Music History Today: January 31, 2023

January 31, 2010: Beyoncé set a Grammy record for female winners when she took home six awards.

Beyoncé won song of the year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" in 2010 and brought her all-time Grammy haul to 16 awards.

Beyonce

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She had previously been tied for most wins by a female at a Grammys with Lauryn Hill, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, and Amy Winehouse. 

Read more: The Star

January 31, 1892: Singer-entertainer Eddie Cantor was born Edward Israel Iskowitz in New York City.

Eddie Cantor began singing and juggling in the streets for money and soon moved to talent contests early in his teens. In November 1934 introduced a new song that other well-known artists rejected as being "silly" and "childish." "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" immediately had orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and sold 400,000 copies by Christmas of that year. 

Read more: Old Radio

January 31, 1970: In New Orleans, the Grateful Dead were busted for possession of LSD and barbiturates. The event was alleged to inspire the song "Truckin."

January 31, 1981: Blondie had their third Number 1 single with "The Tide Is High."

"The Tide Is High" was originally recorded by a Jamaican vocal group called The Paragons in 1967.

Lead singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein heard the song on a compilation tape they picked up in London. Blondie experimented with many different sounds. This song was their foray into reggae, but they played around with rap on "Rapture" and disco on "Heart Of Glass." 

Read more: Songfacts

January 31, 1998: The Number 1 track on the US Dance chart was a cover of "Kiss You All Over" by No Mercy.  

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Beyonce