1 DECEMBER
In Music History
1989 Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, hits theaters in the US, with a theme song written by the powerhouse songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and sung by Mavis Staples.
1989 Scottish keyboardist Billy Lyall (of Bay City Rollers, Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project) dies of an AIDS-related illness at age 36.
1989 Sly Stone (of Sly & the Family Stone) is sentenced to 55 days in jail for driving while under the influence of cocaine.
1988 Newlyweds Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet welcome a baby girl, Zoe. She grows up to be a model and actress like her mom, who found fame on The Cosby Show, and a singer like her dad, who wrote "Flowers For Zoe" for her. More
1988 Tyler Joseph (frontman for Twenty One Pilots) is born in Columbus, Ohio.
1986 Lee Dorsey of "Working in the Coal Mine" fame dies of emphysema at age 59.
1985 Sci-fi soul singer Janelle Monáe is born in Kansas City, Kansas.
1977 Brad Delson (lead guitarist for Linkin Park) is born in Agoura, California.
1975 Bette Midler has a very memorable 30th birthday: she is hospitalized and undergoes an emergency appendectomy.
1973 The Carpenters "Top Of The World" hits #1 in America. The song is also a #1 Country hit for Lynn Anderson.
1972 Martha and the Vandellas give their farewell performance in Detroit, Michigan.
1972 Wings release "Hi, Hi, Hi."
1971 John Lennon releases "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in the US.
1969 Chicago bluesman Magic Sam, born Samuel Gene Maghett, dies suddenly of a heart attack at age 32. Known for "All Your Love," "Easy Baby" and "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)."
1968 Promises, Promises, a musical adapted from the Billy Wilder film The Apartment, debuts at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The first and only Broadway production with music from Burt Bacharach and Hal David, it yields hits for Dionne Warwick and Bobbie Gentry.More
Sex Pistols Get Punk On Live TV
1976The Sex Pistols appear on the Today programme on London regional TV as a last-minute substitute for Queen. After being goaded by host Bill Grundy, they swear repeatedly, including the dreaded "F" word, shocking sensitive viewers.
Read more1 DECEMBER
Featured Events
2006 GQ magazine names Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson "Newlyweds of the Year," but by the time the issue hits newsstands, the couple are divorced.More
1997 Using a technique called circular breathing, Kenny G sets the Guinness World Record for longest note held on a wind instrument when he keeps it going for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. In 2017, the Nigerian player Femi Kuti breaks the record, going 51:35.
1991 Thinking there are 31 days in November, Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell continues his hunting trip, causing the band to miss their next show opening for Van Halen in Memphis.
1959 Chuck Berry meets a young lady named Janice Escalanti in Juarez, Mexico (his band has a show in El Paso that night). After learning she is a runaway, Berry invites her on the tour and takes her back to St. Louis to work at his restaurant. Bad move: she's just 14, which puts Berry in violation of a law against transporting minors across state lines. When their arrangement doesn't work out, she goes to the police, who arrest Berry. He ends up serving 20 months in jail.
1958 Life magazine becomes the first major publication to print the phrase "teen idol" when they use it to describe their cover subject, Ricky Nelson.More
1957 It's a big night on Ed Sullivan Show: Buddy Holly and the Crickets (performing "That'll Be The Day"), Sam Cooke (performing "You Send Me"), and The Rays (performing "Silhouettes") all perform for the first time on national TV.
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