Pick a Day

30 DECEMBER

In Music History

2012 The Birmingham Mail reports that Jim Simpson, the record industry A&R man who discovered and signed Black Sabbath, is launching a campaign to have the airport in Birmingham, England, renamed as "The Ozzy Osbourne International Airport." No word on whether the planes would play "Flying High Again" on takeoff and landing.

2010 Boney M lead singer Bobby Farrell dies of heart failure at age 61 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on the anniversary of Rasputin's death. The notorious adviser to the tragic Romanovs was murdered in Saint Petersburg in 1916 and was also the subject of Boney M's hit single, "Rasputin."

2006 R&B superstar Brandy is involved in a car accident on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles that kills a 38-year-old woman who is struck by her Land Rover. No criminal charges are files, and a civil suit is later settled.

2004 Artie Shaw - bandleader, clarinetist and composer - dies from a culmination of health issues, including diabetes, in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 94.

2002 After being pulled over for driving erratically, Diana Ross is arrested in Tucson, Arizona, for driving under the influence, with a blood alcohol level reportedly twice the legal limit. She fails all sobriety tests at the scene, reportedly falling over when asked to walk a straight line. She is charged with three misdemeanor DUIs.

1999 Slade singer Noddy Holder is awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II, and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire).

1998 R&B singer Johnny Moore (of The Drifters) dies of respiratory failure in London, England, at age 64.

1995 Clarence "Satch" Satchell (saxophonist, guitarist for The Ohio Players) dies of a brain aneurysm at age 54.

1993 Songwriter Mack David dies at age 81. Known for his work on Disney films, such as Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland, and for hits like Duke Ellington's "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (1939).

1991 Doo wop singer Richard Blandon (of The Dubs, The Paragons) dies in New York at age 57.

1991 Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa have their second child, daughter Jessica Rae.

1978 Iron Maiden have their first recording session, laying down a demo at a studio in Cambridge, England, in the first of a two-day session they get on the cheap because nobody else wants studio time over New Year's Eve weekend. The demo gets the attention of DJs and club owners, earning the band a huge UK following in 1979 and eventually a record deal with EMI.

1978 R&B singer Tyrese is born Tyrese Darnell Gibson in Watts, Los Angeles, California. He catches his break singing the slogan "Always Coca-Cola" for a 1994 Coke commercial.

1978 Emerson, Lake And Palmer publicly announce their breakup.