Birthdays:
Denis Daiziel - Honeycombs (1943)
Alan Cartwright - Procol Harum (1945)
Jerry Lacroix - Blood Sweat & Tears (1945)
John Prine (1946)
Cyril Neville - Neville Brothers (1948)
Sharon Osbourne (1952)
David Lee Roth - Van Halen & solo (1955)
Tanya Tucker (1955)
Al Connelly - Glass Tiger (1960)
Eric Martin - Mr. Big (1960)
Martin Kemp - Spandau Ballet (1961)
Jim Glennie - James (1963)
Jonny Male - Republica (1963)
Graham Crabb - Pop Will Eat Itself (1964)
Mike Malinin - Goo Goo Dolls (1967)
Dean Roland - Collective Soul (1972)
Richard Oakes - Suede (1976)
Mya (1979)
They Are Missed:
Singer, songwriter and actor Hoyt Axton died of a heart attack in Victor, Montana in 1999 (age 61). Wrote songs for, Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, (1971 US #1 hit "Joy To The World"), John Denver, Ringo Starr, Glen Campbell. His mother Mae Boren Axton wrote "Heartbreak Hotel."
In 2009, Boyzone singer Stephen Gately died suddenly at the age of 33 while on holiday in Majorca. Spanish police said there were no signs of suspicious circumstances, but the cause of death was not yet known. Gately was on holiday with his long-term partner Andy Cowles.
Born on this day in 1959, Kirsty MacColl, UK singer, songwriter. MacColl was killed in a boating accident on December 18, 2000.
History:
In 1902, the Gibson Mandolin guitar company was formed. Gibson's first electric guitar the ES-150 was produced in 1936, and in 1946 Gibson introduced the P-90 single coil pickup, which was eventually used on the first Les Paul model made in 1952.
The real Eleanor Rigby died in her sleep of unknown causes in 1939 (age 44). The 1966 Beatles' song that featured her name wasn't written about her, as Paul McCartney's first draft of the song named the character Miss Daisy Hawkins. Eleanor Rigby's tombstone was noticed in the 1980s in the graveyard of St. Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, a few feet from where McCartney and Lennon had met for the first time in 1957.
Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" entered the US chart in 1956 for a 19 week stay, peaking at #1 for 5 weeks. The song, from Presley's first film of the same name, was adapted from the tune "Aura Lee", written in 1861.
The Quarry Men played at the Casbah Coffee Club, Liverpool in 1959. Ken Brown, suffering from a heavy cold was unable to perform and after the show, an argument started when Paul McCartney says that Brown should not get a share of the performance fee since he had not performed. Lennon and Harrison side with McCartney and Brown quits The Quarry Men. That's just wrong, he should have been paid......
Barry Gordy's first release on the newly established Motown Records, "Bad Girls" by The Miracles, entered the Billboard Pop chart in 1959.
Larry Verne went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1960 with "Mr Custer."
In 1962, the BBC banned the song "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. They deemed it too "offensive." Hye Redcoat --- Boo!
During a UK tour in 1964, the Beatles appeared at De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Ringo Starr drove himself to the venue after taking delivery of a brand new Facel Vega, apparently reaching speeds of 140 MPH on the M6 motorway.
Shangri-Las released the Girl-group staple "Leader Of The Pack" in 1964.
The Supremes made their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1965.
The Beach Boys signature song, the three-minute epic “Good Vibrations,” was released in 1966. A couple weeks later it’s #1.
The peerless cut "Tears Of A Clown" was released by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles in 1970.
In an attempt to “cheaply” fill a previously dead weekend time slot, NBC launches Saturday Night Live in 1975. Over the next three decades the program showcases countless Rock acts but on the opening night, hosted by comedian George Carlin, the musical highlight was actor/performance artist Andy Kaufman singing the Mighty Mouse theme.
Singer Steve Perry joined Journey in 1977. He replaces Robert Fleischmann, who was fired. Perry’s first performance with the band happens two-and-a-half weeks later.
In 1978, Joe Perry and Steve Tyler from Aerosmith were injured after a cherry bomb was thrown on stage during a gig in Philadelphia. The group performed behind a safety fence for the rest of the tour.
"The Rose," starring Bette Midler, premiered in Los Angeles, CA in 1979.
In 1980, the funeral took place of Led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham. ‘Bonzo’ was found dead (age 32) at guitarist's Jimmy Page's house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit after excessive vodka consumption, (40 shots in 4 hours).
Whitesnake went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1987 with "Here I Go Again."
The U2 album "Rattle and Hum" was released in 1988.
Garth Brooks went to #1 on the US album chart in 1992 with, 'The Chase.' The album spent 35 weeks on the chart and sold over 6m copies.
No Doubt release their extraordinarily popular (fifteen million in sales) “Tragic Kingdom” LP in 1995.
*NSYNC went to #2 on the US album chart in 1998 with their self-titled debut album.
A charity auction selling Elvis Presley's belongings was held at The Grand Hotel, Las Vegas in 1999. A wristwatch sold for $32,500, a cigar box $25,000, an autographed baseball sold for $19,000 and a 1956 Lincoln Continental sold for $250,000.
Teenager Christina Aguilera went to #1 on the UK singles chart in 1999 with "Genie In A Bottle." The song spent 5 weeks at #1 on the US chart and won Aguilera the Best New Artist Grammy for the year.
Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction) appeared on the debut episode of VH1 Classic's Decades Rock Live series in 2005. The one-hour program features footage from a Doors tribute concert that included Farrell and other artists performing with founding Doors members Ray Manzarek (keyboards) and Robby Krieger (guitar).
Radiohead's seventh album, "In Rainbows," was available for digital downloads on a pay-what-you-like basis in 2007. Over 60 percent of those who download the album worldwide pay absolutely nothing.
In 2007, Sting topped a list of the worst lyricists ever, for such alleged sins as name-dropping Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov in the Police tune "Don't Stand So Close to Me," quoting a Volvo bumper sticker ("If You Love Someone Set Them Free"), and co-opting the works of Chaucer, St. Augustine and Shakespeare. The survey in Blender magazine placed Rush drummer Neil Peart at No. 2, Creed frontman Scott Stapp at No. 3 and Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher at No. 4 saying Gallagher "seemed incapable of following a metaphor through a single line, let alone a whole verse."
Pearl Jam went to #1 on the US album chart in 2009 with ‘Backspacer’, the group’s ninth studio album.
In 2010, Kid Rock, a Detroit native, teams with the NFL's Detoit Lions to donated 500 tickets to the National Guard and the Paralyzed Veterans Association for a game against the St. Louis Rams at Ford Field. The Detroit Lions?