Musician Birthdays: Scotty Moore (guitarist, most famous as guitar player for Elvis Presley, born in 1931), Hayley Williams (singer of Paramore, born in 1988)

– In 1960: The Beatles appeared at Litherland Town Hall Ballroom in Liverpool. Added to the bill at the last minute, The Beatles were not advertised to appear, so banners had been pasted onto advertising posters, saying “Direct From Hamburg, The Beatles!” Since The Beatles were playing in an area they’d only played in once before, most of the audience assumes they were a German group.

– In 1967: The Doors appeared on the Jonathon Winters Show CBS TV show from Los Angeles, California.

– In 1969: Led Zeppelin II was at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over six million copies in the US.

– In 1969: Diana Ross and the Supremes went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Someday We’ll Be Together’, the group’s 12th US No.1. A No.13 hit in the UK.

– In 1975: The Faces split became official. Rod Stewart had severed all connections with the group to work as a solo artist, Ron Wood was on permanent loan to the Stones, Ronnie Lane went on to form Slim Chance and drummer Kenny Jones joined The Who.

– In 1975: The Staple Singers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Let’s Do It Again’ the group’s second US No.1.

– In 1976: Blues guitarist Freddie King died of heart trouble and ulcers aged 42. Eric Clapton covered his ‘Have You Ever Loved A Woman’ on his Layla album. Major influence on British and American blues-rock musicians such as Jimmy Vaughan, Ronnie Earl, Peter Green and Eric Clapton.

– In 1980: John and Yoko’s ‘Double Fantasy’ album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. ‘Just Like Starting Over’ started a five-week stay at No.1 on the singles chart.

– In 1989: A former chef at the Chuck Berry owned restaurant Southern Air started court proceedings against Berry alleging that the singer had installed secret video cameras in the ladies toilets. A further 200 other women also took action claiming that the recordings were used for improper sexual fetishes.

– In 1992: Harry Connick Jr was arrested at Kennedy Airport, New York after police discovered a 9mm pistol in his hand luggage.

– In 1999: Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs and his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were arrested after a gun was found in their car as they left a Manhattan nightclub. Police were investigating a shooting in the club.

– In 2008: Thieves broke into a house belonging to Allman Brothers Band singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman in Georgia and stole a coin collection, knives and unreleased concert recordings. Two men where charged with the burglary two days later.

– In 2008: Taylor Swift started a seven-week run at No.1 on the US album charts with ‘Fearless’.

Musician Birthdays: Lars Ulrich (drummer for Metallica, born in 1955), Jared Leto (guitarist, singer for 30 Seconds to Mars, film actor, born in 1971), Chris Daughtry (singer/guitarist of his band, Daughtry, famous for American Idol competitor, born in 1979)

– In 1963: Capitol Records, the EMI-affiliated company which rejected the US rights to every Beatles record that they were offered until then, finally released ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ backed with ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. The song was currently topping the UK chart with ‘This Boy’ on the flip side. Within five weeks, the record would rise to number one in the US, where it would stay for seven weeks. The song was recorded the previous October and the hit version was take number 17.

– In 1964: The Beatles started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Feel Fine’. It was the group’s 6th No.1 of the year in which they had 30 entries on the chart, giving them a total of 18 weeks at the top of the charts.

– In 1964: The Rolling Stones placed an advertisement in the music paper New Musical Express, wishing starving hairdressers and their families a Happy Christmas.

– In 1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience played an afternoon show at The Uppercut Club, London. Hendrix also wrote the lyrics to Purple Haze in the dressing room on the same day.

– In 1967: BBC Television broadcast The Beatles’ movie ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in black and white. The next day, the British press and the viewing public pronounce the film an utter disaster. The negative reaction was so strong that a US television deal for broadcasting the movie was cancelled.

– In 1968: Led Zeppelin started their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge and Spirit at Denver Auditorium, Colorado, tickets for this Sunday night gig cost $5.

– In 1970: George Harrison started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Sweet Lord’, making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

– In 1976: The Sex Pistols recorded ‘God Save The Queen’ at Wessex Studios London, England.

– In 1979: Pink Floyd’s The Wall was at No.1 on the US album chart. (The album spent a total of 15 weeks at No.1 during a 35-week stay on the chart). The Wall also spent a total of 5 weeks at No.1 on the UK chart.

