January 17

Holidays

• Catholicism - Feast day of the following saints: St. Anthony and Amelbert.
• Ancient Latvia - Zirgu Diena observed

Events

• 2019 2019 Bogotá car bombing: A suicide car-bomb attack at the General Santander National Police Academy in Bogotá, Colombia, kills at least 20 people and injures more than 50 others. (The Guardian)
• 2018 Two Americans and two Canadians are abducted by unknown gunmen in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two police officers are killed after engaging in a firefight with the abductors. (Reuters)
• 2017 Boko Haram insurgency: A Nigerian Air Force jet mistakenly bombs a refugee camp in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, killing at least 90 people and injuring more than 100. The pilot reportedly believed he was attacking Boko Haram militants. (BBC)
• 2016 2016 Jakarta attacks: The confirmed death toll from this week's attacks rises to eight. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post)
• 2015 Terrorism in Yemen: Gunmen abduct the chief of staff to Yemen's president in the center of the capital, Sana'a. It is uncertain if Shiite Houthi rebels or al-Qaeda militants kidnapped Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak. (AP)
• 2014 2013–14 Thai political crisis:: An explosion rocks the protests in Bangkok resulting in dozens of injuries. (CNN), (AP)
• 2013 An Algerian official reports that a group of hostages has escaped from the natural gas complex that was taken over by Islamist militants. It is reported as many as 20 escaped, including Americans. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times) (Fox News)
• 2012 2012 Afar region tourist attack: Unknown assailants kill 2 Hungarians, 2 Germans and an Austrian in northeastern Ethiopia. (Al Jazeera)
• 2011 An explosion destroys a bus in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, killing 18. (''The Guardian'')
• 2010 Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, resulting in at least 200 deaths.
• 2009 North Korea claims to have ampquotweaponizedampquot 30.8 kilograms of plutonium, enough for four to five nuclear warheads. (CNN)
• 2008 British Airways Flight 38 crash lands just short of London Heathrow Airport in England with no fatalities. It is the first complete hull loss of a Boeing 777.
• 2007 The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea nuclear testing.
• 2006 In Scottsdale, Arizona, the 30th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction is held, over six days. The #003 1953 Corvette sells for US$1 million; this is the first existing production Corvette. A 1967 convertible, with 427 ci 435 hp engine sells for US$350,000.
• 2005 An Indian train fire that killed up to 60 Hindus and sparked deadly religious riots in 2002 was started by accident - not firebombs thrown by Muslims as had been reported, an Indian Railways inquiry headed by a retired Judge Bannerjee has said. Justice Banerjee said that according to eyewitness accounts people had been cooking in the carriage at the time it caught fire. (BBC)
• 2004 Planned NASA servicing missions for the Hubble Space Telescope are cancelled. Safety concerns are cited as the main reason behind the decision.
• 2003 Tom Ridge is unanimously recommended by a United States Senate subcommittee to be confirmed by the full Senate as head of the new United States Department of Homeland Security which is scheduled to begin operation on January 24. (RealAudio stream)
• 2001 U.S. President Bill Clinton posthumously raises Meriwether Lewis' rank from Lieutenant to Captain.
• 2000 In the United States, for the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is officially observed in all fifty states.
• 1998 President Clinton faces sexual harassment charges from Paula Jones
• 1997 NBA suspends Dennis Rodman indefinitely, fines him $25,000 for kicking cameraman.
• 1996 The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
• 1995 Carousel closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 322 performances
• 1994 6.6 Earthquake hits Los Angeles killing 60, $30B in damage
• 1993 Russian Irina Privalova cycles world record 300m indoor (35.45 seconds).
• 1992 Sarah Ferguson attends dinner of Everglades club (club excludes Jews)
• 1991 Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles on Israel
• 1990 5th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Awards: Bobby Darin
• 1989 Gunman opens fire in California schoolyard; 5 students slain, 30 wounded
• 1988 Teddy & Alice closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 77 performances
