Dec 31, Today's Rock History Report...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

1955, Based on sales from stores, radio and jukebox plays Billboard named 'Unchained Melody' by Les Baxter the number 1 US song of 1955.

1961, The Beach Boys made their live debut using their new name when they appeared at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, California.


1963, The Kinks made their live debut when they played at the Lotus House Restaurant, London.

1966, The Monkees started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with the Neil Diamond song 'I'm A Believer'. Also No.1 in the UK in 1967.

1966, Ray Charles appeared at the City Center Arena in Seattle Washington, tickets cost $4.50 on the door.

1967, American songwriter and producer Bert Berns died of heart failure aged 38. He wrote many classic songs including 'Twist And Shout', 'Hang On Sloopy', ‘Here Comes the Night’, ‘I Want Candy’ and 'Brown Eyed Girl'.

1968, Joe Cocker, Amen Corner, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Small Faces, Free and Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band all appeared at Alexandra Palace, London. Tickets 25 shillings, ($3.00).

1970, Paul McCartney filed a suit against the rest of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership.

1973, Australian band AC/DC made their live debut when they appeared at Chequers Bar in Sydney.

1973, Journey made their live debut at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.

1979, Blondie's gig at The Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland was broadcast live on BBC 2's 'Old Grey Whistle Test'.

1979, David Bowie performed an acoustic version of 'Space Oddity' on the UK TV 'Kenny Everett New Year's Show'.

1981, Tom Waits married Irish playwright Kathleen Brennan.

1982, Guitarist with The E Street Band, Miami Steve Van Zandt married Maureen Santora in New Jersey. Best man was Bruce Springsteen.

1982, Max's Kansas City in New York City closed down. The venue had been a launching pad for such artists as The New York Dolls, Bruce Springsteen and The Velvet Underground.

1984, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, crashed his Corvette Stingray, on the A57 outside Sheffield, Allen lost his left arm in the accident. Allen was on his way to a New Year's Eve party at his family's home when a Jaguar passed him. The driver had been egging Allen on and would not allow him to pass. In his rage to pass this driver, he did not see a turn up ahead and lost control of his car. He was thrown from the car, with his left arm severed due to the seatbelt not being properly fastened.

1985, Ricky Nelson was killed along with six others, when his charted light aircraft crashed in Texas. Nelson had played himself on his parent's US TV The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet.' (1958 US No.1 'Poor Little Fool', 1961 UK No.2 single 'Hello Mary Lou' plus over 30 US Top 40 hit singles).

1991, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all appeared on the same bill at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California.

1991, Ted Nugent donated 200 pounds of venison to a Salvation Army soup kitchen in Detroit with the message 'I kill it, you grill it'.

1996, Paul McCartney became a Sir after he was listed in the Queens New Year's Honours List.

2000, Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn. The couple separated in 2006.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1942, Andy Summers, The Police
1943, Henry John Deutschendorf, (John Denver), killed in a plane crash on October 12, 1997.
1947, Burton Cummings, The Guess Who
1948, Donna Summer,
1951, Tom Hamilton, Aerosmith
1951, Fermin Goytisolo, KC and the Sunshine Band
1963, Scott Ian, Anthrax

Dec 30, Today's Rock History Report...

1962, Ike & Tina Turner, The Ike-etts, Jimmy Thomas and Mary Brown all appeared at Cocoanut Grove, Sacrament, California.

1962, Singer Brenda Lee was hurt when she attempted to rescue her poodle, Cee Cee from her burning house. Cee Cee later died of smoke inhalation.

1965, The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Man, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appeared on tonight's UK TV pop show 'Shindig!'

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 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.

1972, Brownsville Station, Sha-Na-Na and Bruce Springsteen (who was the opening act), all appeared of the Ohio Theatre, Columbus, Ohio.

1978, Emerson Lake and Palmer announced their official break up.

1978, XTC made their live debut in the US when they played a show in Philadelphia.

1995, Clarence Satchell from The Ohio Players died aged 55. Scored the 1974 US No.1 single 'Fire' and had hits with ‘Skin Tight’, ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘Love Roller Coaster.’

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 the intruder who was from Liverpool and had an irrational obsession with the Beatles.

2001, Nickelback went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'How To Remind Me'.

2002, The funeral of former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer took place in London. Strummer had died of a suspected heart attack on 22nd Dec 2002 aged 50.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1928, Bo Diddley, died from heart failure in Archer, Florida aged 79 on June 2, 2008.
1934, Del Shannon, died on February 8, 1990.
1942, Mike Nesmith, The Monkees
1945, Davy Jones, The Monkees
1946, Patti Smith
1947, Jeff Lynne, Idle Race, The Move, Electric Light Orchestra,Traveling Wilburys
1959, Tracy Ullman

Dec 29, Today's Rock History Report...

1956, Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboards Top 100.

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

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.

1966, Pink Floyd appeared at The Marquee, Wardour Street, London, England.

1967, Guitarist and singer Dave Mason quit Traffic after differences of musical opinion.

1967, The Doors appeared at The Family Dog, Denver, Colorado.

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.

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.'

1991, Nirvana appeared at the ASU Activity Center, Tempel, Arizona.

1999, Three ferrets named Beckham, Posh Spice and Baby Spice were used to lay power cables for a rock concert being held in Greenwich, London, England on New Years Eve. The crew were not allowed to dig up the turf at the Royal Park so they tried long rods, but they could not push the cables through the tiny tunnels, which frequently bend and dog-leg. The ferrets were eased into tiny nylon harnesses with wires which where then attached to a rope and enticed to the end of the ducts by a slab of smelly meat. The animals ran into the series of ducts which were under the stage, leading the cables with them. The New Years Eve concert featured Simply Red, Eurythmics and Bryan Ferry.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1942, Ray Thomas, The Moody Blues
1943, Rick Danko, The Band, died December 10, 1999
1946, Marianne Faithfull
1947, Cozy Powell, Whitesnake, ELP, killed in a car crash in England on April 5, 1998.
1955, Neil Giraldo, Pat Benatar Band
1961, Jim Reid, The Jesus and Mary Chain
1966, Bryan Holland, The Offspring

Dec 28, Today's Rock History Report...

1961, Danny Williams was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Moon River', the Oscar-winning song was from the film Breakfast At Tiffany's. The Tokens were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'

1966, Ike & Tina Turner appeared at the El Cortez Hotel, San Diego, California.

1968, The Beatles went to No.1 on the US album chart with the 'White Album', the group's 12th US No.1 album.

1968, The three day Miami Pop festival took place, the first major rock festival held on the East Coast of the US, with Chuck Berry, The McCoys, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, The Turtles, The Box Tops, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Pacific Gas and Electric, Procol Harum, Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly and The Grateful Dead.

1968, Vanilla Fudge appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada supported by Led Zeppelin on their first North American tour.

1968, Pink Floyd appeared at the two day festival Flight To Lowlands Paradise II, Margriethal-Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands, (replacing Jimi Hendrix). Other acts appearing included Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, The Pretty Things and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

1972, David Bowie appeared at The Hardrock, Stretford, Manchester, England on his Ziggy Stardust tour.

1978, Rolling Stone magazine voted 'Some Girls' by The Rolling Stones 'Album of the Year.'

1983, Having made two successful dives below a friend’s yacht to find items he’d drunkenly thrown off his own boat three years before, Beach Boy Dennis Wilson took one last dive into the Pacific and never returned from the boat moored in Marina Del Rey, California. With the help of President Reagan he was given a burial at sea, normally reserved for Navel personnel. Dennis was the only genuine surfer in The Beach Boys.

1988, Nirvana appeared at the Hollywood Underground, Seattle, Washington.

1991, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam all appeared at Del Mar O'brien Pavilion, San Diego, California.

2005, Pink Floyd were voted the greatest rock stars ever in a survey of 58,000 listeners from UK radio station Planet Rock. Led Zeppelin were voted into second place, 3rd was The Rolling Stones, 4th The Who, 5th, AC/DC, 6th, U2, 7th, Guns N’ Roses, 8th, Nirvana, 9th, Bon Jovi and in 10th place Jimi Hendrix. Listeners also named the 1970s as the golden age of rock, followed by the 1960’s.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1915, Roebuck 'pop' Staples, The Staple Singers, died December 19, 2000
1938, Charles Neville, The Neville Brothers
1946, Edgar Winter
1950, Alex Chilton, The Box Tops, died in New Orleans March 17, 2010.

Dec 27, Today's Rock History Report...

1960, The Beatles appeared at Litherland Town Hall Ballroom in Liverpool. Added to the bill at the last minute, The Beatles were not advertised to appear, so banners had been pasted onto advertising posters, saying "Direct From Hamburg, The Beatles!" Since The Beatles were playing in an area they'd only played in once before, most of the audience assumes they were a German group.

1963, The music critics from the UK newspaper The Times, named John Lennon and Paul McCartney as The Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two days later, the Sunday Times' music critic Richard Buckle proclaims the same two songwriters "the greatest composers since Beethoven."

1964, The Who appeared at the Ealing Club, Ealing Broadway, London, England.

1967, The Doors appeared on the Jonathon Winters Show CBS TV show from Los Angeles, California.

1969, Led Zeppelin II was at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over six million copies in the US.

1969, Diana Ross and the Supremes went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Someday We'll Be Together', the group's 12th US No.1.

1969, Miles Davis was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents.

1975, Queen started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK chart with 'A Night At The Opera' the group's first No.1 album.

1975, The Faces split became official. Rod Stewart had severed all connections with the group to work as a solo artist, Ron Wood was on permanent loan to the Stones, Ronnie Lane went on to form Slim Chance and drummer Kenny Jones joined The Who.

1976, Blues guitarist Freddie King died of heart trouble and ulcers aged 42. Eric Clapton covered his 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman' on his Layla album. Major influence on British and American blues-rock musicians such as Jimmy Vaughan, Ronnie Earl, Peter Green and Eric Clapton.

