TODAY IN HISTORY – November 25th
1940 - Born on this day, Percy Sledge, soul singer, (1966 UK No.4 and US No.1 single 'When A Man Loves A Woman').
1949 - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer appeared on the music charts and became the musical hit of the Christmas season. Although Gene Autry's rendition is the most popular, 80 different versions of the song have been recorded, with nearly 20,000,000 copies sold.
1960 - Born this day, Amy Grant, singer, 1991 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Baby Baby.
1965 - London's Harrods store closed to the public so The Beatles could do their Christmas shopping.
1965 - The Seekers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Carnival Is Over', the group's second No.1. Originally a Russian folk song from 1883 with lyrics written by Tom Springfield (the brother of Dusty Springfield). At its peak, the song was selling 93,000 copies per day and is No.30 of the biggest selling singles of all time in the United Kingdom.
1969 - John Lennon returned his MBE to The Queen in protest at Britain's involvement in Biafra and its support of US action in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey, slipping down the charts.
1972 - Chuck Berry was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'My Ding a-Ling', his only UK No.1. The song was originally recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952. Berry's version was from a concert recorded at the Locarno ballroom in Coventry, England, on 3 February 1972. Boston radio station WMEX disc jockey Jim Connors was credited with a gold record for discovering the song and pushing it to No.1 over the airwaves and amongst his peers in the United States.
1974 - UK singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26 of an overdose of tryptasol an anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old, recorded the classic 1972 album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.
1976 - The Band made their final performance, The Last Waltz at San Francisco's Winterland. The show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. The event was filmed by Martin Scorsese.
1984 - Britain's top rock stars responded to a call from Bob Geldof AND gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios London to record Do They Know It's Christmas in aid of the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. The single featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, and George Michael.
1987 - Appearing at London's Town And Country Club, were Hothouse Flowers promoting their new single Don't Go.
1989 - Milli Vanilli started a 2 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Blame It On The Rain, their third US No.1 of the year. It only made No.53 in the UK.
1992 - The Bodyguard, opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston's acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. It became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992 with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 42 million copies worldwide.
1996 - A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury. Standing almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva it was unveiled by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.
2000 - A burglar broke into Alice Cooper's home and made off with over $6000 worth of clothes, shoes and cameras belonging to the singers daughter. The good's were all lifted from Cooper's house in Paradise Valley, along with four of the star's gold discs.
2001 - Robbie Williams started a eight week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Swing When You're Winning.
2001 - American country music artist Garth Brooks went to No.1 on the US album chart with his ninth studio album 'Scarecrow', the last album by Brooks before his ten-year hiatus.
2003 - Glen Campbell was arrested in Phoenix Arizona with a blood alcohol level of .20 after his BMW struck a Toyota Camry. He was charged with 'extreme' drunk driving, hit and run, and assaulting a police officer. A police officer reported that while in custody, Campbell hummed his hit 'Rhinestone Cowboy' repeatedly.
2003 - Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London's Wembley Arena.
2005 - Take That announced that they were to reform for a tour, 10 years after they split up. At a press conference in London, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald said they would go back on tour in April 2006, but without Robbie Williams.
2005 - Authorities in Vietnam extended Gary Glitter's detention by four months, while claims that he had sex with under-age girls were examined. Glitter was held under suspicion of committing lewd acts with children. The ex-singer denied accusations of having sex with two under-age girls, one aged 12.
2007 - Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band's biggest hit was 'Cum on Feel the Noize', a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.
2009 – The most popular song played on NZ radio over the past week is “Meet me Halfway” – Black Eyed Peas.
2010 - A restaurant fell victim to a prankster who had them make 178 pizzas by claiming they were for singer Bob Dylan and his crew. An imposter wearing a fake pass for a Dylan concert called in an Antonio's restaurant and placed the huge order worth more than $3,900. He told the owner the pizzas were for Dylan and his crew who had appeared in concert in Amherst, Massachusetts. Staff at Antonios worked until 5.30am to make the pizzas - but were left stunned when no one returned to collect the order.
2012 – “Gangnam Style” by South Korean pop sensation, PSY (pronounced Sigh) becomes the most viewed video on You Tube surpassing 800 million views. Previous record holder was Justin Beiber “Baby”.
