8 DECEMBER
In Music History
1947 Geoff Daking (drummer for Blues Magoos) is born.
1947 Gregg Allman (of The Allman Brothers Band) is born in Nashville, Tennessee.
1944 George Baker is born Johannes Bouwens in Hoorn, Netherlands. His group George Baker Selection scores a hit with their debut single, "Little Green Bag," which is later revived in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs in 1992.
1943 Graham Knight (original bass player for Marmalade) is born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1943 Jim Morrison is born James Douglas Morrison in Melbourne, Florida. He becomes lead singer of The Doors.
1941 Bobby Elliott (drummer for The Hollies) is born in Burnley, Lancashire, England.
1939 Jerry Butler (lead singer of The Impressions) is born in Sunflower, Mississippi. He moves to Chicago, where he sings in a church choir with future bandmate Curtis Mayfield.
1925 Jazz organist Jimmy Smith is born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He helps popularize the Hammond B-3 electric organ in the '60s.
1925 Sammy Davis, Jr. is born Samuel George Davis Jr. in New York City. By the age of 3, he is a vaudeville performer alongside his father in the Will Mastin Trio.
1914 Floyd Tillman, forerunner of western swing and honky tonk, is born in Ryan, Oklahoma, and grows up in Post, Texas.
1828 Martha Ella Blocksom, subject of the song "Lorena," is born in Zanesville, Ohio.
John Lennon Is Killed
1980John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.
Read more8 DECEMBER
Featured Events
2004 Dimebag Darrell is shot dead on stage while performing with his band Damageplan at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The murderer, Nathan Gale, kills three others before being shot dead by a police officer.More
1995 Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead announce their breakup, stating, "The 'long strange trip' of the uniquely wonderful beast known as the Grateful Dead is over." Members Bob Weir and Vince Welnick continue as Ratdog.
1976 An updated version of the musical drama A Star is Born debuts in movie theaters, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and featuring the Academy Award-winning chart-topper "Evergreen."More
1969 The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously) release their only album, Permanent Damage, with Frank Zappa producing. The band is entirely made up of "groupies." The lineup consists of Pamela Miller (later Des Barres), Mercy Fontenot, Cynthia Wells (later Cale-Binion), Christine Frka, Lucy Offerall, Sandra Rowe and Sandy Parker.More
1963 Frank Sinatra Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.
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