December 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier (81), ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers (79), former Guess Who lead singer Burton Cummings (74), Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton (70), Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg (62), Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian (58), Embrace lead singer Danny McNamara (51), New Kids on the Block vocalist Danny McIntyre (49), and Bryce 'The Rocket Summer' Avary (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz trumpeter Jonah Jones, born on this day in 1909... for Odetta, born in 1930... for rockabilly singer Alvis Wayne, who would have been 84... for John Denver and original Kinks bassist Pete Quaife, both of whom would have been 78... for Donna Summer, who would have been 73... for Michael Hedges, who  would have been 68... for songwriter Bert Berns ['Twist and Shout', 'Hang on Sloopy' and 'Brown-eyed Girl'], who died on this date in 1967... for Ricky Nelson, who was killed in a plane crash in 1985... and for Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael, who left us today in 2002. 

Also on December 31: Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance has its NYC premiere (1879)... The Metropolitan Opera performs Beethoven's Fidelio with Gustav Mahler conducting the orchestra (1907)... The Beach Boys make their  live debut at the Long Beach Civic Auditorium (1961)... Bob Dylan appears in the live BBC TV drama 'The Madhouse on Castle Street' (1962)... The Kinks make their live debut as the house band for the New Year's festivities at the Lotus Restaurant in London... Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir meet for the first time at a New Year's Eve party in Palo Alto, CA (1963)... Paul McCartney files suit against the other 3 Beatles to dissolve their partnership (1970)... The Band play a concert at the New York Academy of Music that is recorded, and will be released as the Rock of Ages album (1971)... AC/DC make their live debut at the Chequers Bar in Sydney (1973)... David Bowie plays a solo acoustic guitar version of 'Ashes to Ashes' on 'Kenny Everett's New Year's Show' on ITV (1979)... E Street band guitarist Miami Steve van Zandt marries Maureen Santora in Montclair, NJ, with Bruce Springsteen as best man... Legendary NYC venue Max's Kansas City closes (1982)... Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm as the result of an accident on the A57 road near Sheffield (1984)... Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all appear on the same bill at the Cow Palace in San Francisco... Ted Nugent donates 200 pounds of venison to a Salvation Army soup kitchen in Detroit with the message 'I kill it, you grill it' (1991)... Barbra Streisand gives her first paid concert since 1971, performing for a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas (1993)... Paul McCartney officially becomes a 'Sir' after the announcement of his knighthood appears in the Queen's Honours List for the year (1996)... Manic Street Preachers perform before 57,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The Guinness Book of Records confirms that the concert has set a new record for the biggest indoor show ever staged in Europe (1999)... Natalie Imbruglia marries Silver Chair lead singer Daniel Johns (2003)... George Michael receives a reported £1.5 million for a one hour concert at a Russian oligarch's New Year's party. The unnamed businessman paid for Michael to entertain his 300 guests on his private estate 20 miles outside Moscow. The singer had just finished the British leg of his 'Twentyfive' tour which included a free concert for nurses in London (2006).