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On This Date In Music History


Rick

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On November 28th in music history:

Births

1915: Dick Vance
1929: Berry Gordy, Jr.
1934: Ethel Ennis (The Benny Goodman Orchestra)
1939: Gary Troxel (The Fleetwoods)
1940: Bruce Channel, Glen Curtis (The Fortunes)
1943: Randy Newman
1944: R.B. Greaves
1948: Beeb Birtles (The Little River Band)

Deaths

1971: Papa Lightfoot
1984: Don Addrissi (The Addrissi Brothers)

Events

1944: The musical Meet Me in St. Louis, featuring Judy Garland, premieres in New York.

1964: Willie Nelson makes his Grand Ole Opry debut.

1968: John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at the Marylebone Magistrates' Court, London, to answer charges of cannabis resin posession. John pleads guilty and is fined 150 pounds and 20 guineas.

1974: John Lennon appears onstage with Elton John at Madison Square Garden, honoring a promise he made that he'd appear if their duet, "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night," hit #1. The duo sing their hit as well as the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." Backstage, wife Yoko Ono meets John, ending John's 18-month separation from her, known as the "Lost Weekend." This was to be John's last appearance on stage, anywhere.

1977: Elvis: the Musical, starring Shakin' Stevens, opens in London.

1979: Ringo Starr's home in Los Angeles home burns down.

1992: HBO airs Neil Diamond's Christmas Special.

2001: Aretha Franklin sues a tabloid for $50 million after it claimed the singer had a drinking problem.

Releases

1970: George Harrison, "My Sweet Lord"
1970: Elton John, "Your Song"

Recording

1966: The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever"
1967: The Beatles, The Beatles' Fifth Christmas Record

Certifications

1966: The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" is certified gold
1966: The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" is certified gold
1966: The Righteous Brothers' Soul and Inspiration album is certified gold

Charts

1960: Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome To-night?" hits #1
1964: The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" hits #1
1964: Betty Everett's "Getting Mighty Crowded" enters the pop charts

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On November 29th in music history:

Births

1917: Merle Travis
1932: Ed Bickert (Paul Desmond Quartet), John Gary
1933: John Mayall
1939: Meco
1940: Chuck Mangione
1941: Denny Doherty (The Mamas and The Papas), Jody Miller
1944: Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals)
1951: Barry Goudreau (Boston)

Deaths

1979: Ray Smith
2001: George Harrison

Events

1932: The musical The Gay Divorcee, featuring Cole Porter's classic "Night And Day," premieres in New York.

1959: Bobby Darin wins the 1959 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for his song "Mack the Knife," along with the Best New Artist award.

1964: The Beatles' John Lennon and George Harrison meet two members of the Miracles while at the Crazy Elephant restaurant in London.

1965: Denver, CO, declares today "Rolling Stones Day."

1966: Elvis hears Tom Jones' version of "Green Green Grass Of Home" on the radio just outside Little Rock, and calls the radio station to hear it several times. Elvis would eventually cover the song.

1968: For his cannabis possession charge, John Lennon is fined $360 in a London court. The judge believes John's explanation that he no longer uses marijuana and had merely forgotten about the stash. Wife Yoko Ono is entirely cleared of charges. Lennon is the first Beatle to be charged with such a crime.

1979: The original four members of KISS play for the last time together before their first "breakup."

Paul Simon hits his record label, CBS, with two lawsuits in an attempt to break his contract.

Keith Richards' common-law wife, Anita Pallenburg, is cleared of murder in the shooting death of a male companion found dead in her home in New York state.

2000: Chuck Berry's longtime piano player, Johnnie Johnson, sues Chuck, alledging that he wrote the music for 52 of Berry's classics. The suit was thrown out by a judge who ruled that the statute of limitations had run out on any claims.

2001: George Harrison passes away at age 58 after a long battle with lung cancer while resting at the home of a friend home in Los Angeles. His family's official statement read, in part: "He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'"

Releases

1968: The Who, The Who Sell Out
1977: KISS, Alive II

Recording

1938: Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, "Hawaiian War Chant"
1966: The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever"
1966: Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, "Sorry"

Certifications

1977: Kansas' Point of Know Return album is certified platinum
1978: Neil Young's Comes a Time album is certified gold
1979: Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is certified gold

Charts

1952: Joni James' "Why Don't You Believe Me" hits #1
1959: Jackie Wilson's "Talk that Talk" enters the R&B charts
1969: The Beatles' "Come Together" hits #1
1975: Silver Convention's "Fly Robin Fly" hits #1

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On November 30th in music history:

Births

1915: Brownie McGhee
1924: Allan Sherman
1929: Dick Clark
1931: Teddy Wilburn (The Wilburn Brothers)
1932: Bob Moore (Moby Grape)
1935: Jack Reno
1936: Frank Ifield
1937: Jimmy Bowen, Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
1943: Leo Lyons (Ten Years After)
1944: Rob Grill (The Grass Roots), Luther Ingram
1945: Roger Glover (Deep Purple)
1953: Shuggie Otis
1954: Jeannie Kendall (The Kendalls), George McArdle (Little River Band), June Pointer (The Pointer Sisters)