1980, John and Yoko's 'Double Fantasy' album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. 'Just Like Starting Over' started a five-week stay at No.1 on the singles chart.

1981, American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader Hoagy Carmichael died aged 82. Composer of 'Georgia On My Mind', (covered by many acts including Ray Charles), 'Star Dust' and 'Lazy River'.

1983, The Police played the first of four sold-out nights at Wembley Arena in London, England, on their Synchronicity world tour.

1985, Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon married model Yasmin Parvanah.

2008, Thieves broke into a house belonging to Allman Brothers Band singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman in Georgia and stole a coin collection, knives and unreleased concert recordings. Two men where charged with the burglary two days later.

2008, Singer, songwriter, guitarist, Delaney Bramlett died in Los Angeles from complications after gall bladder surgery. Was a member of Delaney, Bonnie & Friends and worked with George Harrison, The Everly Brothers, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, J.J. Cale, and Eric Clapton.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1931, Scotty Moore, guitarist for Elvis Presley
1941, Les Maguire, Gerry And The Pacemakers
1941, Mike Pinder, The Moody Blues
1943, Pete Quaife, The Kinks
1944, Mike Jones, Foreigner
1948, Larry Byrom, Steppenwolf
1952, David Knopfler, Dire Straits
1961, Youth, Killing Joke
1972, Matt Slocum, Sixpence None The Richer

Dec 26, Today's Rock History Report...

1963, Capitol Records, the EMI-affiliated company which rejected the US rights to every Beatles record that they were offered until then, finally released 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' backed with 'I Saw Her Standing There'. The song was currently topping the UK chart with 'This Boy' on the flip side. Within five weeks, the record would rise to number one in the US, where it would stay for seven weeks. The song was recorded the previous October and the hit version was take number 17.

1964, The Beatles started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Feel Fine'. It was the group's 6th No.1 of the year in which they had 30 entries on the chart, giving them a total of 18 weeks at the top of the charts.

1964, The Rolling Stones placed an advertisement in the music paper New Musical Express, wishing starving hairdressers and their families a Happy Christmas.

1966, John Lennon appeared as a men's room attendant in Peter Cook's and Dudley Moore's BBC TV show 'Not only... But also'

1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played an afternoon show at The Uppercut Club, London. Hendrix also wrote the lyrics to Purple Haze in the dressing room on the same day.

1967, BBC Television broadcast The Beatles' movie ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in black and white. The next day, the British press and the viewing public pronounce the film an utter disaster. The negative reaction was so strong that a US television deal for broadcasting the movie was cancelled.

1968, Led Zeppelin started their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge and Spirit at Denver Auditorium, Colorado, tickets for this Sunday night gig cost $5.

1970, George Harrison started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Sweet Lord', making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

1973, Paul and Linda McCartney presented the UK TV BBC's 'Disney Time'.

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded 'God Save The Queen' at Wessex Studios London, England.

1979, The Grateful Dead played the first of five nights at the Oakland Auditorium, Arena, Oakland, California.

1979, The first night of a series of concerts were held at The Hammersmith Odeon in London for the People of Kampuchea, featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists. The events which were organised by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim were aimed to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia.

1979, Pink Floyd’s The Wall was at No.1 on the US album chart.

1981, AC/DC started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'For Those About To Rock We Salute You'.

1999, American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter Curtis Mayfield died aged 57. He was a member of The Impressions, (1965 US No.7 single 'Lilies Of The Field') and solo, (1971 UK No.12 single 'Move On Up', 1972 US No.4 single 'Freddie's Dead, Theme From Superfly').

2007, Amy Winehouse's second album ‘Back to Black’ was named as the biggest-selling album of the year. Released at the end of 2006 the album had now sold more than 1.5m copies in the UK, achieving five platinum sales awards, Winehouse was also nominated for six Grammys including song of the year.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1935, Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, The Four Tops
1955, Lars Ulrich, Metallica
1971, Jared Joseph Leto, 30 Seconds to Mars
1979, Chris Daughtry

Dec 25, Today's Rock History Report...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

1954, Bing Crosby's ‘White Christmas’ entered the Billboard Pop chart for the eleventh time. Bing's rendition has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles. It was the largest selling single in music history until it was surpassed by Elton John's ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’.

1958, the first day of a 10 day residency in Alan Freeds Christmas rock n' roll spectacular in New York with Chuck Berry, Frankie Avalon, Dion, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers.

1964, Beatles fans attacked George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd as they arrived at London's Hammersmith Odeon for that night's Beatles concert.

1964, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder and The Marvelettes all appeared at The Fox Theatre, Brooklyn, New York.


1965, The Beatles 6th album 'Rubber Soul' started a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK chart. It spent a total of 42 week's on the UK chart and was also a No.1 in the US.

1968, Led Zeppelin arrived in the United States for the very first time in preparation of their debut North American tour. The group were paid an average of $1,500 for each show.

1976, The Eagles started a eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Hotel California.'

1981, Michael Jackson phoned Paul McCartney and suggested they write and record together, the first result being ‘The Girl Is Mine’. The song was a US No.2 & UK No.8 in 1982.

1982, David Bowie had a No.3 UK hit with a duet with Bing Crosby, 'Peace On Earth - Little Drummer Boy.'

1995, American singer, actor and TV host Dean Martin died. Had the 1956 UK & US No.1 single 'Memories Are Made Of This' plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles including ‘That's Amore‘, ‘Everybody Loves Somebody‘, ‘Mambo Italiano‘. In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show.

1998, Bryan MacLean, guitarist with Love, died of a heart attack aged 62 while having Christmas dinner with a young fan who was researching a book about the band. Love had the 1966 US No.33 single '7 And 7 Is', and the 1968 album 'Forever Changes'.

2006, James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul’, died at the age of 73 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Brown went to his dentist in Atlanta the previous day who told him something was wrong, and sent him to a doctor immediately. His hits included ‘Papa's Got a Brand New Bag‘, ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)‘, and ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1‘. Brown was married four times, at the age of 16, was arrested for theft and served 3 years in prison. In 1988, Brown was arrested following a high-speed car chase on along the Georgia-South Carolina state border. He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to six years in prison.

2008, American actress, singer, and cabaret star Eartha Kitt died from colon cancer at her Weston, Connecticut home at the age of 81. Best known for her 1953 Christmas song ‘Santa Baby.‘

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1937, O'Kelly Isley, The Isley Brothers, died March 31, 1986
1940, Phil Spector
1940, Pete Brown
1944, Henry Vestine, Canned Heat, died October 20, 1997
1945, Noel Redding, Jimi Hendrix Experience, died May 11, 2003
1946, Jimmy Buffett
1948, Barbara Mandrell
1954, Annie Lennox
1954, Robin Campbell, UB40
1957, Shane MacGowan, The Pogues
1971, Dido
1972, Josh Freese, Nine Inch Nails

Dec 24, Today's Rock History Report...

1965, The Beatles had the number one album in the US for the third Christmas in a row. 'Rubber Soul' sat atop the LP chart in '65, following 'Beatles For Sale' in 1964 and 'With The Beatles' in 1963. The Fab Four would repeat this feat again in 1968 with 'The Beatles' (The White Album) and again in 1969, with 'Abbey Road'.

1967, The Bee Gees performed their Christmas special 'live' from Liverpool Cathedral, England which was broadcast on UK TV.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Theatre, London, England giving a special Christmas Eve concert.

1976, 'Hotel California', The Eagles' sixth album, spent the first of eight non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard chart. The band's first LP with Joe Walsh and last with bassist Randy Meisner which has now sold over 16 million copies.

1977, The Sex Pistols played their last ever UK gig, (until 1996), before splitting, at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield. It was a charity performance before an audience of mainly children.

1983, The Police appeared at The Brighton Centre, Brighton, England on their Synchronicity Tour.

1988, Poison started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn.'

1988, Nirvana started recording their first album 'Bleach' using a $600 loan from an old school friend.

1994, Pearl Jam went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Vitalogy'.

1999, Zeke Carey of The Flamingos died. Had the 1959 US No.11 single 'I Only Have Eyes For You', (which was also a 1975 UK No.1 hit for Art Garfunkel).

2000, Four Seasons bassist Nick Massi died of cancer. They scored the 1976 UK & US No.1 single 'December 1963, Oh What A Night', as well as hits with ‘Sherry,’ and ‘Rag Doll.’

2009, Larry Knechtel, the keyboard player for the Soft-Rock group Bread, died following a heart attack at the age of 69. Knechtel earned a Grammy award for his arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and also performed with Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr., The Dixie Chicks and Elvis Costello.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...

1945, Lemmy, Hawkwind, Motorhead
1946, Jan Akkerman, Focus
1968, Doyle Bramhall II, Smokestack, Eric Clapton Band, Roger Waters
1971, Ricky Martin
1975, Joe Washbourne, Toploader

Dec 23, Today's Rock History Report...

1959, Chuck Berry was arrested after taking 14 year old Janice Norine (who unbeknown to Berry was working as a prostitute), across a state line. He was sentenced to 5 years jail but after racist comments by the judge Berry was freed.

1962, during his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at the King and Queen pub in London’s West End, the singer songwriter’s third UK gig.

1962, The Beatles appeared at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany.

1964, Pirate station 'Radio London', started broadcasting from the former US Minesweeper 'Mv Galaxy'.

1964, During a US tour Beach Boy Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. Wilson left the band to concentrate on writing and producing. Glen Campbell replaced Wilson for the bands live shows.

1972, Former Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight arrived during a concert by the band with a court order to seize $1m in money or assets. Police inform the ex manager that he couldn't take anything until after the show.

1977, Cat Stevens formally changed his name to Yusef Islam.

1984, Howard Jones played the first of three sold out shows at London's Hammersmith Odeon, with support band Strawberry Switchblade.

