December 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier (84), ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers (82), former Guess Who lead singer Burton Cummings (77), Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton (73), Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg (65), Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian (61), Embrace lead singer Danny McNamara (54), New Kids on the Block vocalist Joey McIntyre (52), and Bryce 'The Rocket Summer' Avary (42). 

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 87... for John Denver and original Kinks bassist Pete Quaife, both of whom would have been 81.. for Donna Summer, who would have been 76... for Michael Hedges, who  would have been 71... 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).

December 30th

 

Musical birthdays today include Paul Stookey (87), Patti Smith (78), original Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker (78), Jeff Lynne (77), coloratura soprano June Anderson (71), opera director Graham Vick (71), country singer Suzy Bogguss (68), Tracey Ullman (65), BMX Bandits frontman Duglas T. Stewart (60), Jamiroquai lead singer Jay Kay (55), former Faithless keyboardist Ayalah 'Sister Bliss' Bentovim (54), rapper Kastro (48), Tyrese Gibson (46), Black Sabbath drummer Tommy Clufetos (45), and Ellie Goulding (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for choral composer and conductor David Willcocks, born on this day in 1919... for Bo Diddley, born in 1928... for country singer Skeeter Davis, born in 1931... for Del Shannon, who would have been 90... for fiddle and banjo virtuoso John Hartford, who would have been 87... for former Cream producer and Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi, who would have been 85...for Mike Nesmith, who would have been 82... for Davy Jones, who would have been 79... for composer Richard Rodgers, who died on this date in 1979... for former Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore, who passed away in 1998... for swing clarinetist & bandleader Artie Shaw, who died in 2004... and for Boney M's Bobby Farrell, who left us in 2010. 

Also on December 30: Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aenas receives its first performance at the Josias Priest School for Girls in Chelsea, London (1688)... Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate opens on Broadway at the New Century Theater. It will run for 1,077 performances and become the first winner of the Tony for Best Musical (1948)... The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Mann, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appear on tonight's episode of the US TV pop show 'Shindig!' (1965)... Pink Floyd and Soft Machine play a double bill at The Blarney Club in London (1966)... The Beatles score their 15th US № 1 with 'Hello Goodbye', while Gladys Knight and the Pips are at № 2 with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and The Monkees are at № 3 with 'Daydream Believer' (1967)... Led Zeppelin continue as the opening act for Vanilla Fudge on the latter's current US tour. Today's stop is at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, where posters advertising the show bill the newcomers from England as 'Len Zefflin'... Peter Tork quits The Monkees, buying himself out of his contract [which leaves him virtually broke].  He will go on to form a group called Release, and play banjo on George Harrison's soundtrack to the film Wonderwall (1968)... Elvis Presley is given a private tour of FBI headquarters in Washington DC. The King requests and is granted a permit to carry a concealed firearm in every US state (1970)... Emerson, Lake and Palmer officially announce their breakup (1978)... Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic marries his longtime girlfriend Shelli Dilly in Olympia, WA (1989)... George Harrison and his wife Olivia are attacked when an intruder breaks into their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Olivia beats off the attacker with a fireplace poker and a heavy lamp. Harrison, who was stabbed in the chest, is admitted to hospital and treated for a collapsed lung and various minor puncture wounds. Olivia is treated for cuts and bruises she suffered in the struggle with the assailant... Mark Knopfler is awarded the OBE (1999)...  Diana Ross is arrested for DWI by the Arizona highway patrol after a motorist called to report a swerving vehicle. When asked to walk in a straight line, Ross fell over, and could not count to 30 or balance on one foot. Police report that the singer was twice over the drink drive limit with a blood-alcohol of 0.2... In London, Joe Strummer's funeral takes place (2002)... Neil Young is made an Officer of the Order of Canada (2009).

 

December 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include former Moody Blues winds player Ray Thomas (83), Marianne Faithfull (78), singer-songwriter Yvonne Elliman (73), Jesus and Mary Chain lead singer Jim Reid (63), Offspring lead singer Dexter Holland (59), Six Feet Under lyricist & singer Chris Barnes (58), Biohazard bassist Evan Seinfeld (57), Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips (54), rapper Asheru (50), film score composer Ryan Shore (50), Hard-Fi drummer Steve Kemp (46), country singer Jessica Andrews (41), and Alexa Ray Joel (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for cello virtuoso Pablo Casals, born on this day in 1876... for jazz pianist Billy Tipton, born in 1914... for doo wop singer Virgil Johnson, who would have been 89 today... for Rick Danko, who would have been 82... for drummer Cozy Powell, who would have been 77... for one hit wonder Roger 'Get Used to It' Voudouris, who would have been 70... for rapper Pimp C, who would have been 51... for bandleader Paul Whiteman, who died on this date in 1967... for singer-songwriter Tim Hardin, who passed away in 1980... and for jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on December 29:  Elvis Presley makes chart history by having 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending December 29th (1956)... Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé
 wed in Las Vegas (1957)... The latest stop on Bob Dylan's tour of small London clubs is The Troubador in Holborn (1962)... The Liverpool Youth Employment Service announce that some school leavers are finding it difficult to get jobs because their 'Beatle' style haircuts and clothing are unacceptable to employers (1964)... Zubin Mehta conducts the Metropolitan Opera orchestra for the first time (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience make their debut on Top Of The Pops performing 'Hey Joe'... Working at Abbey Road studios, Paul McCartney begins work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’, recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects. The song's title was derived from the name of a street near John Lennon's house. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of Liverpool... Pink Floyd and Syn (featuring bassist Chris Squire who will soon join the nascent Yes), appear at The Marquee in Wardour Street (1966)... Guitarist and singer Dave Mason quits Traffic after a series of differences of musical opinion. Mason wrote 'Hole in My Shoe', a psychedelic pop song that became a hit in for the band earlier this year (1967)... Grand Funk Railroad release their eponymous debut album (1969)... Jim Croce scores a posthumous US № 1 with 'Time in a Bottle'. The singer-songwriter was killed in a plane crash on the 20th of September (1973)... A set of commemorative postage stamps in memory of Bob Marley is issued in Jamaica (1982)... Madonna is at № 1 on the Billboard chart with 'Like a Virgin' ~ across the Atlantic, the top spot is occupied by Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' (1984)... Three ferrets named Beckham, Posh Spice and Baby Spice are used to lay power cables for a New Year's Eve concert being held in Greenwich, London, workers having been forbidden to dig up the turf at the Royal Park. Organizers found that rods could not push the cables through the tiny tunnels, which frequently bend and dog-leg. The ferrets were eased into tiny nylon harnesses with wires which were then attached to a rope; the animals ran into a series of ducts which were dug under the stage like rabbit runs, leading the cables with them. Ferrets instinctively make for any hole in the ground and can be enticed to the end of a duct by a slab of decaying meat. The concert features Simply Red, Eurythmics and Bryan Ferry (1999).

