Music Almanac: December 21
- 1902 - Peetie Wheatstraw (d. 1941)
- 1926 - Freddie Hart (86)
- 1934 - Hank Crawford (Ike Turner's band) (d. 2009)
- 1940 - Ray Hildebrand (Paul & Paula) (72)
- 1940 - Frank Zappa (d. 1993)
- 1942 - Carla Thomas (70)
- 1943 - Albert Lee (69)
- 1943 - Gwen McCrae (69)
- 1946 - Carl Wilson (Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
- 1953 - Betty Wright (59)
- 1956 - Lee Roy Parnell (56)
- 1962 - Christy Forester (50)
- 1963 - Russell Moore (IIIrd Tyme Out, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver) (49)
- 1964 - Murph (born Emmett Murphey III) (Lemonheads, Dinosaur, Jr.) (48)
- 1965 - Gabrielle Glasser (Luscious Jackson) (47)
- 1971 - Brett Scallions (Tool) (41)
Deaths
- 1971 - Charlie Fuqua (Ink Spots) (61)
- 1972 - Ray Jackson (songwriter, Who's Makin' Love, (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Wanna Be Right) - House fire (31)
- 1987 - John Spence (No Doubt) - Suicide
- 1988 - Paul Jeffreys (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Be-Bop Deluxe) - Killed when terrorist bomb blew up his plane over Lockerbie, Scotland (36)
- 1992 - Albert King - Heart attack (69)
- 1998 - Karl Denver - Brain tumor (67)
- 1957 - Paramount Pictures requested that the U.S. Government defer Elvis Presley's induction by two months so they could finish the film King Creole.
- 1967 - The Beatles had a party in London to preview their new film Magical Mystery Tour.
- 1967 - Jack Greene joined the Grand Ole Opry.
- 1968 - Crosby, Stills and Nash performed in public for the first time.
- 1968 - Janis Joplin gave her first solo performance in Memphis, TN.
- 1970 - Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon who gave the singer a Narcotics Bureau badge.
- 1971 - Martha & the Vandellas broke up.
- 1976 - Barry Manilow on Broadway opened for a two week run on Broadway.
- 1979 - The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Chicago perform at a fundraiser for Jerry Brown.
- 1979 - The movie The Electric Horseman, costarring Willie Nelson, premiered.
- 1995 - Tony McCarrol, former drummer for Oasis, sued the band over royalties.
- 1996 - Tony Bennett had emergency hernia surgery.
- 2002 - Keane was discovered by Simon Williams of Fierce Panda Records while playing in London.
- 2005 - Elton John and David Furnish registered their relationship as a civil partnership, the first celebrities to do so.
Recorded
- 1950 - Cold, Cold Heart - Hank Williams
- 1955 - Jim Dandy - Laverne Baker
Released
- 1967 - Their Satanic Majesties Request - Rolling Stones
Broadcasts
- 1969 - Ed Sullivan Show - Supremes (last TV appearance with Diana Ross)
- 1992 - Roseanne (ABC) - David Crosby
- 2001 - Up Close and Personal With Natalie Merchant (Oxygen)