Deaths

1996: Tiny Tim

Events

1940: Desi Arnaz marries Lucille Ball.
1954: Nat "King" Cole begins a six-night run at Harlem's Apollo theater.
1959: In a Billboard article, DJ Alan Freed claims that his career has gone "down the drain" due to the recent "payola" scandal.
1962: For the first time, the Beatles make the "favourite group" list in the New Musical Express' reader's poll.
1969: NBC airs Simon and Garfunkel's Songs Of America special, even after sponsor AT&T backs out over the show's plan to show footage of the Bobby Kennedy funeral and the Vietnam war.
1977: David Bowie appears on Bing Crosby's 42nd (and last) Christmas special on CBS. The two sing a medley of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace On Earth."

Releases

1958: The Crests, "16 Candles"
1968: Sly and the Family Stone, "Everyday People"
1972: Wings, "Hi, Hi, Hi"
1974: The Eagles, "Best Of My Love"

Recording

1939: Harry James, "Concerto for Trumpet"
1943: The Nat "King" Cole Trio, "Straighten Up and Fly Right"

Charts

1968: Diana Ross and The Supremes' "Love Child" hits #1
1974: Elton John's Greatest Hits album hits #1
1959: Jackie Wilson's "Talk that Talk" enters the R&B charts
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On December 1st in music history:

Births

1913: Mary Martin
1934: Billy Paul
1935: Lou Rawls
1938: Sandy Nelson
1939: Dianne "Dee Dee" Lennon
1944: Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult), John Densmore (The Doors)
1945: Bette Midler
1946: Gilbert O'Sullivan

Deaths

1954: Fred Rose
1969: Magic Sam
1996: Lee Dorsey

Events

1940: ASCAP informs bandleader Glenn Miller that, due to publishing concerns, he can't use "Moonlight Serenade" as his theme. Instead, Miller picks "Slumber Song."

1945: Burl Ives makes his concert debut at New York's Town Hall.

1957: Three acts make their national TV debut on one episode of CBS' Ed Sullivan Show: Buddy Holly and the Crickets (performing "That'll Be The Day"), Sam Cooke (performing "You Send Me"), and the Rays (performing "Silhouettes").

1958: Songwriter Neil Sedaka signs with RCA Records as a solo artist.

1960: Bobby Darin marries Sandra Dee at Don Kirshner's apartment in New Jersey.

1968: Janis Joplin makes her final appearance with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.

1972: Martha and the Vandellas give their farewell performance in Detroit, MI.

1975: On her thirtieth birthday, Bette Midler undergoes emergency surgery to remove her appendix.

1989: Sly Stone is sentenced to 55 days in jail for driving while under the influence of cocaine.

1995: An auction of Frank Sinatra memorabilia nets the singer over two million dollars.

Releases

1971: John Lennon, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

Certifications

1966: The Mamas and The Papas' Cass, John, Michelle and Denny album is certified gold

Charts

1958: The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him" hits #1

Happy 67th birthday to Bette Midler!! [^]

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On December 2nd in music history:

Births

1914: Eddie Sauter (Benny Goodman Orchestra)
1916: Charlie Ventura
1917: Sylvia Syms
1918: Milton DeLugg
1941: Tom McGuinness (Manfred Mann)
1942: Ted Bluechel Jr. (The Association)
1950: John Wesley Ryles
1952: Michael McDonald

Deaths

1982: David Blue

Events

1959: Bobby Darin is the subject of this week's episode of NBC'S This Is Your Life.

1964: Ringo Starr checks into the University College Hospital in London to have his tonsils removed.

1967: Jimmie Rodgers is found with a fractured skull in his car on the San Diego Freeway, the result of a "mysterious assualt." He recovers fully, but his career never does.

1969: In Bristol, England, George Harrison joins the Delaney and Bonnie and Friends tour as a guitarist, making this the first tour of a Beatle since 1966.

Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes is kidnapped by the caretaker of her Hollywood apartment, who, while holding a knife to her throat, forces her to tie up her two visiting friends. He then forces her into a car and drives toward Long Beach, but the singer jumps from the car and escapes. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.

1971: Taj Mahal performs for the men on death row at Wilmington State Penitentiary.

1973: The Who and their companions are jailed overnight in Montreal following $6000 worth of hotel destruction inflicted after their show at the Forum.

1979: Singers Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge are granted a divorce.

1981: The Broadway musical Dreamgirls, loosely based on the life of the Supremes, opens on Broadway.

1986: Jerry Lee Lewis checks into the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers.

1991: The US Supreme Court rules that the Shirelles, Gene Pitney and B.J. Thomas are owed $1.2 million in unpaid royalties.

