This Month in Music History – December

December 1
•    1983: Neil Young is sued by Geffen Records for producing albums that are “not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums”
•    1982: Epic Records releases Thriller – Michael Jackson’s first solo album in three years
December 2
•    1970: Jay-Z is born Shawn Corey Carter
•    1967: The Monkees set a record by achieving four Number One albums in the same year
•    1906: Peter Carl Goldmark, the inventor of the LP, is born
December 3
•    1979: Eleven Who fans are trampled to death rushing to gain admittance for general seating at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum
•    1948: Ozzy Osbourne is born John Michael Osbourne
December 4
•    1993: Frank Zappa dies of pancreatic cancer at age 52
December 5
•    1932: Little Richard is born Richard Wayne Penniman
December 6
•    1988: Roy Orbison dies of a massive heart attack at the age of 52
•    1969: The Rolling Stones headline a free show at Altamont Speedway in California; the Hell’s Angels handle security and stab a man to death during the show (See: Gimme Shelter)
•    1956: Randy Rhodes is born
December 7
•    1949: Tom Waits in born
•    1942: Singer/songwriter Harry Chapin is born
December 8
•    1980: John Lennon is gunned down in front of his N.Y.C. apartment building after returning home from a recording session with his wife Yoko Ono
•    1947: Gregg Allman is born
•    1943: Jim Morrison is born
December 10
•    1967: Otis Redding dies in a plane crash
December 11
•    1964: Sam Cooke is shot and killed by hotel manager Bertha Franklin
•    1958: Motley Crue bass player Nikki Sixx is born
•    1957: Jerry Lee Lewis secretly weds his third wife, third cousin Myra Gale Brown
•    1940: David Gates of Bread is born
December 12
•    1949: Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company is born
•    1943: Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band is born
•    1915: Frank Sinatra is born
December 13
•    1948: Ted Nugent is born
•    1968: Iron Butterfly’s epic song “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” goes gold
December 16
•    1966: “Hey Joe” is released as the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s first single
•    1950: Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is born
December 18
•    1970: Rapper DMX is born
•    1943: Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones is born
December 19
•    1955: Carl Perkins records his original version of “Blue Suede Shoes”
December 20
•    1950: Alex Chilton of Big Star is born
December 22
•    1949: Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees are born
•    1946: Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is born
December 23
•    1966: Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is born
•    1955: Bruce Hornsby is born
December 24
•    1961: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” becomes the first African song to hit #1 on the U.S. pop charts
•    1945: Lemmy of Motorhead is born
December 25
•    1946: Jimmy Buffett is born
December 26
•    1968: Led Zeppelin begins its first U.S. tour
•    1951: Jazz guitarist John Scofield is born
•    1940: Legendary music producer and “Wall of Sound” creator Phil Spector is born
December 27
•    1932: Radio City Music Hall opens to the public in New York City’s Rockefeller Center
•    1952: David Knopfler (the younger brother of Mark Knoplfer) of Dire Straits is born
December 30
•    1999: George Harrison is stabbed several times after he and his wife, Olivia, are attacked by an intruder in their home outside London
•    1945: Davy Jones of The Monkees is born
•    1942: Michael Nesmith of The Monkees is born
•    1928: Bo Diddley is born
December 31
•    1984: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm in a car accident in England
•    1952: Singer/guitarist George Thorogood is born
•    1943: John Denver is born John Henry Deutschendorf