Music History Today: January 16, 2021

January 16, 1986: ABBA performed together for the last time at a show honoring their manager Stig Anderson on the Swedish TV show This Is Your Life.

ABBA, the acronym derived from the first names of band members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, started off as a 1970 Swedish cabaret act named Festfolk. 

ABBA

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They struggled to break through until they re-formed with a new sound and a new formula that highlighted the vocals of Fältskog and Lyngstad.Soon, they were getting airplay for their early hit "Ring Ring," which they sang in 1973 for the Swedish qualifying competition for the international music competition Eurovision. 

Read more: Smithsonian Magazine

January 16, 1959: While on a whirlwind tour of the UK, The Everly Brothers received a New Musical Express Award for being named the world's Number 1 vocal group.

The Everly Brothers were not only among the most important and best early rock & roll stars, but also among the most influential rockers of any era. 

Everly Brothers

They set unmatched standards for close, two-part harmonies and infused '50s rock & roll with some of the best elements of country and pop music. In the late '60s and early '70s, their style proved a natural fit for the burgeoning country-rock movement.  

Read more: Allmusic

January 16, 1976: Donny & Marie Osmond's TV variety show debuted on ABC.

If there are two words that best describe the Donny & Marie variety show of the mid-1970s, it would probably be “comfort food.” 

Donny & Marie Osmond

The show could be silly, the humor kind of corny, and yet there was something cozy in being entertained by the brother and sister act of Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond, who were joined by a number of show business personalities, each of whom were driven by the same need: to entertain us. 

Read more: Closer Weekly

January 16, 1978: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and James Taylor combined for a great remake of Sam Cooke's  "(What A) Wonderful World."

What happens when three of the finest and most successful singers of our times get together to record a pop paean to pimply passion? 

Well, when it’s James Taylor hooking up with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel to sing “Don’t know much about no Rise and Fall, don’t know much about nothin’ at all”, it’s pretty darn memorable. The choice of the song is no little win in and of itself. 

Read more: Jeff Meshel's World

January 16, 1980: Paul McCartney was arrested after officials found half a pound of marijuana in his suitcase at Tokyo Airport.

Paul McCartney’s arrival at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on January 16, 1980, marked his first visit to Japan since the Beatles tour of 1966.

The occasion was a planned 11-city concert tour by his band Wings. Instead, Paul’s visit was limited to a nine-day stint in the Tokyo Narcotics Detention Center, which ended on January 25, 1980. 

Read more: History

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