Today In Music 09-01-2018

Today Peter Van Dam Died...R.I.P. Peter

Born This Day In Music

This Day In Music

1937, Born on this day, John Gorman, singer, The Scaffold, (1968 Christmas UK No.1 single 'Lily The Pink'). 
 
1942, Born on this day in Doncaster, England, John McLaughlin, who formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra and has also worked with Carlos Santana, Stanley Clark and Jaco Pastorius. Prior to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, in the 1960s, he played with Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, the Graham Bond Organisation and Brian Auger. In 1969 he moved to New York to join Tony Williams' Lifetime. On March 25th of that year he jammed with Jimi Hendrix  at the Record Plant, recalling ‘we played from 2 until 8 in the morning. In 2010, Jeff Beck called McLaughlin ‘the best guitarist alive’. 
 
1946, Born on this day, Arthur Conley, US soul singer, (1967 US No.2 & UK No.7 single 'Sweet Soul Music). He died of cancer on 17th November 2003. 
 
1955, Born on this day, Clive Gregson, singer, songwriter, and leader of late 70's  Stiff Records band Any Trouble, one half of Gregson & Collister folk duo. 
 
1955, Born on this day, American session musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter and musical director, Brian Ray, best known for his work as a rhythm guitarist and bassist with  Paul McCartney. 
 
1956, Born on this day, Bernard Sumner, guitar, vocals, Warsaw,  Joy Division,  (1980 UK No.13 single 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'), New Order, (1983 UK No.9 single 'Blue Monday'), Electronic, (1991 UK No.8 single 'Get The Message'), 
 
1956, Born on this day, Nels Cline, guitarist, songwriter, Wilco, (2004 album 'A Ghost Is Born'). 
 
1958, Born on this day, Macel King, singer, Sweet Sensation, (1974 UK No.1 single 'Sad Sweet Dreamer'). 
 
1960, Born on this day, Michael Stipe, American singer, songwriter, musician,  R.E.M. The band was pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre. They scored the 1991 UK No.6 & US No.10 single 'Shiny Happy People' plus over 20 Top 40 UK singles, and the 1992 UK No.1 & US No.2 album Automatic For The People. 

1962, Born on this day, Martin Mcaloon, bass, Prefab Sprout, (1988 UK No.7 single 'The King Of Rock 'N' Roll'). 
 
1962, Born on this day, Robin Guthrie, guitar, keyboards, programming, Cocteau Twins, (1984 UK No.29 single 'Pearly- dewdrops' Drops'). 
 
1962, Born on this day, Till Lindemann poet, lead vocalist for the German rock band Rammstein. 
 
1965, Born on this day, Beth Gibbons, vocals, Portishead, (1995 UK No.13 single 'Glory Box'). 
 
1965, Born on this day, Cait O'Riordan, bass, The Pogues, (1987 UK No.8 single 'The Irish Rover'). 
 
1965, Born on this day, David Glasper, Breathe, (1988 US No.2 & UK No.4 single 'Hands To Heaven'). 
 
1967, Born on this day, Ben Darvill, harmonica, Crash Test Dummies, (1994 UK No.2 & US No.4 single 'MMM MMM MMM MMM'). 
 
1977, Born on this day, Timothy Wheeler, guitar, vocals, Ash, (1995 UK No.11 single 'Girl From Mars').

January 4th: On this Day
 
1954, Four days before his 20th birthday  Elvis Presley  made his second visit to the Memphis recording service and cut two songs onto a 10 acetate, 'Casual Love Affair 'and 'I'll Never Stand In Your Way'. Studio boss Sam Phillips asked Presley to leave his phone number. 
 
1962, Liverpool's Mersey Beat published its first popularity poll, with  The Beatles coming in first place and Gerry and the Pacemakers voted second. 
 
1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience  played the first of what would be over 240 gigs in this year when they appeared at the Bromel Club, Bromley. (Many of the concerts were two shows per night). 
 
1967,  The Doors released their self-titled debut album The Doors. The album features their breakthrough single 'Light My Fire' and the lengthy song 'The End' with its Oedipal spoken word section. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California over six days and unique packaging of the album included each band members bio. 
 
