In 1953, at the annual Minstrel Show at L.C. Humes High School in Memphis, and billed 16th on the 22-act program, Elvis Presley sang "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Of Me." After receiving the greatest amount of applause, he was invited to perform an encore and sang Teresa Brewer's "Till I Waltz Again With You."
In 1956, Nat King Cole was attacked on stage by a group of five racial segregationists during a show at the Municipal Hall in Birmingham, Alabama. The attackers were arrested by police and Cole returned later that night for a second show.
In 1958, at Sun Studio in Memphis, Johnny Cash recorded "Guess Things Happen That Way."
In 1958, Bill Haley & the Comets started a South American tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1958, in Windsor, Ontario, Alan Freed's "Big Beat Show" concert tour played two shows at the Arena, with performances by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Danny & the Juniors, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, the Diamonds, Billy & Lillie, the Chantels, Dicky Doo and the Don'ts, Jo Ann Campbell, Larry Williams, Ed Townsend, the Pastels, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
In 1958, at Sun Studio in Memphis, Johnny Cash recorded "Guess Things Happen That Way" and "Come In Stranger."
In 1958, at Radio Recorders in West Hollywood, Tony Bennett recorded "Young And Warm And Wonderful."
In 1963, the Beatles appeared live on the ITV show Tuesday Rendezvous, miming ‘From Me to You’ and ‘Please Please Me’ (during the closing credits). In the evening The Beatles played live at the Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn, London.
In 1965, the Rolling Stones made their first live appearance on British TV's Ready Steady Go!
In 1965, Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys as permanent replacement for Brian Wilson.
In 1966, Jeff Beck collapsed onstage from exhaustion at a Yardbirds concert in Marseilles, France.
On this day in 1966, "(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration" by the Righteous Brothers was the #1 song.
In 1967, the Doors played in front of 3,000 people, their first large audience, when they shared the bill with Jefferson Airplane for a show at the Cheetah Club, located at the Santa Monica Pier in Venice, California.
Also in 1969, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer performed live for the first time in London.
In 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City, Pink Floyd began their second North American tour.
In 1972, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Elvis Presley performed in afternoon and evening concerts at the Hampton Roads Coliseum.
In 1973, Queen, who had just signed their first recording contract, played their first live show in a showcase for their label at London's Marquee Club.
In 1973, Paul McCartney & Wings released the single "My Love" in North America.
In 1974, Terry Jacks was at #1 on the UK singles chart with "Seasons In The Sun," an English-language adaptation of the song "Le Moribond" by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. Earlier recordings had been released by The Kingston Trio and The Fortunes.
In 1974, Bruce Springsteen met rock critic Jon Landau, who later managed the singer and successfully promoted him as "rock 'n' roll's future."
Also in 1974, in Las Vegas, the Jackson 5 played the first of 15 shows at the MGM Grand Hotel.
In 1976, folk hero Phil Ochs hanged himself at his sister's house in Queens, New York. He was 35.
In 1977, ABBA earned their only #1 hit in the United States when "Dancing Queen" went to the top. The song also led the charts in 13 other countries.
Also in 1977, Shaun Cassidy lip-synced "Da Doo Ron Ron" on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1988, Brook Benton, most often remembered for his 1970 #4 hit, "A Rainy Night In Georgia", died of complications from spinal meningitis at the age of 57. Along with his own hits, Benton also wrote "A Lover's Question" by Clyde McPhatter and "The Stroll" by The Diamonds.
Also in 1988, Dave Prater of Sam and Dave was killed in a car accident near Sycamore, Georgia while driving to his mother's house. He was 50 years old. The original duo had split on New Year's Eve, 1981 and Prater continued to tour as The New Sam And Dave Revue with Sam Daniels.
In 1989, the Rolling Stones' 52-year-old bassist, Bill Wyman, revealed his plans to marry 19-year-old Mandy Smith. The two had been dating since she was 13 with the consent of her mother. They divorced in 1991.
In 1997, songwriter Laura Nyro died at her home in Danbury, Connecticut of ovarian cancer at the age of 49. Nyro wrote numerous hit songs including "Eli's Coming" for Three Dog Night, "And When I Die" for Blood, Sweat And Tears, "Stoney End" by Barbra Streisand, along with "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Wedding Bell Blues" for the Fifth Dimension.
Also in 1997, Mae Boren Axton, who co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit "Heartbreak Hotel", was found dead at her home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. She was 82. Axton's songs were also recorded by such Country stars as Patsy Cline, Faron Young and Hank Snow. She was the mother of singer / songwriter Hoyt Axton who wrote Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World,"
In 1998, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Michael Jackson $2.7 million in damages in a defamation-of-character suit against Victor Gutierrez of the TV show Hard Copy.
In 1999, in Minneapolis, country singer Faith Hill began her first solo tour, "Faith Hill's This Kiss Tour."
In 2003, Paul McCartney played his first show in Manchester in 24 years. On this same day, he purchased the Carl Perkins song catalog.
In 2004, band singer Harry Babbitt, longtime vocalist with Kay Kyser's Orchestra, died at age 90.
In 2007, the iTunes Music Store reached 2.5 billion songs sold.
In 2007, country and western singer Tanya Tucker was sued by her manicurist for $300,000 (£150,000) over claims the star's dog attacked and injured her. Danielle Hobbs stated in court papers that she was bitten by Bella at the singer's Nashville home and also claimed that the alleged attack, had left her with painful and disfiguring scars on her leg. She stated that Tucker's assistant told her the dogs were "just babies" and said "they will not hurt you."
In 2008, Elton John performed in concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall to raise funds for Hillary Clinton's US Presidential campaign. With ticket prices ranging from $125 to $2,300, the effort took in over $2.5 million.
In 2009, Randy Cain, a founding member of the Philadelphia Soul group, the Delfonics, who reached the Billboard Top 40 six times, including "La-La Means I Love You" (#4 in 1968) and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" (#10 in 1970), died at the age of 63.
In 2011, record producer Randy Wood, the founder of Dot Records, died of complications from injuries suffered in a fall down a flight of stairs in his house at the age of 94.
In 2013, the passing of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher prompted a huge resurgence of the song "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead", taken from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Fueled by campaigns on Twitter and Facebook, the tune soared up to ninth place on the U.K. iTunes downloads charts and second place on the Amazon singles downloads chart. A Stamford, Connecticut band called The Fifth Estate took a Rock 'n' Roll version of the song to #11 in the US in 1967.
In 2013, according to the Official Charts Company one billion songs had now been downloaded in the UK. Adele's 'Someone Like You' was the most downloaded single of all time in the UK, followed by tracks by Maroon 5 and Gotye. The Official Charts Company said on average more than three million tracks were now sold every week.
