TODAY IN HISTORY - December 18th
1737 - Died this day, Antonio Stradivari, renowned Italian violin-maker, died in Cremona, Italy aged 93. Noted for their astonishing sound quality, his surviving violins are still unsurpassed.
1892 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker premiered at the Marinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, and it was a huge flop. The choreography was to blame, because Tchaikovsky's beautiful music was a hit, and has been popular ever since.
1938 - Born this day, [Bryan] Chas Chandler, in Heaton, Tyneside, UK, rock musician, bassist, The Animals, 1964 UK and US No.1 single House Of The Rising Sun. Manager of Jimi Hendrix and Slade. Died 17 July 1996.
1943 - Born this day, Keith Richards 'The Human Riff', guitarist, singer, Rolling Stones, 1969 UK and US No.1 single Honky Tonk Women, and over 35 other top 40 singles and albums. Also solo, 1988 No.37 UK album Talk Is Cheap, 1992 UK No.45 album Main Offender.
1953 - Born this day, Elliot Easton [Elliot Shapiro], in Brooklyn, New York, rock guitarist, The Cars, 1978 UK No.3 single My Best Friend's Girl, 1985 UK No.4 single Drive.
1961 - Britain's EMI Records originally rejected the Beatles.
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.
1964 - During services held for Sam Cooke, fans caused damage to the Funeral Home. Fans rushed James Brown's limo at Sam Cooke's wake in Chicago, forcing him to leave.
1966 - Tara Browne was killed when driving at high speed in his Lotus Elan after it collided with a parked lorry in South Kensington, London. A close friend of The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, his death was immortalized in The Beatles’s song ‘A Day In The Life’ after John Lennon read a report on the coroner's verdict into Browne's death.
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.
1972 - Helen Reddy received a gold record for the song that became an anthem for women's liberation, I Am Woman. The song had reached number one on 9 December 1972.
1972 - Bob Dylan started filming his role in the film Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.
1975 - Rod Stewart announced that he was leaving the group, Faces, and was going solo in a deal with Warner Brothers.
1980 - Born this day, Christina Aguilera, in Staten Island, New York, singer, 1999 US and UK No.1 single Genie In A Bottle, 2001 US and UK No.1 single with Mya, Lil' Kim and Pink, Lady Marmalade.
1982 - Daryl Hall and John Oates reached the No.1 spot on the US music charts for the fifth time with Maneater. The song stayed in the top spot for four weeks, making it Hall and Oates' most popular hit. It was their biggest hit in the UK making No.6.
1983 - Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards married 27-year old Patti Hansen on his 40th birthday.
1999 - The Spice Girls unveiled their waxwork lookalikes at Madame Tussaud's, London. Each of the models had cost £35,000 to make.
2000 - UK singer, songwriter Kirsty MacColl was killed in a boating accident off the coast of Mexico when a speedboat hit her. MacColl was aged 41. McColl and her sons were diving at the Chankanaab reef, of Cozumel, Mexico in a designated diving area that watercraft were restricted from entering. MacColl saw the boat coming before her sons did; Louis (then 13) was not in the boat's path, but Jamie (then 15) was. She was able to push him out of the way (he sustained minor head and rib injuries) but in doing so, she was hit by the boat and killed instantly.
2003 - Out on bail, Michael Jackson was formally charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering intoxicating liquor to a minor with the intent of committing a crime. The abuse was claimed to have taken place between 7 February and 10 March 2003 and the alleged victim was identified only as ‘John Doe’. Jackson’s lawyer said the entertainer was ‘unequivocally and absolutely innocent’ and would fight the charges ‘with every fibre of his soul.’
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.
2005 - ‘Fairytale of New York’ was voted the favourite Christmas song ever in a VH1 poll. The song by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl took the top spot, Mariah Carey's ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, was voted into 2nd place and Wham's ‘Last Christmas’ came third. Other songs voted into the Top 10 were, ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, Sir Cliff Richard at No.4, ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade at No.5, ‘I Wish it could be Christmas Everyday’, Wizzard, No.6, ‘Christmas Time’, The Darkness, No.7, ‘Saviour's Day’, Sir Cliff Richard No.8, ‘Do They Know It's Christmas’ (1984), Band Aid at No.9 and ‘Lonely This Christmas’ by Mud at No.10.
2013 – The most popular song played on NZ radio this past week is “Monster” – EMINEM feat Rihanna.
2013 - Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was sentenced to 35 years in jail for a string of child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby. Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, Wales, had pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court last month to 13 child sex offences.
