Sport

Young boxer Cassius Clay wins the Olympic light heavyweight gold medal in Rome, Italy, Europe. Immediately afterwards, he turns professional and goes on to become the most successful and best-loved boxer of his generation, changing his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after joining the Nation of Islam. His career will inspire many songs, including Bob Dylan's 1964 composition I Shall be Free No.10, Black Superman by Johnny Wakelin And The Kinshasa Band in 1975 and Muhammad Ali by Faithless in 2001.

Gene Vincent plays at Le Palais des Sports, Toulouse, France, Europe, backed by The Sunlights.

Cassius Clay and Sam Cooke are seen on UK tv sports show Grandstand, being interviewed by presenter David Coleman.

Top racing driver Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr., is severely burned when his car crashes during the seventh lap of the World 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. He will die a little over a month later. Fireball's career, and especially his death, will inspire the song Fireball by Johnny Bond and Red Sovine

The Yardbirds, featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar, play at the Osterley Rugby Club, Osterley, London, UK.

Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders play at The Pavilion, Bath, England, UK, Europe.

The Rolling Stones, supported by The Newbeats, play at The Badminton Stadium, Singapore, Asia. During the day, they lunch with the High Commissioner at Government House.

George Harrison and Ringo Starr of The Beatles play golf in Monterey, California, USA.

Bing Crosby introduces the first official Olympic Games song, The Land I Love, by performing it at the pre-Olympics event in Los Angeles, Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, and King Curtis play at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, New York State, USA.

David Bowie's Station To Station tour plays in McNicholls Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Bob Dylan has a Boxing Day rehearsal with his touring band for his 1978 world tour.

Australian rugby league official James Coldwell suffers an injury near his eye which requires three stitches after staying in the same Leeds, England, UK, Europe, hotel as The Jam. Paul Weller of The Jam will be charged with maliciously wounding Mr. Coldwell.

Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter and others play at Perry Speedway, Perry, New York State, USA.

World Boxing Association lightweight champion Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini defends his title against South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. During the fight, Kim suffers brain injuries that will lead to his death four days later. Kim's mother will commit suicide four months later, and referee Richard Green will kill himself in July 1983. Grief-stricken, Mancini will quit boxing in 1985. The 1987 Warren Zevon song Boom Boom Mancini examines Mancini's career in the light of the after-effects of Duk Koo Kim's tragic but accidental death.

On their Eliminator tour, ZZ Top play at the Palais Des Sports, Dijon, France, Europe.

Girlschool play at Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, England, UK, Europe.

Tredegar play at The Rugby Club, Whitney, England, UK, Europe.

Big Country fly from London, England, UK, to Moscow, Russia, Europe, where they are to play four nights at The Palace Of Sports.

New Order are filming the video for their World Cup football anthem, World In Motion, in the training ground of Liverpool FC.

Sinead O'Connor disguises herself with a brown wig and baseball cap to watch demonstrators at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York State, USA, protesting her refusal last week to allow the playing of the American national anthem before a concert. She watches as about 10 demonstrators sing the anthem outside the arts center gates and urge fans not to enter. Later, during her concert, she thanks her fans for their support.

Just ten days into the Persian Gulf War, Whitney Houston performs The Star Spangled Banner on The Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida, USA in front of 73,813 fans. The show is seen by 115m tv viewers in the United States plus a worldwide television audience of 750m. Speculation begins soon after that Houston actually lip-synched the entire performance.

EMF perform a charity show at The Snooker And Bowls Centre, Cinderford Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK, to raise money for the blind.

At the sixth annual World Music Awards in the Sporting Club, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Europe, Prince is given the Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry Award and sings The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.

Mary Chapin Carpenter performs Down At The Twist And Shout with BeauSoleil during the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXI (Green Bay vs New England) at the Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu Tang Clan is arrested in Lynnhaven, Virginia, USA, for shoplifting Nike trainers from a Sneaker Stadium store.

During the third lap of the Pro 250 Motocross racing championship in Mammoth, California, USA, pop diva Pink holds up a sign reading 'Will you marry me?' as her driver-boyfriend Carey Hart flashes past her on the track. Hart pulls off the track and agrees to her proposal.

R.E.M. play at Ipswich Town Football Club, Ipswich, England, UK.

British rock vocalist Ian Brown announces that he is sponsoring London-based non-league football team Chiswick Homefields FC. Their new strip is now emblazoned with the message, "Ian Brown - The Greatest"

Detroit-based rapper Proof is shot dead in a bar fight during a pool game.

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, Glen Phillips from Toad The Wet Sprocket, Mat Scannell from Vertical Horizon and others play a benefit concert in Los Angeles, California, USA, to raise money for singer-songwriter Kelly Buchanan who is suffering traumatic brain damage sustained while playing street-hockey.

Miley Cyrus goes cycling with boyfriend Liam Hemsworth in Toluca Lake, California, USA.

Jay-Z and Beyonce attend the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, France, Europe.

On their Ending On A High Note Tour, A-ha play at The Budapest Sport Arena, Budapest, Hungary, Europe.

Keith Urban performs Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA, before the Super Bowl (Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers). Country music singer and songwriter Paul Overstreet watches the match from the stands.

A new version of The Hollies 1969 hit He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother, is released in the UK by one-off superstar aggregation The Justice Collective as a benefit disc to raise funds for the legal costs of a new inquest into the 1989 Hillsborough football tragedy. The new group, produced by Guy Chambers, includes Sir Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Paloma Faith, Shane MacGowan, Beverley Knight, Mel C [Spice Girls]Holly Johnson and Gerry Marsden [Gerry And The Pacemakers].

Miley Cyrus goes sky diving at Perris Valley Skydiving in Los Angeles, California, USA, as part of an interview for the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine with interviewer Josh Eells.

Justin Bieber unexpectedly joins the senior football team for a kick-about at Highgate School, North London, England, UK, Europe.

On their Life tour, Mayday are playing during eleven nights at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Asia.

Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band play at The Sporting Complex, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Europe.

Protest performance group Pussy Riot invade the pitch at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia, Asia, early in the second half of the Football World Cup final between France and Croatia.

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez team up for a performance at The Super Bowl LIV halftime show in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, USA, at which the Kansas City Chiefs defeat The San Francisco 49ers by 31 to 20. Demi Lovato performs the National Anthem. The show is seen by an estimated 102m viewers.