On 2/1/49 RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm record to compete with Columbia's 33⅓ rpm LP discs, released in 1948. LPs nearly won the several-year-long format war, but after a huge advertising campaign by RCA, the major manufacturers began making both LPs and singles….Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died on 2/3/59 when their plane crashed in a cornfield in Iowa en route to Fargo, North Dakota. The three were on an extremely grueling winter bus tour and, in the middle of a blizzard, had flown ahead hoping to arrive early so they could do their laundry….On 2/1/64 Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh banned radio play of the Kingsmen's hit version of “Louie, Louie,” calling it pornographic. The song had been the subject of obscenity investigations by the FCC and the FBI, though the results were inconclusive as the investigators found the lyrics mostly indecipherable. Cryptic lyrics or not, over 1,600 versions of the song have been recorded to date….On 2/3/67 the legendary Joe Meek murdered his landlady with a shotgun before turning it on himself. Britain's first independent record producer and engineer, he made dozens of hit records in his home studio in the early '60s. Meek believed he was visited frequently by Buddy Holly's dead spirit, and some speculate that it's more than a coincidence that he died on the anniversary of Holly's passing….Vickie Jones, a hairstylist, was arrested on 2/15/69 after pretending to be Aretha Franklin at a concert in Fort Myers, Florida. Jones apparently convinced the crowd — reportedly, no one asked for a refund….Iggy Pop and the Stooges performed their final gig on 2/8/74 at Detroit's Michigan Palace. After getting into a fight with a Hell's Angel days before, Iggy went on the radio and challenged the whole gang to come to his gig, which they did. When he taunted the members to throw things at the stage, they obliged him with bottles, jugs, ice, and even shovels. The Stooges ended their six-song set by singing “Louie, Louie.” … On 2/17/88 12-year-old Bryan Tucker suffered severe burns on his legs when he set his pants on fire. The Hollywood, Florida, resident had poured rubbing alcohol onto his lap and ignited it in an attempt to mimic a stunt he saw on Mötley Crüe's Live Wire video. The group offered their condolences….On 2/1/89 jazz saxophonist and pianist Billy Tipton's death made news worldwide. A Spokane, Washington, funeral director announced that the 74-year-old Tipton, who had passed as a man since age 19, was actually a woman. Billy had a wife and three adopted children….Hundreds of k.d. lang look-alikes met at the London Women's Centre on 2/27/93 for a “k.d. convention.” They watched lang's music videos, listened to taped interviews with her, and had a k.d. karaoke competition. No men were allowed….On 2/18/97 the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the United States' largest Christian broadcaster, canceled Pat Boone's weekly gospel show after his appearance at the American Music Awards. The 62-year-old Boone had sported black leather, earrings, and fake tattoos to promote his In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy CD, on which he performs easy-listening versions of his favorite heavy-metal hits. TBN's financial supporters had been outraged.