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THE FOLLOWING EVENTS TOOK PLACE ON JANUARY 2


Our solar system.1960--Senator John F. Kennedy announces his candidacy for President of the United States.

1960--John Reynolds sets the age of our solar system at 4,950,000,000 years.

1963--This was supposed to be the first night of a five-appearance Beatles tour of Scotland. But the show has to be cancelled due to terrible weather conditions during the worst winter weather in decades: icy cold and snowdrifts that makes the roads impassable. This after The Beatles' flight from London had been diverted to Aberdeen at the last minute and Neil Aspinall was waiting to pick them up in Edinburgh. The venue at which The Beatles were to have performed was Longmore Hall, Keith, Banffshire.

Picture sleeve for The Beatles hit songs I Feel Fine and She's A Woman.1964--The Beatles perform at the Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park, London. Appearing in two performances of "The Beatles' Christmas Show."

1964--The Rolling Stones perform their new single, I Wanna Be Your Man, on England's “Top of the Pops” TV program.

1965--I Feel Fine is the #1 single in the US for the second week in a row.

1965--The Beatles put on two performances of "Another Beatles Christmas Show" at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles during the Get Back-Let It Be era.1969--Start of the "Get Back" project. With The Beatles on the edge of crisis through much of 1968, Paul McCartney starts urging his fellow Beatles to consider a return to playing live. He reasoned that it was music that had brought them together, and that they should "get back" to performing live. The others weren't too keen on the idea, especially John Lennon and George Harrison, but they agreed to think about it. In fact, things progressed far enough for Paul to announce to the press that The Beatles would play three shows at the Roundhouse in London in mid-December 1968. But Paul just couldn't get the others on the same wavelength, and those plans had to be scrapped. As a compromise, Paul suggested that The Beatles could perform a televised concert, either live or pre-taped. John, George, and Ringo half-heartedly agreed, but even in the midst of agreeing John was suggesting that maybe it was time for The Beatles to call it a day and split up. A lot of ideas were kicked around for a televised performance, one of the most intriguing being a concert in a Roman amphitheater, but the logistics were just too complex for the rather unenthusiastic Beatles. Since there seemed to be a stalemate in choosing a suitable vehicle, Denis O'Dell suggests that The Beatles begin rehearsing and, perhaps, film those rehearsals for a TV documentary showing the "Beatles at Work." They all agreed to follow this advice, and to do the rehearsals / filming at Twickenham Film Studios. It really hadn't been very long since the completion of The Beatles, and there weren't many new songs available for the group to work on. Still, uncertain as to what they were about, The Beatles meet at Twickenham on a cold and cheerless sound stage at the beginning of a new year. No sooner had things gotten underway than the old resentments and tensions began to surface: Yoko Ono was encroaching into The Beatles' domain, Paul was bossing everyone around and telling George how to play...and on and on, just like before. The Beatles jammed aimlessly, with little or no enthusiasm. John Lennon brings two nearly-completed songs to this session, Don’t Let Me Down and Everyone Had A Hard Year. He also takes the opportunity to complain vigorously about the impersonality of the setting. Little of what was recorded at Twickenham would be included in the "Let it Be" movie; it was simply too wretched.

Buy George Harrison's All Things Must Pass1971--George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass reaches #1 in the US charts.

1971--George Harrison's single My Sweet Lord is #1 in the US charts.

1975--US District Court Judge Richard Owen rules in New York that John Lennon shall be given access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case. Lennon and his lawyer want to determine whether attempts to deport him are due to his 1968 British drug conviction or to his comments and activities against the Nixon administration and in support of left-wing / radical activist groups.

1978--Rhino Records releases their first album, Wildmania.

1980--In England, Paul McCartney rehearses with his band, Wings, for his upcoming tour to Japan.

John Lennon recorded Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Bony Maronie during his career. Dizzy Miss Lizzie was on the Beatles' Help! LP and Bony Maronie was on Lennon's solo album, Rock'n'Roll. John Lennon was an avid fan of the early R&B music that came out of America in the late 1950s and early 1960s..1980--Larry Williams, who had hit songs like Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Bony Maronie is found dead in his Los Angeles home of a gunshot wound to the head. It is never resolved whether his death was a murder or suicide. He was 45 years old.

1983--Ringo Starr’s American TV special, “Ringo,” is finally aired in England, almost five years after its US premiere on April 26, 1978.

1985--Paul McCartney turns down an offer to appear in the TV show "Dallas." He is offered nearly one million pounds to appear in just eight episodes. His role would have been of one of a wealthy British landowner who visits Dallas to look for property. Paul turns it down because he didn’t wish to be apart from his family.

1995--The most distant galaxy yet discovered is found by scientists in Hawaii using the Keck telescope. It is estimated to be 15 billion light years away.

1999--In Europe, during VH1’s “Top 100 Weekend” The Beatles placed at number 16 in the Top 100 Artists poll.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net

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