It’s December 31st and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2016, Mariah Carey dropped the ball while appearing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest in New York City’s Times Square. She exposed her lip-syncing while complaining about technical problems. “We can’t hear, but I’ll just get through the moment,” she told the crowd. “We’re missing some of this vocal, but it is what it is. We didn’t have a [sound] check for this song, so we’ll just say it went to No. 1, and that’s what it is.”
- In 2015, singer Natalie Cole died at the age of 65 after years of battling various health problems. During her career, Cole won nine Grammy Awards.
- In 1984, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost control of his Corvette near Sheffield, England and hit a wall. HIs seatbelt came undone and ripped off his left arm as he was thrown out the sunroof. Allen’s arm was reattached but, later, had to be amputated. He resumed playing drums with Def Leppard three months after the crash.
- In 2013, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve aired for the first time in 41 years without Clark as host (he died in 2012). Ryan Seacrest took over as host of the show, which features live performances from New York’s Times Square and pre-taped performances from Los Angeles.
- In 2000, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson in Aspen, Colorado. The couple, who had son Ryder together, split after seven years.
- In 2002, rapper 50 Cent (whose real name is Curtis Jackson) was arrested after police found two loaded guns in a SUV he was sitting in outside the Copacabana nightclub in New York City.
- In 1947, Burton Lorne Cummings was born in Winnipeg. He dropped out of high school to become a musician and eventually played with The Deverons before being asked to join The Guess Who. After becoming the band’s frontman, they had hits like “American Woman” and “These Eyes.” Cummings went on to have a successful solo career, too.
And that’s what popped on this day.