December 28th

 Musical birthdays today include Edgar Winter (78/span>), Shangri-Las vocalist Mary Weiss (76), Bon Jovi bassist Hugh McDonald (74), pianist Richard Clayderman (71), Christian singer-songwriter Twila Paris (66), jazz pianist Rachel Z (56), John Legend (46), Möngöl Hörde lead singer Frank Turner (43), and singer-songwriter/drummer Florence 'Florrie' Arnold (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines, born on this day in 1903... for Billy Williams, former lead singer of The Charioteers, born in 1910... for Staples Singers patriarch Roebuck 'Pops' Staples, born today in 1914... for Johnny Otis, AKA 'The Godfather of Rhythm and Blues', born in 1922... for Donna Hightower, born in 1927...  for pioneering rockabilly singer Dorsey Burnette, born in 1933... for jazz trumpeter Dick Sudhalter, who would have been 85... for Alex Chilton, who would have been 72... for composer Maurice Ravel, who died on this date in 1937... for composer Paul Hindemith, who passed away today in 1973... for former Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who was drowned in a diving accident today in 1983 at the age of 39... for James 'The Rev' Sullivan, who died of a drug overdose today in 2009 at the age of 28... and for jazz pianist Billy Taylor, who left us in 2011. 

Also on December 28: Ma Rainey makes her final recordings at the Paramount Studio in Grafton, WI (1928)... Leonard Bernstein's musical 'On the Town' premieres on Broadway (1944)... The Tokens are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' (1961)... Merle Haggard enters the Billboard country chart for the first time with 'Sing a Sad Song' (1963)... The Beatles top the US album chart for the 12th time with their eponymous double LP AKA The White Album... The three day Miami Pop festival opens ~ it is the first major rock festival held on the East Coast of the US, with Chuck Berry, The McCoys, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, The Turtles, The Box Tops, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Pacific Gas and Electric, Procol Harum, Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly and The Grateful Dead all on the bill (1968)... Rolling Stone magazine votes 'Some Girls' by The Rolling Stones 'Album of the Year.' The cover, designed by Peter Corriston, features the Stones in garish drag alongside select female celebrities and lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli (representing her mother Judy Garland), Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe all threatened legal action (1978)...  BBC Radio 1 airs their '100 National Anthems', songs voted by listeners as those they would like to see replace 'God Save the Queen' one day. The top 5 are 'Creep' by Radiohead, 'Born Slippy' by Underworld, 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' by the Verve, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana, and 'Unfinished Sympathy' by Massive Attack (1998)...  50 Cent's debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is named the biggest selling album in the US in 2003, the CD having gone platinum six times over. Outkast comes in second with Speakerboxxx / The Love Below and Linkin Park's Meteora was the third biggest seller. The Top 10 albums of 2003 in the USA account for around 30 million in sales (2003).

December 27th

 

Musical birthdays today include original Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder (83), Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones (80), Lenny Kaye (78), Greek popular singer Haris Alexiou (74), Karla Bonoff (72), ex-Dire Straits guitarist David Knopfler (72), King's X drummer Jerry Gaskill (67), guitarist and instructor Guthrie Govan (53), R&B singer Pleasure P (39), and Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams (36). 

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 original King Crimson lyricist & manager Peter Sinfield, who would have been 81 today...  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).

