January 12

Births

1904: Mississippi Fred McDowell (Blues Singer & Guitarist)

1905: Tex Ritter (Country Artist)

1926: Ray Price (Country Singer)

1928: Ruth Brown (R&B & Blues Singer)

1951: Chris Bell (Singer / Songwriter & Guitarist for Big Star)

1952: Ricky Van Shelton (Country Artist)

1954: Howard Stern (DJ)

1954: Felipe Rose (Indian in The Village people)

1965: Rob Zombie (Rob Cummings) (Singer for White Zombie & Solo)

1970: Raekwon (Corey Woods) (Rapper in Wu-Tang Clan & Solo)

1970: Zack de la Rocha (Singer for Rage Against The Machine)

1974: Mel C (Melanie Chisholm) (Singer in The Spice Girls)

1980: Amerie (Amerie Mi Marie Rogers) (R&B Singer)

Events

1959: Berry Gordy borrows $800 from his family to start a record label and rents an eight-room house on 2648 W. Grand Blvd, the future home of Motown Records.

1965: The Supremes guest star on an episode of NBC's Tarzan, playing a trio of nuns.

1969: Led Zeppelin's debut album was released in the US. Recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, the album took only about 36 hours of studio time to complete.

1977: The Police had their first rehearsal, held at drummer's Stewart Copeland's London flat, with Henri Padovani on guitar.

1981: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) donates several rock record albums to the Library of Congress, including Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, The Sex Pistol’s Never Mind The Bollocks & KISS' Alive!

1985: After a record 24 weeks as the #1 album in the nation, Prince slipped to the #2 spot with "Purple Rain". Replacing Prince at the top spot: ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen’s "Born In the USA".

1991: Johnny Paycheck is released from prison after serving two years of a seven-year sentence for a barroom shooting. Ohio Governor Richard Celeste had commuted his sentence upon leaving office.

1992: The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and wife Jerry Hall become the proud parents of their third child, Georgia May Ayeesha.

1993: The Eighth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in Los Angeles. Inductees include Cream (who reunite on stage for the event), Ruth Brown, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Etta James, Van Morrison, and Sly and the Family Stone.  Van Morrison did not attend the induction dinner.

1995: The Tenth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, and Frank Zappa.

1998: The Thirteenth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, and Gene Vincent.

1999: Britney Spears' debut album "...Baby One More Time" was released.

2001: British Airways staff complained about Oasis singer Liam Gallagher after he had grabbed a stewardess' bottom, refused to stop smoking and thrown objects around the cabin during a flight from London to Rio De Janeiro.

2002: Singer Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard) was arrested at the Prince of Wales club in London. He was charged with possession of a firearm and with criminal damage and assault. He also allegedly attacked a man in his 40s.

2003: Singer-songwriter Maurice Gibb from the Bee Gee's died aged 53 in Miami Hospital, Florida following a heart attack during abdominal surgery.

January 11

Births

1942: Clarence Clemons (Sax for The E Street Band)

1946: Tony Kaye (Keyboards for Yes)

1946: Naomi Judd (Country Singer)

1948: Terry Williams (Drums for Dire Straits)

1952: Lee Ritenour (Jazz Guitarist)

1956: Robert Earl Keen (Country Singer / Songwriter)

1958: Vicki Peterson (Guitar & Vocals for The Bangles)

1968: Tom Dumont (Guitar for No Doubt)

1971: Mary J. Blige (R&B Singer)

1971: Tom Rowlands (The Chemical Brothers)

1981: Thomas Meighan (Singer for Kasabian)

Events

1963: The legendary rock club Whisky-a-Go-Go -- America's first real discotheque -- opens on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, CA. Johnny Rivers would record some of his biggest hits at "the Whiskey," while numerous acts, including the Doors, would get their start here.

1964: Billboard magazine publishes its first country and western album chart. At Number One: Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire album.

1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded 'Purple Haze'. Jimi also signed to the new record label Track Records on this day.

1967: Johnny Cash and June Carter record "Jackson" at Nashville's Columbia Recording Studios.

1968: London's Daily Mirror reports that Jimi Hendrix has moved into the London townhouse where Handel is believed to have composed his famous "Water Music" and "Messiah" works. Jimi, for his part, says he "will not let the tradition down" and will also compose in the house.

