December 20

Musical birthdays today include composer John Harbison (75), original Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Colomby (69), ex-Kiss drummer Peter Criss (68), Alan Parsons (65), former Easybeats lead singer Stevie Wright (65), Billy Bragg (56), Greek Cypriot pop singer Anna Vissi (56), Stooges bassist Mike Watt (56), Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson (47), and JoJo (23). 

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 57 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 Dimitri 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 No. 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 no. 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 no. 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 had been credited to lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid (2006). 

December 19

Musical birthdays today include country singer Little Jimmy Dickens (93), Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White (72), harpsichordist William Christie (69), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band guitarist John McEuen (68), ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain (66), instrumentalist & arranger Walter Murphy (61), former Kajagoogoo lead singer Chris 'Limahl' Hamill (55), Bad Books singer & guitarist Kevin Devine (34), producer & Dear Hunter lead singer Casey Crescenzo (30), and Ordinary Boys bassist Dan Logan (28). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Edith Piaf, born on this day in 1915... for Professor Longhair, born in 1918... for early do-wop singer Gregory Carroll, who would have been 84... for jazz pianist & composer Bobby Timmons, who would have been 78... for Phil Ochs, who would have been 73... for Ten Years After frontman Alvin Lee and Lovin' Spoonful lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky, both of whom would have been 69... 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 a year ago. 

Also on December 19: Jules 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 Supreme score their third US no. 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 that 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)... 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)... 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 18

Musical birthdays today include bluesman Lonnie Brooks (80), jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith (75), Big Brother & the Holding Company led guitarist Sam Andrew (72), Keith Richards (70), ex-Santana lead singer Alex Ligertwood (67). former BeBop Deluxe guitarist Bill Nelson (65), French chansonnier Laurent Voulzy (65), ex-Cars lead guitarist Elliot Easton (60), Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker (55), former White Lion drummer Greg D'Angelo (50), Alejandro Sanz (45), rapper DMX (43), Fear Factor drummer Raymond Herrera (41), and Christina Aguilera (33). 

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 empresario and former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, who would have been 75... for ex-Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo, who would have been 63... 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 No.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 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)... The Spice Girls unveil their waxwork look-alikes at Madame Tussaud's, London. Each model cost £35,000 to make (1999)... James Brown and Loretta Lynn are honoured for their contributions to American culture. The pair are invited to a gala attended by President George W Bush at the Kennedy Arts Center in Washington, DC (2003).

 

December 17

Musical birthdays today include early British rock 'n roller Tommy Steele (77), Art Neville (76), Paul Rodgers (64), Bad Brains drummer Earl Hudson (56), Mike Mills (55), Bananarama vocalist Sara Dallin (52), Wildhearts frontman Ginger (49), Supergrass guitarist Mick Quinn (44), Beautiful Small Machines lead singer Bree Sharp (38), Three Days Grace drummer Neil Sanderson (35), Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key (34), MGMT songwriter & keyboardist Benjamin Goldwasser (31), and Paramore guitarist Taylor York (24). 

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 75... for Temptations vocalist Eddie Kendricks, who would have been 74... for Paul Butterfield, who would have been 71... for Delta bluesman Big Joe Williams, who died in 1982... 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 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 Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie and Sir Mick Jagger (2010). 
 


 

 

 

December 16

Musical birthdays today include classical pianist Menhem Pressler (89), Hollies guitarist & singer Tony Hicks (68), former ABBA member Benny Andersson (67), ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons (64), jazz guitarist Robben Ford (62), country singer Jeff Carson (50), R&B singer Lala Hathaway (45), former Boyz II Men bass vocalist Michael McCary (42), and Billy Talent lead singer Ben Kowalewicz (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Ludwig van Beethoven, born on this day in 1770... for jazz trombonist Turk Murphy, born in 1915... for operatic tenor James McCracken, who would have been 87 today... for jazz flautist Sam Most, who would have been 83... for singer-songwriter Jason Molina, who would have been 40... 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 No.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 No.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 no. 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).

 