• 1987 US President Ronald Reagan signs secret order permitting covert sale of arms to Iran.
• 1986 Tim Witherspoon beats Tony Tubbs in 15 to regain WBA heavyweight title.
• 1985 Azharuddin scores second Test century in second Test (versus England).
• 1984 US Supreme Court rules (5-4) private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws.
• 1983 10th American Music Awards: Kenny Rogers.
• 1982 Mauno Koivisto is elected President of Finland.
• 1981 Philippino President Marcos ends state of siege
• 1980 NASA launches Fltsatcom-3.
• 1979 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran
• 1977 NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 24-14
• 1976 Hermes rocket launched by European Space Agency.
• 1973 City of Amsterdam decides to support Hanoi, Vietnam.
• 1972 Section of Memphis, Tennessee, Highway 51 South renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard.
• 1971 Super Bowl V: Baltimore Colts-16, Dallas Cowboys-13 in Miami, Florida; Most Valuable Player: Chuck Howley, Dallas, Linebacker.
• 1970 Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s
• 1969 Beatles release Yellow Submarine album in the UK
• 1968 Soyuz 4 and 5 completed 1st docking of 2 manned spacecraft
• 1966 B-52 / KC-135 tankers crash near Spanish coast at Palomares, 7 die
• 1964 John Glenn announces that he will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Ohio.
• 1963 Joe Walker takes X-15 to altitude of 82 km.
• 1962 A NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to 40,690 m
• 1961 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the ''military-industrial complex''.
• 1960 NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 38-21.
• 1959 Say, Darling closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 332 performances
• 1957 9-county commission recommends creation of BART
• 1955 Submarine USS Nautilus begins first nuclear-powered test voyage.
• 1954 NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 20-9.
• 1953 The General Motors Motorama opens to the general public in New York City. The prototype Chevrolet Corvette "Dream Car" is displayed to the public for the first time. The roadster is white with red interior, fiberglass body, 235-cid straight-6 engine, and two-speed automatic. Also on display at the Motorama: Buick fiberglass-bodied two-passenger Wildcat, Oldsmobile fiberglass-bodied four-passenger convertible Starfire, Cadillac fiberglass-bodied two-passenger roadster Le Mans.
• 1951 China refuses cease-fire in Korea.
• 1950 Alive & Kicking opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 46 performances
• 1949 The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
• 1948 Trial of 11 US Communist party members begins in New York City
• 1947 Muiden Netherlands ammunition factory explodes, 16 die.
• 1946 The UN Security Council holds its first session.
• 1945 Liberation of Warsaw by Soviet troops (end of Nazi occupation)
• 1944 Korvet Violet sinks U-641 in Atlantic Ocean
• 1943 Tin Can Drive Day
• 1941 Franco-Thai War: French forces inflict a decisive victory over the Royal Thai Navy.
• 1939 Ed Barrow is elected New York Yankees president succeeding deceased J Ruppert.
• 1938 Supreme Soviet elects Michail Kalinin as presidium chairman.
• 1934 Carl Hubbell, NL MVP winner, gets $18,000 contract by the New York Giants
• 1933 Bradman takes second Test wicket, Hammond, bowled
• 1929 Popeye makes first appearance, in comic strip Thimble Theatre.
• 1928 The OGPU arrests Lev Trotsky in Moscow he assumes a status of passive resistance.
• 1926 George Burns marries Gracie Allen
• 1923 Belgian Working People Party protests against occupied Ruhrgebied.
• 1920 Paul Deschanel elected President of France.
• 1918 Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
• 1917 The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
• 1916 1st PGA Championship: Jim Barnes at Siwanoy Country Club - Bronxville, New York
• 1915 Russia occupies Bukovina and Western Ukraine.
• 1913 Raymond Poincare is elected President of France.
• 1912 Robert Scott expedition arrives at South Pole, 1 month after Amundsen
• 1911 Failed assassination attempt on premier Aristide Briand in French Assembly.
• 1905 Punchboards patented by Charles Brewer and C G Scannell, Chicago Illinois.
• 1904 Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
• 1903 El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
• 1900 Brigham H. Roberts of Utah is not seated by the U.S. House of Representatives because of his plural marriage.
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Famous Birthday