1989, Phil Collins started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Another Day In Paradise', his 7th US solo No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.

1996, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx married TV's 'Baywatch' star Donna Deruico.

1999, George Harrison's home in Maui was broken into by Cristin Keleher, who cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from the fridge, started some laundry and phoned her mother in New Jersey. Keleher was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.

2005, Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered £5,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.

2006, It was reported that U2 singer Bono was to be given an honorary knighthood in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and humanitarian work.

2008, Clint Ballard Jr. died. He wrote ‘Game Of Love’ a hit for Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders', and Linda Ronstadt's, ‘You're No Good’. His songs have been recorded by The Hollies, Frankie Avalon, Ricky Nelson, The Zombies and Jan And Dean.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1935, Esther Phillips, died on August 7, 1984
1940, Jorma Kaukonen, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna
1941, Ron Bushy, Iron Butterfly
1943, Derek Smalls, Spinal Tap
1949, Ariel Bender, Mott The Hoople
1958, Dave Murray, Iron Maiden
1964,  Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam

Dec 22, Today's Rock History Report...

1962, The Tornadoes started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Telstar'. Produced and written by Joe Meek, it was the first major hit from a UK act on the American chart. Also a No.1 in the UK.

1962, During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at the Singers Club in London, the singer songwriter's second UK gig.

1963, The Dave Clark Five scored their only US No.1 single with 'Over And Over'.

1963, The Beatles appeared at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. This appearance was the second concert-only preview of their ‘The Beatles' Christmas Show’, which would open in London in two days.

1967, 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 appeared at The Olympia, London at an all night festival 'Christmas On Earth Continued'. The DJ was John Peel plus the venue featured a paddling pool, light shows and a movie theatre, tickets £1.

1973, Elton John started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', it also had a eight week run at No.1 on the US chart.

1979, The Pretenders appeared at the Marquee Club, London, tickets £1.25.

1981, At a rock & roll memorabilia auction in London, a stage suit worn by John Lennon sold for £2,300, a letter from Paul McCartney to a fan sold for £2,200 and a Perspex sculpture of John & Yoko was bought by singer Kate Bush for £4,200.

1987, Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue was pronounced 'dead on arrival' in an ambulance when his heart stopped beating for two minutes. Sixx was given two shots of adrenaline in his chest to revive him. Fellow band members were prematurely informed of his death.

2002, Former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer (John Graham Mellor) died of a suspected heart attack aged 50. Scored the 1979 UK No. 11 single 'London Calling', 1982 US No. 8 single 'Rock The Casbah, 1991 UK No.1 single 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go', first released 1982, plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles. The Clash's London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1944, Barry Jenkins, The Animals
1946, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick

1949, Robin and Maurice Gibb, The Bee Gees, Robin was the eldest by 1 hour, Maurice died January 12, 2003 of a heart attack.

Dec 21, Today's Rock History Report...

1966, The Who played at The Uppercut, London, England.

1967, The Beatles held a party at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London to preview their new movie ‘Magical Mystery Tour’.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Speakeasy Club, London, England.

1969, The Supremes made their last TV appearance together with Diana Ross on 'The Ed Sullivan show', singing their last No.1 'Someday We'll Be Together'.

1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Canned Heat appeared at the Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

1970, A stretch limousine carrying Elvis Presley pulled up outside the White House in Washington, D.C. The driver handed over a letter from Elvis addressed to President Nixon requesting a meeting to discuss how the King of Rock and Roll could help Nixon fight drugs. The President agreed to give Presley a Narcotics Bureau badge - but only after learning that the chief of the narcotics bureau had 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 remained secret for more than a year, until the Washington Post broke the story on January 27th, 1972.

1977, During a North American tour Queen appeared at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California.

1985, Heart went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self- titled album.

1985, Bruce Springsteen's album, ‘Born in the USA’ passed Michael Jackson's ‘Thriller’ to become the second longest-lasting LP on the Billboard US Top 10. It stayed there for 79 weeks. Only ‘The Sound of Music’ with Julie Andrews lasted longer at 109 weeks.

1991, 'Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives' by Queen started a five week run at No.1 in the UK, the 1975 word-wide hit had been re-released following the death of Freddie Mercury.

1996, The charity record Knockin' on Heaven's Door' went to No.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 Dunblane massacre. The cover version of the song included brothers and sisters of the victims singing the chorus and Mark Knopfler on guitar.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1940, Frank Zappa, died of prostrate cancer on December 4, 1993.
1943, Albert Lee
1946, Carl Wilson, The Beach Boys, died February 6, 1998 after a long battle with lung cancer.

Dec 20, Today's Rock History Report...

1958, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison appeared as The Quarry Men at the wedding reception of George's older brother, Harry. The event was held at the Harrison family home at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool.

1962, The Osmonds appeared for the first time on the NBS-TV Andy Williams show. The brothers performed 'I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas'.

1967, Folk singer Joan Baez was sentenced to 45 days in prison after being arrested during an anti-war demonstration.

1968, Glen Campbell went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Wichita Lineman'.

1968, The Beatles sixth Christmas record "The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record", was sent to fan club members in the UK and the US. It included the song ‘Nowhere Man’ sung by Tiny Tim.

1969, Peter Paul and Mary went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Leavin' On A Jet Plane'.

1969, The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their 10th release 'Let It Bleed', featuring 'Midnight Rambler', and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'

1973, American singer Bobby Darin died aged 37. One of the first teen idols, he had the 1959 No.1 with 'Dream Lover' plus 20 other US Top 40 hits during the 60's including ‘Mack the Knife’, (Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960). Darin traveled with Robert Kennedy and worked on the latter's 1968 presidential campaign. He was with Kennedy the day he traveled to Los Angeles on June 4, 1968 for the California Primary. Darin was at the Ambassador Hotel later that night when Kennedy was assassinated.

1974, Former James Gang guitarist Joe Walsh officially replaced Bernie Leadon in The Eagles.

1980, Twelve days after John Lennon was shot dead in New York City, (Just Like) Starting Over gave the former Beatle his first ever UK solo No.1 single. Taken from his Double Fantasy album.

1992, American blues singer and guitarist, Albert King died from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded dozens of influential songs, such as 'Crosscut Saw' and 'As The Years Go Passing By', and the 1967 album, 'Born Under a Bad Sign.'

1999, Canadian Country singer Hank Snow died. 'The Singing Ranger' released over 100 albums and scored more than seventy singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a new singer by the name of Elvis Presley to appear at the Grand Ole Opry.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1944, Bobby Colomby, Blood Sweat & Tears
1947, Peter Criss, Kiss
1948, Alan Parsons
1956, Guy Babylon, Elton John Band, died Sept 2, 2009
1957, Anita Ward
1957, Michael Watt, fIREHOSE, Stooges, Porno For Pyros
1966, Chris Robinson, The Black Crowes

Dec 19, Today's Rock History Report...

1957, Elvis Presley had his draft notice served on him for the US Army. He went on to join the 32nd Tank Battalion third Armor Corps based in Germany.

1964, The Beatles fourth album 'Beatles For Sale' started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK album charts.

1967, Buffalo Springfield appeared at the Community Concourse, San Diego, California.

1969, The Beatles' seventh Christmas record, "The Beatles' Seventh Christmas Record" was released to members of their fan club in the UK and the US.

1970, Elton John's first US hit, ‘Your Song’ entered the Billboard Hot 100, where it went on to reach number eight. The Hollies had been offered the song and Three Dog Night had already recorded a version which was included on their ‘It Ain't Easy’ album.

1978, During a North American tour Queen appeared at the Forum, Inglewood, California.

1979, Iron Maiden appeared at the Music Machine, London, England.

1993, Michael Clarke drummer with The Byrds died of liver failure aged 47. Also worked with the Flying Burrito Brothers and Jerry Jeff Walker. Before his death Clarke had expressed a wish of alerting children to the dangers of alcoholism. Following his wishes, Clarke's girlfriend Susan Paul started a foundation in Clarke's name, called the Campaign for Alcohol-free Kids.

2000, 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck died of liver failure aged 42. Best know for ‘Hey Jack Kerouac’, ‘What's The Matter Here’ and 'Candy Everybody Wants'.

2006, Two giant eyeballs donated by Pink Floyd raised £16,500 for the homeless charity Crisis. The 6ft-high props, made to promote the Pulse DVD, were on the auction site eBay for a week and attracted 46 bids. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, a vice-president of Crisis, said extra help was needed in the winter months.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1918, Professor Longhair, died Jan 30, 1980
1941, Maurice White, Earth Wind and Fire
1944, Alvin Lee, Ten Years After
1944, Zal Yanovsky, The Lovin Spoonful, died of a heart attack on December 13, 2002
1949, John McEuen, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1958, Chris Hamill, Kajagoogoo

Dec 18, Today's Rock History Report...

1961, The Tokens started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'; it reached No.11 in the UK. REM included a live version of the song on the 1993 'Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight' single.

1962, On their fifth visit to West Germany The Beatles played the first night of a two-week engagement at the Star-Club, Hamburg. A 13 night run, playing 3 hours each night. The final night's performance was recorded and became known as ‘The Star-Club Tapes’, released in 1977 against the wishes of the ex-Beatles themselves.

1970, Pink Floyd appeared at The Town Hall, Birmingham, England, tickets 60p.

1971, Jerry Lee Lewis and his wife Myra who he married when she was 13 divorced, as he prepared to marry 29-year old Karen Elizabeth Gunn Pate.

1971, Sly and the Family Stone went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'There's A Riot Going On'.

1972, Bob Dylan starting filming his role in the film 'Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.'

1982, Hall and Oates started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Maneater', the duo's 5th US No.1 and biggest hit in the UK making No.6.

1983, American guitarist Jimmy Nolan, died of a heart attack in Atlanta, Georgia, aged 47. Known for his distinctive ‘chicken scratch’ lead guitar playing, he worked with James Brown from 1965 until his death.

