2 DECEMBER
In Music History
1918 Milton DeLugg is born in Los Angeles, California. Aside from being a talented accordionist, he writes the Nat King Cole hit "Orange Colored Sky," and composes music for popular game shows such as The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, The Gong Show, and What's My Line?
1917 Jazz singer Sylvia Syms is born Sylvia Blagman in Brooklyn, New York. In 1956 she lands her breakthrough hit with a cover of "I Could Have Danced All Night."
1916 Tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1914 Libretto writer Adolph Green is born in New York City. Along with his partner Betty Comden, he writes lyrics for a number of musicals, including On the Town, Bells Are Ringing and Singin' in the Rain.
"Thriller" Video Debuts On MTV
1983Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" video debuts on MTV. Directed by John Landis, the short film shows Michael Jackson turning into a werewolf and leading a dance routine with various undead creatures.
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Featured Events
1999 Jay-Z stabs the record executive Lance "Un" Rivera at a party at Manhattan's Kit Kat Klub, believing Rivera bootlegged his album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The rapper pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault and is sentenced to three years probation.
1995 "One Sweet Day," Mariah Carey's duet with Boyz II Men, hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and holds the top spot for a record 16 weeks.
1981 Britney Spears is born in McComb, Mississippi. She is raised in Louisiana.
1972 The Temptations "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" hits #1 in the US. Running 6:58, it's one of the longest chart-topping singles.
1957 Al Priddy, a disc jockey at the Portland, Oregon, radio station KEX, is fired for playing the Elvis Presley version of "White Christmas," which the station has banned, their program manager saying it "desecrates the Spirit of Christmas and transgresses the composer's intent." The story makes national news, but it turns out to be a brilliant publicity stunt - Priddy is back on the air two weeks later, with the station claiming letters were pouring in to support the DJ. As part of the stunt, Priddy recorded the GM calling in to "fire" him for playing the song and played the conversation on his show before he left.
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