January 1

Births

1942: Joe McDonald (Vocals & Guitar for Country Joe and the Fish)

1950: Morgan Fisher (Keyboards for Mott The Hoople)

1958: Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) (DJ)

1975: Thomas Bangalter (Keyboards for Daft Punk)

Events

1940: New York radio station W2XDG, broadcasting from the Empire State Building, becomes the first to broadcast with the new Frequency Modulation technology, making it the first FM station in the world licensed by the FCC.

1950: Sam Phillips, a 26-year-old disc jockey, opens his new Memphis Recording Service -- later to be immortalized as Sun Studios -- in Memphis, TN, at the corner of Union and Marshall streets.

1953: Hank Williams is pronounced dead at Oak Hill General Hospital in Oak Hill, West Virginia, after passing away in the back seat of a Cadillac, en route to a show in Canton, Ohio at age 29. Many believe he died from a mix of alcohol and morphine.

1959: While on furlough from his Army outfit, Elvis Presley takes his new BMW out for a spin on Germany's famed Autobahn highway and totals it (fortunately leaving the scene of the accident without a scratch).

1959: For the first time, ABC-TV's teen dance program American Bandstand leads the US daytime television ratings.

1960: Johnny Cash makes his very first appearance on stage in a prison, singing for the inmates at San Quentin prison in San Rafael, CA, including one Merle Haggard, currently serving a three-year stint for burglary.

1964: BBC-TV premieres a new musical variety show entitled Top Of The Pops, kicked off by Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You," followed by lip-synced performances from the Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans.

1967: The San Francisco chapter of the Hell's Angels holds the first annual New Year's Wail, a goodwill concert for the Haight-Ashbury hippies who bailed one of their members out of jail. Musical guests include the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin.

1967: The Doors made their first live television appearance lip-synching their first single 'Break on Through' on Shebang, KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles.

1968: A Berkeley, CA rock group called The Golliwogs makes the momentous decision to change its name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

1972: The annual New Year's Day Tournament of Roses parade allows its first rock group on a float -- in this case, Three Dog Night.

1976: Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant walks for the first time following his horrible car accident in Greece the previous year.

1977: The Clash played the opening night at punk's first real venue, The Roxy Club in London.

1979: Bruce Springsteen's cheek was ripped open by a fire-cracker that was thrown onstage from the audience.

1982: Abba made their final live appearance as a group when they played in Stockholm, Sweden.

1987: Elton John is admitted to a hospital in Sydney, Australia, for emergency throat surgery, and is forbidden from performing for four months.

1989: Nirvana signed a one-year recording contract with Sub Pop records. The Seattle based label began not as a record label but as a fanzine (called Subterranean Pop), in the early 80's, also signed Soundgarden and Mudhoney.

1992: Dwight Yoakam falls off his horse in the middle of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, when the saddle strap breaks. Someone from the crowd repairs the strap, and Yoakam is back in the saddle again.

1993: Elton John's new single "The Last Song" hits the Top 40, giving him a unbroken record-setting string of consecutive years with a chart hit -- 23, beating out Elvis Presley's old record of 22.

1997: Singer / Songwriter Townes Van Zandt died from cardiac arrhythmia.

2000: George Harrison is informed that he will be able to play guitar again following knife injuries to his hand during Michael Abram's recent home invasion.

2002: At the christening of his daughter, Julie Rose, Eric Clapton surprises the attendees by marrying the mother, Melia McEnery, a woman almost half his age at 25.

December 31

Births

1942: Andy Summers (Guitar for The Police)

1943: John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.) (Singer / Songwriter)

1943: Pete Quaife (Bass for The Kinks)

1947: Burton Cummings (Keyboards & Lead Vocals for The Guess Who & Solo)

1948: Donna Summer (LaDonna Adrian Gaines ) (R&B / Disco Songer)

1951: Tom Hamilton (Bass for Aerosmith)

1959: Paul Westerberg (Guitar & Lead Vocals for The Replacements & Solo)

1963: Scott Ian (Rhythm Guitar for Anthrax & Stormtroopers Of Death)

1970: Danny McNamara (Lead Vocals for Embrace)

1972: Joey McIntyre (Singer in New Kids On The Block & Solo)

1977: Psy (Park Jae-sang) (Gangnam Style)

Events

1912: A rambunctious 12-year-old named Louis Armstrong fires his stepfather's pistol during New Years Eve festivities and is sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where he will learn to read and write music, as well as play cornet and bugle with the school band.

1947: Roy Rogers marries Dale Evans.