1983, Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards married 27-year old Patti Hansen on his 40th birthday at a ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Mick Jagger was the best man.

2003, James Brown and country music star Loretta Lynn were honoured for their contributions to US culture. The pair were invited to a gala attended by President George Bush at the Kennedy Arts Centre in Washington.

2004, A guitar played by George Harrison and John Lennon sold for £294,000 ($570,000) at auction in New York. The Gibson SG guitar was used by Harrison from 1966 to 1969, including the recording of Revolver, and by Lennon during White Album sessions. Other items sold in the Christie's auction included a letter by Kurt Cobain, which fetched £10,000 ($19,400), and a school book report by Britney Spears (£1,000).

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1938, Chas Chandler, The Animals, died July 17, 1996
1941, Sam Andrews, Janis Joplin Band 
1943, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones
1953, Elliot Easton, The Cars
1958, Geordie, Killing Joke
1980, Christina Aguilera

Dec 17, Today's Rock History Report...

1960, Returning from Hamburg, The Beatles appeared at the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. Chas Newby joined The Beatles on bass guitar (to replace Stuart Sutcliffe, who had remained in Hamburg), a position he would hold for only two weeks and four performances. When Newby bowed out to return to college, Paul McCartney became The Beatles' bass player.

1962, Bob Dylan arrived in England for the first time; he played his first UK date the following night at the Troubadour Club in London.

1963, James Carroll at WWDC in Washington, DC, became the first disc jockey to broadcast a Beatles record on American radio. Carroll played 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', which he had obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who brought the single back from the UK. Due to listener demand, the song was played daily, every hour. Since it hadn't been released yet in the States, Capitol Records initially considered court action, but instead released the single earlier than planned.

1968, The Who played their Xmas party at the Marquee Club, London. Also on the bill was a new group called Yes. Members 15 shillings, ($1.80) or £1 ($2.40) on the night. Other acts appearing at the club this month included Joe Cocker, Free and Led Zeppelin.

1973, Slade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Merry Xmas Everybody' their sixth chart topper. The song has re-entered the UK charts on eight other occasions.

1975, Aerosmith and Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1977, Deputising for The Sex Pistols on NBC- TVs 'Saturday Night Live', Elvis Costello stops his performance of 'Less Than Zero', saying ' there's no reason to do this', and launches into 'Radio Radio' which he'd been told not to perform.

1977, George Harrison played an unannounced live set for the regulars at his local pub in Henley-On-Thames.

1982, American Delta blues musician and songwriter Big Joe Williams died in Macon, Mississippi aged 79. Wrote 'Baby Please Don't Go', a 1965 UK Top 10 for Them, (featuring Van Morrison).

1982, Karen Carpenter made her last live appearance with The Carpenters when she performed in Sherman, California.

1995, A statue of the late Frank Zappa was unveiled in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic Of Lithuania. It had been organised by Zappa fan club President Saulius Pauksty.

1997, David Bowie launched his BowieNet on the Internet.

2004, Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley agreed to sell 85% of his estate to businessman Robert Sillerman in a deal worth $100m. Sillerman would run Presley's Memphis home Graceland, and own Elvis' name and the rights to all revenue from his music and films. In the deal Lisa Marie would retain possession of Graceland and many of her father's ‘personal effects.’

2005, U2 had the top-grossing tour of 2005, according to an end-of-year chart compiled by US magazine Billboard. More than three million people watched the band's sell-out 90-date Vertigo tour which grossed $260m (£146.6m). The Eagles, took $117m (£66m) from 77 shows and Neil Diamond grossed more than $71m (£40m). Kenny Chesney was fourth with $63m (£35.5m), Paul McCartney $60m (£33.8m), Rod Stewart with $49m (£27m), Elton John with $45.5m (£25.6m), Dave Matthews Band with $45m (£25.3m), Jimmy Buffett with $41m (£23m) and Green Day with $36.5m (£20.5m).

2006, English saxophonist Denis Payton died. Member of Dave Clark Five who had the 1964 UK No.1 single 'Glad All Over', 1965 US No.1 single 'Over And Over', plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles.

2010, Captain Beefheart died aged 69 from complications from multiple sclerosis.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1937, Art Neville, The Neville Brothers
1939, Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations, died October 5, 1992
1942, Paul Butterfield, died May 4, 1987
1948, Jim Bonfanti, The Young Rascals, The Raspberries
1949, Paul Rodgers, Free, Bad Company, The Firm
1950, Carlton Barrett, The Wailers, was shot dead outside his home on April 17, 1987
1958, Mike Mills, R.E.M. 
1962, Sarah Dallen, Bananarama
1969, Micky Quinn, Supergrass

Dec 16, Today's Rock History Report...

1965, Released as a double A side The Beatles 'Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out', became their ninth UK No.1 and their third Christmas chart topper in a row. The single was a US No.1 in January 1966.

1966, The first Jimi Hendrix Experience single 'Hey Joe', was released in the UK on Polydor records, the track had been rejected by the Decca label. It went on to be a No.6 hit in the UK, but failed to chart in America.

1967, The Rolling Stones announced that Marianne Faithfull was the first signing to their 'Mother Earth' label.

1970, Five singles and five albums by Credence Clearwater Revival were certified gold in the US. The singles were: ‘Down on the Corner’, ‘Lookin out My Back Door’, ‘Travelin' Band’, ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and ‘Up around the Bend’. The LPs were ‘Cosmo's Factory’, ‘Willy and the Poor Boys’, ‘Green River’, ‘Bayou Country’ and ‘Credence Clearwater Revival’.

1971, Frank Zappa's '200 Motels' film opened at London's Piccadilly Classic Cinema.

1972, Billy Paul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Me and Mrs Jones.'

1974, Guitarist Mick Taylor announced he was leaving The Rolling Stones, saying he felt that now was the time to move on and do something new.

1983, Judas Priest played the first of two sold out nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

1983, The Who announced that they were splitting up.

1988, American soul and disco singer Sylvester James died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco aged 41. Scored the 1978 US No.36 & UK No.8 single 'You Make Me Feel, Mighty Real'. He sang back-up vocals for Aretha Franklin on her 1985 Who's Zoomin' Who? Album.

1989, Billy Joel went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Storm Front'.

1993, MTV aired Nirvana's 'Unplugged' session for the first time.

1997, American singer songwriter Nicolette Larson died aged 45 of complications arising from cerebral edema. Worked with Neil Young, (Comes a Time and Harvest Moon albums), Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys and The Doobie Brothers. Best known for her 1978 cover of Neil Young's ‘Lotta Love’.

2001, Stuart Adamson, lead singer of Big Country was found dead in Hawaii a month after disappearing from his home in the US. The 43-year old Scottish musician had fought a long battle against alcoholism. His body was found in a hotel room.

2004, A Detroit studio where Eminem recorded ‘My Name Is’ went up for auction on the website eBay. Studio 8, in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale was to be listed in eBay's commercial property section for 30 days, with a minimum bid is $215,000 (£161,448).

2004, Gold and silver Black Sabbath discs were stolen from the Kent home of Ozzy Osbourne's former manager Patrick Meehan. Police recovered the discs a week later after they were offered for sale on the internet auction site eBay.

2005, The surviving Beatles and relatives of the band's late members began legal action against EMI to get royalties allegedly worth £30m. Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relations of George Harrison and John Lennon claimed EMI owed record royalties to their company Apple Corps.

2006, Incubus started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Light Grenades’ the bands sixth album.

2007, American singer songwriter Dan Fogelberg died at his home in Maine at the age of 56. The US singer, songwriter discovered he had advanced prostate cancer in 2004. Had the 1981 album ‘The Innocent Age’, which featured the hits ‘Leader of the Band,’ ‘Hard to Say,’ and ‘Run for the Roses.’

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1945, Tony Hicks, The Hollies
1946, Benny Anderson, Abba
1950, Billy Gibbons, Moving Sidewalks (opened for Jimi Hendrix on his first US tour), ZZ Top

Dec 15, Today's Rock History Report...

1943, American jazz musician, singer and composer, Fats Waller died of pneumonia on a train trip near Kansas City, Missouri. Wrote many songs including 'Ain't Misbehavin', 'Your Feet's Too Big' and 'The Reefer Song'. In 1926 Waller was kidnapped at gunpoint in Chicago and driven to a club owned by gangster Al Capone. Inside the club he was ordered to perform at what turned out to be a surprise birthday party for the gangster.

1944, Hank Williams married Audrey Guy. The ceremony took place at a filling station.

1956, Elvis Presley gave his final performance on Louisiana Hayride, a live radio program that was broadcast on KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana. Presley made 50 appearances on the show. At the end of the show, Horace Logan first made the now legendary phrase ‘Elvis has left the building’.

1962, The Beatles played two separate shows at the same venue, the Majestic Ballroom in Birkenhead, Merseyside. First they played a standard Majestic booking then at midnight, the first-ever "Mersey Beat" poll awards show took place. As poll winners, The Beatles closed the show (at 4:00 am).

1969, John Lennon played what would be his final ever gig in the UK when he appeared at The Lyceum Ballroom, London, with the Plastic Ono Band in a UNICEF 'Peace For Christmas' benefit. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston and The Who's drummer, Keith Moon also took part.

1973, Jermaine Jackson from The Jackson Five married the daughter of the boss of Motown Records, Hazel Gordy.

1973, David Cassidy went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo album 'Dreams Are Nothin More Than Wishes.'

1975, Cat Stevens appeared at London's Royal Albert Hall, England, tickets £2.50.

1977, The Sex Pistols were refused entry into the USA two days before a scheduled NBC TV appearance. Johnny Rotten because of a drugs conviction, Paul Cook & Sid Vicious because of 'moral turpitude' and Steve Jones because of his criminal record.

