Births
1941: Percy Sledge (R&B Singer)
1960: Amy Grant (Pop and Christian Singer)
1967: Rodney Sheppard (Guitar for Sugar Ray)
1971: Christina Applegate (Just because)
Events
1957: Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps make their US television debut, performing "Lotta Loving" and "Dance to the Bop" on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show.
1961: The Everly Brothers join the 8th Battalion of the US Marine Corps Reserve, arriving at California's Camp Pendleton.
1965: London's famed department store, Harrods, opens for the Beatles for two hours after closing time in order to allow the members of the group to do their Christmas shopping.
1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience makes its stage debut in front of a celebrity-filled audience at London's Bag O'Nails club.
1968: CBS-TV airs the Frank Sinatra special Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing, featuring Diahann Carroll and The 5th Dimension.
1968: Cream play their last concert at London's Royal Albert Hall to a fanatic crowd of over 10,000 who chant "God save the Cream" as the group leaves the stage.
1969: As a protest against Britain's military involvement in foreign conflicts, John Lennon returns his MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal, with an attached letter that reads, puckishly, "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag."
1971: Rolling Stone quotes the surviving members of the Doors as saying they intend to continue on as a trio despite the loss of lead singer Jim Morrison.
1972: Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke announces that he's leaving the group. (It doesn't take.)
1974: Singer Nick Drake died from an overdose of amitriptyline, a type of antidepressant at age 26.
1975: Deep in debt, Elvis Presley takes out a $350,000 loan from the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, TN. His Graceland estate is put up as collateral.
1976: The Band and what seems like several dozen of the music industry's biggest stars perform at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom for what is announced as the group's last performance. The show is filmed and will go on to be released as Martin Scorsese's acclaimed biopic The Last Waltz.
1984: The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million ($13.6 million) worldwide.
1985: Bobby Brown announced that he was leaving New Edition for a solo career.
1988: Having successfully completed their stint in an Arizona rehab clinic, Ringo Starr returns to England with his second wife, actress Barbara Bach.
1995: Radiohead singer Thom Yorke blacked out halfway through a show in Munich, Germany, suffering from exhaustion.
1997: The original Zombies lineup -- Rod Argent on organ, Colin Blunstone on vocals, Paul Atkinson on guitar, Chris White on bass, and Hugh Grundy on drums -- reunites onstage for the first time in 30 years at London's Jazz Cafe, performing two songs only: "She's Not There" and "Time Of The Season" to promote their new box set Zombie Heaven.
2000: An unidentified thief burgles Alice Cooper's home in Paradise Valley, CA, stealing $6,000 of his daughter's clothes and electronics as well as four of Alice's gold records.
2003: Glen Campbell was arrested in Phoenix Arizona with a blood alcohol level of .20 after his BMW struck a Toyota Camry. He was charged with 'extreme' drunk driving, hit and run, and assaulting a police officer. A police officer reported that while in custody, Campbell hummed his hit 'Rhinestone Cowboy' repeatedly.
2003: Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London's Wembley Arena.
2007: Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52 of a cocaine overdose. It was reported that he had died 6 days before being found.
2008: Country singer Zac Brown has Lasik eye surgery in Atlanta.
