➦In 1942..."The Better Half,", an early battle of the sexes type quiz show, debuted on the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS). The show aired until 1950.
➦In 1949...Vinyl records were introduced by RCA (45 rpm). RCA’s entry was a new 7-inch, 45 rpm phonograph record. Soon, the 45, the record with the big hole in the middle, would change the pop music business. RCA even manufactured a record player that played only 45s — with a fat spindle that made “stacking wax” real simple.
➦In 1956...Elvis Presley recorded his first tunes as an RCA Victor artist in a marathon 8-hour session. Recording in Nashville, Elvis sang “Heartbreak Hotel”, “I Was the One”, “I’m Counting On You”, “I Got a Woman” and “Money Honey”. Elvis was backed by a drummer, D.J. Fontana, for the first time, in addition to guitarists Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins, bassist Bill Black and piano player Floyd Cramer.
➦In 1960...Marty Robbins‘ hit tune, “El Paso”, set the mark for the longest #1 song to that time. The song ran 5 minutes and 19 seconds, giving many radio Program Directors fits; because the average record length at that time was around 2 minutes, and formats and commercial loads didn’t allow for records much longer than that.
➦In 1964...The first North American Beatles album, "Introducing The Beatles," was released by Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records.
➦In 1965...Howard Cosell aired his first “Speaking of Everything” publica affairs-type show on 77WABC NYC.
➦In 1969... a frustrated George Harrison quit the Beatles, saying sarcastically as he walked out ‘see you around the clubs.’ With Eric Clapton being considered as his replacement, George came back a week later. George later stated that while he had a growing backlog of new material, he constantly had to work on Lennon and McCartney's songs before the group would work on his.
➦In 1987...NRSC-1 went into effect establishing AM radio emphasis/de-emphasis curves.
➦In 2016…Music artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member David Bowie died of liver cancer at age 69.
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| Rod Stewart is 81 |
- Actor William Sanderson (“Deadwood,” ″Newhart”) is 82.
- Singer Rod Stewart is 81.
- Singer-keyboardist Donald Fagen of Steely Dan is 78.
- Singer Pat Benatar is 73.
- Guitarist Michael Schenker (Scorpions) is 71.
- Singer Shawn Colvin is 70.
- Singer-guitarist Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets is 67.
- Actor Evan Handler (“Sex and the City”) is 65.
- Singer Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies is 62.
- Actor Trini Alvarado is 59.
- Singer Brent Smith of Shinedown is 48.
- Rapper Chris Smith of Kris Kross is 47.
- Musician Valerie June is 44.
- In 1951..[Harry] Sinclair Lewis, writer (Nobel Prize in Literature 1930), dies from advanced alcoholism at 65
- In 1982..Paul Lynde, Comedian and actor (The Hollywood Squares, Uncle Arthur-Bewitched), dies after a heart attack at 55
- In 2011..Margaret Whiting, Singer (It Might As Well Be Spring, Time After Time), dies at 86
- In 2016..David Bowie. English rock singer-songwriter ("Space Oddity"; "Changes"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Heroes"), mime, and actor (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence; Labyrinth), dies of cancer at 69
- In 2017..(Armando) "Buddy" Greco, American jazz and pop singer ("Ooh! Look-A There, Ain't She Pretty"; "The Lady Is A Tramp"), pianist, and television personality (Away We Go), dies at 90
- In 2023..Jeff Beck. English Grammy Award-winning rock guitarist (Yardbirds, 1965-66; Jeff Beck Group, 1967-72), dies of bacterial meningitis at 78
- In 2024..Bud Harrelson, American baseball shortstop (MLB All-Star 1970, 71; World Series 1969; Gold Glove 1971 New York Mets) and manager (NY Mets 1990, 91), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 79
- In 2025.. Sam Moore, American R&B and soul vocalist (Sam & Dave - "Soul Man", "I Thank You"), dies of post-surgical complications at 89.