1955: Les Baxter's "Unchained Melody," the hit theme from the movie Unchained, is voted Billboard's top-selling single of the year, with no less than four hit versions. And the Righteous Brothers' hit version was still nearly a decade away!

1961: The Beach Boys, formerly known as the Pendletons, make their onstage debut under their new name at a Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert in Long Beach, CA. They are paid $300 for the gig.

1961: Janis Joplin makes her on-stage debut at the Halfway House in Beaumont, TX.

1962: John Phillips and Michelle Gilliam, later of the Mamas and Papas, are married.

1963: The Kinks make their on-stage debut at London's Lotus House Restaurant.

1967: Sonny and Cher are suddenly disinvited to appear at tomorrow's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA, after publicly backing the "Sunset Strip Rioters," teenagers protesting the city's new curfew.

1971: Elvis Presley announces to his entourage that his wife Priscilla will be divorcing him, saying simply, "She says she doesn't love me anymore." In contrast to previous years, tonight's New Year's Eve celebration is held at Graceland rather than a local club.

1971: Blood Sweat & Tears essentially break up as lead singer David Clayton-Thomas performs his last live show with the group. (The band would briefly reunite four years later.)

1972: Dick Clark begins a new holiday tradition as his first New Year's Rockin' Eve concert is broadcast on ABC-TV. Dick himself will host the annual event for the next 32 years. Guests for the inaugural event include Three Dog Night and Al Green.

1973: Australian band AC/DC made their live debut when they appeared at Chequers Bar in Sydney.

1974: Pink Floyd begin recording their landmark LP Wish You Were Here after abandoning an earlier concept of an album recorded entirely with household objects.

1974: Ex-Faces guitarist Ron Wood flatly denies rumors that he will be joining the Rolling Stones to replace Mick Taylor, who had recently quit the band.

1974: Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are asked to join Fleetwood Mac.

1975: Casablanca Records' single release party for Donna Summer's debut single, "Love To Love You Baby" features a life-size cake in the shape of the singer, flown in all the way from Los Angeles to New York. (It's Summer's 23rd birthday.)

1982: Max's Kansas City club in New York, where Bruce Springsteen, the New York Dolls, and the Velvet Underground played some of their first concerts, shuts its doors for good.

1982: E Street Band guitarist "Miami Steve" and/or "Little Steven" Van Zandt marries Maureen Santora at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Little Richard officiates; Bruce Springsteen is the best man; Percy Sledge sings "When A Man Loves A Woman" during the reception.

1984: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, crashed his Corvette Stingray, on the A57 outside Sheffield. Allen lost his left arm in the accident.

1991: Ted Nugent donates 200 pounds of venison to a Detroit soup kitchen run by the Salvation Army, declaring in a note, "I kill it, you grill it."

2000: Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn. The couple separated in 2006.

2003: Australian singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia married Silverchair singer Daniel Johns.

December 29

Births

1942: Rick Danko (Bass & Vocals for The Band)

1946: Marianne Faithfull (Singer / Songwriter)

1947: Cozy Powell (Drums for Emerson Lake and Palmer & Whitesnake)

1950: Robert Parissi (Guitar & Vocals for Wild Cherry)

1955: Neil Giraldo (Guitar for & Married to Pat Benatar)

1961: Jim Reid (Lead Vocals for The Jesus & Mary Chain)

1965: Bryan Holland (Lead Vocals & Rhythm Guitar for The Offspring)

1970: Glen Phillips (Lead Singer for Toad The Wet Sprocket)

Events

1956: While driving North on Avenue K in Lubbock, TX, Buddy Holly notices a woman screaming "Stop that thief!" and chases down a fleeing shoplifter, making the local paper for his good deed.

1957: Steve Lawrence marries his first and only wife, fellow performer Eydie Gorme, at the El Rancho Hotel in Las Vegas.

1963: At 12:50 pm, New York's WMCA becomes the first radio station in the US to play the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand," officially kicking off the American Beatlemania craze. Across town, WABC plays the song an hour later.

1964: The Liverpool Youth Employment Service announced that some school leavers were finding it difficult to get jobs because their 'Beatle' style haircuts and clothing were unacceptable to employers.

1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience make their television debut on BBC's Top Of The Pops, performing their first single, "Hey Joe."

1967: Dave Mason, singer and guitarist for Traffic, leaves the group for a solo career, though he'll return twice before finally quitting for good.

1969: A major milestone for Motown Records today as five of the Top 7 singles on Billboard's chart are products of the label and its affiliates.

1975: Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner and Grace Slick are divorced.

2006: The wife of rock singer Marilyn Manson, Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese filed for divorce after just a year of marriage. The couple married in December 2005 in a ceremony held at a castle in Ireland.