December 15

Musical birthdays today include jazz pianist Barry Harris (84), former Supreme Cindy Birdsong (74), Dave Clark (71), rock drummer Carmen Appice (67), Fuzztones frontman Rudi Protrudi (61), Paul Simonon (58), ex-Torch Song keyboardist Richard Orbit (57), Dave Matthews Band lead guitarist Tim Reynolds (56), Stryper bassist Tim Gaines (51), heavy metal guitarist Clint Lowery (41), and Falling in Reverse lead singer Ronnie Radke (30). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for talent scout and producer John Hammond, born on this day in 1910... for jazz pianist Stan Kenton, born in 1911... for Grand Ole Opry star Ernest Ashworth, who would have been 85 today... for R&B pianist and songwriter Jesse Belvin, who would have been 81... for Fats Waller, who died on this date in 1943... for Glenn Miller, presumed dead after the aircraft in which he and members of his band were flying disappeared over the English Channel on a USO tour on this day in 1944. No trace of the plane or its crew and passengers ever having been found, Miller's official status remains MIA... and for soul singer Rufus Thomas, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on December 15: Hank Williams marries Audrey Sheppard, the ceremony taking place at a filling station outside of Nashville and performed by a passing Justice of the Peace. The union produces Hank Williams, Jr., and a divorce in 1952 (1944)... Elvis Presley gives his final performance on 'Louisiana Hayride', a live radio program broadcast on KWKH in Shreveport, LA. Presley made 50 appearances on the show, which was a springboard to his early stardom (1956)... The Who release The Who Sell out (1967)... John Lennon plays what will prove to be his final ever gig in the UK when he appears at The Lyceum Ballroom in London with the Plastic Ono Band in a UNICEF 'Peace For Christmas' benefit. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston and Keith Moon also take part (1969)... Charlie Rich has his only US no. 1 single with 'The Most Beautiful Girl' (1973)... The Sex Pistols are refused a performance visa for the USA two days before a scheduled NBC TV appearance ~ Johnny Rotten because of a drugs conviction, Paul Cook & Sid Vicious for 'moral turpitude' and Steve Jones because of his criminal record (1977)... U2 play the Windsor Castle Pub on Harrow Road in London. Admission is free (1979)... 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid enters the UK chart at No.1, where it will stay for five weeks. It will become the biggest selling UK single of all time with sales over 3 and a half million... Band Aid was masterminded by former Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, who had been moved by a TV news story of famine in Ethiopia. Geldof had the idea of raising funds with a one-off charity single featuring the cream of the then-current pop world. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, Culture Club, George Michael, Sting, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt of Status Quo and Bananarama all appeared on the recording (1984)... James Brown is sentenced to 6 years in prison for various offences including possession of unregistered firearms and resisting arrest (1988)... Rod Stewart marries New Zealand model Rachel Hunter in Los Angeles. Stewart is quoted as saying "I Found the Girl that I Want, I won't be putting my banana in anybody's fruit bowl from now on". They will split in 1999 (1990)... 'Spice World, The Movie' has its world premiere at the Empire Cinema on Leicester Square (1997)... Boy George is knocked unconscious and receives  minor concussion when a mirror ball falls on his head during a show in Wimborne, Dorset... Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren announces that he is running for Mayor of London. He says he will be campaigning for open bars in public libraries, as well as brothels and cannabis shops. "I changed London with the Sex Pistols, I can change London as Mayor" proclaims the candidate... 'Posh Spice' Victoria Beckham punches a crazed fan and knocks him to the ground after he tries to grab her baby son Brooklyn as she is leaving Harrods (1999)... Various Pink Floyd items are sold at an Entertainment Memorabilia auction by Bonhams of Knightsbridge, London. A demo pressing of the single 'Point Me To The Sky/Careful With That Axe Eugene' sells for £720. Pink Floyd signatures, in various blue marker pens on four separate pieces of paper mounted and framed together with a copy of 'Dark Side Of The Moon' goes for £624, and a demo pressing of the Syd Barrett single, 'Octopus' / 'Golden Hair' from 1969 [with the singer's name misspelt 'Barratt' and corrected in ink on the A-side] fetches £300 (2010). 

 
 
 

December 14

Musical birthdays today include jazz trumpeter Clark Terry (93), Broadway & cabaret singer Abbe Lane (81), Jane Birkin (67), Tony Orlando & Dawn vocalist Joyce Vincent Wilson (67), classical guitarist Christopher Parkening (66), AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams (64), John Lurie (61), Waterboys frontman Mike Scott (55), former Pogues lead singer Spider Stacy (55), and Blue October frontman Justin Furstenfeld (38). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Spike Jones, born in this day in 1911... for Charlie Rich, who would have been 81 today... for Dinah Washington, who died 50 years ago today at the age of 39... for Guess Who guitarist Kurt Winter, who passed away in 1997... and for Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who left us today in 2006. 

Also on December 14: Bill Wyman makes his live debut with The Rolling Stones at the Ricky Tick Club, Star and Garter Hotel in Windsor (1962)... Marvin Gaye scores his first US No.1 single when 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' starts a five-week run at the top. It is Gaye's 15th solo hit and will also be also his first UK No.1 single in March 1969. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was previously recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles as well as Gladys Knight & the Pips (1968)... The Jackson Five make their US network television debut with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1969)... The Ringo Starr directed movie 'Born to Boogie' premieres in London. The film is based around a concert at Wembley Empire Pool, London, and stars Ringo, Marc Bolan and T. Rex ~ it was released on by the Beatles' Apple Films division (1972)... Bruce Springsteen appears at the Pinecrest Country Club in Shelton, CT. Only 200 tickets were sold for the show, and many of the audience walk out before the end (1973)... The Clash release London Calling (1979)... Yoko Ono calls on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gather outside St George's Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York's Central Park (1980)... After presenting this week's edition of 'Top Of The Pops', legendary DJ John Peel is surprised to find that he is this week's subject of the TV show 'This Is Your Life' (1996)... Billy Preston pleads guilty to insurance fraud in a Los Angeles court and agrees to testify against six other defendants who allegedly participated in acts of arson, theft and rigged car crashes for which a total of 18 fraudulent insurance claims were filed. Preston receives five years probation and one year in jail to run concurrently with a sentence he is already serving for violating probation on a prior conviction for cocaine possession (1998)... Sir Paul McCartney appears at the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the first time since 1963. The show is filmed for TV and also goes out live on the Internet (1999)... Ozzy & Kelly Osbourne go to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Changes', a remake of a track first sung by Ozzy on the Black Sabbath album Volume IV in 1972. It is the first father and daughter chart topper since Frank & Nancy Sinatra with 'Something Stupid' in 1967 (2003).