2006 – J Dilla, a founding member of hip-hop act Slum Village, dies in Los Angeles. He is 32. The Detroit-hailing rapper/producer succumbed to complications from lupus.
2004 – Eminem is among the guests heard on the second season premiere episode of Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers.” The rapper gives voice to “Bobby’s Brother” opposite comedian Jim Florentine’s “Bobby” in a prank phone call to a restaurant.
2003 – A Billboard.com poll finds that the nominations for the 45th annual Grammy Awards are not an accurate representation of the year’s best music. A full 75% of the 4,490 voters express that view. The largest percentage, 42%, believe that the nominations are skewed unfairly toward artists who have enjoyed mainstream commercial success.
2002 – Folk singer Dave Van Ronk, who had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer, dies at New York University Medical Center. He is 65.
2001 – Saxophonist Buddy Tate dies in a nursing home in Chandler, Ariz., after a battle with cancer. He is 85. Tate was one of the oldest surviving members of the Count Basie Orchestra.
1999 – It is announced that BPI Communications is suspending publication of its Musician magazine after 21 years.
1990 – Guitarist Eric Clapton finishes an 18-show stand at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The performances, which began Jan. 18, included three different bands, a 60-piece orchestra and blues jams with Robert Cray.
1987 – Expos’s debut album, “Exposure,” is released.
1980 – No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Do That to Me One More Time,” The Captain & Tennille.
1970 – No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)/Everybody Is a Star,” Sly & the Family Stone.
1950 – No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Rag Mop,” Ames Brothers.
1939 – Roberta Flack is born in Asheville, N.C. Her biggest hit is “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which top Billboard’s Hot 100 for six weeks in 1972. The song is featured in the Clint Eastwood film “Play Misty for Me.”
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