1947: Michael Nesmith, the genius behind the Monkees, is born in Houston, Texas. Did you know: In 1977, he pioneered the idea of music television with his program Popclips. The show was later bought by Warner Bros. and developed into MTV.
1957: The No. 1 album in America is Elvis Presley's controversial Elvis' Christmas Album. Many DJs refused to play a rock 'n' roller singing Christmas carols. The record remains at the top spot for four weeks and sells over a million copies.
1968:Led Zeppelin performs at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. The resulting Gonzaga '68 bootleg is the first ever made of the band.
2003: Former Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood is arrested for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm. The bassist had just been released from a Phoenix hospital, where he was recuperating after being shot in the stomach by a post office security guard. Kirkwood allegedly whacked the guard with his own baton during an argument over a parking spot.