1737 - Died this day, Antonio Stradivari, renowned Italian violin-maker, died in Cremona, Italy aged 93. Noted for their astonishing sound quality, his surviving violins are still unsurpassed.
1892 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker premiered at the Marinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, and it was a huge flop. The choreography was to blame, because Tchaikovsky's beautiful music was a hit, and has been popular ever since.
1938 - Born this day, [Bryan] Chas Chandler, in Heaton, Tyneside, UK, rock musician, bassist, The Animals, 1964 UK and US No.1 single House Of The Rising Sun. Manager of Jimi Hendrix and Slade. Died 17 July 1996.
1943 - Born this day, Keith Richards 'The Human Riff', guitarist, singer, Rolling Stones, 1969 UK and US No.1 single Honky Tonk Women, and over 35 other top 40 singles and albums. Also solo, 1988 No.37 UK album Talk Is Cheap, 1992 UK No.45 album Main Offender.
1953 - Born this day, Elliot Easton [Elliot Shapiro], in Brooklyn, New York, rock guitarist, The Cars, 1978 UK No.3 single My Best Friend's Girl, 1985 UK No.4 single Drive.
1961 - Britain's EMI Records originally rejected the Beatles.
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.
1964 - During services held for Sam Cooke, fans caused damage to the Funeral Home. Fans rushed James Brown's limo at Sam Cooke's wake in Chicago, forcing him to leave.
1966 - Tara Browne was killed when driving at high speed in his Lotus Elan after it collided with a parked lorry in South Kensington, London. A close friend of The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, his death was immortalized in The Beatles’s song ‘A Day In The Life’ after John Lennon read a report on the coroner's verdict into Browne's death.
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.
1972 - Helen Reddy received a gold record for the song that became an anthem for women's liberation, I Am Woman. The song had reached number one on 9 December 1972.
1972 - Bob Dylan started filming his role in the film Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.
1975 - Rod Stewart announced that he was leaving the group, Faces, and was going solo in a deal with Warner Brothers.
1980 - Born this day, Christina Aguilera, in Staten Island, New York, singer, 1999 US and UK No.1 single Genie In A Bottle, 2001 US and UK No.1 single with Mya, Lil' Kim and Pink, Lady Marmalade.
1982 - Daryl Hall and John Oates reached the No.1 spot on the US music charts for the fifth time with Maneater. The song stayed in the top spot for four weeks, making it Hall and Oates' most popular hit. It was their biggest hit in the UK making No.6.
1983 - Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards married 27-year old Patti Hansen on his 40th birthday.
1999 - The Spice Girls unveiled their waxwork lookalikes at Madame Tussaud's, London. Each of the models had cost £35,000 to make.
2000 - UK singer, songwriter Kirsty MacColl was killed in a boating accident off the coast of Mexico when a speedboat hit her. MacColl was aged 41. McColl and her sons were diving at the Chankanaab reef, of Cozumel, Mexico in a designated diving area that watercraft were restricted from entering. MacColl saw the boat coming before her sons did; Louis (then 13) was not in the boat's path, but Jamie (then 15) was. She was able to push him out of the way (he sustained minor head and rib injuries) but in doing so, she was hit by the boat and killed instantly.
2003 - Out on bail, Michael Jackson was formally charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering intoxicating liquor to a minor with the intent of committing a crime. The abuse was claimed to have taken place between 7 February and 10 March 2003 and the alleged victim was identified only as ‘John Doe’. Jackson’s lawyer said the entertainer was ‘unequivocally and absolutely innocent’ and would fight the charges ‘with every fibre of his soul.’
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.
2005 - ‘Fairytale of New York’ was voted the favourite Christmas song ever in a VH1 poll. The song by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl took the top spot, Mariah Carey's ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, was voted into 2nd place and Wham's ‘Last Christmas’ came third. Other songs voted into the Top 10 were, ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, Sir Cliff Richard at No.4, ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade at No.5, ‘I Wish it could be Christmas Everyday’, Wizzard, No.6, ‘Christmas Time’, The Darkness, No.7, ‘Saviour's Day’, Sir Cliff Richard No.8, ‘Do They Know It's Christmas’ (1984), Band Aid at No.9 and ‘Lonely This Christmas’ by Mud at No.10.
2013 – The most popular song played on NZ radio this past week is “Monster” – EMINEM feat Rihanna.
2013 - Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was sentenced to 35 years in jail for a string of child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby. Watkins, 36, from Pontypridd, Wales, had pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court last month to 13 child sex offences.