1968, The University of California, Los Angeles announced that students taking music degrees would have to study the music of  The Rolling Stones  saying they had made such an important contribution to modern music. 
 
1969, UK music weekly Disc and Music Echo reported that  The Beatles were to release five new albums. One would be their first ever live album plus four separate LP's, each one the choice of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. 
 
1970, Chauffeur Neil Boland was accidentally killed when The Who's drummer  Keith Moon  ran over him in his Bentley. Moon was trying to escape from a Gang of skinheads after a fight broke out at a pub in Hatfield, England. Boland got out to try to protect the car, but left it in gear. He fell under the car and it started moving with Moon at the wheel as he tried to escape the fight. The drummer had never passed his driving test. 
 
1970,  The Beatles (without  John Lennon)  re-record vocals and a new guitar solo on the  Paul McCartney song 'Let It Be' at Studio Two, EMI Studios, London. This session will be the final studio appearance for The Beatles, as a group. (The final date that all four of The Beatles were in the studio together is August 20, 1969). 
 
1974,  Bruce Springsteen  played the first of a three night run at Joes' Place in Cambridge Massachusetts. Supported by Peter Johnson & The Manic Depressives. On the ticket it stated: Because of the energy crisis all our outside lights except for one will be shut off. 
 
1975,  Elton John  started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of The Beatles  'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'. His third US No.1, the song featured  John Lennon  on guitar. 
 
1977,  The Sex Pistols  shocked passengers and airline staff at Heathrow Airport when they spat and vomited boarding a plane to Amsterdam. 
 
1986, Irish singer, songwriter and bassist Phil Lynott  of Thin Lizzy died of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. With Thin Lizzy he had the 1973 hit 'Whiskey in the Jar', (their version of the traditional Irish song) and hits with ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’, ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Waiting for an Alibi’. The groups 1978 album 'Live and Dangerous' spent 62 weeks on the UK chart. Lynott fronted several bands as a lead vocalist, including Skid Row alongside Gary Moore. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin Ireland in 2005. 
 
2001, Courtney Love filed a lawsuit against her alleged stalker claiming that Lesley Barber, the ex-wife of her current boyfriend Jim Barber, drove over her foot. This had forced her to forfeit her role in a forthcoming film and lost her the £200,000, ($340,000) fee that went with it. 
 
2001, Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London revealed that  Oasis singer Liam Gallagher had come third in 'The Most Hated Characters' list of exhibits, behind Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic. 
 
2001, US rapper Vanilla Ice spent the night in jail after allegedly ripping out some of his wife's hair. Ice (born Robert Van Winkle) told police he pulled out some of his wife's hair to prevent her from jumping out of their truck's window. He was released the following morning from Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale on $3,500 bail. 

2005, The owner of a recording studio where Eminem recorded his 'Slim Shady' LP was found shot dead. AJ Abdallah, who was 36, was discovered by a business colleague at the Detroit studio, it was thought he had been dead for at least two days. Police suggested that a robbery may also have taken place. Mr Abdallah had lived in a apartment above the studio on Eight Mile Road, the Detroit street which inspired the title of Eminem's 2002 film '8 Mile.' 
 
2006, The house where  Johnny Cash  lived for 35 years was bought by  Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb. The rustic house near Nashville, Tennessee went on the market in June 2005 with an asking price of $2.9m (£1.7m). Gibb said he planned to preserve the house to honour the Cash memory. Unfortunately Gibb's ownership of the house was short-lived. In April 2007, the house burned to the ground. Gibb was having the house renovated when a flammable spray sealer caused fire to break out during construction. 
 
2008, Beyonce won a long-running legal wrangle over claims her hit song 'Baby Boy' infringed the copyright of another artist's work. The appeals court in Houston, Texas upheld a 2006 decision which dismissed musician Jennifer Armour's claims that its lyrics were based on her work. Ms Armour claimed she had posted 'I Got A Little Bit Of Love For You' to Beyonce's manager and record company in early 2003. 
 
2008,  Britney Spears  was carried out of her home on a stretcher and taken into custody after police were called in a dispute involving her children. Police were called to Spears' home over a family custodial dispute that they tried to resolve, after nearly three hours, Spears handed over her children, two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James, to her ex-husband Kevin Federline. 
 