Releases

1972: Carly Simon's "You're So Vain"

Recording

1962: Andy Williams, "Can't Get Used To Losing You"

Certifications

1975: The Silver Convention's "Fly, Robin, Fly" is certified gold

Charts

1950: Phil Harris' "The Thing" hits #1
1957: Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" hits #1
1967: The Monkees' "Daydream Believer" hits #1
1967: American Breed's "Bend Me Shape Me" enters the pop charts
1967: The Monkees' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones album hits #1
1972: The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" hits #1
1978: Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" hits #1

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On December 3rd in music history:

Births

1907: Connee Boswell
1927: Ferlin Husky
1928: Andy Williams
1931: Jaye P. Morgan
1940: John Cale (Velvet Underground)
1945: Paul Nicholas
1948: Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath)
1949: Mickey Thomas (Jefferson Starship)

Events

1925: George Gershwin premieres his "Concerto In F," the first jazz concerto for piano and orchestra, at New York City's Carnegie Hall. Gershwin is also the featured soloist on flugelhorn.

1960: The Lerner and Loewe play Camelot, featuring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City.

1961: The Beatles Brian Epstein for the first time, at his Liverpool record store, NEMS. Later, at six that afternoon, they meet again to discuss Brian's management of the group.

1965: Keith Richards is electrocuted and knocked unconscious during a Rolling Stones concert in Sacramento, CA.

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

The Monkees make their stage debut in Honolulu, HI.

1967: The Supremes guest star on "Tennessee" Ernie Ford's TV special.

1968: Elvis Presley's "comeback" TV special airs on NBC. Sponsored by the Singer Sewing Machine Company, the special also features a taped, semi-unplugged performance given earlier at Burbank Studios before a live audience. This was Elvis' first appearance before a live audience since 1961.

1969: John Lennon is asked to play the title role in the rock opera Jesus Christ, Superstar, but the offer is withdrawn the next day.

1976: A 40-foot inflatable pig being photographed at Battersea Power Station outside of London for the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album breaks its moorings and drifts toward the east, reaching a height of 18,000 feet before coming down in Kent.

Seven gunman fire shots into Bob Marley's house in Kingston, Jamaica, where he and his band, the Wailers, are in rehearsal. Marley and his wife Rita are hit, as are an unidentified friend and Wailers manager Don Taylor. No one is seriously hurt, however, and while the assailants are never caught, Marley and his band perform as scheduled two nights later.

1977: After a record 29 weeks at #1 on Billboard's album chart, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is replaced by Linda Ronstadt's Simple Dreams LP.

1979: Before the Who concert this evening at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum, eleven people are trampled to death and dozens are injured in a rush for "festival" (i.e., unreserved) seating. The resulting controversy (and lawsuits) force promoters to rethink the practice.

1980: Photographer Annie Leibovitz takes the last known photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono together at their apartment in New York's Dakota building.

1988: Carole King and Gerry Goffin receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the US National Academy of Songwriters.

1991: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Releases

1965: The Beatles, Rubber Soul (UK)
1973: Ringo Starr, "You're Sixteen"

Recording

1944: Frank Sinatra, "Old Man River"

Certifications

1968: The O'Kaysions' "Girl Watcher" is certified gold
1968: The Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions" is certified gold
1968: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's "Fire" is certified gold
1968: Aretha Franklin's Aretha Now album is certified gold
1968: Iron Butterfly's In-a-Gadda-da-Vida album is certified gold
1968: Cream's Fresh Cream album is certified gold

Charts

1960: Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome To-night?" hits #1
1966: The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" hits #1
1966: Paul Revere and the Raiders' "Good Thing" enters the pop charts
1977: Linda Ronstadt's Simple Dreams album hits #1

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On December 4th in music history:

Births

1915: Eddie Heywood, Jr.
1940: Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon
1942: Chris Hillman (The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds), Bob Mosley (Moby Grape)
1944: Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys)
1948: Southside Johnny
1951: Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rossington-Collins Band)

Deaths

1976: Tommy Bolin (Deep Purple, The James Gang)
1993: Frank Zappa

Events

1927: Duke Ellington’s new, larger big band opens Harlem's legendary Cotton Club.
1956: Elvis Presley visits the Sun recording studio with his companion, Marilyn Evans, a showgirl from Las Vegas, interrupting a Carl Perkins session that featured Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Fellow labelmate Johnny Cash also arrives and the four begin running through an impromptu jam on a series of songs they all know (mainly spirituals). Producer Sam Phillips records what would become famously known as the "Million Dollar Quartet" sessions, although they don't get released to the public officially until the early Eighties.
1957: Because of the furor created by Elvis Presley's recently released Christmas album, radio station CKWS in Kingston, Ontario plays the album in its entirety, opening the phones to public comment. Most listeners approve of the album.
1965: Jacques Brel makes his American debut in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
1969: President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, and forty US governors view "simulated acid trip" films and listen to rock music in order to comprehend the generation gap.
1980: Led Zeppelin officially disbands following the death by misadventure of drummer John Bonham due to excessive alcohol intake.
1988: Roy Orbison gives what would prove to be his last concert, in Akron, OH. He dies two days later.

