1 DECEMBER
In Music History
1966 The Mamas and The Papas' Cass, John, Michelle and Denny album is certified gold.
1965 Overcoming protests from residents worried about their property values, Joan Baez gets approval to open the Institute For The Study Of Nonviolence, a school in Carmel Valley, California. It later moves to Palo Alto and eventually becomes the Resource Center for Nonviolence.
1960 24-year-old Bobby Darin marries 19-year-old Sandra Dee at Don Kirshner's apartment in New Jersey.
1958 Neil Sedaka signs with RCA Records as a solo artist.
1958 The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him" hits #1 for the first of three weeks.
1956 One of the first rock movies, The Girl Can't Help It, opens in America. Featuring performances by Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, The Platters and Fats Domino, the film stars Jayne Mansfield as an aspiring singer.
1956 Julee Cruise is born in Creston, Iowa. The singer-songwriter writes the iconic theme ("Falling") to the cult TV series Twin Peaks.
1954 Fred Rose, country music songwriter and publisher, dies in Nashville, Tennessee, in his mid-50's. Started the first Nashville-based music publishing company with Roy Acuff. Among many others, known for writing the songs "Crazy Heart" and "Take These Chains From My Heart" for Hank Williams and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," made famous by Willie Nelson.
1951 Jaco Pastorius (bassist for Weather Report) is born in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
1946 Gilbert O'Sullivan is born Raymond Edward O'Sullivan in Waterford, Ireland. He changes his first name as a nod to Victorian-era composers Gilbert & Sullivan.
1945 Burl Ives makes his concert debut at New York's Town Hall.
1945 Bette Midler is born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1944 John Densmore (drummer for The Doors) is born in Los Angeles, California.
1944 Blue Öyster Cult lead singer Eric Bloom is born in New York City.
1942 Richard Dangle, lead guitarist of the Fabulous Wailers, is born in Tacoma, Washington.
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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