2009,  Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was voted the Greatest Voice In Rock by listeners of radio station Planet Rock. Plant beat Queen's  Freddie Mercury,   Free's Paul Rodgers and  Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to the top spot in the UK poll. 

New Year in Minsk 2016

1926, Born on this day, Sir George Martin, English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, audio engineer and musician. He worked as EMI records in-house record producer and became the so-called fifth Beatle. Martin produced all but one of  The Beatles albums giving him 30 No.1 hit singles in the UK and 23 No.1 hits in the US. He also worked with comedy acts The Goons and Beyond The Fringe. Martin received a Knighthood in 1996. He died on March 8 2016 aged 90. 
 
1943, Born on this day, Van Dyke Parks, US songwriter, producer. Worked with Brian Wilson on the 'Smile' album, played keyboards on The Byrds 'Eight Miles High', produced Ry Cooder, Randy Newman, Judy Collins. 
 
1945, Born on this day, Stephen Stills, guitar, vocals, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Manassas. 1969 UK No.17 single 'Marrakesh Express' & 1970 US No.1 album Deja Vu plus 1971 solo UK No.37 single 'Love The One Your With.' 
 
1946, Born on this day, John Paul Jones, bass, keyboards, producer with  Led Zeppelin who had the 1969 US No.4 single Whole Lotta Love. The bands fourth album released in 1971 featuring the rock classic  Stairway To Heaven, has sold over 37 million copies. As a session player in the 1960s he worked with  The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Donovan, Jeff Beck, Hermans Hermits, Lulu, Tom Jones. In recent years Jones has worked with R.E.M. on 1992 Automatic For The People album and is a member of Them Crooked Vultures. 

1964, Born on this day, Raymond McGinley, guitar & vocals, Teenage Fanclub, 1992 UK No.31 single 'What You Do To Me.' 
 
1975, Born on this day, Thomas Bangalter, French electronic musician with Daft Punk, 1997 UK No.5 single 'Around The World', remixed Gabrielle, Chemical Brothers. Scored the 2013 UK No.1 hit 'Get Lucky' featuring Pharrell Williams. 

1955,  Elvis Presley  appeared in Boonesville, Virginia. The 20 year-old singer was still a regional star, but by the end of 1956 he had become a national sensation, recording two albums, (which included  'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'), appeared on national television 11 times, played over 100 concerts and signed a seven year contract with Paramount Pictures. 

1957, Guy Mitchell was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Singing The Blues.' (Tommy Steele and Marty Robbins had also released versions and Steele would replace this version at No.1). Also a US No.1. 
 
1963, Cliff Richard was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his sixth UK No.1 'The Next Time / Bachelor Boy.' Both songs were taken from the film Summer Holiday. 
 
1964,  The Beatles were seen for the second time on US TV when a clip from the BBC's 'The Mersey Sound' showing the group playing 'She Loves You' was shown on The Jack Paar Show. The first US airing showing The Beatles was on Nov 18, 1963, on the NBC news program "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" (albeit pre-recorded) of The Beatles in concert. 
 
1967, Having received a US army draft notice, The Beach Boys, Carl Wilson refused to be sworn in, saying he was a conscientious objector. 
 
1969, Appearing live on The Lulu show on UK TV, The Jimi Hendrix Experience  were booked to perform two songs, Voodoo Child, (which was performed in full), then Hendrix stopped performing his new single 'Hey Joe' after a verse and chorus and instead launched into a version of the Cream song 'Sunshine Of Your Love' as a tribute to the band who had split a few days earlier. Hendrix then proceeded to continuing jamming, running over their allocated time slot on the live show, preventing the show's host Lulu from closing the show properly. 
 
1970, B J Thomas started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.' The song was featured in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. 
 
1970, Working on the Get Back sessions at Studio Two of EMI Studios, London, in what would prove to be The Beatles' final recording session, three Beatles (Paul, George, and Ringo) record 16 takes of the George Harrison song 'I Me Mine'. John Lennon was away in Denmark at the time. A decade later it became the title of  George Harrison's  auto-biography. 

1972, Two weeks of rehearsals for Pink Floyd's  The Dark Side of The Moon  tour began at the Bermondsey in London, England, (the venue was owned by  The Rolling Stones). 
 
