January 2nd: The Biggest Music Headlines

Scroll down the page to see all the music headlines, stories and events for January 2 throughout music history

Photo by Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images

The Beatles Embark on Their Final Recording Sessions

On this day in music, January 2, 1969, The Beatles convened in the studio to record their 12th and final album, Let It Be. While the sessions – documented for a film of the same name (with the footage later used for the 2021 docuseries, The Beatles: Get Back) – were marred by tensions in the group, they resulted in such classic tracks as “Get Back,” “Across the Universe,” and “Let It Be.” The album, meanwhile, topped charts around the globe, including in the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia.

In 2016, Adele began the year atop the Billboard 200 with her third studio album, 25. Two weeks earlier, the LP debuted at No.1 in more than 25 countries and broke first-week sales records in the US, the UK, and beyond.

In 1969, a shipment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s album, Two Virgins, was seized by authorities in New Jersey due to the full-frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover.

In 1979, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious went on trial in New York, where he was accused of killing his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in one of the most sensational moments of the original punk era. Vicious, who was released on bail, died exactly one month later from a drug-related overdose.

In 1971, George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass started a seven-week run at No.1 on the Billboard 200, making Harrison the first former Beatle to score a chart-topping solo album in America. The classic title featured the hits “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life.”

Looking for more things that happened on this day in music?
Keep scrolling for all of the headlines for January 2.

BORN ON JANUARY 2:

1936: Roger Miller
1942: Chick Churchill (Ten Years After)
1954: Glenn Goins (Parliament-Funkadelic)
1957: Ricky Van Shelton 1993: Bryson Tiller

Looking for more artists born on this day?
Keep scrolling for all of our January 2 birthdays.

