On Jan. 4, 1953, thousands of people attended the funeral of country star Hank Williams in Montgomery, Alabama. He died of a heart attack a few days earlier.
In 1954, Elvis Presley met Sam Phillips of Sun Records at the Memphis Recording Service. Phillips got Elvis' address and phone number to contact him later about a formal recording session.
In 1957, Fats Domino recorded "I'm Walkin'" in New Orleans.
In 1966, the last episode of "Rawhide" aired on CBS.
In 1976, Mal Evans, the former road manager for The Beatles, was shot and killed by police at his Los Angeles home. Authorities said Evans had refused to surrender a gun he was holding.
In 1984, Van Halen released their "1984" album.
In 1986, former Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott (LY'-naht) died in a London hospital of heart failure and pneumonia. He was 36.
In 2000, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda announced they were divorcing after eight years of marriage. On that same day, "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls announced she and husband Jimmy Gulzar were splitting after 15 months of marriage.
In 2004, singer Ray Davies of The Kinks was shot in the leg as he chased after a purse snatcher in New Orleans.
In 2020, Mariah Carey became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in four separate decades, when "All I Want For Christmas Is You" hit number one.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Barbara Rush ("Peyton Place") is 97. Actor Dyan Cannon is 85. Country singer Kathy Forester of the Forester Sisters is 69. Guitarist Bernard Sumner of New Order (and Joy Division) is 68. Actor Ann Magnuson ("Anything But Love") is 68. Country singer Patty Loveless is 67. Singer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is 64. Actor Dave Foley ("NewsRadio," "Kids in the Hall") is 61. Actor Dot Jones ("Glee") is 60. Actor Rick Hearst ("The Bold and the Beautiful") is 59. Former Pogues singer Cait O'Riordan is 59. Actor Julia Ormond is 59. Country singer Deana (DEE'-nah) Carter is 58. Harmonica player Benjamin Darvill of Crash Test Dummies is 57. Actor Josh Stamerg ("The Affair," "Drop Dead Diva") is 54. Actor Jeremy Licht ("Valerie") is 53. Actor Damon Gupton ("Empire") is 51. Actor Jill Marie Jones ("Girlfriends") is 49. Actor D'Arcy Carden ("The Good Place") is 44. Singer Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath is 41. Comedian-actor Charlyne (shar-LEEN') Yi ("House," "Steven Universe") is 38. Singer-actor Coco Jones is 26.