1976, The Bay City Rollers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Saturday Night.' At the height of their US success, the Scottish group signed a deal to promote breakfast cereal. 

1976,  Bob Dylan's song, 'Hurricane', peaked at No.33 on the Billboard singles chart, helping to cause enough publicity to eventually get former boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter released from jail. The song promoted Carter's innocence and a movie about Carter's life, starring Denzel Washington, was released in 2000. 
 
1980, American rhythm and blues singer Amos Milburn died aged 52. Famous for his drinking songs including, 'Let Me Go Home, Whiskey' and 'One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer.' 
 
1981,  David Bowie made his final appearance as the Elephant Man at The Booth Theatre, Broadway in New York City. 
 
1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 
 
2000, Luciano Pavarotti agreed to pay the Italian authorities £1.6 million ($2.72 million) after losing an appeal against tax evasion charges. It was reported that the singer was worth £300 million ($510 million) at the time. 
 
2002, Zak Foley bassist with British group EMF died aged 31 of a drug overdose. EMF had the 1990 world wide hit single 'Unbelievable' which reached No.3 on the UK singles chart, and was a No.1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The name EMF is believed to be an abbreviation of Epsom Mad Funkers. 
 
2002, Liam and Noel Gallagher topped a poll of celebrities you would least like to live next to, getting 40% of the vote. Readers of Your Home magazine voted the brothers from  Oasis  as 'Neighbours From Hell'. 
 
2012, British musician Bob Weston died age 64. He had a brief role as guitarist and songwriter with Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s. He also recorded and performed with a number of other musicians, including Graham Bond, Long John Baldry, Murray Head, Sandy Denny and Danny Kirwan. 
 
2014, Phil Everly, one half of the Everly Brothers, died of complications from lung disease aged 74, in California. In their heyday between 1957 and 1962, the Everly Brothers had 19 Top 40 hits, including 'Bye Bye Love', 'Wake Up Little Susie' and 'All I Have to Do Is Dream' and influenced acts such as  The Beatles and The Beach Boys. The Everly Brothers had 35 Billboard Top-100 singles, 26 in the top 40. They hold the record for the most Top-100 singles by any duo. In the UK, they had 30 chart singles, 29 in the top 40, 13 top 10, and 4 at No. 1 between 1957 and 1984 
 
2017, Vinyl sales topped three million last year, the highest UK total in 25 years. More than 3.2 million records were sold in 2016, a rise of 53% on the previous year, according to the BPI, which represents the music industry.  David Bowie's Blackstar was the most popular album on vinyl, selling more than double the number of copies of 2015's biggest-seller,  Adele's  25. 

Queen Bohemian Rhapsody the story

1926, The first issue of The Melody Maker went on sale priced at 3d. The monthly magazine was for 'all who are interested in the production of popular music'. In the first issue, Dance Band news, a feature on Ukuleles and how to read music by sight. Advertisements in Melody Maker helped assemble the line-ups of a number of major bands, including: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Supertramp and The Stranglers. 
 
1954, Eddie Calvert started a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK singles with 'Oh, Mein Papa.' This was the first No.1 to be recorded at Abbey Road studios in London and stayed at the top of the charts for 9 weeks. 
 
1965,  Elvis Presley  went to No.1 on the US album chart with the soundtrack from 'Roustabout,' Presley's eighth No.1. 
 
1969, The entire shipment of  John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album 'Two Virgins' was seized by authorities in New Jersey due to the full frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover. The album was eventually wrapped in plain brown paper in record stores. 
 
1969,  Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los Angeles during the bands first North American tour. Support group was the Alice Cooper band. 

1969, Filming began at Twickenham studios in England of  The Beatles rehearsing for the 'Let It Be' album. The project ran into several problems including  George Harrison  walking out on the group on January 10th. 
 
1971, The  George Harrison  album 'All Things Must Pass' started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart, making Harrison the first solo Beatle to score a US No.1 album. The triple album included the hit singles 'My Sweet Lord' and 'What Is Life', as well as songs such as 'Isn't It a Pity' and the title track that were turned down by  The Beatles. 
 
1974, US country singer, actor and radio presenter Tex Ritter died of a heart attack when he was trying to bail a member of his band from a jail in Nashville. His song 'High Noon' won an Oscar for Best Song in 1952. 
 
