Birthdays
- 1890 - Paul Whiteman (d. 1967)
- 1915 - Jay Livingston (songwriter) (d. 2001)
- 1936 - Bill Gaither
- 1937 - Dean Webb (Dillards)
- 1941 - Charlie McCoy
- 1945 - Chuck Portz (Turtles)
- 1945 - Sally Carr (Middle of the Road)
- 1948 - John Evan (Jethro Tull)
- 1948 - Gerry House (DJ, songwriter)
- 1948 - Milan Williams (Commodores) (d. 2006)
- 1955 - Reba McEntire
- 1962 - Ged Grimes (Danny Wilson, Simple Minds)
- 1965 - Steve Turner (Mudhoney)
- 1966 - Cheryl James (Salt of Salt 'n' Pepa)
- 1968 - Jon Lee (Feeder) (d. 2002)
- 1969 - James Atkin (EMF)
- 1969 - Rodney Atkins
- 1973 - Matt Nathanson
- 1976 - David Keuning (Killers)
- 1986 - Lady Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta)
- 1986 - J-Kwon (born Jerrell Jones)
Deaths
- 1958 - William C. Handy - Pneumonia (84)
- 1974 - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Stroke (69)
- 1987 - Maria Augusta Trapp - Heart failure(Trapp Family Singers) (82)
- 1995 - Jimmy McShane (Baltimora) - AIDS (37)
- 1999 - Freaky Tah (born Raymond Rogers) (Lost Boyz) - Murdered (27)
- 2001 - Moe Koffman - Cancer (73)
- 2003 - Rusty Draper - Pneumonia (80)
- 2012 - Earl Scruggs (88)
- 2012 - Jerry McCain (81)
- 2013 - Hugh McCracken (session musician) - Leukemia (70)
- 2014 - Joe Frazier (Chad Mitchell Trio) (77)
- 2018 - Kenny O'Dell (73)
On This Day
- 1958 - Buddy Holly started a 43 date tour in Brooklyn, NY at the Alan Freed Big Beat Show. Also on the bill were Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon, The Diamonds, Billy Ford, Danny & The Juniors, The Chantels, Larry Williams, Screaming Jay Hawkins, The Pastels, Jo-Ann Campbell and Ed Townsend. At the end of his show, Jerry Lee Lewis set his piano on fire after learning Chuck Berry would close the show.
- 1964 - The Beatles became the first pop stars to have figures in Madame Tussauds in London.
- 1964 - Radio Caroline, the first of the pirate radio stations, began Broadcastsing from a Danish Ferry in the North Sea off of England.
- 1969 - Joe Cocker played his first U.S. concert.
- 1974 - The Raspberries broke up.
- 1975 - Barbra Streisand offered the lead role in A Star Is Born to Elvis Presley. He ends up asking for too much money.
- 1976 - Status Quo's Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt and Alan Lancaster were arrested in the Vienna Airport.
- 1976 - Genesis began their first North American Tour without Peter Gabriel.
- 1980 - Tom T. Hall rejoined the Grand Ole Opry.
- 1982 - David Crosby was in an auto accident on the San Diego Highway and, during the investigation, police found cocaine and a pistol in the car.
- 1984 - Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy.
- 1987 - The Doobie Brothers moved a show from Phoenix to Las Vegas after hearing that the Arizona governor was not honoring Martin Luther King Day.
- 1990 - Eddy Arnold had double-bypass surgery.
- 1992 - Ozzy Osbourne caused over $100,000 in damage to the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in California when he invited the first two rows on stage and many more join them.
- 1996 - Phil Collins announced he was leaving Genesis for his solo career.
- 1998 - Paul Simon's The Capeman closed on Broadway.
- 2000 - Jimmy Page won a libel case against Ministry magazine after they stated that the guitarist had contributed to the death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.
- 2001 - Sean Combs/Puffy/Puff Daddy announced he was changing his name to P. Diddy.
- 2005 - U2 kicked off their Vertigo tour.
- 2006 - Whitney Houston's sister-in-law, Tina Brown, sold photos to the National Enquirer of Houston's bathroom that reportedly showed drugs and drug paraphanalia.
- 2006 - The Pixies documentary loudQuietloud premiered at SXSW.
- 2011 - Rick Ross was arrested for marijuana possession in Shreveport, LA.
- 2014 - Tickets for Kate Bush's comeback concerts sold out in fifteen mintues
Marriages
- 1948 - Nat King Cole and Maria Hawkins
- 1957 - Billie Holiday and Louis McKay
- 2003 - Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Matt Fisher
Divorces
- 1957 - Patsy Cline & Gerald Cline
- 1995 - Lyle Lovett & Julia Roberts (separated)
Recorded
- 1950 - I'm Movin' On - Hank Snow
- 1958 - Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
- 1960 - I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
- 1966 - Green Grass - Gary Lewis & the Playboys
- 1967 - Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
- 1972 - Burning Love - Elvis Presley
Released
- 1952 - Half as Much - Hank Williams (single)
- 1956 - In the Still of the Night - Five Satins (single, on original Standard Label)
- 1970 - Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (single)
- 1973 - Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
- 1981 - I Saw Her Standing There - Elton John (single, tribute to John Lennon)
- 1994 - The Division Bell - Pink Floyd
- 1995 - A.M. - Wilco (debut album)
Broadcasts
- 1964 - American Bandstand (ABC) - Terry Stafford
- 1964 - Hollywood Palace (ABC) - Patti Page, Lennon Sisters
- 1969 - This is Tom Jones (ABC) - Jerry Lee Lewis, Chet Atkins
- 1978 - The Muppet Show (Syn) - Alice Cooper
- 1985 - The Cosby Show (NBC) - Alicia Cook (later to be known as Alicia Keys)
- 2018 - CMT Crossroads (CMT) - Smokey Robinson, Cam
Number Ones - U.S. Singles
- 1981 - Rapture - Blondie (2 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Albums
- 2009 - All I Ever Wanted - Kelly Clarkson (2 weeks)
- 2015 - Empire: Original Soundtrack From Season 1 (1 week)
Number Ones - U.S. R&B Singles
- 1992 - Save the Best For Last - Vanessa Williams (3 weeks)
- 1998 - Let's Ride - Montel Jordan Featuring Master P and Sikk the Shocker
Number Ones - U.S. Country Singles
- 1981 - Texas Women - Hank Williams, Jr. (1 week)
- 1987 - Small Town Girl - Steve Wariner (1 week)
- 1992 - Is There Life Out There - Reba McEntire (2 weeks)
- 2009 - It Won't Be Like This For Long - Darius Rucker (3 weeks)
Number Ones - U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles
- 1964 - Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong (9 weeks)
- 1992 - Save the Best For Last - Vanessa Williams (3 weeks)
Number Ones - U.K. Singles
- 1970 - Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel (3 weeks)
- 1981 - This Ole' House - Shakin' Stevens (3 weeks)
- 1987 - Respectable - Mel & Kim (1 week)
- 2009 - Poker Face - Lady Gaga (3 week)
Number Ones - U.K. Albums
- 1998 - Let's Talk About Love - Celine Dion (1 week)
- 2009 - Songs For My Mother - Ronan Keating (2 weeks)
- 2015 - To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar (1 week)