In 1949, at the E.T. Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hank Williams recorded four songs, including his composition "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and Clarence Williams' "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It."
In 1958, Ricky Nelson gave the first of six sold-out performances over three days at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey and, with 44,221 tickets sold, broke the previous attendance record of 41,000 for the venue set by Frank Sinatra.
In 1959, Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" debuts on Billboard's Pop chart. The song, taken from a 1928 German play called Three Penny Opera, will be Darin's biggest hit, reaching the top of the Billboard Pop chart and winning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
In 1961, at Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut studio in Nashville, Brenda Lee recorded "Fool #1" and "Break It To Me Gently."
In 1961, the Paris Sisters released their Phil Spector-produced single, "I Love How You Love Me."
In 1961, at RCA Victor Studio A in New York City, Neil Sedaka recorded "Next Door To An Angel."
In 1962, the Beatles played at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, at lunchtime and at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester at night with Gerry & the Pacemakers.
In 1963, the Beatles were filmed for a British documentary on the Mersey Beat scene. Some of the footage was broadcast on January 3, 1964 on NBC-TV's "Jack Paar Show," which was more than a month before they performed on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show." The Beatles' first U.S. television appearance was in a feature story on NBC-TV's "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" that aired on November 18, 1963. A story about the Fab Four scheduled for the November 22 edition of the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" was delayed to December 10 because of the presidential assassination.
In 1963, after six years of weekday programs, ABC-TV's "American Bandstand" aired its final show before becoming a weekly offering on Saturdays for the remainder of its 32-year run, which ended in 1989.
In 1963, arranger/conductor Axel Stordahl, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra at Columbia Records in the 1940s and early 1950s, died of cancer at the age of 50.
In 1968, the Byrds released their sixth album, 'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.' Recorded with the addition of country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it was influential as the first major country-rock album by an established act and represented a stylistic move away from the psychedelic rock of the band's previous LP, 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers.' The album received mostly positive reviews in the music press, but the band's shift away from psychedelic music alienated much of its pop audience. Despite being the most commercially unsuccessful Byrds' album to date upon its initial release, the album is today considered to be a seminal and highly influential country-rock albumIn 1969, the three day Texas Pop Festival took place featuring Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Sam & Dave, Santana, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Delaney & Bonnie, Nazz, Spirit, BB King, Canned Heat and Chicago. Over 120,000 fans attended the festival.
In 1970, in Malmo, Sweden, the Rolling Stones began a European tour.
In 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono played Madison Square Gardens to raise money for the One to One charity. Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack also appeared at the event. Lennon personally bought $60,000 worth of tickets which were given to volunteer fund-raisers. Several of the performances were later included on Lennon's, Live in New York City album. The concert raised nearly $250,000 for Willowbrook Handicapped Children's Home.In 1973, the Doors officially disband, two years after Jim Morrison's death. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Kreiger have since attempted several reunions.
In 1975, Orleans enters the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with "Dance With Me," which would climb to #6. They would return a year later with "Still The One" (#5) and again in 1979 with "Love Takes Time" (#11).
In 1975, KC and the Sunshine Band went to #1 on the US singles chart with, "Get Down Tonight," the group's first of five #1's.
In 1975, guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler, Paul Kossoff 'died' for 35 minutes in hospital after being taken ill. (Kossoff died on March 19, 1976 of heart failure after a history of drug abuse).
In 1980, "Sailing" by Christopher Cross was Billboard's top single. The record would sweep the Grammy Awards the next Spring when it won for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year
In 1982, in Denver, Queen performed at McNichols Arena.
In 1984, Beatles fans paid $271,180 for memorabilia at an auction in London, England.
In 1988, singer Brenda Lee sued MCA for back royalties of more than $20 million. The suit was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
In 1988, percussionist/songwriter "Papa Dee" Allen of the group War died onstage of a brain hemorrhage at age 57.
In 1990, in Las Vegas, Canadian-born singer Paul Anka became a U.S. citizen, then discovered his illegally-parked car had been towed away during the naturalization service.
On this day in 1991, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams was the #1 song.
In 1993, Billy Joel became the first musical guest on CBS-TV's "The Late Show with David Letterman" when the show debuted.
In 1995, Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was the first time they appeared live on the same stage since 1979. The former couple played their own solo sets before combining their efforts in raising money for the local agricultural society.
In 1995, Sterling Morrison founder member of the Velvet Underground died of cancer at his home in New York City two days after his 53rd birthday. The guitarist left the group in August 1971 and re-joined in 1992 for a European tour. During the 80's he became the Captain of a Houston tugboat.
In 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy & Mase went to #1 on the US singles chart with "Mo Money Mo Problems."
In 1999, in Atlanta, R.E.M. performed at Chastain Park Amphitheatre, with Wilco as the opening act.
In 2003, in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson performed in concert at the Orpheum Theater, the day after his 45th birthday.
In 2004, Winners at the 2004 MTV Video Music awards included, Usher for Best Male Video for ‘Yeah’, Best Video went to Outkast for ‘Hay Ya’, Best Group Video No Doubt for ‘It’s My Life’ and Best Rock Video went to Jet for ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl.’
In 2007, rap star Lil Wayne was sued by a woman for $1m who claimed she was crushed at one of his concerts after a large amount of cash was thrown into the audience. Tyrique Layne, then 17, said she lost consciousness after being trampled by the crowd at a gig in Maryland in October 2006, and had suffered memory loss and severe headaches.
In 2011, alleging that Elvis Presley "was unjustly exploited during his lifetime by his record company," his estate announced a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Arista Music, formerly RCA Records, demanding proper payment over new media income such as ringtones, downloads and entertainment apps.
birthdays today include (among others): Charles Colbert (American Breed) (74), John McNally (Searchers) (72), Horace Panter (Specials) (60), Ronald Beitle (Wild Cherry) (59), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) (42), Aaron Barrett (Real Big Fish) (39) and Ryan Ross (Panic! At the Disco) (27)