1979,  Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious went on trial in New York accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen three months earlier, when he claimed to have awoken from a drugged stupor to find Spungen dead on the bathroom floor of their room in the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, New York. 
 
1980, US singer Larry Williams was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head in his Los Angeles, California home aged 45. Williams had the 1957 US No.5 & UK No. 21 single 'Short Fat Fannie.' Also known for 'Bony Moronie' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy.'  The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dr. Feelgood, Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Winter,  Little Richard, The Who, Ritchie Valens and Bill Haley & His Comets all covered his songs. 
 
1981, American singer David Lynch of The Platters died of cancer. (1959 UK & US No.1 single 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes'). 
 
1985, Rolling Stone  Ronnie Wood married his girlfriend Jo Woodin Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England. Guests included Keith Richard, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts,  Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and  Jeff Beck. The couple divorced in 2009. 
 
1989, Record Mirror published a chart of last years Top UK singles artists. No.1 was Kylie Minogue, No.2, Bros, No.3, Yazz, No.4 Tiffany, No.5, Phil Collins, No.6, Cliff Richard, No.7, Erasure, No.8, Pet Shop Boys, No.9, Belinda Carlisle, and No.10, Wet Wet Wet. 
 
1994,  Meat Loaf started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his sixth studio album Bat Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell. The LP, which featured the single 'I'd Do Anything for Love', also topped the charts in the US and Australia and has sold more than 14 million copies world-wide. 

1942, Born on this day, Joe McDonald, vocals, Country Joe and the Fish, 1968 US hit 'I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die.' 
 
1950, Born on this day, Morgan Fisher, keyboards,  Mott The Hoople,  1972 UK No.3 & US No.37 single 'All The Young Dudes', a song  David Bowie offered the band on hearing they were about to split up. 
 
1952, Born on this day. Andy Johns, producer and engineer who worked on classic albums by Led Zeppelin,  (Led Zeppelin II and all albums through to Physical Graffiti), the Rolling Stones,  (Sticky Fingers,   Exile On Main Street, Jimi Hendrix  (Axis: Bold as Love), Van Halen and many others. Johns, the younger brother of noted producer Glyn Johns died on April 7th 2013. 

1956, Born on this day, Diane Warren, US songwriter. Warren has written over 80 US Top 20 hits including;  Aerosmith, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing', LeAnn Rimes, 'How Do I Live', Toni Braxton, 'Un- Break My Heart', plus hits for Cher, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Rod Stewart and Ace Of Base. 
 
1956, Born on this day, Australian vocalist, guitarist, songwriter Martin Plaza from Mental As Anything best known for their 1985 hit 'Live It Up'. Plaza also had the 1986 No. 2 hit in Australia with his cover of the 1960s Unit 4+2 song 'Concrete and Clay'. 
 
1956, Born on this day, Andy Gill a founding member and guitarist for the English post-punk group Gang of Four. Their debut album, Entertainment!, was ranked as fifth greatest punk album of all time. 
 
1958, Born on this day, Joseph Saddler, (Grandmaster Flash), 1982 UK No.8 single 'The Message.' Major force in early Rap music, was given his nickname after his rapid hand movements on the record decks. 
 
1968, Born on this day, Rick J. Jordan (born Hendrik Stedler), German techno group Scooter who have sold over 14 million records and are considered the most successful single-record German act with 20 top ten hits. 2008 UK No.1 album 'Jumping All Over The World.' 
 
1972, Born on this day, Tom Barman, guitar, vocals with Belgium band, dEUS, (1996 UK Top 50 album 'Little Arithmetics'). 
 
1980, Born on this day, English guitarist Richie Faulkner. He joined Judas Priest in April 2010 replacing guitarist K. K. Downing. He also arranged music for actor Christopher Lee's heavy metal album Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, which was released on 27 May 2013, Lee's 91st birthday. 
 
1985, Born on this day, British songwriter, record producer and musician Shahid Khan, best known as Naughty Boy. Had the 2013 No.1 hit 'La La La', featuring Sam Smith and 'Lifted', a collaboration with Emeli Sandé. 