Releases

1961: Gene Chandler, "Duke Of Earl"
1964: The Beatles, Beatles For Sale

Recording

1934: Ethel Merman, "I Get a Kick Out of You"

Certifications

1969: The Santana album is certified gold
1970: Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Steven Stills' Supersession album is certified gold
1972: Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" is certified gold
1975: KISS' Alive! album is certified gold

Charts

1954: The Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman" hits #1
1965: The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" hits #1
1965: The Kinks' "A Well Respected Man" enters the pop charts
1965: The Knickerbockers' "Lies" enters the pop charts
1971: Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair" hits #1

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On December 5th in music history:

Births

1899: Sonny Boy Williamson (II)
1922: Don Robertson
1932: Little Richard
1936: Chad Mitchell (The Chad Mitchell Trio)
1938: J.J. Cale
1943: Mike Smith (The Dave Clark Five)
1946: Andy Kim
1947: Jim Messina (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Loggins and Messina)

Events

1936: Bing Crosby takes over as host of the Kraft Music Hall radio show.
1955: The BMI Annual Awards in New York City score big for R&B, with rhythm and blues songs winning a record eleven awards.
1956: The Alan Freed movie Rock! Rock! Rock!, starring Chuck Berry, The Flamingos, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Lavern Baker, and Johnny Burnette premieres in New York City.
1960: Billboard reports that five "answer records" to Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome To-night?" have been released -- four versions of "Yes, I'm Lonesome Tonight" and one "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight."
1967: The Beatles throw a party to celebrate the opening of the Apple Boutique.
1968: Graham Nash quits the Hollies and within three days forms the "supergroup" Crosby, Stills and Nash.
The Rolling Stones hold a "Beggar's Banquet" at Elizabeth Rooms, London, to promote their release of the new album with the same name. The "banquet" ends with a pie fight.
1976: Elvis Presley falls onstage at a show in Las Vegas and sprains his ankle.
1980: John Lennon gives what would be his last interview, with Rolling Stone's Jonathan Cott.
2002: Elton John guest stars on NBC's Will and Grace.
2003: Original Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore undergoes surgery to repair a subdural hematoma.

Certifications

1975: The Fleetwood Mac album is certified gold
1975: Earth, Wind and Fire's Gratitude album is certified gold

Charts

1964: Lorne Greene's "Ringo" hits #1
1964: The Beach Boys' Beach Boys Concert album hits #1
1964: The Zombies' "She's Not There" enters the pop charts
1964: The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" enters the pop charts
Happy 80th birthday to Little Richard!! [^]

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Rick...

I see that you have listed no "Deaths" for this day in history. I'll list one for you:

In 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at 35. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna’s St. Marx Cemetery. Mozart’s final resting place has remained undiscovered to this day. At the time of his death, Mozart was working on a requiem mass commissioned by a wealthy nobleman. The work was completed by Mozart’s pupil, Franz Sussmayer. Mozart was a child prodigy, and began composing before he was five years old. He wrote compositions in almost every conceivable form -- operas, sonatas, concertos and symphonies. His works combined beauty of sound with technical perfection. Among the best known of Mozart’s operas are "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni." His last three symphonies -- Number 39 in E Flat, Number 40 in G Minor and Number 41 in C, known as the Jupiter Symphony -- display a complete mastery of the classic symphonic form established by Haydn.

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Rick...

I see that you have listed no "Deaths" for this day in history. I'll list one for you:

In 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at 35. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna’s St. Marx Cemetery. Mozart’s final resting place has remained undiscovered to this day. At the time of his death, Mozart was working on a requiem mass commissioned by a wealthy nobleman. The work was completed by Mozart’s pupil, Franz Sussmayer. Mozart was a child prodigy, and began composing before he was five years old. He wrote compositions in almost every conceivable form -- operas, sonatas, concertos and symphonies. His works combined beauty of sound with technical perfection. Among the best known of Mozart’s operas are "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni." His last three symphonies -- Number 39 in E Flat, Number 40 in G Minor and Number 41 in C, known as the Jupiter Symphony -- display a complete mastery of the classic symphonic form established by Haydn.