December 26th

Musical birthdays today include Four Tops vocalist Abdul 'Duke' Fakir (89), former Plastic People of the Universe multi-instrumentalist Josef Janíček (77), jazz guitarist John Scofield (74), Kraftwerk drummer Henning Schmitz (71), Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich (61), ex-Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt guitarist Jay Farrar (58), former White Zombie guitarist Jay Yuenger (58), Thirty Seconds to Mars lead singer Jared Leto (53), Rise Against lead guitarist Zach Blair (51), and Black Veil Brides lead singer Andy Biersack (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Appalachian fiddler Uncle Charlie Osborne, born on this day in 1890... for Belgian chanteuse Régine Zylberberg, born in 1929... for chansonnier Jean Ferrat, born today in 1931... for Phil Spector, who would have been 83 today... for amateur violinist Jack Benny, who died on this date in 1974... for Curtis Mayfield, who passed away in 1999... for Armand Zildjian, founder of the cymbal-manufacturing firm that bore his name, who died in 2002... for 'Ivory Queen of Soul' Teena Marie, who left us in 2010... and for Fontella Bass, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on December 26: Gilbert and Sullivan complete their first collaboration, the operetta Thespis. It will be four years before they work together again (1871)... Beatlemania in America begins as Capitol Records release the single 'I Want to Hold Your Hand/'I Saw Her Standing There'. Meanwhile, Stevie Wonder arrives in London for his debut UK television appearances (1963)... The Rolling Stones place an advertisement in the music paper New Musical Express, wishing barbers and their families a Happy Christmas and apologizing for any negative impact they may have had on their revenues (1964)... While spending the Christmas holidays at his father's home in Cheshire, Paul McCartney crashes the Vespa he is riding and suffers a five-inch cut to his mouth (1965)... John Lennon appears as a men's room attendant in the Peter Cook  and Dudley Moore BBC show 'Not Only... But Also'... The Jimi Hendrix Experience play London's Uppercut Club. Hendrix writes the lyrics to 'Purple Haze' in his dressing room after the gig (1966)... BBC Television broadcast  The Magical Mystery Tour in black and white. The next day, the British press and public alike pronounce the Beatles' latest film an utter disaster. The negative reaction is so strong that a US television deal for showing the movie is cancelled (1967)... Led Zeppelin play their first American gig as the opening act for Vanilla Fudge in Denver, CO. Tickets are $5 (1968)... George Harrison starts a 4-week run at № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'My Sweet Lord', making him the first former Beatle to occupy the top spot in the US  as  solo act (1970)... The Sex Pistols record 'God Save the Queen' at Wessex Studios, London (1976)...  The first night of a series of concerts are held at London's Hammersmith Odeon for the People of Kampuchea, featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello and Wings,  among other artists. The  events were organised by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim with the aim of raising money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia... Pink Floyd have the № 1 album in America with The Wall. The LP will stay in the top spot for 15 weeks (1979)... As their single 'Goodbye' goes to the top of the charts, the Spice Girls become the first act to have the № 1 song in the UK at Christmas 3 years in a row since the Beatles from 1963 through 1965 (1998)... Amy Winehouse's second album Back to Black is named as the biggest-selling CD of the year in Britain (2007).

December 25th

 

Musical birthdays today include minimalist composer David Borden (86), Cream songwriter Pete Brown (84), Barbara Mandrell (76), bluesman Joe Louis Walker (75), Annie Lennox 70), ex-Pogues frontman Shane McGowan (67), Alannah Myles (66), Saint Etienne keyboardist Bob Stanley (60), Dido (53), Vandals drummer Josh Freese (52), producer and Crystal Castles keyboardist Ethan Kath (42), and Lisa & Jessica Origliasso, AKA The Veronicas (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz trombonist and bandleader Kid Ory, born on this day in 1886... for Cab Calloway, born in 1907... for R&B singer-songwriter Chris Kenner, born in 1929... for O'Kelly Isley Jr., who would have been 86... for former Canned Heat guitarist Henry Vestine, who would have been 79... for Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding and Jimmy Buffett who would have been 79... for Pennywise bassist Jason Thirsk, who would have been 57... for R&B singer Johnny Ace, who died today in 1954 at the age of 25 after shooting himself in the head playing Russian roulette backstage at a gig in Houston, TX the night before... for Dean Martin, who passed away today in 1995... for free jazz guitarist Derek Bailey, who died in 2005... for James Brown, who died today in 2006... for Eartha Kitt, who passed away in 2008... and for Athens, GA singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, who left us today in 2010.  

Also on December 25: The Handel & Haydn Society of Boston, the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the US, gives its first performance (1815)... Bing Crosby's ‘White Christmas’ enters 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’ (1954)... The Beatles record 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.’  Later that day, female fans attack George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd as she and the guitarist arrive at the Hammersmith Odeon for a concert by the group (1964)... Led  Zeppelin arrive at JFK Airport in preparation for their debut North American tour. The group will be paid an average of $1,500 for each show (1968)... The Eagles start an eight-week run at № 1 on the US album chart with Hotel California (1976)... Michael Jackson phones Paul McCartney to suggest they write and record together, the first result being ‘The Girl Is Mine’. The song will be a Top 10 hit worldwide in the summer of 1982 (1981)... Mariah Carey tops both the US singles and album charts, with 'Hero', and Music Box respectively (1993)... Michael Jackson tapes his first interview since news of allegations that he sexually abused a 12-year old boy. He tells the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes that he would 'slit his wrists before he would hurt a child'. He also claims he suffered a dislocated shoulder after police 'manhandled' him and treated him 'very roughly' during his arrest (2003). 


