2016 Leonard Cohen, ordained Rinzai Buddhist monk and songwriter extraordinaire, dies at age 82 after a life of music that saw him inducted into the Juno/Canadian, Canadian Folk Music, Canadian Songwriters, Songwriter, and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.
2011 Dr. Conrad Murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray was accused of giving the singer a lethal dose of the sedative propofol on the day he died.
2006 After getting fundraising help from his buddy Jackson Browne, Orleans lead singer John Hall is elected to the US House of Representatives in New York's 19th district.More
2003 With tourism suffering because of the SARS outbreak, the Hong Kong government hires The Rolling Stones to perform a concert there to assure people it is safe. The rockers play to 13,000 people at the city's Harbourfest.
1996 Lorde is born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor in Auckland, New Zealand. She signs a record deal at 13 and lands her first hit, "Royals," when she's 16.
1970 MGM Records president Mike Curb announces that his label is dumping 18 acts that "exploit and promote hard drugs through music."More
1969 After Life magazine tracks down Paul McCartney at his farm in Scotland, they put him on the cover with his family, dispelling the "Paul is dead" rumors with the headline, "Paul Is Still With Us."More
2020 The Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., and T. Rex enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because of coronavirus, the ceremony is virtual and there are no performances.
2018 Joni Mitchell is feted at a concert in Los Angeles to celebrate her 75th birthday. James Taylor sings "Woodstock," Chaka Khan does "Help Me," and Graham Nash performs the song he wrote when they moved in together: "Our House."
2017 Aretha Franklin plays at Elton John's AIDS Foundation gala at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in what turns out to be her final performance. "We were witnessing the greatest soul artist of all time," Elton says.
2016 Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart star in the first episode of Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, where they make fried chicken with Wiz Khalifa.
2015 Presidential candidate Donald Trump hosts Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Sia. He asks for a photo with the reclusive Australian songstress, but she declines, explaining that she doesn't want her gay and Mexican fans to think she supports him.
2015 Pentatonix becomes the first a capella group to score a US #1 album when their self-titled release tops the chart.
2011 Adele, just 23, has laser surgery on her vocal chords at a hospital in Boston. The singer had to cancel many tour dates in 2011 because of her throat problems.
2011 Andrea True (of The Andrea True Connection) dies of heart failure at age 68.
2009 At the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas, Linda Ronstadt makes her last concert appearance. Four years later, she announces that she has Parkinson's disease.
2008 Rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds dies of liver cancer at age 75.
2006 Originally due in the summer of 2005, the last album from late Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard finally arrives. The release date for A Son Unique coincides with the two-year anniversary of ODB's death at a New York recording studio.
2006 Enjoy the Ride, Sugarland's second album (and first as a duo, following the departure of Kristen Hall) is released. The album peaks at #4 on the US charts.
2006 Two months after giving birth to her second child, Britney Spears files for divorce from Kevin Federline, whom she married in 2004.
2005 Twelve years after the release of her previous album, The Red Shoes, Kate Bush returns to the music scene with Aerial. The double album features the Elvis-inspired single, "King Of The Mountain."
2004 Soul singer Lenny Mayes (of The Dramatics) dies of lung cancer at age 53.
The Titanic soundtrack is released. It contains just one song with vocals - Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" - but sells well over 10 million copies and goes to #1 in most countries thanks to the runaway success of the film.
The movie doesn't open until December 19, but when it does, it becomes a sensation, helping the soundtrack sell at least 15 million copies even though Dion's song is also available on her album Let's Talk About Love. The soundtrack is written and conducted by James Horner, whose credits include music for Apollo 13, Field of Dreams and Glory.
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