2020: Singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker dies at 78. The Texas country troubadour, who had battled throat cancer, wrote “Mr. Bojangles,” which became a Top 10 hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and was later recorded by dozens of artists.
2015: Adele premieres the music video for “Hello.” The video, co-starring actor Tristan Wilds, was the first music video filmed with IMAX cameras. The song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100.
2015: Carrie Underwood releases her fifth studio album, Storyteller. It became her sixth straight album to reach No. 1 on the country albums chart and included the singles “Smoke Break” and “Church Bells.”
2010: Buffalo Springfield play together for the first time in more than four decades. Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay reunited at Young's Bridge School Benefit at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, 43 years after the band had last performed.
2002: Kanye West is badly hurt in a car crash in Los Angeles. The wreck left his jaw shattered, and he recorded “Through the Wire” while it was still wired shut. The song became the lead single from his 2004 debut album, The College Dropout.
2001: Apple unveils the first iPod. The pocket-size player could hold about 1,000 songs and went on to reshape how people bought and listened to music.
1995: The Smashing Pumpkins release the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The 28-song set debuted at No. 1 in the US and produced the hits “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “1979.”
1990: AC/DC's Back in Black is certified for 10 million US sales. The Diamond award honored the 1980 album, the band's first with singer Brian Johnson, which is still one of the best-selling albums of all time.
1978: Country pioneer Maybelle Carter dies at 69. “Mother Maybelle” of the Carter Family helped lay the foundation of country music with her guitar style. She was Johnny Cash's mother-in-law, and Cash later wrote “Tears in the Holston River” in her memory.
1976: Chicago's “If You Leave Me Now” reaches No. 1. The Peter Cetera ballad was the band's first chart-topping single in the US and stayed on top for two weeks.
1975: Elton John receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The honor came during a stretch that Los Angeles declared “Elton John Week,” as he was at the height of his 1970s fame.
1969: Columbia Records vows to go after sellers of an unauthorized Bob Dylan album. The illegal release of unissued Dylan recordings is often called the first rock bootleg. Dylan was born in Duluth and grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota.
1961: Dion's “Runaround Sue” hits No. 1. The doo-wop flavored song stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.
1954: Elvis Presley's “Blue Moon of Kentucky” breaks out beyond Memphis. His fast, rocking take on Bill Monroe's bluegrass waltz caught on in Nashville and New Orleans, becoming his first hit outside his hometown.
1950: Entertainer Al Jolson dies at 64. The star of the 1927 film The Jazz Singer suffered a heart attack in San Francisco. He was one of the most popular entertainers of the first half of the century, known for songs like “Swanee.”
Born on This Day
1985: Miguel, American R&B singer Turns 41. Known for the hits “Adorn” and “Sure Thing.”
1972: Jimmy Wayne, American country singer Turns 54. Best known for the 2008 country hit “Do You Believe Me Now.”
1966: David Thomas, American gospel singer (Take 6) Sings with the Grammy-winning a cappella group Take 6.
1964: Robert Trujillo, American bassist (Metallica) Turns 62. Joined Metallica in 2003 after playing with Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne.
1959: “Weird Al” Yankovic, American singer and parody artist Turns 67. The accordion-playing king of song parodies, from “Eat It” to “White & Nerdy.”
1956: Dwight Yoakam, American country singer Turns 70. Brought a Bakersfield twang to hits like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Fast as You.”
1956: Dianne Reeves, American jazz singer Turns 70. A multiple Grammy winner for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
1949: Tiny Tavares, American R&B singer (Tavares) Sang with his brothers in Tavares, known for “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” and “More Than a Woman.”
1947: Greg Ridley, English bassist (Humble Pie) Played bass in Humble Pie with Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton. He died in 2003.
1943: Barbara Ann Hawkins, American singer (The Dixie Cups) A founding member of the New Orleans group behind the 1964 No. 1 hit “Chapel of Love.”
1940: Ellie Greenwich, American songwriter and producer Co-wrote girl-group classics such as “Be My Baby,” “Leader of the Pack” and “Chapel of Love.” She died in 2009.
1939: Charlie Foxx, American soul singer and guitarist Half of the brother-sister duo Inez & Charlie Foxx, known for the 1963 hit “Mockingbird.” He died in 1998.
