Jan 17 in Music History: Dave Mason records the trumpet on “Penny Lane,” David Bowie gets his first #1 album in the US

1967 – London’s Daily Mail newspaper carries an article about potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire, inspiring John Lennon to mention it in “A Day In The Life.” That same day, a 40-year-old David Mason records the piccolo trumpet solo for The Beatles’ “Penny Lane” at Abbey Road Studios in London. He was paid £27 ($42) for his performance.

1969 – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts publishes his book, Ode to a High Flying Bird. The book is a tribute to Charlie Parker.

1979 – Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton announce their intention to record what would be known as the Trio album together. It would be eight years before the recording was actually made.

1996 – David Bowie, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles, and The Velvet Underground are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2003 – A long-lost recording featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger sparks a bidding war at a London auction. The acetate record was recorded in 1974 with Jagger singing the blues song “Too Many Cooks” and Lennon playing guitar. The track had never been released because the two artists were both signed to different record companies.

2016 – David Bowie reached #1 on the US album charts for the first time with Blackstar, released two days before his death on January 10th. His highest-charting US album previously had been The Next Day, which peaked at #2 in 2013.