TODAY IN HISTORY – December 2nd
1952 - Born this day, Michael McDonald, in St. Louis, Missouri, singer, songwriter, musician, keyboardist, The Doobie Brothers, 1979 US No.1 single What A Fool Believes, 1993 UK No.7 single Long Train Runnin'.
1960 - Born this day, Rick Savage, musician, bassist, founder member of Def Leppard, 1987 UK No.6 single Animal, 1992 UK No.2 single Let's Get Rocked, 1995 UK No.2 single When Love & Hate Collide, plus over 20 ther UK chart singles. 1987 world wide No.1 album Hysteria, 1992 UK No.1 album Adrenalize, plus seven other UK album entries. 1988 US No.1 single Love Bites.
1964 - Ringo Starr's tonsils were removed.
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’.
1969 - Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes was kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in. She later escaped unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.
1976 - The first day of the photo shoot for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover took place at Battersea Power Station in London, England with a giant inflatable pig lashed between two of the structure's tall towers. A trained marksman was hired ready to fire if the inflatable escaped, but was not needed on this, the first day. Unfortunately the following day the marksman hadn't been rebooked, so when the inflatable broke free from its moorings, it was able to float away, eventually landing in Kent where it was recovered by a local farmer, reportedly furious that it had ‘scared his cows.’
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.
1978 - Born on this day, Nelly Furtado, singer, (2001 UK No. 5 single 'I'm Like A Bird').
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.
1981 - Born this day, Britney Spears, in Kentwood, Louisiana, singer. During her early years, she was a child star of The Disney Club. Britney's debut album Baby One More Time is the biggest selling album by a teenage female act with sales over 10 million. Her biggest hit so far is the 1999 world-wide No.1 single Baby One More Time. The top selling UK single of 1999. In 1999, Britney won four MTV Awards with Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best Song - Baby One More Time and Best Breakthrough Artist.
Church groups in middle America claimed that pictures of the singer printed in Rolling Stone magazine encouraged child pornography. The shots showed Britney with not many clothes on in her bedroom. In 2000 Britney's hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana announced that a new museum would include a section devoted to the local star that would include fan mail, platinum records and genuine items of clothing direct from the Spears' wardrobe. It was reported in 2001 that the singer had picked up a six-figure sum to feature in a global advertising campaign for Skechers trainers.
1983 - MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video for the first time. Now regarded as the most influential pop music video of all time, in 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor, for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.
1995 - Mariah Carey went to No.1 on the US singles chart with her duet with Boyz II Men 'One Sweet Day'. It made Carey the first artist in history to have two consecutive single debut at No.1, 'Fantasy' being her first.
1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute double album was released. The collection included songs from Sinead O’Connor, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Queen, George Michael, U2, Paul McCartney, REM, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and many others.
1997 - A man died after falling from a balcony during a Rolling Stones concert at Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan.
1999 - It was reported that Stevie Wonder was to undergo an operation to regain his sight. The breakthrough by top eye specialists involved inserting a microchip in the retina.
2000 - Thieves broke into the London home of Madonna and Guy Ritchie. The raiders forced their way in through a basement door then took a set of car keys before loading up Guy Ritchie’s car with some of the couple’s possessions and driving off.
2000 - The Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert when they appeared at the Metro Club in Chicago.
2001 - Creed started an eight week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Weathered.
2001 - Daniel Bedingfield scored his first UK No.1 single with Gotta Get Thru This, the single went back to No.1 in January 2002.
2002 - Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was arrested and charged with assault after he Kung-Fu kicked a police officer. The incident happened at the Bayerischer hotel in Munich, the singer lost his two front teeth in the brawl and an Oasis minder was knocked out cold. As a result a concert in Munich had to be postponed and a show in Hamburg, re-scheduled as the singer underwent emergency dental work.
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 fiancee and manager Sue Whitehouse produced a tour schedule to prove that he was in England on 4 July when the crime was committed.
2006 - 25 year old singer and actress Beyonce was set to earn more money than any other black actress for her performance in her latest film 'Dreamgirls'. The musical based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes would earn the singer a £5m fee.
2006 - Dutch singer Mariska Veres from Shocking Blue died of cancer at the age of 59. Had the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Venus', (later covered by girl group of Bananarama).
2012 - Led Zeppelin received a prestigious award from Barack Obama for their significant contribution to American culture and the arts. Dressed in black suits and bow ties, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were among a group of artists who received Kennedy Centre Honours at a dinner event at the White House. In his tribute to the band, Mr Obama said: "When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming. The president drew laughter from guests when he thanked the former band members for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around".