• Michelle Obama

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• Jim Carrey

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• Françoise Hardy

  French chanson singer and actress seen...

• Zooey Deschanel

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• Betty White

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• Eartha Kitt

  Pop Singer.

• Eartha Kitt

  Pop Singer.

• Sylvie Testud

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• Andy Kaufman

  American actor who performed his...

• Naveen Andrews

  British actor.

• James Earl Jones
• François Damiens

  Belgian actor and humorist, widely known...

• Benno Fürmann
• Ryuichi Sakamoto

  Japanese pianist composer producer and...

• Shari Lewis

  American puppeteer, ventriloquist,...

• Shabba Ranks

  Jamaican singer.

• Sheree North
• Sebastian Junger

  American writer, the author of a...

• Micaela Ramazzotti
• Brian Helgeland

  American director producer and...

• Diogo Morgado

  TV Actor.

• Hilda Koronel
• Patsy Ruth Miller

  Actress (Wide Open, Sap, Twin Beds),...

• Adriana Ugarte
• Momoe Yamaguchi

  Japanese singer and actress.

• Lucy Boynton
• Kelly Marie Tran
• Paul Young

  rock vocalist/keyboardist ("Every Time...

• Willa Fitzgerald

  TV Actress.

• Moira Shearer

  Scottish ballerina known as one of the...

• Vittoria Belvedere

  Italian actress who has appeared in...

• Jane Elliot

  Actress.

• Jonathan Keltz

  Actor.

• Noah Beery

  Actor (Beau Geste, Cimarron Kid, Mammy),...

• Hale Appleman

  American actor.

• Muhammad Ali

  American light-heavyweight gold...

• Dalida

  World-famous singer and actress born in...

• Mathilde Seigner

  French actress, Emmanuelle'sister.

• Calvin Harris

  Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter and...

• Dwyane Wade

  American basketball player.

• Kid Rock

  American singer.

• Steve Harvey

  American actor, comedian and radio...

• Ray J

  American rapper and singer.

• Claude Guéant

  French civil servant, he studied law at...

• Simone Simons

  Dutch mezzo-soprano singer and the lead...

• Mel Lisboa

  Brazilian actress and noted family, the...

• Yelle (singer)
• Susanna Hoffs

  American singer-songwriter guitarist and...

• Tiësto
• Maksim Chmerkovskiy

  Dancer.

• Carolina Ardohain
• Tom Dooley

  American humanitarian (d. 1961).

• Jacques Plante

  Canadian hockey player, called "Jake the...

• Duane Hanson

  American artist and sculptor, he is...

• Vidal Sassoon

  English-American hairdresser and...

• Mick Taylor

  English singer-songwriter and guitarist...

• Nafissatou Diallo
• Sophie Dee

  Welsh pornographic actress.

• Jean Barraqué

  French composer (d. 1973).

• Bernard Yerlès
• Scott Mechlowicz

  American actor.

• Ricky Wilson (British musician)
• Didier Lecat

  French journalist, writer and director.

• Jamy Gourmaud
• Sadruddin Aga Khan
• Mack Sennett

  Canadian-American actor director and...

• Paul Young (singer and guitarist)
• Théo Lefevre
• Alain Badiou

  French philosopher, formerly chair of...

• Tabaré Vázquez

  Uruguayan physician and politician 39th...

• Coco Lee
• Peter Werner (director)
• Miguel Martinez

  French athlete, Olympic Bronze Medal...

• Petra Mandula
• Geoffrey Deuel

  American minor actor, the brother of...

• Keith Chegwin

  British television personality and host...

• Wendy Yoshimura

  American artist and political activist,...

• Steve Earle

  American singer-songwriter, record...

• Damien Alary
• Augustin Dumay

  French violinist and conductor.

• Jean-Pierre Berthet
• Thierry Ascione
• Jeanette Fitzsimons
• Chloe Lattanzi

  American singer and actress, the...

• Michel Lancelot

  Lognes Journalist.

• Louis Armand

  French engineer, Member of the French...

• Renzo Sambo

  Italian champion rower who received the...

• Domenic Troiano

  Italian-Canadian musician, a guitarist...

• Carola Durán
• Richard Burns

  English race car driver (d. 2005).

• Robert F Kennedy Jr

  Attorney (Natural Resources Defense...

• Salome Kammer
• Alvaro Arbeloa

  Spanish footballer.

• Matt McGinn
• Annemarie Jacir
• Tatyana Yumasheva
• Carole McDonald

  American singer who used her talent in...

• Maia Chiburdanidze

  Georgian chess player.

• Joseph C Phillips
• Kangin

  South Korean singer dancer and actor...

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Famous Deaths

• Virginia Mayo

  St. Louis, Missouri -- Actress (Out of...

• Barbara Britton

  Actress (Pamela-Mr & Mrs North), dies at...

• Evelyn Nesbit

  American model and actress (d. 1967).

• Patrice Lumumba

  1st democratically elected Prime...

• Charles Hernu

  French Minister of Defense 1981-1985 who...

• Clyde Tombaugh

  American astronomer and academic...

• Barbara Jordan

  American attorney, politician and...

• Barbara Jordan

  American attorney, politician and...

• Dougal Haston

  Scottish minor actor, writer and...

• Dorothy Alison

  Actress (Maggie, 3rd Key, Long Arm).