Boxx, I have found that my source of info fails to list many births/deaths. Thank you and others who occasionally post some of these events... [Y]

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On December 6th in music history:

Births

1896: Ira Gershwin
1920: Dave Brubeck
1939: Steve Alaimo
1941: Helen Cornelius
1942: Len Barry
1944: Jonathan King

Deaths

1949: Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter
1988: Roy Orbison

Events

1948: The CBS television show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts debuts.
1957: Elvis visits radio station WDIA in Memphis and meets two of his idols, Little Junior Parker and Bobby Bland.
1964: The Gerry and the Pacemakers movie "Ferry Cross The Mersey" debuts at the New Victoria Cinema in London.
1968: President Richard Nixon sends out 66,000 signed letters to potential administrative office holders, including Elvis Presley.
1969: Cab Calloway stars in NBC's "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation of The Littlest Angel.
The infamous rock concert known as Altamont, featuring Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Rolling Stones, takes place at the speedway of the same name in Altamont, CA. Headliners the Rolling Stones, who organized the show as a free "thank you" concert, hire Hell's Angels instead of cops for security, resulting in the deaths of four people in the crowd of 300,000 (including Meredith Hunter, stabbed to death by the Angels).
1970: The Rolling Stones tour documentary Gimme Shelter, featuring footage of the infamous Altamont concert, opens in New York City.
1980: John Lennon mixes Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice." It is the last time he would be in a studio.
1986: Ringo becomes the first Beatle to use his name in an advertisement, for Sun Country wine cooler.
1993: At a video shoot for Travis Tritt's remake of the Eagles' "Take It Easy," the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to reform for new songs and a tour.
1995: Michael Jackson collapses in a New York theater during a rehearsal for an upcoming TV special and is hospitalized.

Releases

1957: The Diamonds, "The Stroll"
1963: The Beatles, The First Christmas Record
1965: The Beatles, "We Can Work It Out" b/w "Day Tripper"
1965: The Beatles, Rubber Soul (US)
1965: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "Going to a Go-Go"

Recording

1944: The Count Basie Orchestra, "Red Bank Boogie"
1965: The Rolling Stones: "19th Nervous Breakdown," "Mother's Little Helper"
1966: The Beatles, "When I'm Sixty-Four"

Certifications

1968: The Beatles (a/k/a "The White Album") is certified gold
1973: Steve Miller's The Joker album is certified gold

Charts

1952: The Mills Brothers' "The Glow-Worm" hits #1
1969: Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" hits #1
1975: Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years album hits #1
1975: Tyrone Davis' "Turning Point" enters the R&B charts
Dave Brubeck - December 6th, 1920 - December 5th, 2012

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On December 7th in music history:

Births

1911: Louis Prima
1924: Boyd Bennett, Bent Fabric
1931: Bobby Osborne (The Osborne Brothers)
1940: Carole Simpson
1942: Harry Chapin
1947: Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers)
1949: Tom Waits

Deaths

1990: Dee Clark

Events

1956: Britain's Tommy Steele makes his concert debut at Finsbury Park, Astoria, London. Reviews proclaim him "Britain's answer to Elvis."
1963: The Beatles appear as panelists on the BBC show Juke Box Jury to rate records. Elvis' new single, "Kiss Me Quick," is declared a "hit."
1964: The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown while on a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. He would stop touring with the group soon after.
1966: Nancy Sinatra guest-stars on the CBS TV special Frank Sinatra: A Man & His Music, Part II.
1967: In Britain's New Musical Express magazine, the Hollies' recently-departed Graham Nash announces the formation of Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
The Beatles' Apple Boutique officially opens its doors at 94 Baker Street in London.
1968: The Animals' lead singer, Eric Burdon, announces that the group will officially disband after a December 22 concert at Newcastle City Hall. Eric would pursue an ill-fated acting career in California.
1973: Fleetwood Mac's then-manager, Clifford Davis, claims ownership of the band's name and assembles a fake version of the group for a national tour.
1984: In a $5 million plagiarism suit brought against him in Chicago, IL, Michael Jackson testifies that he did not steal his hit "The Girl Is Mine" from an Illinois man. He eventually wins the case.
1987: Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Judy Collins (among others) appear onstage at Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to Harry Chapin, who would have been celebrating his 45th birthday. That same day, Chapin recieved a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor (#111) for his work in fighting hunger.

Recording

1974: Linda Ronstadt, "You're No Good"

Charts

1957: Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" hits #1
1963: The Singing Nun's "Dominique" hits #1
1974: Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" hits #1

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On December 8th in music history:

Births

1914: Floyd Tillman
1921: Johnny Otis
1925: Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Smith
1939: Jerry Butler (The Impressions)
1942: Bobby Elliott (The Hollies)
1943: Jim Morrison (The Doors)
1946: Graham Knight (Marmalade)
1947: Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers Band)

