James Brown, Dean Martin, and Eartha Kitt died; Annie Lennox, Jimmy Buffett, Dido, and Cab Calloway were born; James Taylor received his first guitar for Christmas, Today in Music History.

Allee Willis passed away; Lemmy was born today; The Eagles were at the top of the Billboard chart with their 'Hotel California' album; Nirvana started recording 'Bleach'; and The Beatles had the No. 1 album in the U.S. for the third Christmas in a row, Today in Music History.

Honey Lantree passed away, Cat Stevens formally changed his name to Yusuf Islam, Beach Boy Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown, Phil Collins went No. 1 with 'Another Day In Paradise', and Eddie Vedder was born, Today in Music History.

Madonna went No. 1 with "Like A Virgin", one-time Faces drummer Kenney Jones became the permanent replacement for the recently deceased Keith Moon in The Who, and Joe Cocker died of lung cancer at age 70, Today in Music History.

Edith Piaf was born, Paul Simon hosted SNL, The Rolling Stones aired their show live, and Carl Perkins wrote about his shoes, and Lady Sovereign was born, Today in Music History.

Billie Eilish and Keith Richards were born; Sly and the Family Stone went No. 1 with “There's A Riot Going On;” James Brown and Loretta Lynn were honored for their contributions to U.S. culture; The Tokens started a three-week run at No. 1 with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” Today in Music History.

The Beatles first appeared on American radio; David Bowie released his fourth album 'Hunky Dory'; Adele was named Billboard's top artist of 2012; Elvis Costello And The Attractions played "Radio, Radio" on SNL against Lorne Michaels' wishes; and Mike Mills was born.

Sylvester James passed away, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their first single, Mick Taylor revealed that he was departing The Rolling Stones, Mott The Hoople called it quits and MTV aired Nirvana's "Unplugged" session for the first time, Today in Music History.

Fats Waller died, Today in Music History: John Lennon played his final gig in the U.K., Fats Waller died of pneumonia, The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour went Gold, Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall' made it to No. 1 and Elvis Presley gave his final performance on 'Louisiana Hayride'.

Sheila E. was born, Nirvana bandmates and Courtney Love go toe to toe, The Doors played their last show with Jim Morrison, The Rolling Stones started working with Ronnie Wood and Devo hit gold.