1979, U2 appeared at the Windsor Castle Pub, Harrow Road, London, admission was free.

1979, Pink Floyd started a five week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Another Brick In The Wall, (part 2),' their only UK singles chart topper.

1984, 'Do They Know It's Christmas' by Band Aid entered the UK chart at No.1 and stayed at the top for five weeks. It became 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 current pop world. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, Culture Club, George Michael, Sting, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo and Bananarama all appeared on the recording.

1990, Rod Stewart married New Zealand model Rachel Hunter in Beverly Hills. Stewart was 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 split in 1999.

1994, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora married actress Heather Locklear. The couple divorced in 2006.

1999, Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren announced that he was running for the Mayor of London. He said he would be campaigning for brothels, pot shops and boozing in libraries. "I changed London with the Sex Pistols, I can change London as Mayor."

2001, American funk and soul singer Rufus Thomas died of heart failure aged 84. Recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. Scored the 1963 US No.10 single 'Walking The Dog' and the 1970 UK No.18 & US No.28 single 'Do The Funky Chicken'. A street is named in his honor, just off Beale Street in Memphis.

2001, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh was given an honorary Doctorate of Music from Kent State University in Ohio.

2006, The co-founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun died, aged 83. Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947 helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early 70s. He suffered a head injury when he fell at a Rolling Stones concert at New York's Beacon Theatre in October, and died after slipping into a coma.

2010, Various Pink Floyd items were sold at an Entertainment Memorabilia auction by Bonhams in Knightsbridge London. A demo pressing of the single 'Point Me To The Sky'/'Careful With That Axe Eugene' sold 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' sold for £624.00 and a demo pressing of the single by Syd Barrett, 'Octopus' / 'Golden Hair' from 1969, misspelt 'Barratt' corrected in ink on A-side, sold for £300.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1919, Max Yasgur, owner of the Woodstock farm where the 1969 festival was held. Yasgur died of a heart attack February 8, 1973.
1922, Alan Freed, American DJ. The man who gave 'Rock 'n' Roll' its name. Died January 20, 1965.
1939, Cindy Birdsong, The Supremes
1942, Dave Clark, Dave Clark Five
1946, Carmine Appice, Vanilla Fudge
1955, Paul Simonon, The Clash
1957, Tim Reynolds, Dave Matthews Band.
1961, Nick Beggs, Kajagoogoo

Dec 14, Today's Rock History Report...

1962, Bill Wyman made his live debut with The Rollin' Stones at the Ricky Tick Club, Star and Garter Hotel in Windsor, England. The group were know as The Rollin' Stones during this period.

1963, American blues and jazz singer Dinah Washington died aged 39. Known as the ‘Queen of the Blues’ she scored the 1959 US No.8 Grammy Award wining single 'What A Diff'rence A Day Makes' and the 1961 hit 'September In The Rain'.

1963, The Beatles played a show for their Southern Area Fan Club at Wimbledon Palais, London. To prevent damage to the stage from fans the management of the Palais constructed a platform for The Beatles to perform on, surrounded by a steel cage.

1968, Marvin Gaye scored his first US No.1 single when 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' started a five-week run at the top.

1969, The Jackson Five made their first network television appearance in the US when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1972, 'Born To Boogie' the Ringo Starr directed movie featuring T Rex premiered in London.

1973, Bruce Springsteen appeared at the Pinecrest Country Club, Shelton, Connecticut. Only 200 tickets were sold for the show.

1977, The film 'Saturday Night Fever' starring John Travolta and featuring songs from The Bee Gees premiered in New York.

1980, Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gathered outside St George's Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York's Central Park.

1981, During their Ghost In The Machine World Tour The Police played the first of three sold out nights at Wembley Arena, London, England.

1991, Michael Jackson started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Dangerous'.

1999, Sir Paul McCartney appeared at The Cavern Club Liverpool, his last gig at the venue was in 1963. The show was filmed for TV and also went out live on the Internet.

2003, Ozzy & Kelly Osbourne went 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 was the first father and daughter chart topper since Frank & Nancy Sinatra in 1967.

2003, Alicia Keys was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Diary Of Alicia Keys’ the singers second US No.1.

2004, The funeral took place in Arlington, Texas for Damageplan and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, placed his original black and yellow stripes guitar into the Kiss Kasket he was buried in. Several thousand fans and friends gathered at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, to mourn the guitarist’s death. Darrell was shot five times in the back of the head during a gig at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus on 8th Dec 04 by a mentally ill former US Marine. Damageplan's drum technician, John Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were both injured in the incident.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1932, Charlie Rich, died July 25, 1995.
1938, Gary Usher, producer, songwriter, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, died May 25, 1990.
1946, Joyce Vincent Wilson, Dawn (Tony Orlando and Dawn)
1949, Cliff Williams, AC/DC
1958, Peter 'Spider' Stacy, The Pogues
1966, Tim Skold, Marilyn Manson

Dec 13, Today's Rock History Report...

1961, The Beatles performed at the Cavern Club, Liverpool playing two shows at lunchtime and then again at night. Decca Records' Mike Smith attended the night performance with a view to offering The Beatles a recording contract.

1962, Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the singles charts with 'Return To Sender.'

1966, Jimi Hendrix made his TV debut on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!' (Marc Bolan was also on the show). The Jimi Hendrix Experience also recorded 'Foxy Lady' on this day.

1969, Bob Dylan was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents (2/6).

1975, Chicago started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Chicago IX-Chicago's Greatest Hits', the group's fifth No.1 album.

1986, Bruce Hornsby & The Range went to No.1 on the US singles chart, with 'The Way It Is'.

2000, Sir Paul McCartney held his first-ever London book signing at Waterstone's in Piccadilly. Sir Paul was in the store to sign copies of his new book, Paul McCartney Paintings.

2002, Canadian guitarist and singer Zal Yanovsky of The Lovin Spoonful died of a heart attack. Was a member of The Mugwumps with Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. Formed Lovin Spoonful with John Sebastian in 1964, they scored the 1966 hit single 'Summer In The City'.

2005, A cheque signed by John Lennon made out to the Inland Revenue sold for £2,000 at a UK auction. It was sold by former madam Lindi St Clair, (formerly known as Miss Whiplash), after she decided she had no use for it. Clair who now runs a duck farm in Herefordshire had bought the cheque for £4,000 in 1988. It was signed by Lennon on 23rd January 1968 on a District Bank Limited form and made out for £6,946.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1949, Tom Verlaine, Television
1952, Berton Averre, The Knack
1967, Jamie Foxx
1970, Daniel Patrick, Nine Inch Nails, Tapeworm, Killing Joke, Methods of Mayhem.
1974, Nick McCarthy, Franz Ferdinand
1975, Tom Delonge, Blink 182
1981, Amy Lynn Lee, Evanescence

Dec 12, Today's Rock History Report...

1955, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley all appeared at the National Guard Armory, Armory, Mississippi.

1957, Still married to his first wife Jane Mitcham, Jerry Lee Lewis secretly married his 13-year old second cousin Myra Gale Brown.

1957, Al Priddy a DJ on US radio station KEX in Portland was fired after playing Elvis Presley's version of 'White Christmas' The station management said, 'it's not in the spirit we associate with Christmas'.

1962, The Beatles played two shows at the Cavern Club, Liverpool at lunchtime and then again that night.

1963, The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', the group's third No.1 (and first Amercan No.1).

1964, Bobby Vinton went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Mr Lonely', his second No.1 of the year.

1970, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Tears Of A Clown'.

1970, The Doors played what would be their last ever live show with Jim Morrison when they played at the Warehouse in New Orleans.

1981, The Human League had their only UK No.1 single with 'Don't You Want Me.' The Christmas hit of 81, the biggest seller of 1981 and Virgin Records first No.1 UK single. The group's singer Phil Oakey disliked the song so much that it was relegated to the last track on their latest album' Dare'.

1985, Scottish keyboard player Ian Stewart died of a heart attack in his doctor's Harley Street waiting room in London. Co-founder of The Rolling Stones (Stewart was the first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group). Stewart was dismissed from the line-up by the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, in May 1963 but remained as road manager and piano player. He played on all The Rolling Stones albums between 1964 and 1983, except for Beggars Banquet. Also played piano on Led Zeppelin's ‘Rock and Roll’ and ‘Boogie With Stu’ from Physical Graffiti.

1998, A seven inch single by the Quarry Men featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison was named as the rarest record of all time, only 50 copies were made with each copy being valued at £10,000, ($20,500).

2003, Mick Jagger became a Sir after being knighted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Jagger's 92-year-old father was at the Palace to see his son receive the award.

2007, Ike Turner, the former husband of Tina Turner died at the age of 76 at his home near San Diego, California. Turner who was a prolific session guitarist and piano player is credited by many music historians with making the first rock 'n' roll record in 1951. After marrying Tina Turner in 1959, the pair released a string of hits including the Phil Spector produced ‘River Deep Mountain High.’

2007, A copy of John Lennon's book, A Spaniard in the Works, which contained a lock of Lennon's hair, sold at Gorringes Auction House for £24,000, ($48,000). Lennon gave the book and the hair to Betty Glasgow, the Fab Four's hairdresser during their heyday. He wrote in the book, "To Betty, Lots of Love and Hair, John Lennon xx." The strands of hair and book had been expected to sell for between £2,000 and £4,000.