– In 1981: AC/DC started a three-week run at #1 on the US album chart with ‘For Those About To Rock We Salute You’ the follow-up to their highly successful album ‘Back In Black’. The name of the album was inspired by a book Angus Young read, entitled ‘For Those About to Die, We Salute You’, about Roman gladiators.

– In 2006: Michael Jackson filed a lawsuit against his former accountants, claiming they withdrew $2.5 million a year from his bank accounts but did not properly pay his bills. Jackson hired the Los Angeles-based firm in 2003 for book-keeping, opening bank accounts and filing personal, corporate and real estate taxes.

– In 2007: Amy Winehouse’s second album ‘Back to Black’ was named as the biggest-selling album of the year. Released at the end of 2006 the album had now sold more than 1.5m copies in the UK, achieving five platinum sales awards, Winehouse was also nominated for six Grammys including song of the year. Leona Lewis’s ‘Spirit’ was the second best seller, Lewis sold 1.27m copies in just five weeks, becoming the fastest-selling debut in UK history and making the former X Factor winner the fastest female million-seller in the UK. Mika’s ‘Life in Cartoon Motion’ were the third best selling album of 2007.

NOTE: Here’s the late Christmas Day, “This Day In Music”…

Musician Birthdays: Phil Spector (US producer, born in 1940), Noel Redding (bassist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience), Jimmy Buffett (US Singer/songwriter, famous for the hit, “Margaritaville”, born in 1946), Annie Lennox (singer of Eurthymics, solo career, born in 1954), Dido (singer/songwriter, born in 1971)

– In 1954: Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ entered the Billboard Pop chart for the eleventh time. Bing’s rendition has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles. It was the largest selling single in music history until it was surpassed by Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’.

– In 1964: Beatles fans attacked George Harrison’s girlfriend Patti Boyd as they arrived at London’s Hammersmith Odeon for tonight’s Beatles concert.

– In 1964: The Beatles, recorded six songs for the BBC radio program Saturday Club in London: ‘Rock and Roll Music’, ‘I’m a Loser’, ‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey’ and ‘She’s a Woman.’

– In 1965: The Beatles 6th album ‘Rubber Soul’ started a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK chart. It spent a total of 42 week’s on the UK chart and was also a No.1 in the US.

– In 1968: Led Zeppelin arrived in the United States for the very first time in preparation of their debut North American tour. The group were paid an average of $1,500 for each show.

– In 1976: The Eagles started a eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Hotel California.’

– In 1981: Michael Jackson phoned Paul McCartney and suggested they write and record together, the first result being ‘The Girl Is Mine’. The song was a US No.2 & UK No.8 in 1982.

– In 1982: David Bowie had a No.3 UK hit with a duet with Bing Crosby, ‘Peace On Earth – Little Drummer Boy.’

– In 1993: Mariah Carey started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Hero’, a No.7 hit in the UK. Also on this day Mariah went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Music Box’.

– In 1995: American singer, actor and TV host Dean Martin died. Had the 1956 UK & US No.1 single ‘Memories Are Made Of This’ plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles including ‘That’s Amore‘, ‘Everybody Loves Somebody‘, ‘Mambo Italiano‘. In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show.

– In 2003:  Michael Jackson recorded his first interview since news of the allegations of sexual abuse with a 12-year old boy. He told the CBS TV network he would ‘slit his wrists’ before he would hurt a child. He also claimed he suffered a dislocated shoulder after police ‘manhandled’ him and treated him ‘very roughly’ during his arrest.

– In 2006: James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul’, died at the age of 73 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Brown went to his dentist in Atlanta the previous day who told him something was wrong, and sent him to a doctor immediately. His hits included ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag‘, ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)‘, and ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1‘. Brown was married four times, at the age of 16, was arrested for theft and served 3 years in prison. In 1988, Brown was arrested following a high-speed car chase on along the Georgia-South Carolina state border. He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to six years in prison.

– In 2008: American actress, singer, and cabaret star Eartha Kitt died from colon cancer at her Weston, Connecticut home at the age of 81. Best known for her 1953 Christmas song ‘Santa Baby.‘