Events in 1923
- Fourteen-year-old Benny Goodman landed his first professional engagement as a clarinetist aboard a cruise ship sailing on Lake Michigan near Chicago.
- Blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas.
- American country and pop singer and songwriter Jim Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas. He was among the first country artists to achieve significant success in pop as well. He became known for the 1957 hit “Four Walls”; in 1960 he had the U.S. No. 2 hit “He'll Have To Go”, and in 1966 the UK No. 1 hit “Distant Drums”. He died on July 31, 1964, in a single-engine aircraft crash in dense fog.
- Roland Janes, an American rockabilly guitarist and music producer, was born. From 1956 to 1963 he worked with Sun Records and became a regular session guitarist on recordings by Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Sonny Burgess and others. He died on October 18, 2013, aged 80.
- In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an ordinance was passed prohibiting dancers from looking their partners in the eye.