It’s The Weekend at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/16/2021

Gooooood Morning, Musicologists! Here we are at the beginning of the weekend, which is meaningless to we here in The Mermaid Lounge. Duty calls.

***The Cavern Club opened its doors on this day in 1957. A band called The Beatles played there 292 times.***

Here’s today’s not-too-taxing lesson:

January 16, 1957: The famed Cavern Club in Liverpool opened its doors on this day. It is where The Beatles launched their historic career. They played The Cavern Club a total of 292 times.

Also on this day, a man the Beatles considered an inspiration, Little Richard, recorded Lucille.

January 16, 1961: Shop Around by The Miracles (eventually Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) hit #1 on the R & B charts.

January 16, 1964: The Beatles played two shows at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France, the first of an 18-night stint.

Also on this day, The Dave Clark Five hit #1 on the UK charts with Glad All Over. Mike Smith was their lead singer, one of the great rock n’ roll voices on the planet (John Lennon was another).

January 16, 1965: The Guess Who released their debut album, Shakin’ All Over.

On this day, The Supremes had their third consecutive #1 song with Come See About Me.

January 16, 1967: The Rolling Stones released their single, Ruby Tuesday.

January 16, 1992: Eric Clapton recorded his MTV Unplugged show, including the song Tears In Heaven and an acoustic version of Layla. It would win six Grammys, including Record of the Year.

January 16, 1988: George Harrison hits #1 with Got My Mind Set On You, his first #1 in 24 years.

January 16, 1996: Jamaican Police mistake Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane (The Hemisphere Dancer) as a drug-smuggler’s seaplane and begin firing on it when it lands in the water. U2’s Bono and his family are also on board. Nobody is injured, and the event inspires Buffett’s new song, Jamaica Mistaica. It was a close call for the Parrotheads of the world.

January 16, 2016: Bruce Springsteen kicks off The River Tour in Pittsburgh. His 1980 album, The River, is the centerpiece of the tour and is played from start to finish in many locations. The tour is the most successful of the year, grossing more than $268 million.