January 13

 

Soul music lost one of its most sensitive voices today in 1979 when Donny Hathaway fell from a 15th floor New York hotel window at 33, the troubled singer's apparent suicide ending the career of the artist whose duets with Roberta Flack and solo hits showcased his vulnerable artistry…

 

R&B mourned a titan today in 2010 when Teddy Pendergrass died at 59 following complications from colon cancer surgery, ending the life of the former Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes frontman whose car accident paralysis couldn't stop him from recording powerful music for three more decades…

 

Pop art met performance art today in 1970 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono had their hair cut and donated it to a charity auction, the conceptual gesture typical of the couple's attempt to use their celebrity for peace activism and artistic statements…

 

We remember jazz guitar's most fluid virtuoso Joe Pass on his birthday today in 1929, the bebop master whose unaccompanied albums proved the guitar could be a complete orchestra unto itself before his death in 1994 ended a career of effortless sophistication…

 

Big band history was made on this day in 1941 when The Modernaires vocal group joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra on a permanent basis, their smooth harmonies becoming essential to the band's sound on hits during the swing era's final golden years…

 

Disco met legal absurdity today in 1979 when the YMCA filed a lawsuit against Village People for their hit "Y.M.C.A.," the organization claiming defamation despite the song's celebration ultimately boosting their membership and cultural relevance worldwide.