December 3rd

 

Musical birthdays today include English folk guitarist & singer Ralph McTell (81), Jefferson Starship vocalist Mickey Thomas (75), .38 Special guitarist & lead singer Don Barnes (74), Gentlemans Pistols guitarist Bill  Steer (56), Polkadot Cadaver frontman Todd Smith (48/span>), and Napster co-founder Sean Parker (46). 

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 Ozzy Osbourne, who would have been 77 today... 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 4 pm 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). 

December 2nd

 Musical birthdays today include Manfred Mann guitarist Tom McGuinness (84), jazz guitarist Tonino Horta (77), session keyboardist & producer Rob Mounsley (73), Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage (65), Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel (57), Nelly Furtado (47), and Britney Spears (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Maria Callas, born on this day in 1923... for Miles Davis sideman Wynton Kelly [pianist on Kind of Blue], born in 1931... for Hanoi Rocks drummer Nick 'Razzle' Dingley, who would have been 65... for Aaron Copland, who died on this date in 1990... for former Shocking Blue lead singer Mariska Veres, who passed away in 2006... and for Odetta, who left us today in 2008.

Also on December 2: Saint-Saëns' opera Samson et Dalila premieres in Weimar (1877)... The Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd goes to № 1 on the US album chart. It is their fourth LP to sell over a million copies, following The Monkees, More Of The Monkees and Headquarters (1967)... George Harrison's Wonderwall Music appears in shops. It is the first official solo album by one of the Beatles, as well as Apple Records' first LP release... Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes is kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man employed by the building she lives in. She later escapes unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper will be arrested in Las Vegas four days later (1968)... Queen release A Night at the Opera in the US (1975)... The first day of the photo shoot for the cover of Pink Floyd's forthcoming album Animals takes place at Battersea Power Station in London with a giant inflatable pig lashed between two of the structure's tall towers. A trained marksman is standing by ready to fire if the floating swine escapes, but will not be needed on this, the first day. The following day, unfortunately, the marksman had not been rebooked, so when the inflatable breaks free from its moorings, it is able to float away, eventually landing in Kent where it is recovered by a local farmer, reportedly furious that it "scared the devil out of my cows" (1976)...  Rod Stewart is at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy'. A plagiarism lawsuit brought by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben alleging that the song had been derived from his composition 'Taj Mahal' will be upheld, and Stewart agrees to donate all his royalties from the song to the United Nations Children's Fund (1978)...  Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand's ‘You Don't Bring Me Flowers’ hits № 1 on the US singles chart. A Chicago radio station engineer had spliced Neil's version together with Barbra's and got such a good response that the station added it to their playlist. When Diamond was told about it, he approached Streisand to re-record the song as a duet, and she agreed. Within weeks of its release, the single went to the top in America and № 5 in Britain (1979)... MTV airs the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video for the first time. Now regarded as the one of the most influential pop music videos of all time, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress  in 2009, the first music video to ever receive this honour, for being 'culturally, historically or aesthetically significant' (1983)... Jerry Lee Lewis checks into the Betty Ford Clinic to be treated for an addiction to painkillers (1986)... The new edition of the Guinness Book of World Records confirms that the Swedish band Ace of Base have set a new mark for the biggest selling debut album in history, with 19 million copies sold worldwide to date (1995)... The Smashing Pumpkins play their final concert when they appear at the Metro Club in Chicago (2000)... 25 year old singer/actress Beyoncé Knowles signs a contract for more money than any other black actress in history to perform in her latest film 'Dreamgirls'. The musical based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes will earn the singer an $8.2 million fee (2006)... Led Zeppelin are given an award by President Obama for their significant contribution to American culture and the arts. Dressed in black suits and bow ties, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page are among a group of artists who receive Kennedy Center Honours at a dinner event at the White House. In his tribute to the band, Mr Obama says: "When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming". The President draws laughter from guests when he thanks the former band members for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around" (2012).

December 1st

 

Musical birthdays today include session drummer Sandy Nelson (87), Doors drummer John Densmore (81), Blue Öyster Cult guitarist & lead singer Eric Bloom (81), Bette Midler (80), Gilbert O'Sullivan (79), Megadeath guitarist Chris Poland (68), former Medway Poets guitarist Billy Childish (66), singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton (61), Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore (52), Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson (48), and Janelle Monáe (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for saxophonist & Cecil Taylor sideman Jimmy Lyons, born on this day in 1931... for Lou Rawls, born in 1933... for soul singer Billy 'Me and Mrs. Jones' Paul,cborn in 1934... for chansonnier Alain Bashung, who would have been 78... for fusion bassist Jaco Pastorious, who would have been 74... for Vesta Williams, who would have been 68... and for jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, who left us today in 1997. 

Also on December 1: Franz Liszt makes his concert debut at the age of 11 in Vienna (1822)... Buddy Holly and the Crickets appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing 'That'll Be The Day' and 'Peggy Sue'. Sam Cooke is also a guest, performing 'You Send Me' (1957)... 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' is released as The Beatles first single in America (1963)...  The Who play the first of 22 consecutive Tuesday night gigs at The Marquee Club in London, the band receiving £50 for each gig... Also in London, Ringo Starr is booked into University College Hospital for a tonsillectomy (1964)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience release Axis: Bold as Love (1967)... The Carpenters are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Top of the World' (1973)... The Sex Pistols appear on ITV's live early evening 'Today' show (in place of Queen, who had to withdraw when Freddie Mercury hd a dental emergency). Prodded by interviewer Bill Grundy who asks the band to say something outrageous, guitarist Steve Jones says: "You dirty bastard... You dirty fucker...  What a fucking rotter!" (1976)... Talking Heads play the Hammersmith Palais, London, with U2 as their opening act (1980)...  Neil Young is sued by David Geffen because his new music for the label has been ‘not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums’. His latest album Everybody's Rockin' features a selection of rockabilly songs (both covers and original material) which runs for just 25 minutes, the shortest album of Young's career (1983)... A Lexington, KY teacher loses her appeal in the US Supreme Court over her firing after showing the film 'Pink Floyd's The Wall' to her class. The court decided that the film was not suitable for minors, given its frequent use of bad language and sexual content (1987)... Kenny G sets a new world record when he holds a note on a saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time (1997)... An Oasis fan enjoys "the best day of his life" when Noel Gallagher pops round to his house in Poynton, Cheshire to play an intimate solo gig. Ben Hayes won a BBC Radio 1 competition to have the star play in his front room as part of a week of gigs with DJ Jo Whiley as compere. 15 people packed into his lounge for the show, with his mum on hand making cups of tea for the crew (2006).