TODAY IN HISTORY – DECEMBER 8th
1925 - Born this day, Sammy Davis Jr., in New York, NY, entertainer, member of the famous “Rat Pack” with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Peter Lawford. Died of throat cancer 16 May 1990.
1942 - Born this day, Bobby Elliott, musician, drummer, The Hollies
1943 - Born this day, (James Douglas) Jim Morrison, in Melbourne, Florida, singer, The Doors, 1967 US No.1 and UK No.49 single Light My Fire and 1971 UK No.22 single Riders On The Storm. Died 3 July 1971.
1947 - Born this day, Gregg Allman, in Nashville, Tennessee, musician, keyboardist, guitarist, singer, Allman Brothers Band, 1973 US No.12 single Ramblin' Man.
1951 - Born on this day, Dan Hartman, multi- instrumentalist, producer, worked with Edgar Winter. Had the 1978 UK No.8 & US No.29 solo single 'Instant Replay'). He died on 22nd March 1994. Wrote ‘Relight My Fire’ a UK No.1 for Take That and Lulu, collaborated with Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Holly Johnson and Steve Winwood.
1957 - Born this day, Phil Collen, musician, guitarist, Def Leppard, 1987 UK No.6 single Animal and 1987 world wide No.1 album Hysteria, 1988 US No.1 single Love Bites.
1961- The Beach Boys first single 'Surfin' was released on Candix Records, a small label based in Los Angeles. On the strength of the song’s performance in the Southern California market, Capitol Records signed the group. Other surfing songs would follow: 'Surfin’ Safari,' 'Surfin’ U.S.A.,'and 'Surfer Girl.'
1963 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., the 19-year-old son of singer and entertainer Frank Sinatra, was kidnapped on this date from a Lake Tahoe, California, hotel room. He was released three days later, unharmed, after his father paid a ransom of $240,000 with no questions asked. Most of the money was later recovered and the three kidnappers were arrested and given long prison terms.
1966 - Born this day, Sinead O'Connor, in Dublin, Ireland, singer, UK 1990 No.1 single Nothing Compares 2 U.
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.
1969 - On trial in Canada on drug possession charges, Jimi Hendrix told a Toronto court that he had only smoked pot four times in his life, snorted cocaine twice and took LSD no more than five times. Telling the jury that he had now 'outgrown' drugs. They found the guitarist not guilty.
1969 - Mick Jagger was quoted saying, 'I don't really like singing very much, I enjoy playing the guitar more than I enjoy singing and I can't play the guitar either'.
1973 - Roxy Music had their first UK No.1 album when 'Stranded' went to the top for one week. The sleeve featured Playboy's Playmate of The Year, model Marilyn Cole, (who was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold).
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 - 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 - Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, arrived at New York's Dakota, the apartment house in which they lived, after an early-evening recording session. As they walked through the apartment gates, a lone gunman stopped and fired five bullets into Lennon, killing him almost instantly. Lennon was pronounced dead from a massive loss of blood at 11.30pm. The gunman, a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman, did not attempt to escape and was immediately apprehended. Lennon's untimely death set off a week of worldwide mourning, and the murder was considered to be the most shocking in the history of rock music. John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, together with New York’s officials, set up a permanent memorial to her husband: a section of Central Park, opposite The Dakota, named Strawberry Fields.
1984 - Frankie Goes To Hollywood had their 3rd and final UK No.1 with The Power Of Love, making them the first band since Gerry And The Pacemakers to have a UK No.1 with their first three singles.
1984 - Vince Neil from Motley Crue was involved in a car accident in Redondo Beach, California, which killed Nick Dingley from Hanoi Rocks and injured two other passengers. He was jailed for 20 days and paid $2.6 million in compensation.
1995 - Courtney Love appeared on the ABC TV show 10 Most Fascinating People, telling the presenter that she wished she had done 'eight thousand million things differently' to have prevented the death of her husband Kurt Cobain.
2000 - Sting joined the ranks of Tinseltown's greatest when his star was unveiled on the celebrated Walk Of Fame in Hollywood.
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. Nathan Gale, aged 25, 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. 2013 - The electric guitar played by Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival has been sold at auction in New York for a record $965,000 (£591,000). The Fender Stratocaster had been in the possession of a New Jersey family for 48 years after he left it on a plane. The festival in Newport, Rhode Island, is often cited as the performance where Dylan "went electric".
2013 - Metallica played a gig inside a dome at the Argentine Antarctic Base Carlini, thus becoming the first band ever to play on all seven continents. During the concert audio was transmitted to an audience made up of competition winning fans from Latin America through headphones. Staged in conjunction with Coca Cola Zero, it was only the second ever gig to take place on the continent, following a performance in 2007 from a group of musical scientists, called Nunatak, at British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Research Station as part of the Live Earth climate change awareness concerts.
