1955: Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes", a song that he wrote after seeing a young man get angry at his date for scuffing his shoes. Even though today Elvis Presley's version is better known today, his cover only made it to # 20 on the Billboard Top 100. Perkins' original went to # 2 and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks.

1975: Bruce Springsteen performs his first concert in the UK at London's Hammersmith Odeon. Springsteen is so upset at the hype arranged by his label (Columbia) that he rips down posters in the lobby that proclaim: "Finally, London is ready for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.” Critics also resent the hype and pan the show.

Fast forward to 2006 when the concert is finally released as both a CD and a DVD. The release quickly wipes away the common misperception that the show had been a flop (the band performs 3 encores) and remains the only official release of a complete concert from the Boss’ early days.

1969: The man who shot to stardom almost overnight on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Tiny Tim marries Miss Vicki Budinger in a live ceremony on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson . The program is watched by 40 million people, earning the second largest ratings of any show up to that time. The couple lived apart during the marriage and split seven years later.

It’s been a great day for break-ups in rock.

1974: Mick Taylor, who replaced founding member Brian Jones, announces he's leaving the Rolling Stones. He'll be replaced by a former member of the (Small) Faces, guitarist Ron Wood.

1974: Glitter rockers, Mott the Hoople call it quits.

1983: And the Who officially break up (again). Like past break-ups, this one doesn’t last either.

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.