1953, American singer-songwriter and musician singer  Hank Williams died of a heart attack brought on by a lethal cocktail of pills and alcohol aged 29. Williams is regarded as one of the most important country music artists of all time. 35 of his singles (five released posthumously) were placed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, 11 of which ranked at No.1, including 'Cold, Cold Heart,' 'Hey, Good Lookin', 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive,' and 'Your Cheatin' Heart.' During his last years Williams's consumption of alcohol, morphine and painkillers severely compromised his professional life. 
 
1956, Bill Haley's  'Rock Around the Clock'  went to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time. The single is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m. 
 
1957, BBC Television aired its new rock & roll show 'Cool For Cats' for the first time. With a miniscule budget, the program was forced to rely on artists miming and the talents of a resident dance group (led by Douglas Squires). Ker Robertson, the first host, was succeeded after a few weeks by Kent Walton, later better known for his ITV wrestling commentaries 
 
1959,  Johnny Cash  played a free concert for the inmates of San Quentin Prison, California. One of the audience members was 19 year-old Merle Haggard, who was in the midst of a 15 year sentence (he served three years) for grand theft auto and armed robbery. 
 
1962,  The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in West Hampstead, London. A&R boss at Decca Dick Rowe turned them down in what is considered one of the biggest mistakes in music industry history, Decca decided to reject the band, selecting instead Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. 

1964, The first edition of the BBC TV show  Top Of The Pops was transmitted from an old church hall in Manchester, England. Acts miming to their latest releases included  The Rolling Stones, (I Wanna Be Your Man), The Dave Clark Five, (Glad All Over), The Hollies, (Stay), and The Swinging Blue Jeans, (Hippy Hippy Shake). The first song played was Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You'. Also featured on disc and film, The Beatles (I Want to Hold Your Hand), Freddie & the Dreamers, Cliff Richard and the Shadows and Gene Pitney. 
 
1966,  Simon and Garfunkel started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Sounds Of Silence', a No.13 hit in the UK. 
 
1967,  The Doors made their first live television appearance lip-synching their first single 'Break on Through' on Shebang, KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles. The single peaked No. 126 on the US chart mainly due to lack of airplay after censors objected to the drug use implied by the line "she gets high", which is repeated in the middle section of the song. 
 
1968, Billboard magazine reported that for the first time albums had outsold singles in the US with album sales reaching over 192 million units. 
 
1969, Marmalade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of  The Beatles song 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da', which features on  The White Album. 
 
1977, Genesis  played the first of three nights at the new-look Rainbow Theatre, London, tickets cost £2.50 ($4.25). The theatre had been completely renovated at a cost of £80,000 ($136,000). 
 
1977,  The Clash played the opening night at punk's first real venue, The Roxy Club in London. 
 
1982,  ABBA  made their final live appearance as a group when they played in Stockholm, Sweden. 

1984, Alexis Korner died of lung cancer aged 55. Know as "the Founding Father of British Blues", he was a major force behind the UK early 60's R&B scene. Formed Blues Incorporated; members at various times included Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Graham Bond and Charlie Watts. Had hits with CCS, including a version of Led Zeppelin's  'Whole Lotta Love' which was used as the theme for BBC's  Top Of The Pops for several years. He became a radio presenter in the Seventies. 
 
1989,  Nirvana signed a one-year recording contract with Sub Pop records. The Seattle based label began not as a record label but as a fanzine (called Subterranean Pop), in the early 80's, also signed Soundgarden and Mudhoney. 
 
1990, New American radio station WKRL in Florida played the Led Zeppelin track  'Stairway To Heaven' for 24 hours, as a prelude to an all Zeppelin format. 
 
1997, American singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt died age 52. His music has been covered by such notable and varied musicians as  Bob Dylan,  Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Cowboy Junkies, Andrew Bird, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song 'Pancho and Lefty', scoring a No.1 hit on the Billboard country music charts. 
 
2002,  Eric Clapton married 25-year old Melia McEnery the mother of his baby daughter at a secret ceremony at the 15th Century St Mary Magdalen Church in Ripley, Surrey, England. 
 
2005, In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including Bill Haley's  'Rock Around the Clock',  and 'Only You' by The Platters. 
 
2007,  Queen  beat  The Beatles to be crowned greatest British band of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in the UK. They pipped the Fab Four in a live contest, trouncing other finalists  The Rolling Stones,  Oasis and Take That. The bands were judged on song-writing, lyrics, live performances, originality and showmanship. More than 20,000 listeners voted by email, text and phone. 

