January 23, 1965

Petula Clark’s “Downtown” climbs to #1 on the Hot 100, making her the first UK female singer to reach the summit on the US singles chart since Vera Lynn in 1952.

January 24, 2012

Pete Townshend sells the publishing rights to the songs he has written to the Spirit Music Group, which plans to place more of his music in TV shows, movies and commercials. Townshend’s catalog includes about 400 songs, most of which he wrote for The Who.

January 25, 2016

Neil Young performs “Till the Morning Comes” live for the first time in his career while playing a private concert for French billionaire Édouard Carmignac. Young does the song as a medley with “Cripple Creek Ferry.”

January 26, 1992

Presidential candidate Bill Clinton appears on the news program 60 Minutes with his wife, Hillary, who in response to a discussion about her husband’s infidelity, says, “I’m not sitting here – some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette.”

2018

Fleetwood Mac performs at the Musicares benefit in Radio City Music Hall, and honored. It’s Lindsey Buckingham’s last performance with the group; three months later, the band ousts him and adds Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.

January 27, 2018

Huey Lewis loses his hearing before a concert in Dallas. He does the show singing way out of pitch. They later diagnosed Lewis and with Ménière’s disease, a rare condition that causes his hearing to come and go.

January 28, 2014

At a press conference, all four members of Mötley Crüe sign a “cessation of touring agreement” preventing them from ever touring again after 2015. They also announce “The Final Tour,” after which they are legally obligated to disband.

January 29, 1969

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour debuts on CBS. A homey variety show with Steve Martin on board as a writer, it lasts three seasons and draws impressive ratings. Campbell, who had been a regular guest on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, gets even more exposure later in 1969 when he stars in the John Wayne movie True Grit.

1979

16-year-old Brenda Spencer opens fire on Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, from her home across the street, killing two adults and injuring nine kids. When asked why she did it, she replies, “I don’t like Mondays,” which the Boomtown Rats use as the title for a song about the incident.

January 30, 1969

The Beatles stage their famous rooftop concert on the roof of Apple Records in London. After performing a few songs, including “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down,” the police shut them down as a large crowd gathers. It is The Beatles’ last public performance.