1952 - Born this day, Michael McDonald, in St. Louis, Missouri, singer, songwriter, musician, keyboardist, The Doobie Brothers, 1979 US No.1 single What A Fool Believes, 1993 UK No.7 single Long Train Runnin'.
1960 - Born this day, Rick Savage, musician, bassist, founder member of Def Leppard, 1987 UK No.6 single Animal, 1992 UK No.2 single Let's Get Rocked, 1995 UK No.2 single When Love & Hate Collide, plus over 20 ther UK chart singles. 1987 world wide No.1 album Hysteria, 1992 UK No.1 album Adrenalize, plus seven other UK album entries. 1988 US No.1 single Love Bites.
1964 - Ringo Starr's tonsils were removed.
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’.
1969 - Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes was kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in. She later escaped unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.
1976 - The first day of the photo shoot for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover took place at Battersea Power Station in London, England with a giant inflatable pig lashed between two of the structure's tall towers. A trained marksman was hired ready to fire if the inflatable escaped, but was not needed on this, the first day. Unfortunately the following day the marksman hadn't been rebooked, so when the inflatable broke free from its moorings, it was able to float away, eventually landing in Kent where it was recovered by a local farmer, reportedly furious that it had ‘scared his cows.’
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.
1978 - Born on this day, Nelly Furtado, singer, (2001 UK No. 5 single 'I'm Like A Bird').
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.
1981 - Born this day, Britney Spears, in Kentwood, Louisiana, singer. During her early years, she was a child star of The Disney Club. Britney's debut album Baby One More Time is the biggest selling album by a teenage female act with sales over 10 million. Her biggest hit so far is the 1999 world-wide No.1 single Baby One More Time. The top selling UK single of 1999. In 1999, Britney won four MTV Awards with Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best Song - Baby One More Time and Best Breakthrough Artist.
Church groups in middle America claimed that pictures of the singer printed in Rolling Stone magazine encouraged child pornography. The shots showed Britney with not many clothes on in her bedroom. In 2000 Britney's hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana announced that a new museum would include a section devoted to the local star that would include fan mail, platinum records and genuine items of clothing direct from the Spears' wardrobe. It was reported in 2001 that the singer had picked up a six-figure sum to feature in a global advertising campaign for Skechers trainers.
1983 - MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video for the first time. Now regarded as the most influential pop music video of all time, in 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor, for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.
1995 - Mariah Carey went to No.1 on the US singles chart with her duet with Boyz II Men 'One Sweet Day'. It made Carey the first artist in history to have two consecutive single debut at No.1, 'Fantasy' being her first.
1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute double album was released. The collection included songs from Sinead O’Connor, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Queen, George Michael, U2, Paul McCartney, REM, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and many others.
1997 - A man died after falling from a balcony during a Rolling Stones concert at Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan.
1999 - It was reported that Stevie Wonder was to undergo an operation to regain his sight. The breakthrough by top eye specialists involved inserting a microchip in the retina.
2000 - Thieves broke into the London home of Madonna and Guy Ritchie. The raiders forced their way in through a basement door then took a set of car keys before loading up Guy Ritchie’s car with some of the couple’s possessions and driving off.
2000 - The Smashing Pumpkins played their final concert when they appeared at the Metro Club in Chicago.
2001 - Creed started an eight week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Weathered.
2001 - Daniel Bedingfield scored his first UK No.1 single with Gotta Get Thru This, the single went back to No.1 in January 2002.
2002 - Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was arrested and charged with assault after he Kung-Fu kicked a police officer. The incident happened at the Bayerischer hotel in Munich, the singer lost his two front teeth in the brawl and an Oasis minder was knocked out cold. As a result a concert in Munich had to be postponed and a show in Hamburg, re-scheduled as the singer underwent emergency dental work.
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 fiancee and manager Sue Whitehouse produced a tour schedule to prove that he was in England on 4 July when the crime was committed.
2006 - 25 year old singer and actress Beyonce was set to earn more money than any other black actress for her performance in her latest film 'Dreamgirls'. The musical based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes would earn the singer a £5m fee.
2006 - Dutch singer Mariska Veres from Shocking Blue died of cancer at the age of 59. Had the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Venus', (later covered by girl group of Bananarama).
2012 - Led Zeppelin received a prestigious award from Barack Obama for their significant contribution to American culture and the arts. Dressed in black suits and bow ties, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were among a group of artists who received Kennedy Centre Honours at a dinner event at the White House. In his tribute to the band, Mr Obama said: "When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming. The president drew laughter from guests when he thanked the former band members for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around".