Jan 8 in Music History: Elvis and David Bowie are born, Blackstar is released

1935 – Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

1947 – David Bowie is born in Brixton, South London, England.

1957 – Elvis Presley takes the U.S. Army pre-induction exam on his 22nd birthday.

1960 – Eddie Cochran’s holds his last recording session in Hollywood.

1968 – Stax Records releases Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” and Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You.”

1973 – Elvis files for divorce from Priscilla Presley.

1974 – KISS sign their first recording deal, with Casablanca Records.

1979 – Canadian rock band Rush are named the country’s official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.

1981 – Linda Ronstadt makes her Broadway debut alongside Rex Smith and Kevin Kline in the revival of The Pirates of Penzance, which runs for 787 performances.

1991 – Jeremy Delle, a 16-year-old student at Richardson High School in Texas, shoots himself in his English class. When Eddie Vedder reads about it, he writes the song “Jeremy” about young people who have committed suicide in schools.

2016 – Two days before his death, David Bowie releases his 25th and final album Blackstar on his 69th birthday. It becomes his first and only album to reach #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Information for this post was gathered from This Day in Music, The Music History Calendar, On This Day, and Wikipedia.