9 DECEMBER
In Music History
2023 Thanks to a new music video, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, originally released in 1958, goes to #1 in America, making Lee, 78, the oldest artist ever to top the chart. And at 65 years, it's the longest a song has ever taken to reach the top spot.
2022 SZA releases her second album, SOS, which debuts at #1 in America. Many of the songs find her navigating a toxic relationship, including the big hit "Kill Bill," where she considers offing her ex.
2022 The British rock band Slaves change their name to Soft Play. Meant to reference "the grind of day-to-day life," they say the name "doesn't represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer."
2021 Kanye West and Drake end their long-running feud when they perform together at the Free Larry Hoover concert.
2019 Marie Fredriksson of Roxette dies of a brain tumor at 61.
2014 Sting joins the Broadway cast of his musical The Last Ship, which is based on the shipbuilding community where he grew up.
2014 Winfred "Blue" Lovett, an original member of The Manhattans, dies of cancer at age 74.
2011 Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O marries her longtime boyfriend, director Barnaby Clay.
2005 Mike Botts (drummer for Bread) dies of colon cancer the day after his 61st birthday in Burbank, California.
2003 Ozzy Osbourne crashes his quad bike, breaking several bones, including his collarbone, and fracturing vertebrae. The injuries are considerable, but not life-threatening.
2003 The Offspring release their seventh studio album, Splinter.
2003 After the runaway success of the bluegrass soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou?, producer T Bone Burnett helms another Appalachian-inspired album for the Civil War movie Cold Mountain. Alison Krauss sings the Sting-written "You Will Be My Ain True Love" and "The Scarlet Tide," both of which are nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
2002 Australian band The Vines are booted from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno when lead singer Craig Nichols trashes equipment during sound check.
1991 A long legal battle over Bob Marley's estate ends when the nearly $12 million estate is awarded to his widow, Rita, and her children. In honor of the verdict, son Ziggy names his daughter, who was born that day, Justice Marley.
1989 Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire" hits #1 in America.
Jim Morrison Becomes First Rocker Arrested Mid-Performance
1967Jim Morrison of The Doors is arrested at his own concert in New Haven, Connecticut, after a police officer finds him backstage with a young girl and maces him. It's the first time a famous musician is arrested in the middle of a performance.
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Featured Events
2001 Perhaps hoping for a Nigel Tufnel Spinal Tap moment, Slash shows up at The Joint in Las Vegas, where his old band Guns N' Roses is playing. He is denied entry, as band management doesn't want to upset Axl Rose.
1984 The Jacksons' Victory tour comes to an end with a show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It would be the only tour featuring all six members of The Jacksons (including Michael).
1980 The airwaves are filled with the music of John Lennon, who was shot and killed the previous evening. In Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen opens his concert by telling the crowd, "It's hard to come out here and play tonight, but there's nothing else to do."
1969 Jakob Dylan (lead singer for The Wallflowers) is born in New York City, New York. He is the fifth and youngest child of Bob Dylan and his first wife, Sara Lownds.
1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas makes its debut, airing on CBS in place of The Munsters. The famous score, which becomes synonymous with the Peanuts, is written by the jazz musician Vince Guaraldi and performed by his trio.More
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