2022: Sam Smith and Kim Petras hit No. 1 with “Unholy.” The duet made Smith the first openly nonbinary artist and Petras the first openly transgender artist to top the Billboard Hot 100. The song later won a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
2022: Taylor Swift's Midnights tops the UK albums chart. The album gave Swift a record run of consecutive UK No. 1 albums for a female artist and became the fastest seller of 2022 there. It also opened at No. 1 in the United States.
2016: Bob Dylan publicly accepts the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Minnesota native, born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing, had stayed silent for about two weeks after the award was announced. He was the first songwriter ever to receive the prize.
2009: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame celebrates its 25th anniversary at Madison Square Garden. The all-star concerts in New York featured Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Mick Jagger and Aretha Franklin, among many others, and were later aired on HBO.
1996: Axl Rose announces that Slash has left Guns N' Roses. The guitarist behind the riffs on “Sweet Child O' Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle” went on to form Velvet Revolver, then rejoined the band for a reunion tour in 2016.
1993:The Nightmare Before Christmas opens in U.S. theaters. Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo wrote the songs and score for the stop-motion film and also provided the singing voice of Jack Skellington.
1983: Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton reach No. 1 with “Islands in the Stream.” The Bee Gees wrote the song, originally with Marvin Gaye in mind, and Barry Gibb co-produced it. The duet topped both the pop and country charts.
1983: Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon sets a new record for weeks on the Billboard album chart. Its 491st week on the chart pushed it past Johnny Mathis's Johnny's Greatest Hits. With reissues, the album eventually logged more than 880 weeks.
1976: Elvis Presley holds his final studio session in the Jungle Room at Graceland. The Memphis recordings included “Way Down,” which became a No. 1 hit in the UK shortly after his death in August 1977.
1973: John Lennon releases the single and album Mind Games in the U.S. The title track climbed to No. 18 on the American chart.
1971: Guitarist Duane Allman dies in a motorcycle crash at 24. The Allman Brothers Band co-founder was killed in Macon, Georgia, just weeks before his 25th birthday. His slide guitar is also heard on Derek and the Dominos' “Layla.”
1966: ? and the Mysterians hit No. 1 with “96 Tears.” The Michigan garage band was fronted by singer Rudy Martinez, known only as Question Mark, and the song's organ hook became a garage rock landmark.
1965: The Who release “My Generation” in the UK. Pete Townshend's anthem, with Roger Daltrey's stuttered vocal, reached No. 2 on the British chart.
1957: Bobby Helms records “Jingle Bell Rock” in Nashville. The song became a Christmas standard and sold more than a million copies.
1955: Roger Williams hits No. 1 with “Autumn Leaves.” The pianist's instrumental version of the French song “Les Feuilles mortes” topped the U.S. chart.
Born on This Day
1987: Tove Lo, Swedish singer Turns 39. Best known for the hit “Habits (Stay High).”
1984: Chris Baio, American bassist (Vampire Weekend) Turns 42. Has played bass in the indie rock band since its start at Columbia University.
1976: Mark Sheehan, Irish guitarist (The Script) Co-founded the band behind “Breakeven” and “Hall of Fame.” Died in 2023.
1970: Toby Smith, English keyboardist (Jamiroquai) Co-wrote many of the band's songs, including “Virtual Insanity.” Died in 2017.
1969: SA Martinez, American vocalist and DJ (311) Trades vocals with Nick Hexum on hits like “Down” and “Amber.”
1961: Randy Jackson, American singer (The Jacksons) Turns 65. The youngest Jackson brother joined the family group in the mid-1970s and co-wrote “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”
1955: Kevin DuBrow, American singer (Quiet Riot) Fronted the band on “Cum On Feel the Noize.” Died in 2007.
1955: Roger O'Donnell, English keyboardist (The Cure) Played keyboards on the band's 1989 album Disintegration and its hit “Lovesong.”
1949: James Williamson, American guitarist (The Stooges) Turns 77. Played guitar on Iggy and the Stooges' 1973 album Raw Power.
1949: David Paton, Scottish singer and bassist (Pilot) Turns 77. Sang the 1975 hit “Magic” and later played with The Alan Parsons Project.
1946: Peter Green, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac) Founded the band and wrote “Black Magic Woman,” later a hit for Santana. Died in 2020.
1945: Melba Moore, American singer Turns 81. Won a Tony Award for the musical Purlie and later scored R&B hits.
1944: Denny Laine, English singer and guitarist (The Moody Blues, Wings) Sang lead on the Moody Blues' “Go Now” and played alongside Paul McCartney throughout the Wings years. Died in 2023.
1944: Robbie van Leeuwen, Dutch guitarist and songwriter (Shocking Blue) Turns 82. Wrote “Venus,” a No. 1 U.S. hit in 1970.
1937: Sonny Osborne, American bluegrass singer and banjo player (The Osborne Brothers) Recorded the bluegrass classic “Rocky Top” with his brother Bobby. Died in 2021.
1922: Neal Hefti, American trumpeter and composer Wrote the TV themes for Batman and The Odd Couple and arranged for Count Basie. Died in 2008.
1891: Fanny Brice, American singer and actress The Ziegfeld Follies star inspired the musical Funny Girl. Died in 1951.
