audiences didn't seem to mind. Top Of The Pops ran until July 30, 2006.




1/3/45 Stephen Stills
1/4/42 John McLaughlin
1/5/69 Marilyn Manson
1/6/46 Roger 'Syd' Barrett
1/8/35 Elvis Presley
1/8/45 Robbie Krieger
1/9/44 Jimmy Page
1/10/48 Donald Fagan
1/10/55 Michael Schenker
1/21/41 Long John Baldry
1/12/65 Rob Zombie
1/14/67 Zakk Wylde
1/17/48 Mick Taylor
1/17/55 Steve Earle
1/19/43 Janis Joplin
1/21/41 Aaron Neville
1/26/55 Eddie Van Halen
1/26/53 Lucinda Williams
1/27/18 Elmore James