Happy Birthday to Alan Freed (1922 – The DJ credited with coining the term “rock ‘n’roll”), Clyde McPhatter (1932 – The Drifters), Cindy Birdsong (1939 – The Supremes), Dave Clark (1942 – Dave Clark Five) and Carmine Appice (1946 – Vanilla Fudge)

1977: Just as the disco craze was losing steam, Saturday Night Fever opens in New York City starring John Travolta and featuring the music of the Bee Gees (in the midst of their own comeback). The film pumps new life into discos and turns the Bee Gees into the world’s #1 group of the moment.

1974: President Gerald Ford invites George Harrison to the White House for lunch. George arrive “plus two” with Ravi Shankar and Billy Preston in tow. When Harrison gives the Pres a button with the word "OM" on it, referring to meditation, Ford responds by giving George with a "WIN" (Whip Inflation Now) button.

It would be only three years before “Harrison-Ford” would take on a whole new meaning.

1957: Happy Holidays! Portland, Oregon DJ Al Priddy gets fired on this day for playing Elvis Presley’s version of “White Christmas” on his radio show.

Shocking!

1968: The Rolling Stones and their guests John Lennon, the Who, Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful and circus performers film their legendary Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus television special at Wembley television studios in Middlesex, England.

The show is promptly shelved, not seeing the light of day until 1996, allegedly because the Stones thought the Who’s performance was far superior to their own. (The Who’s performance was included in their 1979 “rockumenatry” The Kids Are Alright.)

1967: Just three days after recording what was to become his breakthrough pop hit, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay,” Otis Redding and four members of his band, the Bar-Kays, perish when their tour plane goes down into Lake Monona next to Madison, Wisconsin.

1955: Elvis Presley takes the stage at the B & I Club in Swifton, Arkansas and, before singing a new song, makes the confident boast, “This is gonna be my first hit.” The song he then sings is “Heartbreak Hotel.”

1980: I think most of us remember where we were and what we were doing when we first heard that John Lennon had been murdered on this day outside New York City’s Dakota Hotel.

1987: A concert at Carnegie Hall honoring the late Harry Chapin on his birthday (he would have been 45) features performances by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Judy Collins. That same day, Chapin received a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for his work in fighting hunger.

To this day, there is a food bank in Southwest Florida named in his honor.

1969: This is the day the infamous free concert at the Altamont Speedway took place. Headlined by the Rolling Stones as a “thank you” gesture for their successful U.S. tour. The big mistake – hiring Hell’s Angels to act as security. Four people die during the concert including Meredith Hunter who is stabbed by the Angels right in front of the stage.