 

December 24th

 Musical birthdays today include songwriter & producer Mike Curb (80), Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman (78), rock critic Nick Kent (73), singer-songwriter Diane Tell (66), former Thin Lizzy keyboardist Darren Wharton (62), 10,000 Maniacs lead singer Karen Ramsey (61), Counting Crows bassist Millard Powers (59), blues guitarist & producer Doyle Bramhall II (56), singer-songwriter Will 'Bonnie Prince Billy' Oldham (54), and One Direction vocalist Louis Tomlinson (33). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Cosima Wagner, born on this day in 1837... for jazz drummer Warren 'Baby' Dodds, born in 1898... for pop and R&B singer Lee Dorsey, born in 1924... for jazz pianist Ray Bryant, born in 1931.. today... for Motörhead frontman Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister, who would have been 79... for composer Alban Berg, who died on this date in 1935... for Hitchcock film score composer Bernard Herrmann, who died in 1975... for former Four Season bassist Nick Massi, who passed away in 2000... and for singer and Frank Zappa sideman Ray Collins, who left us today in 2012.

Also on December 24: The first performance of the carol 'Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht', AKA Silent Night, takes place at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria. Franz Xaver Gruber, the composer of the melody, leads the congregation in singing whilst Father Joseph Mohr, who wrote the words, provides accompaniment on guitar (1818)... Verdi's Aida has its world premiere in Cairo to celebrate the recent opening of the Suez Canal (1871)...  Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden sends a signal of himself singing 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' to a collaborator ~ the signal, with a range of approximately one mile, is the first recorded transmission of music over the radio (1900)... Enrico Caruso gives his last public performance at the Met in NYC (1920)... Gian Carlo Menotti's Amal and the Night Visitors, the first opera composed expressly for television, is broadcast from NBC's Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center (1951)... The Beatles have the number one album in the US for the third Christmas in a row. 'Rubber Soul' sits atop the LP chart this year, following 'Beatles For Sale' in 1964 and 'With The Beatles' in 1963. The Fab Four will repeat this feat in 1968 with 'The Beatles' (The White Album) and again in 1969, with 'Abbey Road' (1965)... The Bee Gees perform their Christmas special live from Liverpool Cathedral on BBC TV (1967)... David Bowie appears at the Rainbow Theatre, London giving a special Christmas Eve concert (1972)... The Sex Pistols play their last UK gig before splitting, a charity event at Ivanhoe's in Huddersfield for an audience made up primarily of children (1977)... Poison have the № 1 single in America with 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn'... Nirvana begin recording their debut album Bleach after booking the studio time with a $600 loan from an old school friend of Kurt Cobain's (1988)... Rapper Foxy Brown is handcuffed and threatened with jail after she sticks her tongue out at a New York judge who asked her to stop chewing gum. Judge Melissa Jackson tells the singer that she is being disrespectful to the court. Brown is being arraigned on charges of attacking two nail salon workers during a dispute over payment (2005).

December 23rd

 

Musical birthdays today include former Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (84), Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy (79), former Rainbow and Alcatrazz singer Graham Bonnet (77), Adrian Belew (75), original Genesis lead guitarist Anthony Phillips (73), Iron Maiden lead guitarist Dave Murray (67/span>), Eddie Vedder (60), Carla Bruni (57), Quincy Jones III (56), Burns Unit singer & guitarist Karine Polwart (54), Israeli Mizrahi singer Dudu Aharon (40), and McFly drummer Harry Judd (39)nbsp;

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Greek popular singer Chronis Aidonidis, born on this day in 1928... for Chet Baker, born in 1930... for R&B singer Esther Phillips, who would have been 89... for Tim Hardin, who would have been 83... for Parliament and Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, who died on this date in 1992... for English jazz empresario Ronnie Scott, who died in 1996...  for Victor Borge, who passed away in 2000... and for jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, who left us today in 2007.

Also on December 23: At the Met in NYC, Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel becomes the first opera to be televised in its entirety. The broadcast coincides with the 50th anniversary of the work's first performance in Weimar. (1943)... Chuck Berry is arrested after taking 14 year old Janice Norine (who unbeknownst to Berry was working as a prostitute), across a state line. It is the beginning of a 4 year ordeal of trials, appeals, re-arrests and new sentences for the guitarist. He will finally be released for good in October 1963 (1959)... Bob Dylan's tour of small London venues continues with a gig at the King and Queen Pub in the West End (1962)... During  a Beach Boys US tour, Brian Wilson has a nervous breakdown on a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. He will make no further live appearances with the the group ~ Glen Campbell will replace him for the remainder of the current tour ~ and will concentrate solely on work in the studio (1964)... ITV broadcasts Ready, Steady, Go! for the last  time. Among the special guests for the farewell show are Mick Jagger, The Who, Eric Burdon, The Spencer Davis Group and Donovan (1966)... Cat Stevens legally changes his name to Yusef Islam (1977)... During an LL Cool J concert at a Baltimore roller rink, an altercation breaks out that leads to gunfire, with one person trampled to death and three  wounded in the fusillade (1985)... George Harrison's holiday home in Maui is broken into by longtime fan Cristin Keleher, who cooks a frozen pizza, drinks beer from the fridge, starts a  load of  laundry and phones her mother in New Jersey. When police arrive, Keleher is arrested and charged with burglary and theft (1999)... Sir Paul McCartney is granted his own coat of arms by the College of Arms, the English heraldic body formed in 1484. The crest features a bird that appears to be holding a guitar in its claws. The motto is 'Ecce Cor Meum', Latin for 'Behold My Heart', which is the title of an oratorio the former Beatle composed (2002)... Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler offers £5,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, a three-month-old penguin that was stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a week earlier (2005).

