Music History on January 20

"Skating Rink"

1922 Arthur Honegger's ballet "Skating Rink" premieres at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France

"Concord"

1939 Charles Ives' 1st Sonata "Concord" premieres

Bartók's 6th String Quartet,

1941 Béla Bartók's 6th string quartet, premieres in NYC

  • 1950 "Dance Me a Song" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 35 performances

"Concertino Opus 94"

1954 Dmitri Shostakovich's "Concertino opus 94" premieres

"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial"

1954 Herman Wouk's stage drama "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial", adpated from his novel "The Caine Mutiny", starring Henry Fonda, and directed by Charles Laughton, premieres at the Plymouth Theatre, NYC; runs for 415 performances

"Blue Days Black Night"

1956 Buddy Holly records "Blue Days Black Night" in Nashville, Tennessee for country music producer Owen Bradley

"Declaration"

1957 Morton Gould's orchestral work "Declaration" premieres in Washington, D.C.

  • 1962 "Kean" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
  • 1964 Capitol Records releases "Meet The Beatles" album by the Beatles, in US

"What's Going On"

1971 Tamla Records releases Marvin Gaye's single "What's Going On" about police brutality, from the album of the same name

Osbourne Bites Head Off Bat

1982 Heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne allegedly bites the head off a bat on stage in Des Moines, Iowa

  • 1987 Rhino Records 1st #1, Billy Vera & Beaters' "At This Moment"

3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1988 3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Beach Boys; The Beatles; The Drifters; Bob Dylan; The Supremes; Woody Guthrie; Leadbelly; Les Paul; and Berry Gordy, Jr.

  • 1991 "Black & Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 829 performances
  • 1991 "Les Miserables" opens at Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California
  • 1991 Paul Chihara and John Driver's musical "Shogun - The Musical", based on James Clavell's novel, closes at Marquis Theater, NYC, after 72 performances
  • 1991 Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green's musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 45 performances
  • 1995 "Love! Valor! Compassion!" opens at Walter Kerr, NYC; runs for 276 performances
  • 2005 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 7 (Toltec) premieres with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

"High School Musical" Debuts

2006 "High School Musical" debuts, starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hugdens; becomes Disney Channel's most successful TV movie

"Hamilton" Premieres

2015 Musical "Hamilton" starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Ramos premieres at The Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, New York (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2016)