2008, The town where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards grew up announced it was to name streets in a new estate after Rolling Stones hits. The 13 streets in Dartford, Kent, were to be given names such as Angie Mews, Babylon Close, Sympathy Street, Little Red Walk and Satisfaction Street. Leader of the council, Jeremy Kite, said he thought Ruby Tuesday Drive sounded a "fantastic" place to live, but police were concerned the street signs might be stolen by fans.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1915, Frank Albert Sinatra, died May 14, 1998
1938, Connie Francis
1940, Dionne Warwick
1941, Terry Kirkman, The Association
1943, Dicky Betts, Allman Brothers Band
1943, Grover Washington Jr, died December 17, 1999
1943, Mike Smith, Dave Clark Five, died Feb 29, 2008
1944, Rob Tyner, MC5, died September 17, 1991
1946, Clive Bunker, Jethro Tull
1953, Bruce Kulick, Meat Loaf, Michael Bolton, Grand Funk Railroad and Kiss
1959, Sheila E.
1963, Eric Schenkman, The Spin Doctors
1976, Dan Hawkins, The Darkness

Dec 9, Today's Rock History Report...

1955, Johnny Cash played two shows at Arkansas High School, in Swifton, Elvis Presley opened the show.

1961, The Beatles played at the Palais Ballroom in Aldershot to a crowd of just 18 people. The date had not been advertised, owing to the local newspaper's refusal to accept the promoter's cheque. After the show The Beatles became rowdy, getting themselves ordered out of town by the local police.

1967, The Doors appeared at the New Haven Arena, New Haven, Connecticut. Before the show a policeman found singer Jim Morrison making out with an 18 year-old girl in a backstage shower and after an argument the policeman sprays mace in Morrison’s face. Once on stage Morrison tells the story of the backstage episode and starts taunting the police who drag him off the stage and arrest him. The crowd riots leaving the venue in disarray and many are arrested. Later over 100 protestors gathered at the police station in demonstration and more arrests were made.

1968, Free appeared at the Marquee Club in London England. Other acts appearing at the club this month included Joe Cocker, The Who and Led Zeppelin.

1972, The Moody Blues started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Seventh Sojourn'.

1988, Michael Jackson played the first of nine sold-out nights on his Bad World Tour at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan.

1989, Billy Joel started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'We Didn't Start The Fire.'

1991, During their Use Your Illusion Tour, Guns n' Roses played the first of three nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. 

2000, U2 made their first-ever appearance on the long-running NBC program 'Saturday Night Live.' The band played ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Elevation.’

2002, Stereolab singer Mary Hanson was killed in a cycling accident after colliding with a tipper truck in East London. 

2003, Ozzy Osbourne was admitted to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, Berkshire after being injured in a quad bike accident at his UK home. The 55 year-old singer broke his collarbone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck. News of Osbourne's accident reached the House of Commons, where the government sent a goodwill message.

2010, Eric Clapton announced he was to sell off part of his extensive guitar collection to raise money for his Crossroads rehab Centre in Antigua. Highlights of the sale would include a guitar Clapton played at the Cream reunion shows in 2005, estimated to sell for more than £13,000. The sale to be held by Bonhams in New York would also feature a vast collection of amps and speakers, including a pair of Marshall speaker cabinets.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...

1932, Junior Wells
1941, Sam Strain, The O'Jays
1943, John Traynor, Jay and the Americans
1946, Walter 'Clyde' Orange, The Commodores
1950, Joan Armatrading
1954, Jack Sonni, Dire Straits
1957, Donny Osmond
1958, Nick Seymour, Crowded House
1964, Paul H. Landers, Rammstein
1968, Brian Bell, Weezer
1969, Jakob Dylan, The Wallflowers
1972, Frank Wright III, 'Tre Cool', Green Day
1978, Chris Wolstenholme, Muse

Dec 8, Today's Rock History Report...

Before we get into what happened today in Rock History, a brief commentary. Today is a really strange day in Rock and Roll history. It was the day both John Lennon and Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott were killed. Most stories will name their killers (both were very misguided and mentally ill 25-year old men). I will not. It is simply because I do not wish to feed the egos of other misguided people who might turn to violence in order to gain fame. Let's remember the great artists that were tragically lost on this day, not their killers.

1961, The Beach Boys first single 'Surfin' was released on Candix Records, a small label based in Los Angeles.

1963, Frank Sinatra Jr was kidnapped at gunpoint from a hotel in Lake Tahoe. He was released two days later after his father paid out the $240,000 ransom demanded by the kidnappers, who were later captured, and sentenced to long prison terms. In order to communicate with the kidnappers via a payphone the senior Sinatra carried a roll of dimes with him throughout this ordeal, which became a lifetime habit, he is said to have been buried with a roll of dimes. 

1965, The Rolling Stones recorded their ninth UK single ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ at RCA studios in Hollywood, California.

1966, Working at Abbey Road in London, Paul McCartney overdubbed his lead vocal for ‘When I'm Sixty-Four’. Then The Beatles set about remaking a new John Lennon song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’

1968, Singer and guitarist Graham Nash left The Hollies and started work with David Crosby and Stephen Stills who went on to form Crosby Stills and Nash.

1971, This weeks Top selling 8-Track cartridges chart: No.5, Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits Vol 2, No.4, Carole King, Tapestry, No.3, Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water, No.2, Motown Chartbusters Vol 6 and No.1, John Lennon, Imagine.

1975, Gary Thain bass player with Uriah Heep died of a drug overdose aged 28. Had a hit with ‘Easy Livin' from the 1972 album Demons and Wizards.

1977, Four people were arrested after a riot broke out when Blondie didn't arrive for a gig in Brisbane. Over 1,000 Australian fans had waited over an hour for the group to appear on stage, but the gig was cancelled due to singer Debbie Harry being unwell. 

1979, Rod Stewart scored his seventh UK No.1 album when his 'Greatest Hits' started a five-week run at the top of the charts.

1979, Styx went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Babe', the group's only US No.1, a No.6 hit in the UK.

1980, John Lennon was shot five times outside the Dakota building in New York City where John and Yoko lived. The killer had been stalking Lennon for days outside the Dakota apartments and asked for an autograph as Lennon walked through the courtyard. As he signed a piece of paper the killer opened fire. Lennon was pronounced dead from a massive loss of blood at 11.30pm.

1982, American country singer, songwriter Marty Robbins died aged 57 of complications following cardiac surgery. Had the first No.1 of the 60's in the US with 'El Paso', (winning him a Grammy Award). Robbins later portrayed a musician in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man.

1984, Hall and Oates started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Out Of Touch', the duo's 6th US No.1, it made No.48 in the UK.

1984, One time Coasters manager Patrick Cavanaugh was convicted of first degree murder of group member Buster Wilson whose dismembered body was discovered in Modesto, California, in 1980.

1984, Vince Neil from Motley Crue was involved in a car accident in Redondo Beach, Ca, which killed Nick Dingley from Hanoi Rocks and injured two other passengers. Neil was jailed for 20 days and paid $2.6 million in compensation.

2000, A plaque to commemorate the 20th anniversary of John Lennon's death was unveiled outside his childhood home in Liverpool.

2004, Former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was one of five people killed after a man stormed the stage during a Damageplan show at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus. The killer began firing at the band and crowd, was then shot and killed by a police officer who arrived shortly after the first shots were fired.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1925, Sammy Davis Jr, died May 16, 1990
1939, Jerry Butler, The Impressions
1942, Bobby Elliott, The Hollies
1943, Jim Morrison, The Doors, died July 3, 1971.
1944, Mike Botts, Bread
1946, Graham Knight, Marmalade
1947, Gregg Allman, Allman Brothers Band
1951, Dan Hartman, died on 22nd March 1994.
1956, Warren Cuccurullo, Frank Zappa, Duran Duran and Missing Persons
1957, Phil Collen, Def Leppard
1959, Paul Rutherford, Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1962, Marty Friedman, Megadeth
1966, Sinead O'Connor
1973, Corey Taylor, (number 8), Slipknot
1974, Nick Zinner, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Dec 7, Today's Rock History Report...

1963, The Beatles second album 'With The Beatles' started a 21-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart. It replaced their first album 'Please Please me' which had been at the top of the charts since it's release 30 weeks previously. Also today, all four Beatles appeared on BBC TV's 'Juke Box Dury'. Some of the songs The Beatles judged were ‘Kiss Me Quick’ by Elvis Presley, ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’ by the Swinging Blue Jeans. ‘Did You Have a Happy Birthday’ by Paul Anka and ‘Where Have You Been All My Life’ by Gene Vincent.

1964, Beach Boy Brian Wilson married Marilyn Rovell in L.A. The couple divorced in 1979. Marilyn and her sister and cousin were in a group, the Honeys, who were produced by Brian Wilson. Marilyn and Brian had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy, who became members of Wilson Phillips.

1967, Otis Redding went into the studio to record '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay'. The song went on to be his biggest hit. Redding didn't see its release; he was killed three days later in a plane crash.

1967, The Beatles Apple boutique opened its doors. The store closed seven months later when all the goods were given away free to passers by. 

1968, The Beatles 'White Album' started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK chart. The double set was the first on the Apple label and featured 'Back In The USSR', 'Dear Prudence', and the Harrison song 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.'

1969, The Byrds appeared at the Senior High school gym. Baldwyn, Mississippi. 

1971, Genesis supported by Roxy Music appeared at The Hobbits Garden, Wimbledon, England.

1974, Carl Douglas started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Kung Fu Fighting'. The song was recorded in 10 minutes, had started out as a B-side and went on to sell over 10 million.

1977, Inventor Dr Peter Carl Goldmark was killed in a car crash aged 71. Goldmark invented the long-playing microgroove record in 1945 that went on to revolutionise the way people listened to music.

1979, The Police had their second UK No.1 single with 'Walking on the Moon', taken from their second album 'Reggatta De Blanc'. The video for the song was filmed at Kennedy Space Center interspersed with NASA footage.

1981, Duran Duran kicked off a 14-date UK tour at Canterbury University.

1985, Mr Mister started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Broken Wings'.

1991, Two weeks after Freddie Mercury's death 'Queen's Greatest Hits II' started a four week run at No.1 on the UK album chart

1996, Bush went to No. 1 on the US album chart with 'Razorblade Suitcase'.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1942, Harry Chapin, died July 16, 1981, when a tractor-trailer crashed into the car he was driving.
1949, Tom Waits
1958, Tim Butler, Psychedelic Furs
1963, Barbara Weathers, Atlantic Starr

Dec 5, Today's Rock History Report...

