1948 : Ozzy Osbourne is born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England. He would become the lead singer of Black Sabbath.

1964 : The animated TV special “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” debuts on CBS, with Burl Ives as the voice of Sam the Snowman. The special is based on the 1949 song, which has become a perennial favorite.

1966 : Having been convicted of heroin and marijuana possession, Ray Charles is given a five-year suspended sentence and fined $10,000.

1976 : Bob Marley is shot in the upper arm when intruders storm his house in Kingston, Jamaica attempting to assassinate the singer. The attack was motivated by politics, as elections in Jamaica were days away and Marley was seen as supporting the ruling party. Marley made a full recovery and never had the bullet removed, as he was told that the operation could cause him to lose movement in his fingers.

1994 : Adam Sandler performs “The Chanukah Song” on the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live, enlightening us to the fact that Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and David Lee Roth (among many others) are, in fact, Jewish. Released as a single the following year, the would reach #10 US and become a seasonal favorite.