1959: Buddy Holly left for Milwaukee to begin the Winter Dance Party tour. (Note: numerous websites say that Holly made 14 final recordings today, which cannot be true since he left early for Milwaukee, as noted above. Holly made his last recordings ( "That's What They Say", "What To Do", "Peggy Sue Got Married," "That Makes It Tough", "Crying, Waiting Hoping" (often shown incorrectly as just "Crying"), "Learning The Game", "Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie", "Drown In My Own Tears", "Maria Elena" (which is mostly Buddy's wife Maria talking and the noise of the apartment), "Dearest", "Love Is Strange", "Smoky Joe's Café" "Buddy's Guitar", and "Slippin' And Slidin'") from December to early January alone with an acoustic guitar and an Ampex reel to reel tape recorder in his apartment in New York City. The first two were recorded December 3, "Peggy Sue Got Married" was recorded December 5, "That Makes It Tough" was recorded December 8, "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" was recorded December 14, and "Learning The Game" was recorded on December 17. The last eight songs were recorded sometime between January 1 and January 19, but there is no exact record, and they definitely were not recorded on December 22. The songs were later released posthumously with dubs added and are referred to as "The Apartment Tapes".)
1960: Sam Cooke signed with RCA Records. (Note: there is no definitive source that indicates the exact date Cooke signed the contract. Although some websites say it occurred on January 21, most center on January 22, which was Cooke's 29th birthday.)
1960: Sam Cooke signed with RCA Records. (Note: there is no definitive source that indicates the exact date Cooke signed the contract. Although some websites say it occurred on January 21, most center on January 22, which was Cooke's 29th birthday.)