Deaths

1980: John Lennon
1981: Big Walter Horton
1982: Marty Robbins
1991: Buck Clayton

Events

1960: Teen idol Fabian visits Elvis Presley at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Elvis rips his pants demonstrating his new passion, karate, and Fabian lends him his pair.
1962: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed appears at his payola trial in New York City and testifies to receiving money from labels to play their records on the air. He is found guilty, fined $300, and given six months probation, but the irreparable damage to his career has been done.
1963: Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, NV, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.
1969: In a Toronto, Canada courtroom, Jimi Hendrix testifies in his trial for posession of hashish and heroin. Claiming to have "outgrown" drugs, the guitarist gives a very detailed history of his drug use. After eight hours, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty.
1975: The benefit concert "A Night of the Hurricane" is held at Madison Square Garden. The last date on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the show features many non-musical celebrities and raises over $100,000 for the release of wrongly imprisoned boxer "Hurricane" Carter and his alleged accomplice. Carter himself calls the stage from jail.
1976: The Carpenters' Very First Special, featuring guest star John Denver, airs on ABC.
1980: At 11:07 PM EST, former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in New York by a deranged fan just outside the Dakota Hotel, New York City. Lennon was shot in his chest, back and left arm and was pronounced dead thirty minutes later. Earlier that day, the killer had met Lennon outside the Dakota and had him sign a copy of his latest album, Double Fantasy.
1995: Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead officially announce their breakup.
1998: The FBI opens its 1,300 page file on Frank Sinatra to the public.
2003: Ozzy Osbourne suffers several fractures in his upper body in an ATV accident.

Releases

1961: The Beach Boys, "Surfin'"
1967: The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour (UK EP)
1967: Traffic, Mr. Fantasy

Recording

1941: Ray Eberle and The Modernaires with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, "Moonlight Cocktail"
1960: Henry Mancini, "Moon River"
1966: The Beatles: "Strawberry Fields Forever," "When I'm Sixty-Four"
1969: The Beatles, "Octopus's Garden"

Certifications

1972: Carly Simon's No Secrets album is certified gold

Charts

1954: The Drifters' "White Christmas" enters the R&B charts
1956: Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues" hits #1
1979: Styx's "Babe" hits #1

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On December 9th in music history:

Births

1906: Freddy Martin
1934: Junior Wells
1938: David Houston
1940: Sam Strain (Little Anthony and the Imperials, The O'Jays)
1941: Dan Hicks
1943: Rick Danko (The Band)
1944: George Baker, Shirley Brickley (The Orlons), Neil Innes (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Rutles)
1957: Donny Osmond

Deaths

1981: Sonny Til (The Orioles)

Events

1955: Elvis Presley performs at the B&I Club in Swifton, AK, and introduces his new song, "Heartbreak Hotel," by claiming "It's gonna be my first hit."

1962: Bobby Darin appears as the "mystery guest" on CBS' What's My Line show.

1967: The Doors' Jim Morrison is arrested at a New Haven, CT show for "breach of the peace" and a resultant "resisting arrest" charge. The singer had been mistaken for a fan backstage by a security guard, and in the resulting altercation, he was maced. Morrison went on about the incident onstage during a performance of "Back Door Man" and was arrested.

1968: NBC airs the joint Supremes and Temptations television TCB (Takin' Care Of Business).

1972: An all-star orchestral version of The Who's Tommy opened at London's Rainbow Theatre. Advance tickets went for the then-princely sum of $50, but the show itself was a major disappointment, with most of the "actors" floundering (except Who singer Roger Daltrey and Steve Winwood as Tommy's father). Narrator Pete Townshend, for his part, was observed to be drunk. None of this stopped the cast recording from being recorded and eventually becoming a hit in '73.

1984: The Jacksons' five-month Victory tour -- Michael Jackson's last group tour -- ends after 55 performances in 19 cities.

1991: A long legal battle over the Bob Marley estate ends when the nearly $12 million estate is awarded to his widow, Rita, and her children. In honor of the verdict, son Ziggy names his daughter, who was born that day, Justice Marley.

1992: After more than thirty years, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman quits the group.

Releases

1963: The Supremes, Meet The Supremes
1972: Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
1974: George Harrison, Dark Horse
1978: The Blues Brothers, "Soul Man"

Recording

1953: Frank Sinatra, "Young at Heart"
1966: The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Certifications

1974: The Who's Odds and Sods album is certified gold

Charts

1967: Cream's Disraeli Gears album enters the charts
1972: Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" hits #1
1972: The Moody Blues' Seventh Sojourn album hits #1
1978: Steely Dan's Greatest Hits album enters the charts
1978: Chic's "Le Freak" hits #1

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On December 10th in music history:

Births

1906: Harold Adamson
1910: John Hammond
1914: Dorothy Lamour
1918: Professor Longhair
1924: Ken Albers (The Four Freshmen)
1926: Guitar Slim
1927: Joe Olivier (Bill Haley and His Comets)
1943: Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy)
1946: Ace Kefford (The Move), Walter "Clyde" Orange (The Commodores)
1948: Jessica Cleaves (Friends of Distinction), Ralph Tavares (Tavares)
1951: Johnny Rodriguez
1952: Susan Dey (The Partridge Family)

Deaths

1967: Otis Redding
1988: Bill Harris (The Clovers)
1996: Faron Young
1999: Rick Danko (The Band)
2003: Bill Deal (The Rhondels)

Events

1927: Although the radio show known as the WSM Barn Dance had been broadcasting out of Nashville, TN, for some time, this is the first day on which the show is announced as "The Grand Ole Opry."

