Births
1939: Betty Everett (R&B Singer)
1954: Bruce Hornsby (Pianist & Singer / Songwriter)
1987: Snooki (Nicole Polizzi)
1992: Miley Ray Cyrus (Singer)
Events
1899: The Palais Royal Hotel in San Francisco installs the first coin-operated machine destined to be known as a "jukebox," in this case a crude slot-machine apparatus connected to an actual Edison phonograph. At a nickel a song, it took in one thousand dollars in six months' time.
1950: Hank Williams writes "Cold, Cold Heart".
1956: A sheet metal worker in Toledo, OH is arrested for punching Elvis Presley in a bar after the man discovers Elvis' picture in his wife's wallet. He was fined $19.60 but ended up being jailed because he was unable to pay the fine.
1960: Elvis' fifth film, G.I. Blues, is released in US theaters, just six years to the day before his 22nd, Spinout!
1964: The Rolling Stones are banned from the BBC for, of all things, unprofessionalism, the band having arrived late twice to perform on the radio shows Saturday Club and Top Gear.
1968: Led Zeppelin signs to the Atlantic label after being guided there by Dusty Springfield.
1972: Bob Dylan goes to Durango, CO, to begin work on his role in Sam Peckinpah's next movie, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.
1974: UK pop-rock band Spooky Tooth call it quits. Though only a cult hit in the US (and virtually unknown at home), their members will all go on to fame: Gary Wright with "Dream Weaver," Mick Jones as the guitarist for Foreigner, Henry McCullough as one of the guitarists for Wings (he does the solo on "My Love"), and Chris Stainton as an Eric Clapton sideman.
1976: Jerry Lee Lewis visits Elvis Presley's Memphis home, Graceland, very early in the morning and is told that Elvis is asleep. He drives off in a huff but returns after sunrise, invited there by The King himself. Unfortunately, one of Elvis' security guards hasn't been told, and when Jerry Lee is refused permission to enter, he allegedly brandishes a gun and claims he's come to kill Presley. Lewis, who later claimed he was making a sarcastic joke, is promptly arrested.
1985: American blues artist Big Joe Turner died of a heart attack aged 75. Wrote 'Shake Rattle and Roll', (a hit for Bill Haley and His Comets) and 'Sweet Sixteen.'
1987: Sly Stone was charged with possession of cocaine in Santa Monica.
1994: Michael Jackson is cleared in a paternity suit after DNA results proved he was NOT the father.
1995: American soul singer and saxophonist Junior Walker died of cancer aged 64.
1996: Trace Adkins makes his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. After singing "Every Light In The House," he drops to one knee, calls out girlfriend Rhonda Forlaw and asks her to marry him. She says yes.
1998: The world's first portable mp3 player goes on sale, despite strenuous objections from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The Diamond Rio PMP300, which cost $200, could play about a dozen songs.
2000: Faith Hill stars in her first TV special, "Faith!," on Thanksgiving on CBS.
2002: Otis Redding's widow and former manager sue Scott Freeman, author of a 2001 biography of the late soul singer that mentioned rumors to the effect that Redding's then-manager caused his plane to crash in 1967, with a little help from the mob, in order to collect on his life insurance.
2005: Dan McTeague a Toronto MP tried to have 50 Cent barred from entering Canada to perform a series of concerts later this year. McTeague had sent a letter to Immigration Minister Joe Volpe claiming that the controversial rapper shouldn't be permitted to cross the border because he promotes gun violence.
