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.‘

Musician Birthdays: Lemmy Kilmister (singer, bassist for Motorhead, born in 1945)

– In 1954: Johnny Ace shot himself dead backstage at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas. The R&B singer was playing with a revolver during a break between sets, someone in the room said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s OK the gun’s not loaded…see?’ and pointed it at himself with a smile on his face.

– In 1965: The Beatles had the number one album in the US for the third Christmas in a row. ‘Rubber Soul’ sat atop the LP chart in ’65, following ‘Beatles For Sale’ in 1964 and ‘With The Beatles’ in 1963. The Fab Four would repeat this feat again in 1968 with ‘The Beatles’ (The White Album) and again in 1969, with ‘Abbey Road’.

– In 1972: David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Theatre, London, England giving a special Christmas Eve concert.

– In 1976: ‘Hotel California’, The Eagles’ sixth album, spent the first of eight non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard chart. The band’s first LP with Joe Walsh and last with bassist Randy Meisner which has now sold over 16 million copies.

– In 1977: The Bee Gees started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, the group’s 4th US No.1. It stayed in the top 10 for 17 weeks giving it the longest chart run in history, a No.3 in the UK.

– In 1977: The Sex Pistols played their last ever UK gig, (until 1996), before splitting, at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield. It was a charity performance before an audience of mainly children.

– In 1988: Poison started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn.’

– In 1988: Nirvana started recording their first album ‘Bleach’ using a $600 loan from an old school friend.

– In 1994: Pearl Jam went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Vitalogy’.

– In 2003: Jack White of The White Stripes turned himself in to Detroit police to face aggravated assault charges stemming from a bar room altercation in which he allegedly attacked Jason Stollsteimer of The Von Bondies. White was also fingerprinted and formally booked on the charges before he was released on bail.

Musician Birthdays: Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam singer, solo, Temple of the Dog, born in 1964)

– In 1959: Chuck Berry was arrested after taking 14 year old Janice Norine (who unbeknown to Berry was working as a prostitute), across a state line. He was sentenced to 5 years jail but after racist comments by the judge Berry was freed.

– In 1962: During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at the King and Queen pub in London’s West End, the singer songwriter’s third UK gig.

– In 1964: During a US tour Beach Boy Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. Wilson left the band to concentrate on writing and producing. Glen Campbell replaced Wilson for the bands live shows.

– In 1972: Former Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight arrived during a concert by the band with a court order to seize $1m in money or assets. Police inform the ex manager that he couldn’t take anything until after the show.

– In 1985: During a concert by LL Cool J at a Rollerrink in Baltimore, a fight broke out, one person was trampled underfoot and three people were shot.

– In 1985: Judas Priest fans Raymond Belknap and James Vance shot themselves after listening to the Judas Priest album ‘Stained Class.’ The two had drunk beer, smoked marijuana and then listened to hours of the album. Afterwards they took a shotgun to a nearby school playground where Belknap shot and killed himself. Vance then blew away his jaw, mouth and nose but lived for more than three years before dying of effects of the shooting.

– In 1989: Phil Collins started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Another Day In Paradise’, his 7th US solo No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.

– In 1999: George Harrison’s home in Maui was broken into by Cristin Keleher, who cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from the fridge, started some laundry and phoned her mother in New Jersey. Keleher was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.

– In 2000: Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall was given a police caution for possessing cocaine and cannabis. Police found the Class A and Class B drugs at his Surrey home after a woman falsely accused him of rape in November.

– In 2002: Sir Paul McCartney was granted his own coat of arms by the College of Arms, the English heraldic body formed in 1484. The crest featured a bird that appeared to be holding a guitar in its claw. The motto is “Ecce Cor Meum”, Latin for ‘Behold My Heart’, which is the title of an oratorio he composed.

– In 2005: Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered £5,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.

– In 2006: It was reported that U2 singer Bono was to be given an honorary knighthood in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and humanitarian work.

– In 2007: The Police were named as the highest earning touring group for the past year, bringing in nearly £66.5m, ($132m). The band’s 54 date North American tour had generated almost double the total of the second-placed act, Country star Kenny Chesney.

– In 2008: a spokesman for Michael Jackson denied reports the singer was suffering from a rare respiratory disease and was in need of a lung transplant. Dr Tohme Tohme said in a statement issued to Reuters that stories claiming the singer was unwell were not true. He added that author Ian Halperin had made the claims to promote his unauthorised biography of the 50-year-old singer.

Musician Birthdays: Robin and Maurice Gibb (singers of the Bee Gees, born in 1949)

– In 1962: During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at the Singers Club in London, the singer songwriter’s second UK gig.

– In 1963: The Dave Clark Five scored their only US No.1 single with ‘Over And Over’, a No.5 in the UK.

– In 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Who, Keith West and Tomorrow, Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1984 (featuring future Queen guitarist Brian May) and Soft Machine all appeared at The Olympia, London at an all night festival ‘Christmas On Earth Continued’. The DJ was John Peel plus the venue featured a paddling pool, light shows and a movie theatre, tickets £1.

– In 1981: At a rock & roll memorabilia auction in London, a stage suit worn by John Lennon sold for £2,300, a letter from Paul McCartney to a fan sold for £2,200 and a Perspex sculpture of John & Yoko was bought by singer Kate Bush for £4,200.

– In 1984: Madonna started a six-week run at No.1 in the US charts with ‘Like A Virgin’, her first US No.1.

– In 1987: Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue was pronounced ‘dead on arrival’ in an ambulance when his heart stopped beating for two minutes. Sixx was given two shots of adrenaline in his chest to revive him. Fellow band members were prematurely informed of his death.

– In 2000: Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, Scotland. Celebrities attending the wedding included Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Sting and fashion designers Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier and Stellla McCartney. The couple divorced in Nov 2008.

– In 2002: Former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer (John Graham Mellor) died of a suspected heart attack aged 50. Scored the 1979 UK No. 11 single ‘London Calling’, 1982 US No. 8 single ‘Rock The Casbah, 1991 UK No.1 single ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’, first released 1982, plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles. The Clash’s London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine. Strummer was also a member of the The Mescaleros.

– In 2005: Janet Jackson was the most-searched name during 2005 according to Google, the singer topped a list of searches with people looking for pictures from her infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at the 2004 Super Bowl when she exposed her right breast.

– In 2009: The FBI released 333 pages of documents compiled about Michael Jackson between 1992 to 2005. The files revealed that they made several investigations into death threats against him made by obsessed fans, alleged inappropriate involvement between Jackson and an underage male, as well as fears that he may have become the target for terrorists.