December 22nd

Musical birthdays today include Pink Floyd session saxophonist Dick Parry (80), Animals drummer Barry Jenkins (78), Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen (74), fusion jazz guitarist Frank Gambale (64), former Moloko multi-instrumentalist and producer Mark Brydon (62), ex-2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell (62), 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 55 today), Vanessa Paradis (50), and American Idol Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks (33). 

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 83 today... for Bee Gees twins Maurice & Barry Gibb, who would have been 73... 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 (82), soul singer Carla Thomas (79), former Heads Hands and Feet guitarist Albert Lee (79), San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (78), Nick Gilder (71), soul singer Betty Wright (69), World Fire Brigade lead singer Brett Scallions (51), and Alexa Goddard (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Werner von Trapp, born on this day in 1915... for Frank Zappa, who would have been 82 today... for Sky guitarist Kevin Peek and Beach Boy Carl Wilson, both of whom would have been 76... 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 (84), original Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Colomby (78), ex-Kiss drummer Peter Criss (77), Alan Parsons (74), former Easybeats lead singer Stevie Wright (74), Billy Bragg (65), Greek Cypriot pop singer Anna Vissi (65), ex-Stooges bassist Mike Watt (65), Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson (56), and JoJo (32). 

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 66 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 (78), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band guitarist John McEuen (77), ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain (75), instrumentalist & arranger Walter Murphy (70), former Kajagoogoo lead singer Chris 'Limahl' Hamill (64), Bad Books singer & guitarist Kevin Devine (43), producer & Dear Hunter lead singer Casey Crescenzo (39), and Ordinary Boys bassist Dan Logan (37). 

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 87... for Phil Ochs, who would have been 82... for Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, who would have been 81... for Ten Years After frontman Alvin Lee and Lovin' Spoonful lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky, both of whom would have been 87.. 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 Supreme 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 bluesman Lonnie Brooks (89), jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith (84), Big Brother & the Holding Company led guitarist Sam Andrew (81), Keith Richards (79), ex-Santana lead singer Alex Ligertwood (76). former BeBop Deluxe guitarist Bill Nelson (74), French chansonnier Laurent Voulzy (74), ex-Cars lead guitarist Elliot  Easton (69), Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker (64), former White Lion drummer Greg D'Angelo (59), Alejandro Sanz (54), rapper DMX (52), Fear Factor drummer Raymond Herrera (50), Christina Aguilera (42), and Billie Eilish (21).

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 83 today... for ex-Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo, who would have been 71... 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 (86), Art Neville (85), Paul Rodgers (73), Bad Brains drummer Earl Hudson (65), ex-R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills (64), Bananarama vocalist Sara Dallin (61), Wildhearts frontman Ginger (58), Supergrass guitarist Mick Quinn (53), Beautiful Small Machines lead singer Bree Sharp (47), Three Days Grace drummer Neil Sanderson (44), Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key (43), MGMT songwriter & keyboardist Benjamin Goldwasser (40), and Paramore guitarist Taylor York (33). 

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 84 today... for Temptations vocalist Eddie Kendricks, who would have been 83... for Paul Butterfield, who would have been 80... 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 classical pianist Menahem Pressler (99), Hollies guitarist & singer Tony Hicks (78),  ABBA member Benny Andersson (76), ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons (73), jazz guitarist Robben Ford (71), country singer Jeff Carson (59), R&B singer Lala Hathaway (54), former Boyz II Men bass vocalist Michael McCary (51), and Billy Talent lead singer Ben Kowalewicz (47). 

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, born in 1926... for jazz flautist Sam Most, born in 1930... for singer-songwriter Jason Molina, who would have been 49... 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).