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January 2nd

On this day in music

2 Jan 2024 German guitarist and composer Christoph Karrer died after a COVID-19 infection age 76. He was a pioneer of krautrock, playing and recording with his band Amon Düül II from 1969 when they released their first album Phallus Dei. From the 1980s Karrer played as a soloist and with Embryo, a band that combined elements of rock and jazz with music from Africa and India.
2 Jan 2023 British musician Kingsize Taylor died age 83. His group Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes formed in Liverpool in the late 1950s and were one of the first beat groups in the Merseyside area, they were a locally popular and influential group who were contemporaries and rivals of The Beatles. In 1962 Ringo Starr had agreed to join Kingsize Taylor in Hamburg, as Taylor was offering £20 a week, but Lennon and McCartney offered £25 a week, which Starr accepted.
2 Jan 2023 Scottish musician and record producer Alan Rankine died age 64. He was best known as keyboardist and guitarist for the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s. The band released an unauthorized cover version of David Bowie's 'Boys Keep Swinging' as their debut single in 1979, which landed them a recording contract with Fiction Records. They achieved commercial success in 1982 with the UK Top 10 studio album Sulk and UK Top 20 singles 'Party Fears Two' and 'Club Country'.
2 Jan 2021 Record producer Steve Brown died age 65. He produced many acts including U2, The Pogues, Big Country, Elton John, The Cult, Manic Street Preachers and Simple Minds as well as producing Wham!’s debut album Fantastic.
2 Jan 2020 American soul singer, songwriter and record producer Lorraine Chandler died age 73. Chandler was one of the first black female songwriters and producers. She worked with Motown Records percussionist Jack Ashford (famous for playing the tambourine on hundreds of Motown recordings). The O’Jays recorded her song 'I'll Never Forget You'.
2 Jan 2019 American musician and songwriter Daryl Dragon died from kidney failure aged 76. He was known as ‘Captain’ from the musical duo Captain & Tennille with his then-wife, Toni Tennille. They scored numerous hits on the US singles charts, the most enduring of which included ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’, ‘Do That to Me One More Time’, and ‘Muskrat Love’. They hosted their own television variety series on ABC in 1976–77. Dragon also worked on The Beach Boys' 1972 release Carl and the Passions – ‘So Tough’.
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2 Jan 2018 American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, and musician Rick Hall best known as the owner of Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama died aged 85. Hall almost single-handedly established the town of Muscle Shoals as a crucible of some of the greatest soul music to be produced in America in the Sixties and Seventies. Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James and Clarence Carter were just a few of the rhythm and blues artists who recorded under Hall’s supervision, using the superlative group of session musicians who formed the basis of what became known as the "Muscle Shoals sound".
2 Jan 2016 Adele was at No.1 on the US album chart with her third studio album 25. The album was a massive commercial success, debuting at No.1 in more than 25 markets and broke first-week sales records in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom and United States; in the US, the album sold 3.38 million copies in its first week of release, marking the largest single-week sales for an album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991.
2 Jan 2014 American singer Jay Traynor died age 70. He was the third lead vocalist of the Mystics, singing falsetto on 'The White Cliffs of Dover', and lead on 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and 'Blue Star'. Later, he started Jay and the Americans with Kenny Vance and Sandy Yaguda, and was the original lead singer. He sang lead on the group's first 1962 hit, 'She Cried'.
2 Jan 2012 American rock guitarist Larry Reinhardt died aged 63 of cirrhosis of the liver. He played with Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond. At one time Reinhardt was known by the nicknames "El Rhino" and "Ryno".
2 Jan 2009 According to official US sales figures AC/DC were the biggest sellers of 2008 with over 3.4m sales. To promote the groups latest album Black Ice, Columbia Records created "Rock Again AC/DC Stores" as well as "Black Ice" trucks which were dispatched on the streets of New York and Los Angeles playing AC/DC music aloud and making various stops each day to sell merchandise.
2 Jan 2008 Josh Groban was America's top selling artist of 2007, the 26-year-old whose hits included 'You Raise Me Up', had the best-selling album of the year with the Christmas compilation Noel, which sold close to 3.7m copies. The second biggest seller was the soundtrack for Disney's High School Musical 2. The Eagles were 2007's biggest selling group with sales of 3.58m albums.
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2 Jan 2007 Kylie Minogue played the first of two nights at Wembley Arena in London during her re-scheduled Showgirl world tour. The tour was postponed last year after Kylie was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which the singer had since received treatment.
2 Jan 2007 Cristin Keleher who once broke into former Beatle George Harrison's Hawaii home was found dead after an apparent murder-suicide in California, aged 34. She made headlines in December 1999 by entering Harrison's Maui estate and then cooking herself a frozen pizza. Police said her body had been found with that of a 48-year-old man in a car, both had gunshot wounds to their heads.
2 Jan 2007 Gnarls Barkley's song 'Crazy' was confirmed as the biggest selling UK single of 2006 selling over 700,000 copies. The track, which was the first to reach number one on downloads alone, held off the challenge of X-factor winner Leone. Snow Patrol's album 'Eyes Open' topped the album chart with estimated sales of 1.5m while Take That's comeback release 'Beautiful World' came in just behind. Singles sales had doubled to over 65m since the download chart was launched in September 2004.
2 Jan 2005 Green Day were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their seventh album 'American Idiot.' The album went on to be nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning the Best Rock Album of 2005.
2 Jan 2003 50 Cent was arrested by police in New York after guns were found in his vehicle, after his SUV was searched when it had been left in a no-parking zone. Police found a .25-calibre handgun and a .45-calibre pistol in the vehicle, officers said both guns were loaded.
2 Jan 2002 Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested in a Tampa, Florida night-club after being involved in a fight. Police said that Carter was arguing with a woman and when they asked him to leave, he continued arguing. He was arrested on a misdemeanour count of resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.
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2 Jan 1999 Chef went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Chocolate Salty Balls (PS I Love You). Chef appeared in the cult TV series South Park, the voice was that of Isaac Hayes (who had a hit with Shaft in 1971).
2 Jan 1997 Guitarist Randy California from US group Spirit drowned when rescuing his 12-year old son when he was sucked into a riptide in surf off Hawaii.
2 Jan 1994 Meat Loaf started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his sixth studio album Bat Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell. The LP, which featured the single 'I'd Do Anything for Love', also topped the charts in the US and Australia and has sold more than 14 million copies world-wide.
2 Jan 1989 Record Mirror published a chart of last years Top UK singles artists. No.1 was Kylie Minogue, No.2, Bros, No.3, Yazz, No.4 Tiffany, No.5, Phil Collins, No.6, Cliff Richard, No.7, Erasure, No.8, Pet Shop Boys, No.9, Belinda Carlisle, and No.10, Wet Wet Wet.
2 Jan 1985 Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood married his girlfriend Jo Woodin Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England. Guests included Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck. The couple divorced in 2009.
2 Jan 1981 American singer David Lynch of The Platters died of cancer. (1959 UK & US No.1 single 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes').
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2 Jan 1980 US singer Larry Williams was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head in his Los Angeles, California home aged 45. Williams had the 1957 US No.5 & UK No. 21 single 'Short Fat Fannie.' Also known for 'Bony Moronie' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy.' The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dr. Feelgood, Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Winter, Little Richard, The Who, Ritchie Valens and Bill Haley & His Comets all covered his songs.
2 Jan 1979 Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious went on trial in New York accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen three months earlier, when he claimed to have awoken from a drugged stupor to find Spungen dead on the bathroom floor of their room in the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, New York.
2 Jan 1974 US country singer, actor and radio presenter Tex Ritter died of a heart attack when he was trying to bail a member of his band from a jail in Nashville. His song 'High Noon' won an Oscar for Best Song in 1952.
2 Jan 1971 The George Harrison album 'All Things Must Pass' started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart, making Harrison the first solo Beatle to score a US No.1 album. The triple album included the hit singles 'My Sweet Lord' and 'What Is Life', as well as songs such as 'Isn't It a Pity' and the title track that were turned down by The Beatles.
2 Jan 1969 Filming began at Twickenham studios in England of The Beatles rehearsing for the 'Let It Be' album. The project ran into several problems including George Harrison walking out on the group on January 10th.
2 Jan 1969 Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los Angeles during the bands first North American tour. Support group was the Alice Cooper band.
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2 Jan 1969 The entire shipment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album 'Two Virgins' was seized by authorities in New Jersey due to the full frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover. The album was eventually wrapped in plain brown paper in record stores.
2 Jan 1965 Elvis Presley went to No.1 on the US album chart with the soundtrack from 'Roustabout,' Presley's eighth No.1.
2 Jan 1954 Eddie Calvert started a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles with 'Oh, Mein Papa.' This was the first No.1 to be recorded at Abbey Road studios in London and stayed at the top of the charts for 9 weeks.
2 Jan 1926 The first issue of The Melody Maker went on sale priced at 3d. The monthly magazine was for 'all who are interested in the production of popular music'. In the first issue, Dance Band news, a feature on Ukuleles and how to read music by sight. Advertisements in Melody Maker helped assemble the line-ups of a number of major bands, including: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Supertramp and The Stranglers.

