In 1949, eight years before Elvis Presley recorded his version of the song that became a perennial holiday favorite, Ernest Tubb recorded "Blue Christmas." It went to #1 on the country music chart.
In 1957, the guest performer on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand" was Buddy Holly.
In 1957, the theme from the movie Tammy and the Bachelor, called simply "Tammy" by Debbie Reynolds sat at the top of both the Billboard record chart and Cashbox Magazine's best sellers list. Debbie was accompanied by only a piano on the single release, but the movie version included a full orchestra.
In 1958, Henry Mancini & His Orchestra recorded "Peter Gunn." Their version of the song reached #2 in Australia, #6 on the UK Singles Chart, and #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959
In 1963, in Lancashire, England, singer Cilla Black made her first major concert appearance, opening for the Beatles.
In 1963, the Ronettes released the single "Be My Baby." Produced by Phil Spector, who composed the song with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, it is often cited as the ultimate embodiment of Spector's wall of sound production technique. It is #22 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, it was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2006, the Library of Congress honored their version by adding it to the United States National Recording Registry.
In 1965, in southern California, the Byrds performed at the Hollywood Palladium.
In 1967, Small Faces, Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade all appeared on the first day of the 3-day non-stop happening 'Festival of the Flower Children' at Woburn Abbey, England. Plus DJ's John Peel and Tommy Vance, day tickets cost £1.
In 1967, the Beatles held a press conference at University College in Bangor, North Wales with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles announced that they had become disciples of the guru and that they renounced the use of drugs. The four had become members of the Maharishi's 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement', which obligated them to donate one week's earnings each month to the organization.
In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." was certified Gold. The single eventually sold over six million copies, making Riley the first woman ever to top the US Pop and Country singles charts with the same song.
In 1969, Elvis Presley wrote the soprano part for backup singer Cissy Houston to sing during his "Are You Lonesome Tonight," but her live performance of it at the International Hotel in Las Vegas struck him as amazingly funny for some reason and he could not stop laughing. As the song finally came to an end, Elvis joked, "That's it, man, fourteen years right down the drain."
In 1970, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival. Weekend tickets, £3.
In 1970, Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band asked Eric Clapton if he could attend the recording sessions for Clapton's new group, Derek and the Dominos. Clapton agreed to it, on condition that Allman would also play on the sessions, which he did.
In 1972, a New York quartet called Looking Glass had the number one tune in the US with "Brandy." Despite the success of the song, the band could muster only one more chart hit, "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" the following year (this disc was their only million seller). The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, with a total stay of 16 weeks in the best-sellers.
In 1973, at the Palace Lido on England's Isle of Man, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, made their stage debut as the group 10cc.
In 1976, the members of Aerosmith were pictured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
In 1976, Donna Summer groans and sighs her way through her erotic Disco hit "Love To Love You Baby" on American Bandstand. Even though the song reached #2 in America, Donna later admitted that she was not completely sure of some of the lyrics, and parts of the song were improvised during the recording.
In 1977, the Pretenders played their first public gig, opening for Strangeways.
In 1977, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Golden Earing, Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind, Racing Cars, John Miles, Graham Parker, the Enid, No Dice and Frankie Miller's Full House all appeared at the 17th three day Reading Festival, England. A three day ticket cost £7.95.
In 1978, Frankie Valli went to #1 on the US singles chart with the Barry Gibb song "Grease." It went on to sell more than 2 million copies in the US.
In 1978, the first Canada Jam Festival took place at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, featuring performances by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, the Doobie Brothers, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, the Village People, Dave Mason, Kansas, the Commodores, and Triumph. The concert attracted more than 110,000 fans, making it the largest paying rock event in Canadian history up to that time.
In 1978, in Cleveland, Ohio, Fleetwood Mac, the Cars, Todd Rundgren, Bob Welsh, and Eddie Money performed at Cleveland Stadium.