1960, Elvis Presley started a ten-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'G.I. Blues'. His fifth US No.1 album.

1960, Paul McCartney and Pete Best were arrested for pinning a condom to a brick wall and then igniting it. The two were told to leave Germany and The Beatles returned home, discouraged.

1965, The Rolling Stones played two shows at the Convention Hall, San Diego, California on the last night of a 37-date North American tour.

1967, This was the final night of a 16-date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, The Outer Limits, The Erie Apparent and Amen Corner at Green's Playhouse, Glasgow. All performances had two shows per night, in this case at 6.15pm, with the second at 8.45pm. Jimi Hendrix had the curtains closed on him halfway through his set, after the management at the venue regarded his movements with his guitar as having sexual overtones. 

1968, The release of The Rolling Stones’ new album Beggar’s Banquet, was celebrated at a party in London. A food fight with custard pies was the highlight of the event that went on without an ill Keith Richards. The original cover for the LP was in the form of a plain white invitation, but was later changed.

1987, Belinda Carlisle went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Heaven Is a Place on Earth', the ex Go-Go's member first solo No.1. The promotional video was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance of Carlisle's husband Morgan Mason. 

1987, The Jesus And Mary Chain were banned from appearing on a US music TV show after complaints of blasphemy when the group's name was flashed across the screen. The CBS show asked the band to be called JAMC but the group didn't agree.

1993, Co-founder of Gin Blossoms Doug Hopkins died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds age 32. The guitarist and songwriter was in a detox unit of Phoenix's St. Luke's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona when he snuck out and bought a .38 caliber pistol. The next day Hopkins committed suicide. 

2004, Band Aid 20 started a four week at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a new version of 'Do They Know It’s Christmas.' The third time the song had reached No.1. The new version featured, Joss Stone, Busted, Chris Martin, Bono, Justin Hawkins, Dizzee Rascal, Tom Chaplin, Ms Dynamite, Beverly Knight, Will Young, Jamelia, Fran Healy, Sugababes, Dido and Robbie Williams.

2006, Beatles lyrics handwritten by Sir Paul McCartney to an early version of Maxwell's Silver Hammer sold for $192,000 (£97,000) at an auction in New York. A guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix fetched $168,000 (£85,000), a notebook containing lyrics written by Bob Marley, sold for $72,000 (£36,445) and a poem penned by Doors frontman Jim Morrison made $49,000 (£25,500) at the Christie's sale.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1899, Sonny Boy Williamson, died on 25th May 1965.
1932, Richard Penniman, (Little Richard)
1947, Jim Messina, Buffalo Springfield, Loggins and Messina
1965, Johnny Rzeznik,  Goo Goo Dolls

Dec 3, Today's Rock History Report...

1955, Elvis Presley's first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two songs ‘Mystery Train’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ had been purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Elvis was described by his new record company as 'The most talked about personality in recorded music in the last 10 years.'

1965, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was knocked unconscious by an electric shock on stage at the Memorial Hall In Sacramento, California, when his guitar made contact with his microphone.

1965, The Beatles set out on what would be their last ever UK tour at Glasgow's Odeon Cinema. Also on the bill, The Moody Blues The Koobas and Beryl Marsden. The last show was at Cardiff's Capitol Cinema on 12th December.

1976, A giant 40ft inflatable pig could be seen floating above London, England after breaking free from its moorings. The pig, nicknamed Algie, was being photographed for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover. The Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning to all pilots that a flying pig was on the run, and the pig eventually crashed into a barn in Godmersham, Kent, where the farmer complained of his cows being scared by the incident.

1976, An attempt was made on Bob Marley's life when seven gunmen burst into his Kingston home injuring Marley his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor, the attack was believed to be politically motivated.

1977, Wings started a nine-week run at No.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 sold his rights to the song when he became bankrupt).

1983, Duran Duran scored their first UK No.1 album with their third release, 'Seven And The Ragged Tiger'

1983, Lionel Richie started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Can't Slow Down'.

1999, U2 singer Bono had his missing laptop computer returned after loosing it. A young man had bought it for £300 discovered he had the missing laptop, which contained tracks from the forthcoming U2 album.

2001, American session guitarist Grady Martin died aged 72. Member of the legendary Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits ranging from Roy Orbison's ‘Oh, Pretty Woman‘, Marty Robbins' ‘El Paso‘ and Loretta Lynn's ‘Coal Miner's Daughter‘. During a 50-year career, Martin backed such names as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Joan Baez and J. J. Cale. 

2008, Composer, keyboardist and arranger Derek Wadsworth died in Oxfordshire, England. As a musician he worked with Georgie Fame, Alan Price, George Harrison, Mike Oldfield, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Simply Red. Arranger for David Essex, Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, Judy Garland, Kate Bush, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, The Small Faces, The Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1928, Andy Williams
1940, John Cale, Velvet Underground

1948, Ozzy Osbourne, (John Michael Osbourne)
1949, Mickey Thomas, Jefferson Starship
1951, Nicky Stevens, Brotherhood Of Man
1952, Duane Roland, Molly Hatchet

Dec 2, Today's Rock History Report...

1967, The Monkees album, ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd’ went to number one on the US album chart. It was their fourth album to sell over a million copies, following ‘The Monkees’, ‘More Of The Monkees’ and ‘Headquarters’.

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at The Royal Ballroom, Bournemouth, England. 

1976, Elvis Presley played the first of an 11 night run at the Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas.

1978, Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy', the singers fifth UK chart topper. A plagiarism lawsuit by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor confirmed that the song had been derived from his composition 'Taj Mahal'. Stewart agreed to donate all his royalties from the song to United Nations Children's Fund. 

1979, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand's ‘You Don't Bring Me Flowers’ was at No.1 on the US singles chart. A radio station engineer had spliced together Neil's version with Barbra's version and got such good response, the station added it to their play list. When Neil Diamond was told about it, he decided to re-record the song with Streisand herself, and within weeks of its release, the single went to No.1 in the US and No.5 in the UK.

1982, US folk singer David Blue died of a heart attack aged 41 while jogging in New York's Washington Square Park. Member of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue during the late 70's. He wrote ‘Outlaw Man’ covered by The Eagles on their 1973 Desperado album.

1983, MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video for the first time.

2000, The Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert when they appeared at the Metro Club in Chicago.

2003, Darkness singer Justin Hawkins was held for two hours at JFK Airport, New York after police mistook him for a wanted man with the same name and looks. The police only agreed to let him go after Justin's fiance and manager Sue Whitehouse produced a tour schedule to prove that he was in England on July 4th when the crime was committed.

2007, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne made more than $800,000 (£389,032) for charity after they sold off some of their possessions from their former US home. Items sold included the family's custom pool table for $11,250 (£5,470) and a pair of Ozzy's trademark round glasses went for $5,250 (£2,553). The beaded wire model of the Eiffel Tower that adorned the kitchen fetched $10,000 (£4,862), while skull-adorned trainers worn by Ozzy sold for $2,625 (£1,276).

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1906, Dr Peter Carl Goldmark, invented the LP microgroove record in 1945, dies Dec 7, 1977
1941, Tom McGuinness, Manfred Mann
1942, Ted Bluechel Jr, The Association
1960, Rick Savage, Def Leppard
1968, Nate Mendel, Foo Fighters
1978, Brian Chase, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
1981, Britney Spears

Dec 1 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1957, Buddy Holly and the Crickets appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan Show', performing 'That'll Be The Day' and 'Peggy Sue'. Sam Cooke was also a guest on the same show performing 'You Send Me'.

1958, The Teddy Bears were at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘To Know Him is to Love Him.’ The title of the Phil Spector song came from words on his father’s tombstone.

1961, The Beatles performed a lunchtime show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. That night they headlined a six-group Big Beat Session at the Tower Ballroom, New Brighton in Wallasey.

1964, The Who played the first of 22 consecutive Tuesday night gigs at The Marquee Club in London, the band were paid £50 for each gig.

1965, During a North America tour The Rolling Stones appeared at the Vancouver Auditorium, British Columbia.

1967, During a 15 date UK tour Jimi Hendrix Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice and Amen Corner all played two shows at Chatham Town Hall.

1973, The Carpenters went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Top Of The World', their second US No.1.

1977, During a North American tour Queen appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1980, Talking Heads supported by U2 appeared at the Hammersmith Palais, London, England.

1982, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' album was released. It spent 190 weeks on the album charts and became the biggest selling pop album of all time, with sales over 50 million copies.

1983, Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records because his new music for the label was “not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums.”

1987, A Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the US Supreme Court over being fired for showing Pink Floyd's film 'The Wall' to her class. The court decided that the film was not suitable for minors with its bad language and sexual content.

1990, Vanilla Ice started a four-week run at No.1 in the UK with the single 'Ice Ice Baby'. The track sampled the bass intro to the Queen and David Bowie No.1 'Under Pressure'. 'Ice Ice Baby' was initially released as the B-side to the rapper's cover of 'Play That Funky Music', and became the A-side after US DJ's started playing it.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1936, Lou Rawls, died from lung cancer January 6, 2006 aged 72.
1944, Bette Midler
1944, Eric Bloom, Blue Oyster Cult
1944, John Densmore, The Doors
1951, Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report, died September 21, 1987 aged 35.
1963, Sam Reid, Glass Tiger
1971, Greg Upchurch, 3 Doors Down
1977, Brad Delson, Linkin Park

Nov 30 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1963, The Beatles second album 'With The Beatles' became the first million selling album by a group in the UK.

1968, Glen Campbell started a five-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with 'Wichita Lineman.' 

1969, The Monkees made what would be their last live appearance for 15 years when they played at The Oakland Coliseum, California.