Born on this day in music

2 Jan 1993 American singer, songwriter, and rapper Bryson Tiller. His debut single, 'Don't', peaked at No.13 on the US chart. Tiller has received multiple accolades, including two BET Awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist and in March 2016, he received the key to the city from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
2 Jan 1975 Doug Robb singer from American rock band Hoobastank who had the 2004 US No.2 hit 'The Reason'. They have sold over 10 million albums worldwide.
2 Jan 1975 Australian rock musician Chris Cheney, the founding mainstay guitarist, songwriter and lead vocalist of the psychobilly band, The Living End. At the APRA Awards of 2009 Cheney won 'Song of the Year' for writing The Living End's track, 'White Noise'.
2 Jan 1967 Robert Gregory, drummer from British indie band Babybird who had the 1996 UK No.3 single ‘You’re Gorgeous’, and the 1996 UK No. 9 album Ugly Beautiful.
2 Jan 1963 Keith Gregory, bassist from British indie rock group The Wedding Present. During 1992 they released one single every month giving them 12 Top 30 hits, making them the only group to score more than 10 new hits in one year.
2 Jan 1957 American country music singer Ricky Van Shelton. He charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts of which 10 were country No.1's, including duets with Dolly Parton and Brenda Lee.
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2 Jan 1954 Glenn Goins, a singer and guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic in the mid-1970s. He died on 29 July 1978 from Hodgkin's lymphoma, aged 24.
2 Jan 1946 English music manager Richard Cole. He is most known for having been the tour manager of Led Zeppelin from 1968 to 1980. He was the author of the book called Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored. He died age 75 on 2 December 2021.
2 Jan 1942 English keyboard player Chick Churchill from Ten Years After, who had the 1970 UK No.10 single 'Love Like A Man.' Ten Years After Churchill at major rock festivals including Woodstock in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970.
2 Jan 1936 Roger Miller singer, guitarist and TV star. (1965 UK No.1 & US No.4 single 'King Of The Road'). He won four Grammy awards in 1965 including Best Country & Western Album. Roger died of lung cancer on October 25th 1991, aged 56. Scottish duo The Proclaimers had the 1990 UK No.9 hit with their version of 'King Of The Road.'
2 Jan 1931 American piano-accordionist, arranger and composer Frank Marocco. He worked together with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and performed on the 1966 classic album Pet Sounds.