| 90 | years ago | 1936 | Blues singer Clarence Carter is born. |
| 88 | years ago | 1938 | Allen Toussaint is born in New Orleans. He grows up to write many hits for many New Orleans artists, including Working in the Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey, Mother-In-Law by Ernie K-Doe, Right Place, Wrong Time by Dr. John, and Java by Al Hirt. |
| 71 | years ago | 1955 | Disc jockey Alan Freed begins his first New York area Rock & Roll Ball, a two night affair which is held at the Saint Nicholas Arena in Harlem. Both shows at the 6,000 seat arena are sold out in advance, bringing in $24,000. Those appearing on stage include Big Joe Turner, the Clovers, Fats Domino, the Moonglows, Drifters, and the Harptones. |
| 66 | years ago | 1960 | Elvis Presley is promoted to Sgt. in the U.S. Army. |
| 60 | years ago | 1966 | Britain's Parlophone Records releases the single Can't Help Thinking About Me backed with And I Say to Myself by David Bowie and the Lower Third. Bowie had only recently changed his name from Jones to avoid confusion between himself and young theatre star Davy Jones, later of The Monkees. |
| 60 | years ago | 1966 | David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid confusion with Davy Jones from The Monkees. |
| 59 | years ago | 1967 | The first Human Be-In is held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Among the performers are The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane. |
| 58 | years ago | 1968 | Rapper LL Cool J is born. |
| 57 | years ago | 1969 | Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana is born. |
| 56 | years ago | 1970 | Diana Ross performs her last concert with the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas before departing for a solo career. She introduces Jean Terrell to the audience as her replacement as lead singer of the group. |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | Elvis Presley draws the largest worldwide TV audience ever, estimated at one billion, with a live concert, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii, telecast from the Honolulu International Center. The event is later released as a two-record set and is one of the singer's best selling LPs of the '70s, hitting #1 this year. |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is busted on drugs in California. |
| 51 | years ago | 1975 | Pop vocal trio Three Dog Night earn its 12th and last gold record for the album Joy to the World-- Their Greatest Hits. Also on this day, Joe Walsh earns a gold record for his third solo album, So What. He will go on to join The Eagles next year. |
| 48 | years ago | 1978 | The Sex Pistols play their last concert before breaking up in San Francisco. They would reunite (without Sid Vicious) in 1996 for a very unsuccessful tour. |
| 44 | years ago | 1982 | Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon is born. |
| 41 | years ago | 1985 | Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas becomes Britain's biggest selling single ever with sales approaching three million only weeks after its release. |
| 37 | years ago | 1989 | Paul McCartney releases his album Back In The U.S.S.R. exclusively in Russia. Bootleg copies sold for as much as $1,000 in the United States. |
| 26 | years ago | 2000 | The January 14th issue of Rolling Stone magazine reveals that the two children of rocker Melissa Etheridge and her partner Julie Cypher were fathered by David Crosby. |
| 22 | years ago | 2004 | Lionel Richie's wife Diane files for divorce. They have two children, a 9-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. A month and a half later, she files papers demanding at least $300,000 per month in spousal and child support, detailing an “extraordinarily extravagant lifestyle.” |
| 20 | years ago | 2006 | Seventies teen idol Leif Grarett is arrested and held without bail in Los Angeles foir carrying narcotics. Sheriff's deputies nabbed him on a platform of the Pershing Square Red Line subway station when he didn't have a ticket. |
| 16 | years ago | 2010 | Robert “Bobby” Charles Guidry dies in his Abbeville, Louisiana home. He was the little known songwriter of some of the biggest hits for Fats Domino, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, and Bill Haley & The Comets. He also participated in The Band's 1976 farewell concert, “The Last Waltz.” Leaving a café one night, he said “See you later, alligator” to some friends. A drunk nearby responded, “After 'while, crocodile.” The song soon followed, and he sang it over the phone to a Chess Records producer, winning a recording contract on the spot. |