1969, David Bowie, The Graham Bond Organisation and Dusty Springfield all performed at a fund raising show in London for youth magazine 'Rave.'

1969, The Rolling Stones played the final night on a 17 date North American tour at the International Raceway Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida. Also appearing, The Moody Blues, Ten Years After, King Crimson, Janis Joplin, The Band, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly.

1971, Sly And The Family Stone were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Family Affair.'

1974, Elton John started a ten-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his 'Greatest Hits'.

1985, Phil Collins had his fifth US No.1 with 'Separate Lives'. The song was taken from the film 'White Nights' and featured Marilyn Martin. 

1991, Michael Jackson scored his fourth UK No.1 album with 'Dangerous.'

1997, Metallica were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Reload’, the bands third US No.1 album. 

1999, Don 'Sugarcane' Harris was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment at the age of 61. The American guitarist and violinist was part of the 50's duo Don & Dewey. He also worked with Little Richard, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, John Lee Hooker and Johnny Otis.

2002, High Court probate records showed that George Harrison left his fortune of £99m in a trust to his wife Olivia and his son Dhani, depriving the taxman of £40m. His English mansion near Henley-on-Thames was said to be worth £15m. 

2003, A block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place. It is the block where Joey once lived with band mate Dee Dee Ramone, and is near the music club CBGB, where the Ramones played their first gigs.

2006, The sale of Syd Barrett's final belongings were sold by Cheffins auctioneers in Cambridge, England. The sale of the 77 items raised £119,890 ($233,786). Ten paintings alone raised over £55,000 and two bicycles over £10,000. The sale included such things as the armchair he used to sit in, his home-made bread bin, tools, notebooks and binders and books. The sale catalogue described Barrett - who quit Pink Floyd in 1968 - as a man with a "total disinterest in materialism."

2007, During a Christies Rock & Roll auction held the Rockefeller Plaza, New York City a collection of 276 ticket stubs compiled by a rock journalist who covered many of the greatest rock concerts at New York City venues between the late 1960s to the 1990s, sold for $2,000. The tickets included concerts by: Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Rolling Stones; Frank Zappa; Beach Boys; Pink Floyd; Traffic; Allman Brothers; Led Zeppelin; Neil Young; Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen.

Happy Rock -n-Roll Birthdays to...
1929, Dick Clark
1937, Paul Stookey, Peter Paul and Mary
1943, Leo Lyons, Ten Years After
1945, Roger Glover, Deep Purple
1953, June Pointer, The Pointer Sisters, died on April 11, 2006.
1953, David Sancious, Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band
1954, George McArdale, Little River Band
1955, William Broad (Billy Idol)
1957, John Ashton, Psychedelic Furs
1973, John Moyer, Disturbed

Nov 29 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1960, Paul McCartney and Pete Best were deported from West Germany after being arrested on suspicion of arson after the hotel room they were staying in mysteriously caught fire. They were released and deported the next day.

1963, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' by The Beatles was released in the UK. For the first time ever in the UK advanced orders passed the million mark before it was released.

1965, Colorado Governor John A. Love declared a Rolling Stones day throughout the State as The Stones appeared at The Denver Coliseum in Colorado during a North American tour.

1969, The Beatles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Come Together / Something', the group's 18th US No.1. 

1980, John and Yoko's 'Double Fantasy' album was released. A No.1 in the US & the UK the set featured the No.1 single 'Just Like Starting Over.'

1985, Kiss played the first night on their 91-date North American Asylum Tour at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1986, 'Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band Live / 1975-85' started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

1995, Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar married model Kari Karte in San Francisco.

1996, American singer and ukulele player Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury) died from a heart attack on stage while playing his hit ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’ at a club in Minneapolis. On 17 December 1969, he married Victoria Mae Budinger on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a publicity stunt that attracted over 40 million viewers. (they had a daughter, Tulip Victoria). He performed at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival in front of a crowd of 600,000 people.

1999, American singer and bandleader Curtis Knight died aged 54. Jimi Hendrix had been a member of his band in the 60's. Though Hendrix wasn't in the group very long, he was featured on over 60 songs, 26 studio and 35 live recordings some of which have been released on record.

2001, Former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died in Los Angeles of lung cancer aged 58. Following the breakup of The Beatles Harrison had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys. The youngest member of The Beatles, (aged 16 when he joined), his compositions include ‘Taxman’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Something’, and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Harrison released the acclaimed triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970, from which came the worldwide No.1 single ‘My Sweet Lord.’ He was the co-founder of Handmade Films, collaborated with Madonna and the members of Monty Python. An accomplished gardener, Harrison restored the grounds of his 120 roomed English home Friar Park.

2002, Three paintings by Sir Paul McCartney were bought for just £35 each at the Secrets Postcard Sale at London's Royal College of Art. Members of the public gambled on whether they were buying works by celebrity artists at a fraction of their value, as a picture's creator was only made known after it has sold.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1917, Merle Travis, died October 20, 1983.
1933, John Mayall
1941, Denny Doherty, The Mamas And The Papas, died on Jan 19, 2007.
1944, Felix Cavaliere, The Young Rascals
1947, Ronnie Montrose
1951, Barry Goudreau, Boston
1959, Wendy Wu
1974, Apl.De.Ap, Black Eyed Peas

Nov 28 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1960, Elvis Presley started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', his third US No.1 of 1960. The single included a spoken passage loosely based on Shakespeare.

1962, The Beatles performed two evening shows: the first at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the second at the 527 Club in Liverpool. The 527 Club show was a dance for the staff of Lewis Department Store in Liverpool, held on the top floor of the store.

1964, The Shangri-Las went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the 'teen death song', 'Leader Of The Pack'.

1967, The Beatles recorded their last fan club record as a group; 'Christmas Time Is Here Again!' 

1968, On their first North American tour, Deep Purple played the first of four nights at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1974, John Lennon made his last ever concert appearance when he joined Elton John on stage at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. Lennon performed three songs; 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night', 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.' 

1976, The Sex Pistols appeared on BBC TV's 'Nationwide' and ITV's 'London Weekend Show.'

1987, Taken from the film 'Dirty Dancing', the Jennifer Warnes' duet with Bill Medley '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life', went to No.1 on the US singles chart.

1987, David Bowie played the second of four sold-out nights during his Glass Spider Tour in Australia and New Zealand at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne.

1987, REM had their first entry in the Top 10 on the US singles chart with ‘The One I Love.’

1991, Nirvana recorded a performance for BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops in London. When asked to lip-sync ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to a pre-recorded tape Kurt Cobain protests by singing in a low-pitched funny voice with the rest of the band not even trying to mime in-time to the track.

1992, Whitney Houston started a record-breaking fourteen-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Will Always Love You', taken from the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack. The song was written by Dolly Parton.

1993, Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton was killed in a car crash not far from his Santa Barbara, California home, he was 47. Steppenwolf had the 1969 US No.2 & UK No.30 single 'Born To Be Wild'.

1999, Rage Against The Machine were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Battle Of Los Angeles’ the bands second US No.1.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1929, Berry Gordy, Founder of Motown Records
1939, Gary Troxel, The Fleetwoods
1943, Randy Newman
1948, Beeb Birtles, Little River Band
1954, David Jaynes, Modern Romance

1962, Matt Cameron, Soundgarden
1968, Dawn Robinson, En Vogue

Nov 27 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1962, The Beatles recorded their first BBC radio session at the BBC Paris studio on Regent Street in London. They played 'Twist and Shout', 'Love Me Do' and 'P.S. I Love You', the tracks were aired on the BBC Light Program 'Talent Spot.'

1964, Mick Jagger was fined £16 for driving offences by a court in Tettenhall, Staffs. His solicitor told the court: “The Duke of Marlborough had longer hair than my client and he won some famous battles. His hair was powdered, I think because of fleas. My client has no fleas.”

1965, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights'.

1967, During a UK tour Jimi Hendrix Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice and Amen Corner all appeared at the Whitla Hall, Queen's College in Belfast, playing two shows in one evening.

1969, During a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of four shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The group played to 55,000 fans over the four nights grossing over $100,000.

1970, George Harrison released All Things Must Pass. The triple album included a number of songs that were left over from Beatle sessions, the set would go on to be certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

1970, Black Sabbath, Cactus and Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) all appeared at the Sunshine In, Asbury Park in New Jersey. All three acts played two shows, tickets cost $5.00.

1976, Rod Stewart played the first night of a UK tour at Manchester's Belle Vue Kings Hall.

1981, the British Phonographic industry placed advertisements in the press claiming that 'home taping was wiping out music'. The Boomtown Rats, 10cc, Elton John and Cliff Richard all backed the campaign.

1986, Bon Jovi were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'You Give Love A Bad Name.'

1994, Rod Stewart and the Faces appeared at The Odeon, Lewisham, London, England. Paul and Linda McCartney both joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

2001, Elvis Presley was inducted into The Gospel Association Hall Of Fame.

2005, Multimillionaire defence contractor David H. Brooks booked New York’s Rainbow Rooms and his daughter Elizabeth’s favourite acts for her ‘bat mitzvah’ coming-of-age celebration. The stars who appeared included 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. 50 Cent who was paid $500,000 to appear performed only four songs but he did manage to work in the lyric, "Go shorty, it's your bat miztvah, we gonna party like it's your bat mitzvah". The party cost an estimated $10 million, including the price of corporate jets to ferry the performers to and from the venue.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1941, Eddie Rabbitt
1942, Jimi Hendrix
1944, Dave Winthrop, Supertramp
1945, Randy Brecker, Blood Sweat & Tears
1959, Charlie Burchill, Simple Minds
1962, Charlie Benante, Anthrax
1962, Mike Bordin, Faith No More
1965, Wallis Buchannan, Jamiroquai
1971, Terry Corso, Alien Ant Farm