December 3rd

Musical birthdays today include English folk guitarist & singer Ralph McTell (74), Ozzy Osbourne (70), Jefferson Starship vocalist Mickey Thomas (68), .38 Special guitarist & lead singer Don Barnes (67), Gentlemans Pistols guitarist Bill  Steer (49), Polkadot Cadaver frontman Todd Smith (42), and Napster co-founder Sean Parker (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violin maker Nicolo Amati, born on this day in 1596... for composer Anton Webern, born in 1883... for  operatic soprano Phyllis Curtin, born in 1921... for country singer Ferlin Husky, born in 1925... for Andy Williams, born in 1927... for boogie-woogie pianist Charlie 'Cow Cow' Davenport, who died on this date in 1955... and for former Velvet Teen drummer Logan Whitehurst, who left us today in 2006 at the age of 29 as the result of a brain tumour.

Also on December 3: With the composer at the piano, George Gershwin's Concerto in F premieres at Carnegie Hall, Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Symphony Society orchestra (1925)... Elvis Presley's first release on RCA Victor Records is announced. The first two songs. ‘Mystery Train’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ were purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records (1955)... Camelot premieres on Broadway (1960)... Brian Epstein invites The Beatles into his office to discuss the possibility of becoming their manager. John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best arrive late for the 4pm meeting (they had been drinking at the Grapes Pub in Matthew Street), but Paul McCartney is not with them, because, as Harrison explains, "He's just got up and he's taking a bath" (1961)... On the same day that Rubber Soul is released, The Beatles set out on what will be their final UK tour at Glasgow's Odeon Cinema... The Who release their debut studio album My Generation (1965)... The Rolling Stones record 'Brown Sugar' at Muscle Shoals Studios. The single goes on to be a UK & US № 1 (1969)... An attempt is made on Bob Marley's life when seven gunmen burst into his Kingston home. Marley is shot twice, and his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor are wounded as well, but all will recover. The attack was believed to be politically motivated... In the UK, an estimated three and a half million people apply for Abba's forthcoming Royal Albert Hall concerts ~ there are just over 11 thousand tickets available (1976)... Wings start a nine-week run at № 1 in the UK with 'Mull Of Kintyre'. The first single to sell over 2 million copies in the UK, it was co-written by Denny Laine, who will sell his rights to the song when he declares bankruptcy in 1983 (1977)... A concert by The Who ~ on tour for the first time since the death of Keith Moon ~ at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, turns to disaster when 11 members of the audience are trampled to death after a stampede to claim unreserved seats, another 26 fans being injured. The concert was using a 'festival seating' scheme whereby seats were available on a first come-first served basis. When the waiting fans outside the Coliseum heard the band performing a late sound check, they thought that the concert was beginning and tried to rush in by the still-closed doors (1979)... Bob Dylan releases Real Live, a partial record of his summer European tour (1984)... Bono has his missing laptop computer returned after losing it. A young man had bought it for £300 and discovered he had the missing computer, which contained tracks from the forthcoming U2 album (1999)... At a ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, Diana Ross and Brian Wilson both receive awards for their contributions to American culture. President and Mrs. Bush are in attendance. (2007).