This Date In Music History - December 25

Merry Christmas from the CVR Blog.  Everyone have a great day with family and friends!
Birthdays:

Phil Spector - producer, 'The Spector Wall Of Sound.' Member of Teddy Bears, (1958 US #1 single "To Know Him Is To Love Him"). Produced many classic songs including; Ben E King, "Spanish Harlem," the Crystals, "Da Doo Ron Ron," the Ronettes, "Baby I Love You," the Righteous Brothers, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," Ike and Tina Turner, "River Deep, Mountain High." Also produced albums for the Ramones, John Lennon, George Harrison, the Beatles, Cher and Harry Nilsson (1940)

Pete Brown - lyricist, poet, singer, producer, Cream. Also worked with Jack Bruce, Graham Bond, Mick Jagger and Peter Green (1940)

John Edwards - Spinners (1944)

Jimmy Buffett (1946)

Barbara Mandrell (1948)

Annie Lennox - Tourists, Eurythmics, Solo (1954)

Robin Campbell - UB40 (1954)

Shane MacGowan - Pogues (1957)

Alannah Myles (1958)

Dido (1971)

Noel Hogan - Cranberries (1971)

Josh Freese - Nine Inch Nails (1972)


They Are Missed:

In 1954, Johnny Ace ("Pledging My Love") died while playing Russian roulette backstage at a Houston, TX concert.



Born today in 1937, O'Kelly Isley, The Isley Brothers. Died on March 31,1986.

Born on this day in 1943, Trevor Lucas, Fairport Convention, UK folk group. Also worked with Al Stewart and The Strawbs. Lucas died February 4, 1989.

In 1994 Eugene "Bird" Daughtry, vocalist for The Intruders, who scored a Billboard #6 hit in 1968 with "Cowboys To Girls," died of cancer at the age of 55.

Singer, actor and TV host Dean Martin died in 1995. Had the 1956 US #1 single "Memories Are Made Of This" plus other singles including "That's Amore," and "Everybody Loves Somebody." In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show.

Born on this day in 1944, Henry Vestine, guitar, Canned Heat. Died on October 20, 1997.

Bryan MacLean, guitarist with Love, died of a heart attack in 1998 while having Christmas dinner with a young fan who was researching a book about the band (age 62).

Born today in 1945, Noel Redding, bass, Jimi Hendrix Experience. Died on May 11, 2003 (age 57).

In 2006, James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul,' died at the age of 73 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Brown went to his dentist in Atlanta the previous day who told him something was wrong, and sent him to a doctor immediately. He recorded more than 50 albums and had well over 100 songs that hit the US charts, including "I Got You", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Cold Sweat" and "Sex Machine."



In 2008, American actress, singer, and cabaret star Eartha Kitt died from colon cancer at her Weston, Connecticut home at the age of 81. Best known for her 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby."


History:

"Silent Night" was performed for the first time in 1818, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.

In 1954, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" entered the Billboard Pop chart for the eleventh time. Bing's rendition has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles. It was the largest selling single in music history until it was surpassed by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997."

In 1958, it was the first day of a 10-day residency in Alan Freeds Christmas rock n' roll spectacular in New York with Chuck Berry, Frankie Avalon, Dion, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers.

Richard Starkey, 18, who later would be known as Ringo Starr, received a drum set for Christmas in 1959.

In 1960, 17 year-old Mary Wells made her debut on the US charts with her first release, "Bye Bye Baby." The record will make the R&B Top Ten and the Pop Top Fifty. Over the next five years, she will provide Motown with eleven Top Forty hits.

Also in 1960, James Taylor received his first guitar, at the age of 12.

In 1964, Beatles fans attacked George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd as they arrived at London's Hammersmith Odeon for tonight's Beatles concert.

The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Miracles, Stevie Wonder and the Marvelettes all appeared at The Fox Theatre, Brooklyn, New York in 1964.

Also in 1964, the Beatles, recorded six songs for the BBC radio program Saturday Club in London: "Rock and Roll Music," "I'm a Loser," "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby," "I Feel Fine," "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" and "She's a Woman."

Additionally more from 1964 - Murray The K's Big Holiday Show goes on as scheduled with the Zombies, the Nashville Teens and the Hullabaloos after the US Labor Department lifted a ban on granting British artists work visas. The Britain's Musicians Union had retaliated by canceling Fats Domino's upcoming Spring tour, before the whole matter was dropped.

Lou Christie's biggest song, "Lightning Strikes" entered Billboard's Hot 100 in 1965 for a 15 week stay . Although he would have many other hits, this would be Christie's only number one.

Having topped out at #45 in Great Britain, the Dave Clark Five's "Over and Over" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. It would prove to be their only chart topper, although they would place sixteen songs in the US Top 30 during their career. They became the 7th UK act of the year to score a US #1 single.

The Young Rascals entered the Hot 100 for the first time in 1965 with "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore," which will peak at #52.

The Beatles 6th album 'Rubber Soul' started a nine-week run at #1 on the UK chart in 1965. It spent a total of 42 week's on the UK chart and was also a #1 in the US.

On Christmas Day in 1967, Paul McCartney became engaged to actress Jane Asher. She would end the relationship in early 1968 because of Paul's alleged infidelities.

Melanie started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart in 1971 with "Brand New Key," a song that she would later say took her only fifteen minutes to write It was the first release on her new label Neighbourhood Records.

The Eagles started a eight-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1976 with 'Hotel California.'

John Lydon's new group, Public Image Ltd, played their first live gig at the Rainbow Theatre, London in 1978.

Michael Jackson phoned Paul McCartney in 1981 and suggested they write and record together, the first result being "The Girl Is Mine." The song was a US #2 & UK #8 in 1982.

In 1981, the J. Geils Band played a Christmas concert for the inmates of Norfolk Correctional Center near Boston, the group's hometown. Following the show, lead singer Peter Wolf tells the audience, "We wanna be the first to buy you all a free drink on the outside."

In one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history, and surely the strangest, 30-year-old David Bowie and 73-year-old Bing Crosby achieved the number one song in the UK in 1982 with "Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy." The song had been recorded in September, 1977 when Crosby was in Great Britain to tape a TV special called Merrie Olde Christmas and having him share a number with Bowie was the brainchild of producers Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion. After the recording circulated as a bootleg for several years, RCA decided to issue it as a single. It has since become a holiday standard, but it is entirely possible that neither Crosby or Bowie were familiar with each other's work.


On Christmas Day in 1990, James Brown was given a 4 day furlough from prison, during which time he performed his first concert in two years. Brown played for an crowd of Ft. Jackson, South Carolina soldiers whose leave had been cancelled because of the impending Gulf War.

Mariah Carey started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1993 with "Hero." Also on this day, Mariah went to #1 on the US album chart with 'Music Box.'

Mariah Carey was at #1 on the US singles chart in 1995 with "Daydream."

In 2003, Michael Jackson recorded his first interview since news of the allegations of sexual abuse with a 12-year old boy. He told the CBS TV network he would 'slit his wrists' before he would hurt a child. He also claimed he suffered a dislocated shoulder after police 'manhandled' him and treated him 'very roughly' during his arrest.

In 2006, an in-concert version of Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" performed by Floyd's David Gilmour, with guest vocals by David Bowie, was released as a digital download. Recorded earlier in the year at London's Royal Albert Hall, the song is part of a limited-edition three-track EP dedicated to the memory of the song's composer, Syd Barrett. A 10-inch vinyl version of the EP is available the following day.