December 22nd

Musical birthdays today include Pink Floyd session saxophonist Dick Parry (82), Animals drummer Barry Jenkins (80), Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen (76), fusion jazz guitarist Frank Gambale (66), former Moloko multi-instrumentalist and producer Mark Brydon (64), ex-2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell (64), former Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards (declared a missing person in 1995 and officially presumed dead as of the 23rd of November 2008, but one can hope that he turns 57 today), Vanessa Paradis (52), and American Idol Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Giacomo Puccini, born on this day in 1858... for avant garde composer Edgard Varèse, born in 1883... for early R&B singer Lil Green, born in 1919... for country singer Harold 'Hawkshaw' Hawkins, born in 1921... for former Big Brother & the Holding Company guitarist James Gurley, who would have been 85 today... for Bee Gees twins Maurice & Barry Gibb, who would have been 75... for Ma Rainey, who died on this date in 1939... and for John Graham Mellor, better known as Joe Strummer, who left us today in 2002. 

Also on December 22: Beethoven conducts and performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Fourth Piano Concerto [performed by the composer himself] and 'Choral Fantasy [with Beethoven at the piano] (1808)... The Tornadoes start a three week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Telstar'. Produced and written by Joe Meek, it is the first chart-topping hit by a UK act in America in the rock era... Bob Dylan performs his second UK gig at the Singers' Club, London (1962)... The Dave Clark Five score their only US № 1 single with 'Over and Over' (1963)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Who, Keith West and Tomorrow, Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1984 [featuring future Queen guitarist Brian May] and Soft Machine all appear at The Olympia, London at the all night festival 'Christmas On Earth Continued'. The DJ is John Peel, and the venue features a paddling pool, light shows and a movie theatre ~ tickets are £1 (1967)... Stiff Records releases an album  called The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan. Both sides of the disc contain 20 minutes of silence (1980)... 
Madonna starts a six-week run at № 1 in the US with 'Like A Virgin', her first US chart-topper. Family groups have sought to ban the Nile Rodgers-produced song in the belief that it encourages pre- and extramarital sex (1984)...  Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe is pronounced 'dead on arrival' in an ambulance when his heart stops beating for two minutes. Sixx is given two shots of adrenaline in his chest to revive him ~ fellow band members are prematurely informed of his death (1987)... Madonna marries film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, Scotland. Among those in attendance are Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Sting and Stella McCartney. The couple will divorce in November 2008 (2000)... Google announces that Janet Jackson was the most-searched name during 2004, the singer topping a list of searches chiefly because of people looking for pictures from her infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’ during the Super Bowl halftime show when she exposed her right breast (2004)... The Abbey Road pedestrian crossing in London NW1 is given Grade II listed status by the English Historical Society. The crossing, the first of its kind to be so listed, is recognised for its 'cultural and historical importance' by the conservation body. The Beatles were photographed on the thoroughfare in Ian Macmillan's iconic cover shot for the 1969 album ‘Abbey Road’ (2010).

December 21st

 

Musical birthdays include Paul & Paula vocalist Ray Hildebrand (84), soul singer Carla Thomas (82), former Heads Hands and Feet guitarist Albert Lee (81), San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (80), Nick Gilder (73), World Fire Brigade lead singer Brett Scallions (53), and Alexa Goddard (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Werner von Trapp, born on this day in 1915... for Frank Zappa, who would have been 84 today... for Sky guitarist Kevin Peek and Beach Boy Carl Wilson, both of whom would have been 78... for soul singer Betty Wright, who wouls have been 71... for No Doubt lead singer John Spence, who took his own life today in 1987 at the age of 18... for former Be-Bop Deluxe bassist Paul Jeffreys, who was a passenger on Pan AM flight 103 [the Lockerbie bombing] in 1988... for bluesman Albert King, who passed away on this day in 1992... and for former Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman, who left us today in 2012. 

Also on December 21:  The Beatles hold a party at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel to preview their new movie ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ (1967)... The Supremes make their final TV appearance together with Diana Ross on 'The Ed Sullivan show', singing 'Someday We'll Be Together', which is also their last № 1 single (1969)... A stretch limousine carrying Elvis Presley pulls up outside the White House. The driver delivers a letter from Elvis addressed to President Nixon requesting a meeting to discuss how the King of Rock and Roll could help in the fight against drugs. The President agrees to give Presley a Narcotics Bureau badge - but only after learning that the chief of the narcotics bureau turned down the same request earlier that day and told Presley the only person who could overrule his decision was the President. At Elvis' request, the meeting remains secret for more than a year, until the Washington Post breaks the story on January 27th, 1972 (1970)... The soundtrack of The Concert for Bangladesh in released (1971)... Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA passes Thriller to become the second longest-lasting LP on the Billboard US Top 10, staying there for 79 weeks. Only ‘The Sound of Music’ with Julie Andrews remained longer, at 109 weeks (1985)... The charity record 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' goes to № 1 on the UK singles chart. With the consent of Bob Dylan, musician Ted Christopher of Dunblane, Scotland wrote a new verse for the song in memory of the schoolchildren and teacher killed in the massacre there in March. The cover version of the song includes brothers and sisters of the victims singing the chorus, and Mark Knopfler on guitar (1996)... Police launch an investigation into why George Harrison's widow Olivia listed a non-existent Beverly Hills address as the place of the late Beatle's death (2001)... Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish register their relationship as a civil partnership in a 20 minute ceremony at The Guild Hall, Windsor. Guests include Ringo Starr, Victoria Beckham, Joss Stone, Sting, Elvis Costello, Jamie Cullum, George Michael and the Osbournes ~ Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly (2005)... Paul Simon performs 'The Sound of Silence' at the funeral of a teacher who died in the school shooting at Sandy Hook on the 14th of the month. The 1965 hit was known to be a favourite of 27-year-old Victoria Soto, a first-grade teacher at the elementary school. Simon, a family friend, sings the song in front of some 400 mourners at Soto's local church. Twenty six people were killed by Adam Lanza in the mass shooting the previous week (2012).

