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From breakthrough hits, unbelievable milestones, and cultural changes to killer recordings and performances, this day in rock history has had its share of momentous happenings. Led Zeppelin would perform for the first time in North America, and Blondie topped the Billboard 100 singles chart for the third time. Check out these other cool facts about what happened on Jan. 31 in rock music history.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Have you heard any of these breakthrough hits or rock music milestones that occurred on Jan. 31:
- 1970: The Jackson 5’s debut single, “I Want You Back,” got to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This began a streak of four consecutive chart-toppers for the band.
- 1976: After spending nine weeks at the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was knocked back by ABBA’s “Mama Mia.” Interestingly, both songs use “Mama Mia” in the lyrics.
- 1981: Making it to No.1 for the third time, Blondie topped the Billboard 100 singles chart with their song “The Tide is High.” The hit had a reggae style that blended sounds from horns and strings.
- 1984: Queen’s iconic song “Radio Ga Ga” entered the UK charts at No. 4. Although the song reached No. 1 in 19 other countries, it only peaked at No. 2 in the UK singles charts.
- 1987: Paul Simon’s Graceland album returned to No. 1 on the UK albums chart after initially reaching the top spot in late 1986. The album was a huge global success, eventually selling over 14 million copies worldwide.
Cultural Milestones
The culture of rock music was forever affected when these Jan. 31 events happened:
- 1956: Sex Pistols’ frontman Johnny Rotten was born in Finsbury Park, London, England. He fronted the band since their inception in 1975 until 1978, and on various reunions since.
- 1970: Blues pioneer Slim Harpo died at the age of only 45. Although he was never a full-time musician, he’s seen as one of the best swamp blues players ever and inspired many other artists, including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and Van Morrison.
- 2001: During their farewell tour, founding member Peter Criss announced he would leave KISS. Eric Singer replaced him for the remaining tour dates.
- 2010: Bruce Springsteen walked away from the GRAMMYs with the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance award for his song “Working on a Dream.” Kings of Leon got a Grammy for Best Rock Song for their hit “Use Somebody.”
Notable Recordings and Performances
From its beginnings, rock music has seen many notable recordings and performances, and here are a few from Jan. 31 you may or may not remember:
- 1969: Playing at the Fillmore East in New York City, Led Zeppelin performed their first show on their North American Tour. They put on a show so powerful that the headlining band, Iron Butterfly, refused to follow them.
- 1969: While Led Zeppelin was rocking it in North America, the Beatles were performing at Apple Studios in London. They were filming the Let It Be documentary and needed to capture the songs “Two Of Us,” “Let It Be,” “The Long And Winding Road,” and “Step Inside Love.”
Industry Changes and Challenges
Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without these industry changes and challenges of the past Jan. 31st:
- 1979: Saxophone player for Blood Sweat & Tears, Greg Herbert, died of an accidental drug overdose. He was a mere 30 years old at the time.
- 2007: The spirit of Jim Morrison came back to fight in the Global Cool campaign 35 years after he died. A previously unreleased poem that The Doors singer wrote and recorded, titled “Woman in the Window,” was put to music and used to raise awareness about the event.
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Dan Teodorescu
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