1959: The Platters' four male members are acquitted of charges made on August 10th in Cincinnati, OH, of "aiding and abetting prostitution, lewdness and assignation."

1963: Donny Osmond makes his debut with the Osmonds on NBC's The Andy Williams Show.

1965: The Grateful Dead perform their first concert in San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium (and only their second overall).

1967: The previously unknown San Francisco group The Steve Miller Blues Band signs to Capitol for an unprecedented $750,000, dropping "Blues" from their name in the process.

Otis Redding and four members of his band, the Bar-Kays, are killed when their tour plane crashes into a frozen near Madison, WI. Three days earlier, Redding had recorded what was to be his breakthough pop hit, "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay."

1971: During a concert in London, Frank Zappa is thrown into the orchestra pit by a fan's jealous boyfriend, breaking his leg and ankle and fracturing his skull. Zappa takes months to recover.

1972: Roberta Flack and two members of her backup band are injured when her bass player totals her new Citroen near Manhattan.

1980: The body of John Lennon is cremated.

1985: Three Dog Night's Danny Hutton and Cory Wells fire third vocalist Chuck Negron.

1991: Legendary rock DJ and promoter Alan Freed is posthumously awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Releases

1966: The Electric Prunes, "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night"
1976: Wings, Wings Over America

Recording

1930: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "Mood Indigo"
1949: Fats Domino, "The Fat Man"
1966: The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Certifications

1975: The Who's The Who by Numbers album is certified gold
1979: Kool and the Gang's "Ladies Night" is certified gold
1979: Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album is certified platinum

Charts

1965: Ray Charles' "Crying Time" enters the pop charts
1966: The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" hits #1

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On December 11th in music history:

Births

1916: Perez Prado
1926: Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
1931: Rita Moreno
1934: Curtis Williams (The Penguins)
1935: Tom Brumley (Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, Stone Canyon Band)
1940: David Gates (Bread)
1941: J. Frank Wilson
1944: Booker T. Jones (Booker T. and the MGs), Brenda Lee
1946: Tony Brown
1954: Jermaine Jackson

Deaths

1964: Sam Cooke

Events

1957: In one of the biggest scandals to ever hit rock music, Jerry Lee Lewis marries his 14-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown, daughter of his cousin Jim. Lewis' first marriage is still valid; the divorce wouldn't be finalized for six months. Reports are that Myra still believes in Santa Claus. When the story breaks in England a few weeks later, Lewis' career would be seriously damaged.
1960: Aretha Franklin makes her stage debut at New York's Village Vanguard.
1964: Sam Cooke is shot and killed under mysterious circumstances at the Hacienda Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The married singer picked up a young woman at a party, who claimed Cooke attempted to rape her. When she ran away, according to her testimony, Cooke followed and assaulted the hotel manager, demanding to know the girl's whereabouts. The manager shot Cooke three times.
1966: After presenting him at London's Saville Theatre, Beatles manager Brian Epstein offers to manage Little Richard -- an offer which is rejected.
1967: NBC airs the Nancy Sinatra television special Movin' With Nancy.
1968: The Rolling Stones film their legendary Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus television special at Wembley television studios in Middlesex, England, featuring performances by John Lennon, Eric Clapton, the Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful -- and yes, circus people, all filmed in a circus tent. The show is never aired and only sees the light of day in 1996, supposedly because the Stones thought the Who upstaged them with their performance.
1971: John Lennon debuts his new song "John Sinclair" at the Free John Sinclair Rally in Ann Arbor, MI. Stevie Wonder and Phil Ochs also appear, among others.
1972: After a show in Knoxville, TN, James Brown is arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" when a conversation Brown has with fans is somehow mistaken for an attempt to incite a riot. Charges are dropped after Brown threatens to sue the city for a million dollars due to police brutality.
Genesis play their first-ever US show at Massachusetts' Brandeis University.
1976: KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is nearly electrocuted when he touches a short-circuited light during a concert in Florida. He is carried from the stage but returns to finish the show just ten minutes later.
1988: Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre plays host to a Roy Orbison tribute concert featuring Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt.

Releases

1970: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
1971: Carly Simon, "Anticipation"
1976: Bob Seger, Night Moves

Recording

1939: Marlene Dietrich, "Falling In Love Again"
1958: The Coasters, "Charlie Brown"

Certifications

1973: The Carpenters' "Top of the World" is certified gold

Charts

1961: The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" hits #1
1961: Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii hits #1
1965: Ray Charles' "Crying Time" enters the pop charts
1976: Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" enters the pop charts

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On December 12th in music history:

Births

1915: Frank Sinatra
1918: Joe Williams
1938: Connie Francis
1940: Dionne Warwick
1941: Terry Kirkman (The Association)
1942: Mike Pinder (The Moody Blues)
1943: Dickey Betts (The Allman Brothers), Grover Washington, Jr.
1945: Tony Williams
1946: Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull)
1949: Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company)