2013, Patti Page, one of the most popular artists of the 1950s, died at the age of 85. She recorded four US No.1 hits, including 'Tennessee Waltz' and the novelty record '(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window'. Page recorded her first hit single, 'Confess' in 1947. Because of a strike, background singers were not available to provide harmony vocals for the song, so instead, Page decided to overdub her own, thus, Page became the first pop artist to overdub her vocals on a song.

1963, The Rolling Stones performed at Studio 51 in Soho, London, on the same bill as Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, who featured a young Rod Stewart. The Stones played a regular Sunday afternoon gig at the club from 4pm until 6.30pm and were billed as Rhythm and Blues with The Rolling Stones.

1965, The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Man, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appeared on tonight's episode of TV pop show 'Shindig!' The US series featured "British invasion" bands and performers throughout its run.

1966, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine appeared at the UFO presents Night Tripper at the Blarney Club, London, England.

1967, The Beatles scored their 15th US No.1 with 'Hello Goodbye', Gladys Knight and the Pips were at No.2 with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and The Monkees at No.3 with 'Daydream Believer'

1968, Led Zeppelin (who were advertised as Len Zefflin), appeared at Gonzaga University Gymnasium, Spokane on their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge.

1969, Peter Tork quit The Monkees buying himself out of his contract which left him broke. He went on to form a group called Release and played banjo on George Harrison's soundtrack to the film Wonderwall.

1995, American saxophonist and guitarist Clarence Satchell from The Ohio Players died aged 55. The band formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables and were later best known as a backing group for The Falcons. The Ohio Players scored the 1974 US No.1 single 'Fire' and had hits with ‘Skin Tight’, ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘Love Roller Coaster.’

1998, American rhythm and blues singer Johnny Moore who was lead singer for The Drifters on their 1960s hit 'Under The Boardwalk', died at the age of 64. Moore began as lead singer of the Cleveland based group the Hornets, before being discovered by the Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist in New York in 1955, at age 21. Moore also sang lead on the hits ‘Saturday Night At The Movies’, ‘Come On Over To My Place’ and ‘Up In The Streets Of Harlem’. 1999, George Harrison and his wife Olivia were attacked when an intruder broke into their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Olivia beat off the attacker with a poker and heavy lamp. Harrison who was stabbed in the chest was admitted to hospital and treated for a collapsed lung and various minor stab wounds. His wife, Olivia, was treated for cuts and bruises she had suffered in the struggle with the intruder. Police later arrested Michael Abram from Liverpool who had nursed an irrational obsession with The Beatles. 1999, In the Queen's Millennium Honours list, former Slade singer Noddy Holder was awarded an MBE and guitarist Mark Knopfler was awarded an OBE.

1956, Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboards Top 100 for week ending Dec 19th.

1962, During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at The Troubadour in London.

1964, The Liverpool Youth Employment Service announced that some school leavers were finding it difficult to get jobs because their 'Beatle' style haircuts and clothing were unacceptable to employers.

1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their debut on the UK TV show Top Of The Pops performing 'Hey Joe'.

1966, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’, recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects. The song's title is derived from the name of a street near John Lennon's house, in the band's hometown, Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of the city.

1967, British guitarist and singer Dave Mason quit Traffic after differences of musical opinion. Mason wrote 'Hole in My Shoe', a psychedelic pop song that became a hit in for Traffic in 1967.

1968, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Portland on their first North American tour opening for Vanilla Fudge. 1973, Jim Croce scored his second No.1 US single of the year when 'Time In A Bottle' went to the top of the charts. Croce was killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert on September 20th 1973. 1980, American singer, songwriter Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose. Hardin wrote the songs 'If I Were A Carpenter' (covered by Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash and June Carter, The Four Tops, Leon Russell, Small Faces, Robert Plant and Bob Seger,) and 'Reason To Believe', (covered by Rod Stewart). Hardin appeared at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. 1982, Sets of commemorative stamps in memory of Bob Marley were issued in Jamaica. 1984, Band Aid were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Do They Know It's Christmas? and Madonna was at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Like A Virgin.'