December 20th

 Musical birthdays today include composer John Harbison (86), original Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Colomby (80), ex-Kiss drummer Peter Criss (79), Alan Parsons (76), former Easybeats lead singer Stevie Wright (76), Billy Bragg (67), Greek Cypriot pop singer Anna Vissi (67), ex-Stooges bassist Mike Watt (67), Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson (58), and JoJo (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for pianist and singer Yvonne Arnaud, born on this day in 1890... longtime Elton John sideman Guy Babylon, who would have been 68 today... for Bobby Darin, who passed away on this date in 1973... for classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who died in 1982... and for country music legend Hank Snow, who left us today in 1999. 

Also on December 20: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison appear as The Quarry Men at the wedding reception of George's older brother, Harry. The event is held at the Harrison family home at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool (1958)... The Osmonds appear for the first time on US TV on NBC's The Andy Williams Show. The brothers perform 'I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas'... The Shostakovich opera Katerina Ismailova premieres in Moscow (1962)... Joan Baez is sentenced to 45 days in prison after being arrested during an anti-war demonstration (1967)... Peter Paul and Mary go to № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Leavin' On A Jet Plane'. John Denver wrote the song in 1966 with the original title of 'Oh Babe I Hate to Go'... In the UK, the Rolling Stones top the album chart with Let It Bleed (1969)... Former James Gang guitarist Joe Walsh officially replaces Bernie Leadon in The Eagles (1974)... The Bangles have the № 1 song in the USA with 'Walk like an Egyptian'... In the UK, the Housemartins are perched atop the charts with 'Caravan of Love', only the second a capella № 1 ever in Britain after 'Only You' by the Flying Pickets (1986)...  Readers of UK Guitar magazine have voted Noel Gallagher the most overrated guitarist of the millennium. Jimi Hendrix is guitarist of the millennium, with Nirvana's 'Nevermind' winning best album (1999)... Tommy Lee brands his ex-wife Pamela Anderson an unfit mother. The drummer files papers with the Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that his sons regularly tell him 'We hate Mommy' and his younger son Brandon has been using the F-word he learned from his mommy (2001)... Matthew Fisher, a founding member of Procol Harum, wins a High Court battle over who wrote the song 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'. Fisher, who played organ on the 1967 hit, argued that he wrote the distinctive organ melody, but Mr Justice Blackburne rules that he is entitled to just 40% of the copyright, (rather than the 50% he was seeking). The court decides that lead singer Gary Brooker's input was more substantial and Fisher's claim for back royalties - of up to £1m - is also rejected. For almost 40 years, the song has been credited to lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid (2006).

December 19th

 

Musical birthdays today include harpsichordist William Christie (80), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band guitarist John McEuen (79), ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain (77), instrumentalist & arranger Walter Murphy (72), former Kajagoogoo lead singer Chris 'Limahl' Hamill (66), Bad Books singer & guitarist Kevin Devine (45), producer & Dear Hunter lead singer Casey Crescenzo (41), and Ordinary Boys bassist Dan Logan (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Edith Piaf, born on this day in 1915... for New Orleans bluesman Professor Longhair [né Henry Roy Byrd], born in 1918... for country singer Little Jimmy Dickens, born in 1920... for early do-wop singer Gregory Carroll, born in 1929... for jazz pianist & composer Bobby Timmons, who would have been 89... for Phil Ochs, who would have been 84... for Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, who would have been 83... for Ten Years After frontman Alvin Lee and Lovin' Spoonful lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky, both of whom would have been 79.. for original Byrds drummer Michael Clarke, who died today in 1993... for 10,000 Maniacs lead guitarist Rob Buck and Pops Staples, both of whom passed away on this day in 2000... and for gospel singer Inez Andrews, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on December 19: Massenet's opera Hérodiade has its world premiere in Brussels (1862)... Noel Coward's musical 'Pacific 1860' opens in London's West End (1946)...  'The Music Man' opens on Broadway... Elvis Presley receives his draft notice from the US Army (1957)... The Supremes score their third US № 1 of the year with 'Come See about Me' (1964)... Buffalo Springfield appear at the Community Concourse in San Diego, closing the show with a 35-minute jam on the Steven Stills composition 'Bluebird' (1967)... As part of a UK tour, Led Zeppelin appear at The Civic Hall in Exeter, supported by The Empty Vessels, featuring Martin Turner and Steve Upton, who later form Wishbone Ash. Zeppelin are paid £125 for the gig (1968)... Elton John's first US hit, 'Your Song', enters the Billboard Hot 100 (1970)... 
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Sex Pistol Paul Cook's mother says he is no longer welcome at home and that she is going to turn his bedroom into a sitting room (1976)... Elvis Presley's personal physician George Nichopoulos is charged with 'illegally and indiscriminately' prescribing over 12,000 tablets of uppers, downers and painkillers for the star during the 20 months preceding his untimely death. Although he will be acquitted this time, the doctor is charged again in 1980 and in 1992 with similar offences in treating other patients, and is finally stripped of his medical license in July 1995 (1979)... Saturday Night Live gets a double dose of Paul Simon, as the singer is the musical guest, while the senator from Illinois [who is running for the democratic nomination for president] of the same name is the guest host (1987)... Manic Street Preachers open a three-night stand at the Astoria in London, the band's last shows before guitarist and principal songwriter Richey Edwards disappears without a trace the following February (1994)... Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton pays £3,000 for a custom built toilet. The singer ordered the hand-painted porcelain loo complete with hand-crafted toilet paper roll holder for her new £500,000 seaside flat in Brighton (2001)... In NYC, Bruce Springsteen and bandmate Nils Lofgren attend the funeral of their friend, eccentric Wall St. tycoon John Mulheren. Springsteen leads the assembly in Christmas carols, while Lofgren sings 'Wind beneath My Wings' (2003)... Nick Mason steps in to help save Foote's, the historic London music shop where he bought his first ever drum kit. The Pink Floyd drummer, along with the store's sales director Rob Wilson are buying the business [which will now re-open in a new location at 41 Store Street in Bloomsbury] from the family who have owned it since the '30s (2012).

