February 1, 1949: RCA Victor introduces the first 45 RPM record playing system.

February 2, 1978: Van Halen signs with Warner Brothers.

February 3, 1959: “The Day the Music Died.” Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) are killed when their small plane crashes outside Mason City, Iowa enroute to Fargo, North Dakota. Singer-songwriter Don McLean later immortalizes “The Day the Music Died” with his classic song of the same title.

February 3, 1961: Bob Dylan’s 1st recording session. It takes place at the home of friends Bob & Sid Gleason.

February 5, 1960: The Shirelles “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” is the first #1 song on the Billboard singles chart.

February 7, 1964: The Beatles land at Kennedy Airport and set foot on American soil for the first time. Beatlemania has officially begun.

February 7, 1966: The first rock magazine in the US, Crawdaddy, is published.

February 8, 1968: Congressional hearings investigating payola in the music industry begin. Dick Clark and Alan Freed are among the accused.

February 9, 1964: The Beatles debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.

February 15, 1967: Anti-pirating legislation goes into effect in the US.

February 19, 1974: The American Music Awards debuts on ABC TV.

February 19, 1980: AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott dies of alcohol poisoning.

February 21, 1981: REO Speedwagon‘s Hi Infidelity hits #1 after the band’s 10-year development.

February 22, 1956: Elvis‘ “Heartbreak Hotel” debuts on the US charts. It later becomes his first #1 single.

Happy Birthday:

February 1:
Lisa Marie Presley (b. 1968 Memphis, TN)
February 2:  Shakira (b. Colombia 1977)
February 3: George Martin (b. 1926 London, England)
February 4: Alice Cooper (b.  Vincent Furnier, 1948 Detroit, MI)
February 7: David Bryan (b. David Bryan Rashbaum 1962, Edison, NJ)
February 8: Dave “Phoenix” Farrell (Linkin Park b. 1977)
February 11: Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park b. 1977)
February 14: Rob Thomas (b. 1972)
February 18: Yoko Ono (b. 1933 Tokyo, Japan)
February 19:  Smokey Robinson (b. 1940 William Robinson  Detroit, MI)
February 21: David Geffen (b. 1943)
February 23: Brad Whitford (b. 1952 Boston, MA)
February 26: Antoine “Fats” Domino (b. 1928 New Orleans, LA)

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