Today The Boss debuts, a Kink takes a bullet, and one of the greatest-ever jazz legends passes on...

1/5/1973 (43 years ago today) - Bruce Springsteen releases his first album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." Featuring nine all original compositions, the LP was recorded in a single week and went on to sell...maybe around 25,000 copies before stalling out and disappearing, essentially. The now-classic tracks "Blinded By The Light" and "Spirit In The Night" were released as singles -- neither one made the charts! (Four years later, Manfred Mann would hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard singles chart with their cover of "Blinded By The Light".) Columbia Records had faith in their young artist, though. His next album, "The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle" became a critics favorite and Bruce's live shows were getting major buzz. We wonder: would a record label be as patient today...?

1/5/1979 (37 years ago today) - Jazz pioneer Charles Mingus died aged 56. The highly influential double-bassist/bandleader/composer was somewhat hard to categorize; his live shows and recordings fused the hard and soulful feel of hard bop and black Gospel with free-form-jazz-explorations and avant-garde classical leanings. Mingus' ambitious music was matched by a fearsome temperament -- his refusal to compromise often led to onstage eruptions and dismissing fellow musicians even in the middle of a performance! Jeff Beck, Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello have covered Charles' work; 1959's "Blues And Roots" album on the Atlantic label is an indescribable and astonishing piece of work. Unique indeed.

1/5/2004 (12 years ago today) - Ray Davies of The Kinks was shot in the leg while on holiday in New Orleans; apparently Ray thought it was a good idea to actually try and chase down the two men who stole his girlfriend's purse at gunpoint. One of the culprits was arrested; at the hospital, Ray's injuries were not considered serious, though they did wonder what the hell he was thinking...

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"Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun...", xoxo!

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