Monday, January 22nd: Sam Cooke – Having a Party
Sam Cooke was born in 1931, we would have been 91 years old today. He was born as Samuel Cook, he added the ‘e’ when he had a fresh start in life, back in 1957.
Tuesday, January 23rd: Pointer Sisters – Fire
Anita Pointer, one of the three Pointer Sisters, was born 76 years ago today. In 1978 they covered Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Fire”. It was a huge hit for them! It became a Gold single, which electrified their career.
Wednesday, January 24th: New Kids on the Block – Step By Step
On January 24th, 1992, the New Kids on the Block were accused of lip-synching. Their old Music Director stated that their producer did the lead vocals and that the New Kids lip-synched, Milli Vanilli style.
They ended up suing for defamation, and said although their producer sang harmony on some backing vocals, they did their own lead vocals. Eventually the accusation was recanted in a new statement, saying that they did in fact, sing lead on their vocals.
Thursday, January 25th: Jackson Five – I’ll Be There
Michael Jackson was 11 years old while recording this song. It turned out to be their most popular single and held the record of being Motown’s most successful single (previously was Marvin Gaye’s version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”). That is until 1981, when “Endless Love” by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross took that title.