1977: A London court finds Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones guilty of possession of cocaine and fines him $1,200. The drugs had been discovered in his car after a traffic accident.

1992: Paul Simon becomes the first international performer to perform in Johannesburg, South Africa since the lifting of the UN boycott. Simon had violated the UN ban by working with South African musicians years earlier.

1992: Nirvana appeared on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live performing two songs, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and 'Territorial Pissings’. Also on this day the group’s 'Nevermind' went to No.1 on the US album chart.

1996: In an ominous preview of his demise, Sonny Bono collides with another skier near Big Bear Lake, CA, causing a chin injury that would require eleven stitches.

2000: After serving half of his four-month sentence for possession of child pornography, Gary Glitter is released from a British jail.

2000: It was reported that Whitney Houston was under investigation after allegedly trying to smuggle 15.2 grams of Marijuana out of Hawaii. A security officer found the drug in the singer's handbag, Houston then walked away when he tried to detain her.

2003: Pete Townshend issued a public statement denying being a paedophile after his name was linked with a police Internet porn inquiry. But The Who guitarist did admit studying child pornography for research into a campaign against it.

January 10

Births

1925: Max Roach (Jazz Drummer)

1943: Jim Croce (Singer / Songwriter)

1944: Frank Sinatra Jr. (Son of The Man)

1945: Rod Stewart (Singer / Songwriter)

1946: Aynsley Dunbar (Drummer for John Mayall & Jefferson Starship)

1948: Donald Fagen (Vocals & Keyboards for Steely Dan & Solo)

1953: Pat Benatar (Singer)

1955: Michael Schenker (Guitar for UFO, SCorpions & Solo)

1956: Shawn Colvin (Singer / Songwriter)

1956: Don Letts (DJ for Big Audio Dynamite)

1959: Curt Kirkwood (Singer & Guitarist for The Meat Puppets)

1964: Brad Roberts (Lead Singer & Guitar for Crash Test Dummies)

1978: Matt Roberts (Guitarist for 3 Doors Down)

1978: Brent Smith (Singer for Shinedown)

1979: Chris Smith (Rapper in Kris Kross)

Events

1949: RCA announces its newest creation, the seven-inch vinyl record to be played at 45 rpm. The "45," as it would soon be known, would become the driving force of the record business in the early days of rock and roll.

1956: Elvis Presley made his first recordings for RCA Records at The Methodist television, radio & TV Studios in Nashville. 'Heartbreak Hotel' was one of the songs recorded during this session.

1965: American promoter Sid Bernstein, having already presented the Beatles at Carnegie Hall, calls group manager Brian Epstein about a possible Shea Stadium concert. It would be the first stadium concert by a rock group.

1969: George Harrison quits the Beatles for a short while, making him the second Beatle to do so (Ringo had left the group for a brief period a year earlier).

1971: The suit to officially dissolve the Beatles as a group gets underway in court.

1971: Bob Dylan appears on an NBC documentary accompanying bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs on Dylan's "East Virginia Blues" and "Nashville Skyline Rag."

1976: Howlin' Wolf died from complications of kidney disease.

1978: The Sex Pistols make their US TV debut on the show 'Variety'.

1979: Richard Carpenter of the Carpenters duo enters into rehab in a Topeka, KS facility.

1979: The trial of ex-Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious for the October 1978 murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, opened in New York City. Vicious died of a heroin overdose, thereby not living to hear the verdict.

1984: Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1997: James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2000: Singer Melissa Etheridge announced that David Crosby was the sperm donor of her two children with girlfriend Julie Cypher.

2001: American guitarist and songwriter and founder member of The Cramps Bryan Gregory died after suffering a heart attack aged 46 at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, Anaheim, California.

2003: British and Dutch police recover 500 Beatles master tapes missing since a theft some thirty or so years earlier.

2005: A woman was suing Gene Simmons from Kiss for slander, alleging a documentary made her out to be a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac". Georgeann Walsh Ward, 53, of New York, said during a VH1 documentary her photo was flashed up as Simmons talked about his past sexual encounters. Ms Walsh Ward had dated Simmons for three years when he was a student. In the documentary, Simmons boasted of having sex with over 4,600 women.

2009: Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie married actor Josh Duhamel at the Church Estates Vineyards in Malibu. Guests included her bandmate Will.i.am and actress Kate Hudson.

