2006 – Regional Mexican singer Valentin Elizalde is shot dead in the early morning hours in Reynosa, Mexico. He is 27. Elizalde had just finished playing a concert at a palenque, and had entered his SUV when he was gunned down by more than 70 machine gun bullets.

2005 - Country music makes itself comfortable all around New York when the Country Music Association holds its 39th annual CMA Awards show at Madison Square Garden.

2005 - Country superstar Garth Brooks, who retired from music in 2001, returns to the spotlight with the release of the "Limited Series" boxed set, which is to be available exclusively through Walmart and Sam's Club stores, as well as Walmart.com. The set goes on to break numerous sales records.

2000 - Kenny Chesney ends his 2000 tour with a sold out concert in Johnson City, Tenn. During the evening, Chesney invites opening act Phil Vassar to the stage. Vassar suspects an end-of-tour prank, but Chesney presents the singer/songwriter with a trophy proclaiming new artist Vassar "Top of the Class of 2000."

1999 - Clint Black is on hand to help the Salvation Army launch its annual holiday fundraising drive. Black entertains during the third annual "National Kettle Kick-off," a half-time event at the Dallas Cowboys' football game.

1998 - Spin magazine editor Craig Marks tells police that shock rocker Marilyn Manson's bodyguards pinned him against a wall and hauled him up into the air. Marks claims he was invited backstage to talk with Manson after the artist performed at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Manson allegedly threatened Marks. "He said `You know I can kill you, your family and everyone you know,'" Marks claims.

1997 - The sixth album from late rapper 2Pac, "R U Still Down? (Remember Me)," is released posthumously.

1997 - After much delay, Garth Brooks' seventh album "Sevens" is finally released.

1997 - Blues singer-guitarist Fenton Robinson dies of complications from Brain cancer in Rockford, Ill. He is 62.

1997 - The original lineup of the Zombies - Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White, Hugh Grundy, and Paul Atkinson - play onstage for the first time in 30 years. The reunited members perform their hits "She's Not There" and "Time Of The Season" to a cheering crowd in London's Jazz Cafe.

1997 - Barbara, one of the most revered French "chanteuses" of the century, dies in a Paris hospital of complications following respiratory problems. She is 67.

1984 - ``Do They Know It's Christmas?'' - a benefit single that becomes the U.K.'s biggest single ever - is recorded by 36 artists in London.

1981 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Physical,'' Olivia Newton-John. The song, which sells more than 2 million copies, tops Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks, making it the biggest hit of the year.

1976 - The Band holds its acclaimed farewell performance at San Francisco's Winterland, with performances by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters and others. The event is filmed and made into a movie by Martin Scorsese titled "The Last Waltz."

1961 - The Everly Brothers are inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, reporting to Camp Pendleton, Calif., for duty.

1952 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Why Don't You Believe Me,'' Joni James.