1947 Burton Cummings (lead singer, keyboardist for The Guess Who) is born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1943 Pete Quaife (original bass guitarist for The Kinks) is born Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife in Tavistock, Devon, England.
1943 John Denver is born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in Roswell, New Mexico.
1942 Andy Summers (guitarist for The Police) is born Andrew James Somers in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. The self taught guitarist, renowned for his use of modern electronic effects, is also a talented photographer and publishes several books of behind-the-scenes shots of the band recording and performing.
1940 After forming the rival company BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), radio stations in the United States stop playing music licensed by ASCAP (the American Society of Publishers and Composers) in a dispute over fees. The boycott lasts 10 months, with stations filling airtime with non-ASCAP songs, mostly older tunes in the public domain.
1930 Blues and folk singer Odetta is born Odetta Holmes in Birmingham, Alabama. Named the "Queen of American folk music" by Martin Luther King Jr., Odetta sings "O Freedom" at the 1963 March on Washington.
1928 Classic pop singer Ross Barbour (of The Four Freshmen) is born in Columbus, Indiana.
1920 Actor Rex Allen, who has a country hit with "Don't Go Near the Indians" in 1962, is born near Willcox, Arizona.
1912 Twelve-year-old Louis Armstrong fires his stepfather's pistol during a New Year's Eve celebration and is sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where his musical training begins. He joins the band and takes up cornet, astounding instructors by learning solo on "High Society."
1905 The composer Jule Styne is born Julius Kerwin Stein in London.
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses an arm when he crashes his Corvette. He continues with the band, using computer aids and relying more on his feet.
Read more2016 Taking the stage in Times Square to ring in the new year, Mariah Carey gets through "Auld Lang Syne" but then stops singing and narrates the technical problems to the crowd as the backing track plays on.More
2015 Natalie Cole dies of heart failure at age 65. The singer (daughter of Nat King Cole) battled health problems for much of her life; drug use led to hepatitis C, and in 2009 she had a kidney transplant.More
2015 Mötley Crüe play what they claim is their last show: a New Year's Eve concert in Los Angeles complete with Nikki Sixx's flamethrower bass and Tommy Lee's drum roller coaster.More
1994 Rod Stewart plays a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, drawing a crowd estimated at 3.5 million (the fireworks help goose that number). Guinness declares it the largest free rock concert ever.
1972 Dick Clark begins a new holiday tradition as his first New Year's Rockin' Eve concert is broadcast on NBC; guests include Three Dog Night and Al Green.More
1966 The Monkees' "I'm A Believer," written by Neil Diamond, hits #1 in America. The song stays at the top for seven weeks.
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