 

December 18th

 Musical birthdays today include jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith (86), Big Brother & the Holding Company led guitarist Sam Andrew (83), Keith Richards (81), ex-Santana lead singer Alex Ligertwood (78). former BeBop Deluxe guitarist Bill Nelson (76), French chansonnier Laurent Voulzy (76), ex-Cars lead guitarist Elliot  Easton (71), Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker (66), former White Lion drummer Greg D'Angelo (61), Alejandro Sanz (56), Fear Factor drummer Raymond Herrera (52), Christina Aguilera (44), and Billie Eilish (23).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for hymn composer Charles Wesley, born on this day in 1707... for composer & pianist Edward MacDowell, born in 1860... for bluesman Lonnie Johnson, born in 1933... for empresario and former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, who would have been 85 today... for ex-Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo, who would have been 73... for rapper DMX, who would have been 55... for violin maker Antonio Stradivari, who died on this date in 1737... and for singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, who left us today in 2000 at the age of 41 as the result of a boating accident. 

Also on December 18: Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite premieres in St. Petersburg (1892)... The Tokens start a three week run at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' (1961)... A day after arriving at Heathrow Airport, Bob Dylan plays his first UK gig ever at London's Troubador Club (1962)... Tara Browne is killed when driving at high speed in his Lotus Elan after it collides with a parked lorry in South Kensington, London. A close friend of Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, his death was immortalized in The Beatles’s song ‘A Day In The Life’ after John Lennon read a report on the coroner's verdict into Browne's death (1966)... Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, the group's debut album, is released (1969)...  Jerry Lee Lewis and his wife Myra, whom he married when she was 13, are officially divorced, as 'The Killer' prepares to marry 29-year old Karen Elizabeth Gunn Pate... Sly and the Family Stone go to the top of the Billboard album chart with There's a Riot Goin' on (1971)... In Durango, Mexico, Bob Dylan begins filming his role as 'Alias' in Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1972)... Keith Richards celebrates his 40th birthday by getting married to Patti Hansen in Cabo San Lucas, with Mick Jagger as best man (1983)... Prominent activists of the women's movement including Glora Steinem and NOW president Eleanor Smeal lead a protest in front of the Time Warner Building in NYC against the Prodigy hit 'Smack My Bitch Up' (1997)... The Spice Girls unveil their waxwork look-alikes at Madame Tussaud's, London. Each model cost £35,000 to make (1999)... Jay Z becomes the first hip hop artist to release an album in the MTV 'Unplugged' series... Bruce Springsteen, backed by the Max Weinberg & 7 Friends Band, plays a show at the Asbury Park Convention Hall to benefit the Women's Center of Monmouth County, NJ, which serves local families affected by domestic violence (2000)... The Pixies wrap up their triumphant reunion tour with a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. The gig caps an 8-month trek across Europe, North America and Australia, the group's first tour since the dissolution of the original band in 1992 (2004).

December 17th

 

Musical birthdays today include early British rock 'n roller Tommy Steele (88), Art Neville (87), Paul Rodgers (75), Bad Brains drummer Earl Hudson (67), ex-R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills (66), Bananarama vocalist Sara Dallin (63), Wildhearts frontman Ginger (60), Supergrass guitarist Mick Quinn (55), Beautiful Small Machines lead singer Bree Sharp (49), Three Days Grace drummer Neil Sanderson (46), Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key (45), MGMT songwriter & keyboardist Benjamin Goldwasser (42), and Paramore guitarist Taylor York (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for former Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler, born on this day in 1894... for composer and conductor Fernando Lopes-Graça, born in 1906... for Screaming Lord Sutch drummer Carlo Little, who would have been 86 today... for Temptations vocalist Eddie Kendricks, who would have been 85... for Paul Butterfield, who would have been 81... for Delta bluesman Big Joe Williams, who died in 1983... for smooth jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., who passed away today in 1999... and for Don van Vliet, AKA Captain Beefheart, who left us in 2010. 

