Weather

Although the atmospheric lighting phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis had been known for centuries, one of the best-documented early sightings was made on this day in New England, USA. The phenomenon has inspired songwriters for centuries, one early example being The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen, widely considered a traditional Scottish folk song but actually written in 1952 by Mel and Mary Webb, an English couple who had never even visited Aberdeen, far less seen the lights. A Flock of Seagulls describe the Aurora in one verse of their 1982 hit song, I Ran [So Far Away]. British folk rock band Renaissance released a single, Northern Lights, in 1978, and The Meat Puppets released Aurora Borealis in 1984 on their album Meat Puppets II. One of the most recent successful songs inspired by the Aurora is 1997's UK hit single Northern Lites by Super Furry Animals.

Charley Patton records Dry Well Blues for Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin, USA. The song is inspired by the severe drought which began in the spring of 1930 in Mississippi and other Southern states. On the same day, at the same session, Son House records Dry Spell Blues, dealiong with similar subject matter.

Mexican singer Rosenda Arca records El Ranchero, Red Wind, Marchenos En La Vida and other tracks in Kingsville, Texas, USA.

The movie Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and others, opens to cinemas in Portugal, Europe.

The Cats And A Fiddle are playing at The Hurricane Cocktail Lounge, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Mary Lou Williams records Walking, De Function, Cloudy and I Won't Let It Bother Me for Circle Records in New York City, USA.

The MGM musical Singin' In The Rain, starring Gene Kelly, goes into production in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Mary DeLoatch records The Lord's Gospel Train, It's Safe To Trust Him, Rumors Of War, Life Was A Burden, Shine Like A Rainbow and Listen To The Gossip for Savoy Records in New York City, USA.

Cass And The Cassanovas play in a Rock Night at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, UK, supported by Eddie Storm And The Clubmen.

Movie George Wein And The Storyville Sextet record I Ain't Got Nobody, September In The Rain and other tracks for BethlehemRecords during a performance at The Museum Of Modern Art, New York City, USA.

Judy Garland records Stormy Weather, Do It Again, Lucky Day and Chicago (That Todding Town) for Capitol Records, in London, UK.

Ringo Starr, drummer with Rory Storm And The Hurricanes, deputises for Pete Best when The Beatles back Lou Walters of The Hurricanes during a recording session in Akustik Studio, Hamburg, Germany.

With Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, in the grip of a blizzard, a concert by Liberace at the 1200-seater Monticello Theater attracts an audience of just four people. Nevertheless, the flambouyant pianist performs his full show for them.

Jane Morgan is playing during a three-week engagement at Elmwood Casino, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Hank Snow And His Rainbow Ranch Boys are playing during a six-day engagement at The Flame Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Monty Sunshine's Jazz Band plays at The Civic Hall, Croydon, England, UK, Europe.

The Wynton Kelly Trio record Surrey With The Fringe On Top, Gone With The Wind and other tracks for Vee-Jay Records in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Rory Storm And The Hurricanes play at The Blue Penguin Club, St. John's Hall, Bootle, Merseyside, England, UK, Europe. Their drummer, Ringo Starr, will go on to greater fame as a member of The Beatles.

The Gene Ammons - Joe Newman - Brother Jack McDuff Sextet record Stormy Monday Blues, Satin Doll and other tracks at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for Prestige Records.

Joe Maphis And Rose Lee Maphis record Whiskey Is The Devil In Liquid Form, Why Do You Weep Dear Willow?, Put Away My Little Shoes and Teardrops Falling In The Snow at Capitol Recording Studio, 1750 North Vine Street, Hollywood, California, USA.

The Vernons Girls play at The Civic Hall, Exter, UK, supported by Gary Kane, Dean Hunter and "The Fabulous Tornadoes".

Carole King releases a new single, It Might As Well Rain Until September, on Companion Records in the USA.

A firestorm roars through Placerita Canyon, Newhall, California, USA, destroying virtually all of Melody Ranch, owned by singing cowboy Gene Autry.

Chubby Checker begins a brief tour of Ireland, Europe, while promoting his latest single Black Cloud.

The album In The Wind by Peter, Paul And Mary is awarded a Gold Disc in the USA by the R.I.A.A.

Hank Thompson records September In The Rain, Till Then and other tracks in Capitol Recording Studio, 1750 North Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The Bill Evans Trio, with vocalist Monica Zetterlund, record Come Rain or Come Shine, Jeq vet en dejlig rosa, It Could Happen to You, Om natten, Some Other Time and Waltz For Debby at Radiohuset Stockholm, Sweden, Europe.

Cream play at The Ricky Tick Club, Windsor, England, UK.

The Willows record World Without Sunshine and Outside The City, for MGM Records in the USA.

NEW ZEALAND'S (LEVER HIT PARADE) SINGLE CHART FOR January 6,1966 The Level Hit Parade Singles chart in New Zealand for this day is as follows :

TW LW Song - Artist

1 1 Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds

2 2 A Lover's Concerto - The Toys

3 3 Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out - The Beatles

4 4 England Swings - Roger Miller

5 5 Get Off Of My Cloud - The Rolling Stones

6 6 1-2-3 -Len Barry

7 7 Yesterday Man - Chris Andrews

8 8 Let's Hang On - The Four Seasons

Jimmy Martin and The Sunny Mountain Boys record Little Maggie, She's So Sweet for Decca Records in the USA.

The Rain, The Park And Other Things by The Cowsills peaks at No2 in the Billboard Top 40 Singles chart in the USA.

The Rolling Stones spend a second day working on the song Gimme Shelter at Olympic Studios, London, England, UK, Europe. On the same day, Mick Jagger records an interview for the BBC radio show Scene And Heard.

The Rolling Stones record a performance of Gimme Shelter for the UK tv show Pop Go The Sixties.

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head by Johnny Farnham reaches No1 in the Australian pop singles chart. The song is composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Billie Myers is born in Coventry, UK. She will find success with the 1997 single Kiss The Rain.

On his his 97-date Purple Rain tour, Prince plays the second of five nights at the 16,800 seater Omni, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Dierks Bentley plays at Deer Valley Resort’s Snow Park Amphitheater, Park City, Utah, USA.

When Kanye West plays at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, Australia, he stops his show because two fans have not stood up as he asked the audience to during the song Good Life. When it transpires that the two people are disabled and confined to wheelchairs, West continues the song, but his insensitivity provokes a storm of anger in the media worldwide.

On their Dumb And Confused tour, Rat Boy play at The Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, England, UK, Europe.

Gloryhammer play at Ninkasi Kao, Lyon, France, Europe, supported by Nekrogoblikon and Wind Rose.

Vasudeva release a new LP, Generator, on Skeletal Lightning.