December 26

Births

1935: Abdul "Duke" Fakir (Tenor singer in The Four Tops)

1939: Phil Spector (Producer & Songwriter)

1953: Henning Schmitz (Member of Kraftwerk)

1961: James Kottak (Drummer for Kingdom Come & The Scorpions)

1963: Lars Ulrich (Drummer for Metallica)

1971: Jared Leto (Vocals for 30 Seconds To Mars)

1979: Chris Daughtry (Singer for Daughtry)

Events

1964: The Rolling Stones, whose long hair has solidified the new standard for teenagers set by the Beatles, take out an ad in New Musical Express wishing starving hairdressers of the UK a "Happy Christmas."

1966: Backstage before a show at London's Uppercut Club, Jimi Hendrix scribbles out the lyrics to a new song called "Purple Haze."

1967: The Beatles' new television movie, a concept of Paul's entitled Magical Mystery Tour, has its first airing on the BBC. Shot in color but broadcast in black-and-white for some reason, the wandering psychedelic mess has critics and fans in the band's home country howling in disappointment and confusion. A planned later US airing is quickly cancelled.

1968: Led Zeppelin begin their first-ever US tour, opening for Spirit, the MC5, and Vanilla Fudge.

1970: George Harrison started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Sweet Lord', making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

1987: Run D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay was hospitalized when his Jeep was hit head-on by a driver going the wrong-way.

1999: Curtis Mayfield died at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia his health having steadily declined following his paralysis.

December 23

Births

1929: Chet Baker (Jazz Singer & Trumpeter)

1940: Jorma Kaukonen (Guitar & Vocals for Jefferson Airplane)

1943: Derek Smalls (Bass for Spinal Tap)

1945: Ron Bushy (Drummer for Iron Butterfly)

1949: Ariel Bender (Guitar for Mott The Hoople)

1956: Dave Murray (Guitar for Iron Maiden)

1964: Eddie Vedder (Vocals for Pearl Jam)

Events

1959: Chuck Berry is arrested in St. Louis after Janice Norine, a 14-year old Apache girl he'd driven in from Mexico is revealed to be a prostitute. (Berry claims she was hired merely to be a hat check girl at his club.) Under the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport a minor across state line for immoral purposes, Berry is sentenced to five years in prison. He would serve less than four.

1964: After making their first appearance on ABC-TV's Shindig! (where they perform "Little Saint Nick," "Dance, Dance, Dance," "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Monster Mash"), and in flight from Los Angeles to a concert in Houston, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown, leading to his immediate retirement from touring. Glen Campbell, still a studio musician, is hired to take his place on stage, and is eventually replaced by permanent member Bruce Johnston.

1967: John Lennon makes the first contact with his estranged father, Alf, in years: after hearing that he's taken ill, John sends him a get well note and a car so that he can visit his famous son.

1968: At Apple's Christmas party, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hand out presents to the children of the staff, dressed as Santa and Mrs Claus.

1969: Elton John meets for the first time with what would become his classic team -- songwriter Bernie Taupin, arranger Paul Buckmaster, and producer Gus Dudgeon -- to begin work on his first solo album.

1969: Willie Nelson's home in Ridgetop, Tennessee, burns while he's in Nashville at a Christmas party. When Nelson sees the house in flames, he runs in to rescue his guitar, Trigger, and a bag of marijuana stashed inside the case.

1977: Cat Stevens announces that he has changed his name to Yusuf Islam and converted to the Islamic religion.

1985: Judas Priest fans Raymond Belknap and James Vance shot themselves after listening to the Judas Priest album ‘Stained Class.’ The two had drunk beer, smoked marijuana and then listened to hours of the album. Afterwards they took a shotgun to a nearby school playground where Belknap shot and killed himself. Vance then blew away his jaw, mouth and nose but lived for more than three years before dying of effects of the shooting.

1992: Eddie Hazel (Guitar for Funkadelic) died from internal bleeding and liver failure. "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral.

1996: Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx married TV's 'Baywatch' star Donna Deruico.

1999: Cristin Keleher, an unemployed musician in Hawaii, breaks into George Harrison's Maui home and makes herself at home, ordering pizza, drinking root beer, doing laundry, and calling her mother before authorities arrive to arrest her. She is eventually charged with breaking and entering and theft. She would serve four months.

2005: Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered $9,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.