Also on December 17: The 'Unfinished Symphony' in C Major of Franz Schubert [who died in 1831] premieres in Vienna (1865)... Benny Goodman plays his first recorded clarinet solo, sitting in on a Chicago session with Ben Pollack and His Californians on the tune 'He's the Last Word' (1926)... Bob Dylan arrives in London for the first time (1962)... James Carroll at WWDC in Washington, DC becomes the first disc jockey to broadcast a Beatles record on American radio. Carroll plays 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', which he had obtained from his flight attendant girlfriend, who brought the single back from the UK. Due to listener demand, the song is played hourly for the next few days. Since it has not been released yet in the States, Capitol Records initially consider court action, but instead release the single earlier than planned (1963)... David Bowie releases the album Hunky Dory, which is the first to feature all the members of the band that will become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars (1971)... Mr. David Ackroyd of Reading, Berks. purchases the one millionth copy of Wings' 'Mull Of Kintyre' in the UK and becomes the first record buyer to receive a Gold Disc (1977)... Standing in for the Sex Pistols on Saturday Night Live, Elvis Costello stops his performance of 'Less Than Zero' after a few seconds, saying "There's no reason to do this", and launches into 'Radio Radio' which he had been told not to sing... George Harrison plays an impromptu live set for the regulars at his local pub in Henley-On-Thames (1977)...  Already seriously ill, Karen Carpenter makes her last live appearance when she performs with her brother Richard in Sherman, CA (1982)... A remixed version of The Four Seasons' 'December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)' re-enters the Billboard Hot 100, where it will stay for another  27 weeks, just as it did when it first charted in 1976. The combined run will establish a record for the longest total appearance in US chart history (1994)...  A statue of the late Frank Zappa is unveiled in a park across the street from parliament in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic Of Lithuania. The event was organised by Zappa national fan club President Saulius Pauksty (1995)...  Sir Paul McCartney performs an intimate lunchtime gig at an historic music venue threatened with closure, the 100 Club on Oxford Street in London. 300 fans are treated to a set lasting almost two hours, in what is McCartney’s smallest gig in the UK for nearly 10 years. A campaign to keep the 100 Club open had attracted support from Sir Mick Jagger and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie (2010).

December 16th

 Musical birthdays today include Hollies guitarist & singer Tony Hicks (79),  ABBA member Benny Andersson (78), ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons (75), jazz guitarist Robben Ford (73), country singer Jeff Carson (61), R&B singer Lala Hathaway (56), former Boyz II Men bass vocalist Michael McCary (53), and Billy Talent lead singer Ben Kowalewicz (49). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Ludwig van Beethoven, born on this day in 1770... for jazz trombonist Turk Murphy, born in 1915... for classical pianist Menahem Pressler, born 100 years ago today... for operatic tenor James McCracken, born in 1926... for jazz flautist Sam Most, born in 1930... for singer-songwriter Jason Molina, who would have been 51... for composer Camille Saint-Saëns, who died on this date in 1921... for rapper Charizma, shot dead in a street robbery at the age of 20 in 1993... for singer Nicolette Larson, who passed away in 1997... for former Big Country guitarist & lead singer Stuart Adamson, who died on this day in 2001... and for Dan Fogelberg, who left us in 2007. 

Also on December 16: Released as a double A side, The Beatles' 'Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out' becomes their ninth UK № 1 and their third Christmas chart topper in a row (1965)... The first Jimi Hendrix Experience single 'Hey Joe' is released in the UK on Polydor records, after the track was rejected by the Decca label. It goes on to be a № 6 hit in the UK, but fails to chart in America. Chas Chandler, now managing Hendrix, saw Folk singer Tim Rose perform the song at the Cafe Wha? in NYC (1966)... Five singles and five albums by Creedence Clearwater Revival are certified gold in the US. The singles are: ‘Down on the Corner’, ‘Lookin out My Back Door’, ‘Travelin' Band’, ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and ‘Up around the Bend’. The LPs are Cosmo's Factory, Willy and the Poor Boys, Green River, Bayou Country, and the group's eponymous debut (1970)... Frank Zappa's film '200 Motels' has its world premiere at London's Piccadilly Classic Cinema. The movie, which also features Ringo Starr, covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town of Centerville (1971)... Billy Paul has the № 1 song in America with 'Me and Mrs. Jones' (1973)... Mick Taylor announces that he is leaving the Rolling Stones (1974)... 
Various stars name their favourite party songs in the UK music magazine Smash Hits. Morrissey picks 'What's The World', by James; Siouxsie has 'Love Is The Drug' by Roxy Music; Robert Smith of The Cure picks 'Boogie Nights,' by Heatwave, and XTC's Andy Partridge picks 'Take Five' by Dave Brubeck (1984)... MTV airs Nirvana's 'Unplugged' session for the first time. The show features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in NYC on November 18. Unlike many artists who appeared on the show, Nirvana filmed their entire performance in a single take, with the band's fourteen-song setlist including six cover versions (1993)... Michael Jackson is released on police bail of $3m after being arrested following allegations of child abuse. The 45-year-old singer strenuously denies the charges, calling them "a big lie". Following the arraignment, a special information web site is set up by the District Attorney's office because of the level of media interest in the case. Mr Jackson, who was arrested, cited and released after surrendering to police on 20th November, is due to appear in court on 9 January (2003)...  Sir Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving EMI, his record label of 45 years, because it has become "boring", and that he "dreads going to see" its executives. McCartney tells journalists that the company's handling of his music has become "symbolic of the treadmill". The ex-Beatle will go on to sign a deal with Starbucks' label Hear Music (2006).