This Day in Music

On this day in music, January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash performed in front of 2000 inmates at California’s Folsom Prison. The legendary appearance, which was recorded and released as Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, had been a long-time dream for the country star, who first learned about the institution from the 1951 documentary, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. The film inspired Cash’s 1955 song, “Folsom Prison Blues,” which he famously performed during the 1968 concert. The live rendition became a Top 40 hit in the US, while the album topped Billboard’s country chart.

In 1965, Bob Dylan entered Columbia Recording Studios to begin recording his fifth studio album, Bringing It All Back Home. The day proved to be particularly fruitful, with takes of some of his finest songs, “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” and “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

In 2016, Ed Sheeran made UK chart history as the first artist to simultaneously take the top two spots with new songs. The hits in question were “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill,” which entered the pop chart at No.1 and No.2, respectively.

In 1990, reigning boy band New Kids On The Block scored their second and final UK No.1 single with “Hangin’ Tough.” The Boston group would continue to find success across the pond, landing seven more Top 10 hits in the UK before the end of 1991.

In 1978, The Police began recording their debut album, Outlandos d’Amour, at Surrey Sound Studios with producer Nigel Gray. Despite a tiny budget (borrowed from their manager, who also happened to be the brother of drummer Stewart Copeland) the band was able to lay down such career-defining tracks as “Roxanne” and “So Lonely.”

In 1962, Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” returned to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, a little more than two years after it first took the No.1 spot. The occurrence marked the first time in American chart history that a song hit No.1 on two separate occasions.

In 1969, Elvis Presley returned to Memphis to record his final No.1 hit in the US, “Suspicious Minds.” The date also marked his first hometown session since 1956.

BORN ON JANUARY 13

1929: Joe Pass
1938: Daevid Allen (Soft Machine, Gong)
1961: Graham “Suggs” McPherson (Madness)
1961: Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips)
1975: Blasphemer (Mayhem)