| 78 | years ago | 1948 | Ronnie Van Zandt of Lynyrd Skynyrd is born. |
| 75 | years ago | 1951 | Motels lead singer Martha Davis is born. |
| 71 | years ago | 1955 | Billboard reports, “music with an R&B beat is not longer regarded as a passing phase by major recording firms.” The magazine points out Perry Como, the Crewcuts, Hutton Sisters and Bill Darnell and Rosemary Clooney have recorded cover versions of Gene & Eunice's #7 R&B hit Ko Ko Mo. The success of the Crew Cut's cover of the Chords' Sh-Boom is noted as a main factor in the pop artists interest in R&B. |
| 65 | years ago | 1961 | Motown Records signs The Supremes. |
| 62 | years ago | 1964 | Vee Jay records files suit against Capitol and Swan Records over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles recordings. |
| 62 | years ago | 1964 | In Chicago, Capitol Records is granted an injunction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing advertising or otherwise disposing of recordings by The Beatles. |
| 61 | years ago | 1965 | The Who releases I Can't Explain in the U.K. |
| 61 | years ago | 1965 | Murray the K, a New York deejay known as the Fifth Beatle tells the New Musical Express that “outside of The Beatles, British bands can't carry a show by themselves. |
| 60 | years ago | 1966 | Motown's most successful female vocal group, the Supremes, enter the Hot 100 for the 13th time with My World is Empty Without You, which in eleven weeks on the chart will peak at #5. It's one of their few records of this period which fails to go all the way to #1. |
| 60 | years ago | 1966 | The Rolling Stones receive their third gold record for the album December's Children. It features the tunes Get Off My Cloud, Route 66, As Tears Go By and I'm Free. |
| 59 | years ago | 1967 | The Bad Boys of Rock and Roll, the Rolling Stones, honor CBS-TV's censors' requests and perform Let's Spend Some TIME Together on The Ed Sullivan Show. |
| 55 | years ago | 1971 | George Harrison releases My Sweet Lord |
| 53 | years ago | 1973 | The Rolling Stones announce they'll put on a benefit concert for the people of Managua, Nicaragua, which had been devastated by an earthquake back on December 23. Nicaragua is the home of Jagger's wife, Bianca. |
| 52 | years ago | 1974 | Brownsville Station, described by leader Cub Koda as “Chuck Berry 1973 filtered through three madmen,” earns a gold record for their only hit Smokin' in the Boys' Room. |
| 44 | years ago | 1982 | KC and the Sunshine band leader, Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami. |
| 42 | years ago | 1984 | Mick Jagger tapes a video with Bette Midler at New York City's Peppermint Lounge for her rendition of Beast Of Burden. |
| 35 | years ago | 1991 | Sean Lennon's remake of his father's Give Peace A Chance is released to coincide with the United Nation's midnight deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. The lyrics are updated to reflect concerns of the 1990's. |
| 34 | years ago | 1992 | Bobby Blue Bland, Booker T. & The MG's, Johnny Cash, Bill Graham, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Sam & Dave and the Yardbirds are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during ceremonies at New York's Waldorf Astoria. |
| 34 | years ago | 1992 | Dee Murray, long time bassist for Elton John, dies of cancer in Nashville. He was 45. |
| 32 | years ago | 1994 | Singer Harry Nilsson dies of heart disease. Nilsson was known for songs like Everybody's Talkin', Without You and Coconut. He was 53. |
| 8 | years ago | 2018 | Gospel singer Edwin Hawkins, best known for the crossover hit Oh Happy Day, dies after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 74. |