• TH White

  British-Indian author who is best known...

• Noble Willingham

  American actor best known for his role...

• Camilo Jose Cela

  Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate...

• Bishop Karas

  Sudanese-born American religious leader...

• Albert Schatz

  American microbiologist (Born 1920).

• Zhao Ziyang

  Former Premier of the People's Republic...

• Francis Galton English scholar

  dies at age 88.

• William H Pickering

  astronomer (predicted planet Pluto),...

• Walter O "Spike" Briggs

  owner (Detroit Tigers), dies at age 74.

• Gary Gilmore executed by firing squad in Utah

  first US execution since 1967.

• Doodles Weaver

  actor/comedian (Ring of Fire), shoots...

• Charlie Ventura

  jazz sax (Bop for the people), dies of...

• Noel Chiboust

  trumpeter/saxophonist, dies at age 84.

• Grady "Fats" Jackson

  tenor sax player, dies at age 66.

• Chung Il Kwon

  Prime Minister of South Korea (1964-70),...

• Allan G Odell

  ad executive (Burma Shave), dies at age...

• Robert Covington

  drummer/singer, dies at age 54.

• Barbara Charline Jordan

  American politician, dies at age 59...

• Charles Henry Madge

  poet writer/sociologist, dies at age 83.

• John Adrian Hope

  politician/businessman, dies at age 83.

• Asfa Wossen [Amha Selassie]

  crown emperor of Ethiopia in exile,...

• Andrea Fisher

  artist, dies at age 21.

• Sir Francis Smith

  Premier of Tasmania (Born 1819).

• Ignaz Wechselmann

  Hungarian architect and philanthropist...

• Sir Francis Galton

  English polymath, anthropologist,...

• Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia

  son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich...

• Juliette Gordon Low

  American founder of the Girl Scouts of...

• Mateiu Caragiale

  Romanian author (Born 1885).

• Louis Comfort Tiffany

  American artist and designer (Born...

• Blind Alfred Reed

  American folk, country, and old-time...

• Simon Kovar

  Russian-American bassoonist (Born 1890).

• Loukas Panourgias

  Greek footballer (Born 1899).

• Amber Hagerman

  American namesake of the Amber Alert...

• Yevgeni Ivanov

  Soviet spy involved in the Profumo...

• Mostafa Sid Ahmed

  Sudanese singer (Born 1953).

• Junior Kimbrough

  American bluesman (Born 1930).

• Bert Kelly

  Australian politician (Born 1912).

• Robert Eads

  American transsexual (Born 1945).

• Samantha Reid

  American girl killed by GHB overdose...

• Ferdinand IV SMJJBFLGRRJ

  Ruler of Toscane, dies at 72.

• Czes?aw Niemen

  Polish musician (Born 1939).

• Ernie Holmes

  American football player (Born 1948).

• Yevhen Kushnaryov

  Ukrainian politician (Born 1951).

• Daisuke Gouri

  Japanese seiyu (Born 1952).

• Michalis Papakonstantinou

  Greek politician and author (Born 1919).

• Gerrit Achterberg

  Dutch poet (Dead End), dies at age 56.

• Ray Stark

  American film producer and Hollywood...

• Walter Briggs

  Sr.

• Gregory Corso

  Beat poet (Happy Birthday of Death, Long...

• Don Kirshner

  American songwriter and producer (d....

• Gaines Adams

  American football player (Born 1983).

• Pierre Grondin

  French Canadian cardiac surgeon (Born...

• Walther von Reichenau

  German field marshal (Born 1884).

• Harry Brecheen

  American baseball player and coach (d....

• Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve

  French Archbishop of Quebec (Born 1883).

• Betty Smith

  American author and playwright (d....

• Billy Stewart

  singer ("I Do Love You"), dies in...

• Hugo Fregonese

  Argentinian director and screenwriter...

• Balint Vazsonyi

  Hungarian pianist (Born 1936).

• Jose Leite de Vasconcelos

  Portuguese Scholar (Etnografia), dies at...

• Frederick Jerome Work

  Composer, dies at 61.

• Gottfried Rudinger

  Composer, dies at 59.

• Terence Hanbury White

  Novelist (England Have My Bones), dies...

• Julis Deutsch

  Austria politician / General of the...

• Olav AFEC van Sleeswijk-Holstein-S-G V

  King of Norway (1957).

• Clyde William Tombaugh

  American astronomer (discovered Pluto),...

• Klaas Peereboom

  Dutch sports reporter (Het Parool), dies...