In 1980, bassist Tom Petersson quit Cheap Trick for a solo career. Petersson rejoined the band in 1988 and has recorded and toured with them ever since.
In 1981, 67 year-old Lee Hays, a co-founder of an influential American Folk music quartet the Weavers and co-writer of "If I Had A Hammer," suffered a fatal heart attack at his New York home.
In 1985, Sheila E's 'Romance 1600' album was released.
In 1987, Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until age 53, announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. Sonny said he was frustrated over the red tape he faced for a remodeling project at his Italian restaurant. He would win the election in 1988 and serve until 1992. He failed in a Senate race later that year, but won a seat in Congress in 1996. Bono died in a skiing accident on January 6th, 1998, at the age of 62.
In 1989, Ringo Starr wins a court order to prevent a record producer from releasing material Starr considered to be of inferior quality due to the impaired state Starr was in when it was recorded.
In 1989, Eagles' drummer Don Henley sees his solo effort, "The End of the Innocence," peak at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1993, a double sided acetate of the Beatles performing live at the Cavern in Liverpool sold for close to $32,000 at Christies, London, a world record price for a recording.
In 1995, Ronnie White of the Miracles died of leukemia at the age of 56. As one of the founding members of Motown singing group, he was the only one to survive all of their line-up changes. He is also noted as the man who discovered Stevie Wonder, then White's 11-year-old neighbor, and brought him to the attention of Motown head, Berry Gordy Jr.
In 1995, Seal went to #1 on the US singles chart with "Kiss From A Rose," taken from the film 'Batman Forever' a #4 hit in the UK.
In 2001, Madonna filmed live footage at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. The show was released as "Madonna - Drowned World Tour 2001."
In 2002, Peter Noone, better known as "Herman" of Herman's Hermits, filed a federal lawsuit against what he said were bogus Hermits. He was seeking an injunction blocking Barry Whitwam, the group's original drummer, from performing with other musicians under the Herman's Hermits name. The suit was unsuccessful and Whitwam continued to tour.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist in rock history. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder also made the top 10.
In 2004, pop star Laura Branigan died in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, New York after suffering a brain aneurysm. She was 47 years old. Branigan was one of the world's biggest female pop stars of the 80s with hits like "Gloria", "Self Control" and "Solitaire."
In 2005, a plaque was unveiled by fellow Quarrymen John Duff Lowe and Colin Hantonat at the site where the band which was to become the Beatles made their first recordings. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded a version of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" and a Lennon-Harrison song, "In Spite Of All The Danger" as The Quarrymen at the Percy Philips studio in Liverpool in 1958.
In 2007, after two years, the Rolling Stones played the final show on their A Bigger Bang World Tour at the O2 Arena in London, England. The longest and biggest tour of their career, it became the highest grossing in rock history ($560 million).
In 2008, after nearly 35 years, the "Blazing Saddles" soundtrack was released on La-La Land Records, the first official, studio-licensed version of the full music soundtrack from the Mel Brooks movie classic.
In 2010, Britain's EMI Records confirmed that Iron Maiden's latest album 'The Final Frontier' debuted at #1 in 21 countries around the world. Just under four years earlier, the band's last studio LP, 'A Matter Of Life And Death' also entered the pan-European chart at the top.
In 2010, John Lennon's toilet, painted with blue flowers in and around the bowl, sold for £9,500 ($15,500) at a Beatles auction in Liverpool. The device was part of Lennon's Tittenhurst Park home when he bought it in 1969 and was removed three years later by a contractor whose son-in-law decided to sell it after all these years.
In 2012, singer/songwriter Gene Thomas, onetime half of the duo Gene & Debbe, died of lung cancer at 74.
In 2013, after accusing the Estate of Michael Jackson of undervaluing a number of Jackson's assets by hundreds of millions of dollars, the Internal Revenue Service issued the estate a $702 million bill for federal taxes and penalties. The estate followed by filing a court challenge to the bill.