Deaths

1967: Otis Redding

Events

1901: Guglielmo Marconi recieves the first trans-Atlantic wireless radio signal.
1957: DJ Al Priddy is fired from radio station KEX, Portland, OR, for playing Elvis Presley's version of "White Christmas" on air.
1961: Mike Douglas begins his TV variety/talk show in Cleveland, OH.
1963: The LP John Fitzgerald Kennedy - A Memorial Album becomes the fastest-selling album in history, selling four million copies in six days. The tribute was recorded the day of Kennedy's assassination.
1966: Pink Floyd performs their first concert, for the Oxfam Benefit at London's Royal Albert Hall.
1967: A London Appeals Court commutes the nine-month prison sentence of the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones, citing psychiatric testimony that he could not handle prison. Jones had been busted for marijuana possession.
1969: The Ringo Starr / Peter Sellers film The Magic Christian premieres in London.
1971: The Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings The Blues, starring Diana Ross, begins principal photography.
1974: The Rolling Stones begin recording their Black and Blue album in Munich, Germany, with an array of second guitarists, cementing Mick Taylor's departure from the group. One of the session guitarists, the Faces' Ron Wood, would become Taylor's permanent replacement.
1976: Backstage after a concert at the Las Vegas Hilton, Elvis Presley meets with televangelist Rex Humbard and breaks down in tears, bemoaning his life's lack of meaning.
1980: Marie Osmond's solo variety series, Marie, premieres on NBC.
Thousands march peacefully in memory of John Lennon in New York, walking down Fifth Avenue and ending at the Dakota Building, site of his murder.
1985: On her 45th birthday, Dionne Warwick is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2001: The state of Nevada declares today Frank Sinatra Day.
2002: After three months, Gordon Lightfoot leaves a Hamilton, Ontario hospital, where he'd been sent for emergency surgery on his abdomen.

Releases

1964: The Righteous Brothers, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"
1969: The Plastic Ono Band, Live Peace In Toronto 1969
1970: Stephen Stills, "Love The One You're With"

Recording

1955: Bill Haley and His Comets, "See You Later Alligator"

Certifications

1969: Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul album is certified gold
1973: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery album is certified gold

Charts

1964: Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely" hits #1
1964: The Beatles Story enters the album charts
1970: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Tears of a Clown" hits #1
Happy 69th birthday to Dickey Betts!! [^]
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On December 13th in music history:

Births

1925: Wayne Walker
1933: Lou Adler
1940: Tony Gomez (The Foundations)
1946: Skip Prokop (Lighthouse)
1948: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers)
1948: Ted Nugent
1950: Davy O'List (The Nice)

Deaths

1991: Pigmeat Markham
1997: Kurt Winter (The Guess Who)
2002: Zal Yanovsky (The Lovin' Spoonful)

Events

1960: Elvis Presley's latest UK single, "It's Now Or Never," breaks all records by selling one million copies in six weeks.

1961: The Beatles perform their regular show at the Cavern Club, unaware that Decca representative Mike Smith is in the audience, there to sign the group.

1963: Frankie Avalon appears as "Max" on tonight's "Who Killed Cynthia Royal?" episode of ABC-TV's Burke's Law.

1966: Jimi Hendrix makes his TV debut, performing "Hey Joe" on the UK variety show Ready Steady Go!

1974: George Harrison is invited to the White House to have lunch with President Gerald Ford. He brings along Billy Preston and Ravi Shankar, and gives the President a button with the word "OM" on it, to aid in meditation; Ford responds by gifting George with a "WIN" (Whip Inflation Now) button.

1983: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reunite for the first time since the band's tragic breakup two years earlier, with Page stepping onstage at Plant's Hammersmith Odeon concert for a rendition of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right."

1991: What would be the last of John Denver's many successful holiday specials, Montana Christmas Skies, airs on CBS, featuring country music guests Clint Black, Patty Loveless, and Kathy Mattea.

1996: The Eagles' Glenn Frey makes his first and last major film appearance when the romantic comedy Jerry Maguire opens in US theatres.

1999: BMI declares the Righteous Brothers' 1965 smash "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" as the most-performed song of the century.

2000: The respected UK rock magazine Melody Maker announces its imminent demise after 74 years of publication.

2004: For the first time, Dick Clark is forced to bow out from hosting his annual ABC event Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve due to complications from a recent stroke.

2007: At Buckingham Palace, Joe Cocker recieves the OBE (Order of the British Empire) honor from Queen Elizabeth II.

Recording

1929: Hoagy Carmichael and Louis Armstrong, "Rockin' Chair"
1956: Perez Prado, "Patricia"
1966: Jimi Hendrix, "Foxey Lady"
1973: Elvis Presley, "My Boy," "Loving Arms," "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues"

Charts

1962: Paul Peterson's "My Dad" enters the charts
1975: Chicago's LP Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits hits #1

R.I.P. Ravi Shankar

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