1959 For the first time, ABC-TV's teen dance program American Bandstand leads the US daytime television ratings.
1958 Grandmaster Flash is born Joseph Saddler in Barbados. The name "Flash" came about because he had a friend named Gordon, so one of their buddies called him Flash so they would be "Flash Gordon," like the sci-fi superhero.
1956 Carl Perkins releases "Blue Suede Shoes."
1955 Joan Weber's "Let Me Go Lover" hits #1 for the first of four weeks.
1953 Hank Williams dies of a heart attack in the back seat of a Cadillac while traveling to a concert in Ohio. He was 29.
1951 This being the Prohibition Era, performers are required to carry a "Cabaret Card" to play clubs in New York State. Charlie Parker's card is revoked because of drug charges against him, which makes it very difficult for him to earn a living.
1950 Morgan Fisher (keyboardist for Mott The Hoople) is born Stephen Morgan Fisher in Mayfair, London, England.
1942 Joe McDonald (lead singer of Country Joe & The Fish) is born in Washington, DC, but will grow up in El Monte, California.
1941 James West (lead vocalist for The Innocents) is born.
1923 Jazz vibraphonist Milt "Bags" Jackson is born in Detroit, Michigan. He is discovered by famous jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
1900 Bandleader Xavier Cugat is born with the impressive moniker Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu in Girona, Spain.
Johnny Cash plays one of his first jailhouse shows when he performs at San Quentin prison in San Rafael, California. Among those in the captive audience is Merle Haggard, who is serving time for burglary.
Read more2013 For the first time in 41 years, the New Year rings in without Dick Clark, who passed away in 2012. Clark, host of American Bandstand amongst many years of entertainment in TV and radio, hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve from 1972 until 2012, even making video phone-ins from his hospital bed while recovering from a stroke in his later years. The show continues with many memorial tributes to Clark, as his protégé Ryan Seacrest takes over as the new host.
2005 Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want To Be," the theme song to the popular teen drama One Tree Hill, peaks at #10 on the Hot 100 in the midst of the show's second season.More
1990 The Clearwater, Florida, radio station WKRL becomes the first "All Led Zeppelin" station, kicking off the format flip with 24 straight hours of "Stairway To Heaven." The all-Zep rotation lasts two weeks, after which they become more of a traditional Classic Rock station (they also switch their call letters to WXTB).
1975 Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham officially join Fleetwood Mac, bringing with them the songs "Rhiannon" and "Landslide."
1972 Three Dog Night become the first rock band to ride on a float in the Rose Bowl parade. Three of their hits (including "Joy To The World") play on a loop as they traverse the route.
1967 As a thank you to the citizens of San Francisco who helped raise bail money for two of their members who were jailed the previous day during a parade, the Hells Angels stage a concert at Golden Gate Park with performances by the Grateful Dead and Big Brother & the Holding Company (lead singer: Janis Joplin). The event is christened "The New Year's Wail."
1966 Simon & Garfunkel reunite after a reworked version of their song "The Sound Of Silence" hits #1 in the US.More
1964 BBC-TV premieres a new musical variety show entitled Top Of The Pops, kicked off by The Rolling Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man," followed by lip-synced performances from Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans.More
1940 W2XDG in New York becomes the first licensed FM station and begins broadcasting from the Empire State Building.
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