1925 - Born this day, Sammy Davis Jr., in New York, NY, entertainer, member of the famous “Rat Pack” with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Peter Lawford. Died of throat cancer 16 May 1990.
1942 - Born this day, Bobby Elliott, musician, drummer, The Hollies
1943 - Born this day, (James Douglas) Jim Morrison, in Melbourne, Florida, singer, The Doors, 1967 US No.1 and UK No.49 single Light My Fire and 1971 UK No.22 single Riders On The Storm. Died 3 July 1971.
1947 - Born this day, Gregg Allman, in Nashville, Tennessee, musician, keyboardist, guitarist, singer, Allman Brothers Band, 1973 US No.12 single Ramblin' Man.
1951 - Born on this day, Dan Hartman, multi- instrumentalist, producer, worked with Edgar Winter. Had the 1978 UK No.8 & US No.29 solo single 'Instant Replay'). He died on 22nd March 1994. Wrote ‘Relight My Fire’ a UK No.1 for Take That and Lulu, collaborated with Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Holly Johnson and Steve Winwood.
1957 - Born this day, Phil Collen, musician, guitarist, Def Leppard, 1987 UK No.6 single Animal and 1987 world wide No.1 album Hysteria, 1988 US No.1 single Love Bites.
1961- The Beach Boys first single 'Surfin' was released on Candix Records, a small label based in Los Angeles. On the strength of the song’s performance in the Southern California market, Capitol Records signed the group. Other surfing songs would follow: 'Surfin’ Safari,' 'Surfin’ U.S.A.,'and 'Surfer Girl.'
1963 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., the 19-year-old son of singer and entertainer Frank Sinatra, was kidnapped on this date from a Lake Tahoe, California, hotel room. He was released three days later, unharmed, after his father paid a ransom of $240,000 with no questions asked. Most of the money was later recovered and the three kidnappers were arrested and given long prison terms.
1966 - Born this day, Sinead O'Connor, in Dublin, Ireland, singer, UK 1990 No.1 single Nothing Compares 2 U.
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.
1969 - On trial in Canada on drug possession charges, Jimi Hendrix told a Toronto court that he had only smoked pot four times in his life, snorted cocaine twice and took LSD no more than five times. Telling the jury that he had now 'outgrown' drugs. They found the guitarist not guilty.
1969 - Mick Jagger was quoted saying, 'I don't really like singing very much, I enjoy playing the guitar more than I enjoy singing and I can't play the guitar either'.
1973 - Roxy Music had their first UK No.1 album when 'Stranded' went to the top for one week. The sleeve featured Playboy's Playmate of The Year, model Marilyn Cole, (who was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold).
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 - 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 - Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, arrived at New York's Dakota, the apartment house in which they lived, after an early-evening recording session. As they walked through the apartment gates, a lone gunman stopped and fired five bullets into Lennon, killing him almost instantly. Lennon was pronounced dead from a massive loss of blood at 11.30pm. The gunman, a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman, did not attempt to escape and was immediately apprehended. Lennon's untimely death set off a week of worldwide mourning, and the murder was considered to be the most shocking in the history of rock music. John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, together with New York’s officials, set up a permanent memorial to her husband: a section of Central Park, opposite The Dakota, named Strawberry Fields.
1984 - Frankie Goes To Hollywood had their 3rd and final UK No.1 with The Power Of Love, making them the first band since Gerry And The Pacemakers to have a UK No.1 with their first three singles.
1984 - Vince Neil from Motley Crue was involved in a car accident in Redondo Beach, California, which killed Nick Dingley from Hanoi Rocks and injured two other passengers. He was jailed for 20 days and paid $2.6 million in compensation.
1995 - Courtney Love appeared on the ABC TV show 10 Most Fascinating People, telling the presenter that she wished she had done 'eight thousand million things differently' to have prevented the death of her husband Kurt Cobain.
2000 - Sting joined the ranks of Tinseltown's greatest when his star was unveiled on the celebrated Walk Of Fame in Hollywood.
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. Nathan Gale, aged 25, 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. 2013 - The electric guitar played by Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival has been sold at auction in New York for a record $965,000 (£591,000). The Fender Stratocaster had been in the possession of a New Jersey family for 48 years after he left it on a plane. The festival in Newport, Rhode Island, is often cited as the performance where Dylan "went electric".
2013 - Metallica played a gig inside a dome at the Argentine Antarctic Base Carlini, thus becoming the first band ever to play on all seven continents. During the concert audio was transmitted to an audience made up of competition winning fans from Latin America through headphones. Staged in conjunction with Coca Cola Zero, it was only the second ever gig to take place on the continent, following a performance in 2007 from a group of musical scientists, called Nunatak, at British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Research Station as part of the Live Earth climate change awareness concerts.