December 27th

 

Musical birthdays today include original Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder (82), former King Crimson lyricist & manager Peter Sinfield (80), Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones (79), Lenny Kaye (77), Greek popular singer Haris Alexiou (73), Karla Bonoff (71), ex-Dire Straits guitarist David Knopfler (71), King's X drummer Jerry Gaskill (66), guitarist and instructor Guthrie Govan (52), R&B singer Pleasure P (38), and Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Marlene Dietrich, born on this day in 1901... for comic singer Anna Russell, born in 1911... for Elvis Presley sideman Scotty Moore, born in 1931...  for Big Star guitarist Chris Bell, killed in a road accident today in 1978 at the age of 27... for songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, who died on this date in 1981... for Nashville session man Hank Garland, who passed away in 2004... and for Delaney Bramlett [of Delaney & Bonnie fame], who left us today in 2008.    

Also on December 27: 'Showboat', generally considered to be the first modern Broadway musical, opens at the Ziegfeld Theater (1927)... Radio City Music Hall opens for the first time (1932)... Columbia Records release both Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding and Leonard Cohen's debut album The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)... Led Zeppelin II goes to № 1 on the US album chart... On the singles side, Diana Ross & the Supremes are on top for the 12th and final time with 'Someday We'll Be Together' (1969)...  The Faces split becomes official, as Rod Stewart severs all connections with the group to work as a solo artist, and Ron Wood announces that he has joined the Rolling Stones as Mick Taylor's replacement... Manchester resident Steven Morrissey [who will later gain greater fame under his surname only] has a letter published in the New Musical Express complaining about the paper's apparent lack of interest in the New York Dolls (1975)... John & Yoko start an 8-week run at № 1 on the Billboard album chart with Double Fantasy (1980)... Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon marries model Yasmin Parvaneh (1985)... A former chef at the Chuck Berry-owned restaurant Southern Air starts court proceedings against the singer, alleging that he had installed secret video cameras in the ladies toilets. A further 200 other women will join the class action suit claiming that the recordings were used for improper sexual fetishes (1989)... Harry Connick Jr. is arrested at JFK Airport after police discover a 9mm automatic pistol in his hand luggage (1992)... Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs and girlfriend Jennifer Lopez are arrested after a gun was found in their car when they are stopped while driving away from a Manhattan nightclub. Police were investigating a shooting in the establishment (1999)... The latest issue of Forbes Magazine estimates that Taylor Swift is now worth $220 million (2012).