1871 - While Prussian guns bombard Paris, the Reich is formed when William I of Prussia is crowned the first emperor of Germany.

1913 - Greek and Turkish naval forces battle off Tendos Isle.

1968 - United States and Soviet Union agree on draft treaty to control nuclear weapons.



In Music History

2016-Glenn Frey dies at age 67. Years in the fast lane took a toll on Frey, who suffered from a host of ailments. Frey founded the Eagles, and along with Don Henley, led the group throughout their career. He had a successful solo career while the group was on hiatus, reaching #2 with "The Heat Is On" in 1985.

2015-John Legend and Common perform "Glory" (from the movie Selma) at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to celebrate Martin Luther King Day and honor the march King led from the bridge to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

2015-Dallas Taylor, former Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young drummer, dies of complications from pneumonia and kidney disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 66.

2009-A wide range of top musicians including Mary J. Blige, U2, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, will.i.am, James Taylor, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Usher and Stevie Wonder, perform at a concert in Washington, DC, to celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

2008-Amid casting sessions for American Idol, Clay Aiken makes his Broadway debut in New York City in Monty Python's Spamalot.

1996-Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson.

1991-Three teenagers are killed at an AC/DC concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah when they are crushed in the crowd. The band learns of the tragedy a few songs later; they complete the show at the request of the fire marshal.

1990-Eric Clapton plays the first of an 18-night concert run at Royal Albert Hall in London.

1989-The Fourth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include Dion, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder.

1987-Steve Winwood marries Eugenia Grafton.

1985-USA Today readers select Cleveland, Ohio, as their choice for the permanent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1983-Samantha Mumba, known for her hit debut single "Gotta Tell You" (2000), is born in Dublin, Ireland.

1980-Famous Southern-rock record label Capricorn files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

1980-Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager are sentenced to 3 ˝ years in jail on charges of tax evasion, which soon brings the legendary disco to an end.

1978-Warren Zevon releases his most popular album, Excitable Boy, filled with outlandish story songs like "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Werewolves Of London." It's co-produced by Jackson Browne.

1978-Neil Sedaka is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1977-President Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Concert takes place the night before the swearing-in, featuring performances by Linda Ronstadt and Aretha Franklin, among others. John Lennon and Paul Simon are among those spotted in the crowd.

1977-Michael Tierney is born in Sydney, Australia. He and his brother, Andrew, along with next-door neighbor schoolmates Phil Burton and Toby Allen form the Australian boy band Human Nature while they are students at Hurlstone Agricultural High School in Sydney.

1975-Barry Manilow's "Mandy" hits #1 in America. The song was written as "Brandy" but changed to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."

1975-Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago officially declares today Bobby Vinton Day as a tribute to the artist.

1974-Free's Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke, Mott The Hoople's Mick Ralphs, and King Crimson's Boz Burrell unite to form the band Bad Company.

1973-At The Forum in Inglewood, California, The Rolling Stones perform a benefit concert for the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua, where Mick Jagger's wife Bianca is from. The show raises $400,000.

1971-Korn frontman Jonathan Davis is born in Bakersfield, California. With a talent for bagpipes and beatboxing, he brings a unique sound to the band. Many of their songs deal with his childhood traumas in a rather visceral way, including "Mr. Rogers" and "Daddy."


Iconic Coke Commercial Is Born
1971-The McCann-Erickson advertising agency takes a meeting with British songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway to record a Coca-Cola commercial with the group the New Seekers, which becomes "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing."

1970-DJ Quik is born David Marvin Blake in Compton, California.

1969-Former Beatles drummer Pete Best wins a defamation suit against his former group. Best sued over remarks Ringo made in an interview implying that he was kicked out of the band because of drug use.

1969-Neil Young records "Cowgirl in the Sand."

1968-At a White House luncheon to discuss the rise in urban crime, Eartha Kitt gets into a notorious spat with First Lady Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson, declaring, "Vietnam is the main reason we are having trouble with the youth of America. It is a war without explanation or reason." Although accounts of the entire argument differ, Kitt is subsequently blackballed in America.

1968-Joan Baez is released from jail after serving 31 days for a protest where she and other antiwar demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California. "Jail is really peanuts," she tells reporters. "It's nothing for people like us."

1966-Lyricist Fred Wise dies aged 50 in New York, the city of his birth.

1965-Paul Simon drops out of law school to pursue music full-time.

1960-Johnny Preston's "Running Bear" hits #1 for the first of three weeks.

1956-Tom Bailey (lead vocalist for Thompson Twins) is born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England.

1953-Brett Hudson is born in Portland, Oregon, the youngest in The Hudson Brothers lineup.

1948-The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour debuts on the Dumont network, a spinoff of Major Bowes' popular radio series. Teresa Brewer and Pat Boone, among others, are discovered via the program.

1944-New York City's Metropolitan Opera House holds its first Jazz concert, featuring Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.

1944-"Legs" Larry Smith (drummer for Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) is born in Oxford, England.

1943-English composer/keyboardist Dave Greenslade is born in Woking, Surrey, England.

1941-David Ruffin (of The Temptations) is born in Meridian, Mississippi. He takes the lead on the hits "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg."

1941-Country/pop singer Bobby Goldsboro is born in Marianna, Florida.

1939-Louis Armstrong records "Jeepers Creepers," a song he sings to a horse in the movie Going Places.

1928-Dmitri Shostakovich's opera The Nose premieres at the Maliy Opera Theatre in Leningrad.