Birthdays
- 1929 - Paul Burlison (Rock and Roll Trio) (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Bernie West (Five Keys)
- 1941 - John Steel (Animals)
- 1942 - Kenny Wertz (Flying Burrito Brothers)
- 1942 - John Gambale (Classics)
- 1943 - Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) (d. 2009)
- 1944 - Florence LaRue (Fifth Dimension)
- 1947 - Spyder Turner
- 1948 - Marguerite Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1996)
- 1948 - Mary Ann Ganser (Shangri-Las) (d. 1970)
- 1948 - Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier)
- 1949 - Roy Yeager (Atlanta Rhythm Section)
- 1950 - Phil Ehart (Kansas)
- 1950 - James Dunn (Stylistics)
- 1952 - Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie)
- 1960 - Tim Booth (James)
- 1962 - Clint Black
- 1963 - Noodles (born Kevin Wasserman) (Offspring)
- 1965 - Chris McDaniel (Confederate Railway)
- 1968 - Steve Queralt (Ride)
- 1969 - Duncan Coutts (Our Lady Mercy)
- 1975 - Natalie Imbruglia
- 1975 - Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World)
- 1976 - Cam'ron (born Cameron Giles)
- 1977 - Gavin DeGraw
- 1980 - Cameron Muncey (Jet)
- 1982 - Kimberly Wyatt (Pussycat Dolls)
Deaths
- 1975 - Louis Jordan - Heart attack (66)
- 1982 - Alex Harvey - Heart attack (46)
- 1983 - Karen Carpenter (Carpenters) - Cardiac arrest attributed to her eating disorder (32)
- 1984 - Paul Gardiner (Gary Numan, Tubeway Army) - Heroin overdose (25)
- 1987 - Liberace - AIDS (67)
- 1989 - Kenneth "Jethro" Burns (Homer & Jethro) - Prostate cancer (65)
- 1999 - Gwen Guthrie - Uterine cancer (48)
- 2000 - Doris Coley (Shirelles) - Breast cancer (58)
- 2007 - Barbara McNair - Throat cancer (72)
- 2009 - Lux Interior (Cramps) - Aortic disection (62)
- 2013 - Reg Presley (Troggs) - Lung cancer (71)
- 2016 - Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Parkinson's disease (74)
On This Day
- 1959 - Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton were brought on to the Winter Dance Party after the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper.
- 1960 - Billy Walker joined the Grand Ole Opry.
- 1961 - Johnny Burnette is rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.
- 1966 - Bob Dylan opened a world tour in Louisville, KY. It was his first with electric instruments.
- 1969 - Jackson, TN declared it Carl Perkins Day.
- 1970 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair to the Black Power movement.
- 1972 - Senator Strom Thurmond sent a note to Attorney General John Mitchell recommending that John Lennon be deported.
- 1974 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono temporarily separated.
- 1975 - The movie W.W. & the Dixie Dancekings, who counted among its stars Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Don Williams, premiered.
- 1984 - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble opened their Couldn't Stand the Weather tour in Nashville, TN.
- 1996 - Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli tried to steal a car and was hit with a baseball bat by the owner, requiring hospitalization.
- 1999 - Rykodisc became the first label to OK the use of the MP3 format.
- 1999 - Freddy Fender received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 2000 - Bjorn Ulvaeus said that ABBA had, indeed, turned down an offer of $1 billion to reform the group.
- 2001 - Jimmy Buffett was tossed from a NY Knicks-Miami Heat basketball game for verbally abusing a referee.
- 2002 - Stevie Wonder sang Happy Birthday to Rosa Parks on her 89th birthday.
- 2003 - Courtney Love was charged with endangering an aircraft after abusing the flight crew on a transatlantic flight.
- 2004 - Art Garfunkel plead guilty to marijuana possession and was fined $200.
- 2004 - Janet Jackson was dropped from the Grammy Awards show after her costume malfunction at the Super Bowl.
- 2009 - Robert Plant said their would be no Led Zeppelin reunion tour because the band felt incomplete without John Bonham.
- 2016 - Van Morrison was knighted.
- 2017 - Black Sabbath played their final show in Birmingham.
Marriages
- 1939 - Frank Sinatra and Nancy Barbato
- 2006 - Carlene Carter and Joe Breen
Recorded
- 1940 - Willie Dixon recorded his first sides for Bluebird Records.
- 1954 - Honey Love, Bells of St. Mary's, White Christmas - Drifters
- 1955 - Please, Please, Please - James Brown
- 1963 - Faded Love - Patsy Cline
- 1968 - Across the Universe - Beatles
- 1976 - Moody Blue - Elvis Presley
Released
- 1977 - Rumors - Fleetwood Mac
Broadcasts
- 1962 - Thank Your Lucky Stars (ITV U.K.) - Gene Pitney
- 1971 - Make Room For Granddaddy - Diana Ross
- 1977 - American Bandstand 25th Anniversary (ABC)
- 1991 - Cher at the Mirage (CBS)
- 2012 - CMT Crossroads (CMT) - Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood (live)
Number Ones - U.S. Singles
- 1978 - Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees (4 weeks)
- 1984 - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club (3 weeks)
- 1989 - When I'm With You - Sheriff (1 week)
- 2006 - Check On It - Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug (5 weeks)
- 2012 - Set Fire to the Rain - Adele (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Albums
- 2006 - Unpredictable - Jamie Foxx (1 week (2 previous weeks))
Number Ones - U.S. R&B Singles
- 1978 - Theme From Which Way Is Up - Stargard (2 weeks)
- 1989 - Can You Stand the Rain - New Edition (2 weeks)
- 2012 - Make Me Proud - Drake Featuring Nicki Minaj (3 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Country Singles
- 1984 - Show Her - Ronnie Milsap (1 week)
- 1989 - What'd I Say - Earl Thomas Conley (1 week)
- 1995 - Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) - Pam Tillis (2 weeks)
- 2012 - I Don't Want This Night to End - Luke Bryan (1 week)
Number Ones - U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles
- 1967 - My Cup Runneth Over - Ed Ames (4 weeks)
- 1978 - Desiree - Neil Diamond (1 week)
- 1984 - Think of Laura - Christopher Cross (4 weeks)
- 1989 - Holding On - Steve Winwood (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.K. Singles
- 1955 - Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney with the Mellomen (2 weeks (1 previous week))
- 1965 - You've Lost That Loving Feeling - Righteous Brothers (2 weeks)
- 1978 - Up Town Top Ranking - Althia & Donna (1 week)
- 1995 - Think Twice - Celine Dion (7 weeks)
- 2006 - Nasty Girl - Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm
- 2012 - Twilight - Cover Drive (1 week)
Number Ones - U.K. Albums
- 1967 - The Monkees - Monkees (7 weeks)
- 1978 - The Album - ABBA (7 weeks)
- 1984 - Touch - Eurythmics (2 weeks)
- 2006 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys (4 weeks)
- 2012 - + - Ed Sheeran (1 week (2 previous weeks))