• Urias Nooteboom

  Dutch journalist / critic (The Time),...

• Giles William Playfair

  Writer, dies at 85.

• Pyotr Krasnov

  Russian counter-revolutionary (Born...

• Charlie Bell

  Australian fast food executive (Born...

• Jacob G Agarah Swedish algologist

  dies at age 87.

• Gideon Scheepers South African Boer leader

  executed.

• Wilhelm F Kohlrausch Germ physicist (Additiviteitsregel)

  dies at age 69.

• Thomas Crapper inventor (flush toilet)

  dies.

• Carl Baermann composer

  dies at age 73.

• Hendrik Goeman Borgesius Dutch politician

  dies at age 70.

• Joannes A Veraart

  Dutch judge/Member of Parliament, (Jews...

• J A Veraart

  Economist, dies at 68.

• Ger ter Horst

  Dutch soccer trainer (Sparta), dies.

• Isador Caplan

  lawyer/Aldeburgh Festival pioneer, dies...

• Albert Jacka

  Australian captain Victoria Cross...

• Queenie Leonard

  English-American actress and singer (d....

• Allan Melvin

  American actor singer and screenwriter...

• Anders Isaksson

  Swedish journalist, writer, and...

• Jyoti Basu

  Indian politician 6th Chief Minister of...

• Frank Pullen

  English businessman and racehorse owner...

• Bill Walker

  Actor (Big Mo, Mask, Harlem...

• Betty Smith

  American author and playwright (d....

• Albert Hourani

  English historian and author (d. 1993).

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Top #1 songs in the USA

• 2018 Ed Sheeran - Perfect
• 2017 Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane - Black Beatles
• 2016 Adele - Hello
• 2015 Taylor Swift - Blank Space
• 2014 Eminem Featuring Rihanna - The Monster
• 2013 Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven
• 2012 LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It
• 2011 Katy Perry - Firework
• 2010 Ke$ha - TiK ToK
• 2009 Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
• 2008 Flo Rida - Low
• 2007 Beyonce - Irreplaceable
• 2006 D4L - Laffy Taffy
• 2005 Mario - Let Me Love You
• 2004 OutKast - Hey Ya!
• 2003 Eminem - Lose Yourself
• 2002 Nickelback - How You Remind Me
• 2001 Destiny's Child - Independent Women Part I
• 2000 Christina Aguilera - What A Girl Wants
• 1999 Brandy - Have You Ever?
• 1998 Elton John - Something About The Way You Look Tonight
• 1998 Elton John - Candle In The Wind 1997
• 1997 Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart
• 1996 Mariah Carey - One Sweet Day
• 1995 Boyz II Men - On Bended Knee
• 1994 Mariah Carey - Hero
• 1993 Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
• 1992 Michael Jackson - Black Or White
• 1991 Madonna - Justify My Love
• 1990 Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise
• 1989 Bobby Brown - My Prerogative
• 1988 George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
• 1987 Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian
• 1986 Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me
• 1985 Madonna - Like A Virgin
• 1984 Paul McCartney - Say Say Say
• 1983 Men At Work - Down Under
• 1982 Olivia Newton-John - Physical
• 1981 John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over
• 1980 Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
• 1979 Bee Gees - Too Much Heaven
• 1978 Player - Baby Come Back
• 1977 Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
• 1976 C. W. McCall - Convoy
• 1975 Elton John - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
• 1974 Steve Miller Band - The Joker
• 1973 Carly Simon - You're So Vain
• 1972 Don McLean - American Pie (Parts 1 and 2)
• 1971 George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
• 1970 B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
• 1969 Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
• 1968 The Beatles - Hello Goodbye
• 1967 The Monkees - I'm A Believer
• 1966 The Beatles - We Can Work It Out
• 1965 The Supremes - Come See About Me
• 1964 Bobby Vinton - There! I've Said It Again
• 1963 Steve Lawrence - Go Away Little Girl
• 1962 Chubby Checker - The Twist
• 1961 Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra - Wonderland By Night
• 1960 Marty Robbins - El Paso
• 1959 The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song
• 1958 Danny & The Juniors - At The Hop
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Top #1 Rock songs

• 2018 Imagine Dragons - Thunder
• 2017 twenty one pilots - Heathens
• 2016 twenty one pilots - Stressed Out
• 2015 Hozier - Take Me To Church
• 2014 Lorde - Royals
• 2013 The Lumineers - Ho Hey
• 2012 The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
• 2011 The Black Keys - Tighten Up
• 2010 Three Days Grace - Break