1988 Having successfully completed their stint in an Arizona rehab clinic for alcoholism, Ringo Starr and his second wife, actress Barbara Bach, return to England.
1984 In London, Bono, George Michael, David Bowie, Jody Watley, Paul McCartney and a passel of other stars record vocals for "Do They Know It's Christmas?," the first big all-star charity single. Released a week later (in time for Christmas), it becomes a holiday favorite and raises over $14 million for famine relief in Africa.
1978 Playing The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is hit in the face with a bottle thrown from the audience. The band leaves the stage and the show is cancelled after Joe Perry tells the crowd, "We love you, but you can't throw things at us." A firecracker was thrown on stage during an Aerosmith show the previous year.
1975 Deep in debt, Elvis Presley takes out a $350,000 loan from the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, Tennessee. His Graceland estate is put up as collateral.
1974 Nick Drake dies after overdosing on the antidepressant Tryptasol. Just 26 years old, the British musician released three albums in his lifetime.
1972 Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke announces that he's leaving the group. (It doesn't take.)
1970 Jazz sax player Albert Ayler is found dead in New York City's East River after being missing for 20 days. It's assumed that the 34 year old committed suicide.
1969 As a protest against Britain's military involvement in foreign conflicts, John Lennon returns his MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal, with an attached letter that reads, puckishly, "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag."
1968 Cream play their last concert (until their 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and 2005 reunion), taking the stage at Royal Albert Hall in London to a fanatic crowd of over 10,000 who chant "God save the Cream" as they leave the stage.
1968 The Frank Sinatra special Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing, featuring Diahann Carroll and The 5th Dimension, airs on CBS.
1967 Rodney Sheppard (guitarist for Sugar Ray) is born in Trinidad, but is raised in Newport Beach, California.
1966 R&B and gospel singer Stacy Lattisaw is born in Washington, D.C. She has a #1 hit in 1989 with the duet "Where Do We Go From Here" with Johnny Gill.
1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience plays their first UK show at the Bag O'Nails in London.
1965 London's famed department store, Harrods, opens for The Beatles for two hours after closing time in order to allow the members of the group to do their Christmas shopping.
1961 The Everly Brothers report for duty at Camp Pendleton in southern California after joining the Marine Corps Reserves. By enlisting together, the brothers ensure that they won't be drafted - and separated.
Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John join The Band for The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for the ages.
Read more2005 After a nine-year hiatus, Take That announce they're getting back together and going on tour without Robbie Williams.More
1996 J-Bird Records, the first Internet record label, opens for business, offering previews using Real Audio and Shockwave. Clients include Mitch Ryder and Billy Squier, but the label folds a few years later.
1995 "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston hits #1 on the Hot 100. The song appears on the soundtrack to the film Waiting To Exhale, which stars Houston.
1992 In her first film role, Whitney Houston plays a pop diva under the protection of Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. The highlight of the movie is Houston's rendition of "I Will Always Love You," which hits #1 three days after the movie's release.More
1989 Thanks to a video that gets Alice Cooper his first significant spins on MTV, "Poison" hits #7 - the rocker's first Top 40 hit in nine years.
1967 "Incense And Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock hits #1 in America. The song is co-written by the band's guitarist, Ed King, who later joins Lynyrd Skynyrd.
1960 Amy Grant is born in Augusta, Georgia. The Christian singer makes a controversial transition to secular music with the #1 pop singles "The Next Time I Fall" (a 1986 duet with Peter Cetera) and "Baby Baby."
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