1940 - Born on this day, Percy Sledge, soul singer, (1966 UK No.4 and US No.1 single 'When A Man Loves A Woman').
1949 - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer appeared on the music charts and became the musical hit of the Christmas season. Although Gene Autry's rendition is the most popular, 80 different versions of the song have been recorded, with nearly 20,000,000 copies sold.
1960 - Born this day, Amy Grant, singer, 1991 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Baby Baby.
1965 - London's Harrods store closed to the public so The Beatles could do their Christmas shopping.
1965 - The Seekers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Carnival Is Over', the group's second No.1. Originally a Russian folk song from 1883 with lyrics written by Tom Springfield (the brother of Dusty Springfield). At its peak, the song was selling 93,000 copies per day and is No.30 of the biggest selling singles of all time in the United Kingdom.
1969 - John Lennon returned his MBE to The Queen in protest at Britain's involvement in Biafra and its support of US action in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey, slipping down the charts.
1972 - Chuck Berry was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'My Ding a-Ling', his only UK No.1. The song was originally recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952. Berry's version was from a concert recorded at the Locarno ballroom in Coventry, England, on 3 February 1972. Boston radio station WMEX disc jockey Jim Connors was credited with a gold record for discovering the song and pushing it to No.1 over the airwaves and amongst his peers in the United States.
1974 - UK singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26 of an overdose of tryptasol an anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old, recorded the classic 1972 album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.
1976 - The Band made their final performance, The Last Waltz at San Francisco's Winterland. The show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. The event was filmed by Martin Scorsese.
1984 - Britain's top rock stars responded to a call from Bob Geldof AND gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios London to record Do They Know It's Christmas in aid of the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. The single featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, and George Michael.
1987 - Appearing at London's Town And Country Club, were Hothouse Flowers promoting their new single Don't Go.
1989 - Milli Vanilli started a 2 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Blame It On The Rain, their third US No.1 of the year. It only made No.53 in the UK.
1992 - The Bodyguard, opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston's acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. It became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992 with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 42 million copies worldwide.
1996 - A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury. Standing almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva it was unveiled by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.
2000 - A burglar broke into Alice Cooper's home and made off with over $6000 worth of clothes, shoes and cameras belonging to the singers daughter. The good's were all lifted from Cooper's house in Paradise Valley, along with four of the star's gold discs.
2001 - Robbie Williams started a eight week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Swing When You're Winning.
2001 - American country music artist Garth Brooks went to No.1 on the US album chart with his ninth studio album 'Scarecrow', the last album by Brooks before his ten-year hiatus.
2003 - Glen Campbell was arrested in Phoenix Arizona with a blood alcohol level of .20 after his BMW struck a Toyota Camry. He was charged with 'extreme' drunk driving, hit and run, and assaulting a police officer. A police officer reported that while in custody, Campbell hummed his hit 'Rhinestone Cowboy' repeatedly.
2003 - Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London's Wembley Arena.
2005 - Take That announced that they were to reform for a tour, 10 years after they split up. At a press conference in London, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald said they would go back on tour in April 2006, but without Robbie Williams.
2005 - Authorities in Vietnam extended Gary Glitter's detention by four months, while claims that he had sex with under-age girls were examined. Glitter was held under suspicion of committing lewd acts with children. The ex-singer denied accusations of having sex with two under-age girls, one aged 12.
2007 - Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band's biggest hit was 'Cum on Feel the Noize', a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.
2009 – The most popular song played on NZ radio over the past week is “Meet me Halfway” – Black Eyed Peas.
2010 - A restaurant fell victim to a prankster who had them make 178 pizzas by claiming they were for singer Bob Dylan and his crew. An imposter wearing a fake pass for a Dylan concert called in an Antonio's restaurant and placed the huge order worth more than $3,900. He told the owner the pizzas were for Dylan and his crew who had appeared in concert in Amherst, Massachusetts. Staff at Antonios worked until 5.30am to make the pizzas - but were left stunned when no one returned to collect the order.
2012 – “Gangnam Style” by South Korean pop sensation, PSY (pronounced Sigh) becomes the most viewed video on You Tube surpassing 800 million views. Previous record holder was Justin Beiber “Baby”.