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Featured Events
2013For 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.
2005Gavin 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
1990The 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).
1975Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham officially join Fleetwood Mac, bringing with them the songs "Rhiannon" and "Landslide."
1972Three 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.
1967As 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."
1966Simon & Garfunkel reunite after a reworked version of their song "The Sound Of Silence" hits #1 in the US.More
1964BBC-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
1940W2XDG in New York becomes the first licensed FM station and begins broadcasting from the Empire State Building.
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In Music History
2019Pegi Young, Neil Young's wife from 1978-2014, dies of cancer at 66. Pegi sang backup for Neil and released three solo albums.
2013Patti Page, a pop and country singer who had a huge hit with "Tennessee Waltz," dies at age 85, suffering from both heart and lung disease.
2012During celebrations in Times Square, Lady GaGa shares a kiss with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg just after the ball drops.
2011An 84-year-old Chuck Berry collapses on stage in Chicago at a New Year's Day concert. He makes a full recovery.
2011Shania Twain gets married for the second time, this time to Frédéric Thiébaud, the ex-husband of Twain's former best friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud, who had an affair with Twain's first husband, Mutt Lange, leading to their divorce.
2011Hugh Laurie, a blues artist and actor best known for his role on the TV drama House, wins the fourth Golden Mouth Organ Award on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Laurie earns the award by playing "Oh! Susanna."
2010Chris Cornell tweets that Soundgarden, split since 1997, are getting back together.
2007Country singer Del Reeves - known for the 1965 novelty hit "Girl on the Billboard," among others - dies of emphysema at age 74.
2006Flavor Flav's reality show, Flavor of Love, premieres on VH1. The series lasts for three seasons. Flav is one of the founding members of the pioneering rap group Public Enemy.
2006Guitarist/songwriter Bryan Harvey (of House of Freaks) is murdered in his home along with his wife and two young daughters. The crime is part of the Richmond spree murders, a series of deadly home invasions in Virginia perpetrated by Ricky Javon Gray and his nephew Ray Joseph Dandridge over the course of a week.
2005Ne-Yo earns his first #1 hit as a songwriter when "Let Me Love You," performed by Mario, seizes the top spot for the first of nine weeks. Billboard ranks the song as the eighth most successful single of the decade.
2004Charles Aznavour is named a Commander in the French Legion of Honor.
2003Aretha Franklin sings the National Anthem when Michigan's first female governor, Jennifer Granholm, is sworn into office.
200256-year-old Eric Clapton marries the 25-year-old American graphic designer Melia McEnery, who will be the mother to three of his children: Julie Rose, Ella, and Sophie. It's a surprise wedding that takes place at St. Mary Magdalen church near London, where his 16-year-old daughter Ruth and 6-month-old Julie Rose are getting baptized. After the baptism, the vicar turns around and marries the couple to the astonishment of the 20 guests.
2000D'Angelo releases "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," the third single from his second album, Voodoo.
Johnny Cash Plays To A Captive Audience At San Quentin Prison
1959Johnny 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.
Cash did his first prison concert in 1957, when he played Huntsville State Prison in Texas. While he never served time (he was only jailed for one-night stays, typically for drunk and disorderlies), Cash felt a bond with inmates, who he knew were often subjected to inhumane treatment. "I don't see why a man, just because he's behind bars, should be denied entertainment," he said. "I can't see how the prison system is a good thing. It destroys a man's soul and often he comes out worse than when he went in." At this San Quentin show, a young Merle Haggard is captivated. "He had the right attitude," Haggard says of Cash. "He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards - he did everything the prisoners wanted to do." Haggard credits Cash for inspiring his outlaw sound that makes him one of the most successful country singers of the '60s, '70s and '80s. Cash keeps playing prisons, including another New Year's Day show at San Quentin the following year. In 1968, in need of a career boost, Cash records his show at Folsom Prison in California. The resulting live album revives his career and puts him back in the public eye. In 1969, he even gets his own TV series, The Johnny Cash Show. One of his guests the first season: Merle Haggard. publicity photo by Don Hunstein
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