In 1947, at the RCA Victor Studio in Chicago, Pee Wee King recorded eight songs, including his composition "Tennessee Waltz."
In 1949, Gene Autry's song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," hit the record charts.
In 1957, Danny and the Juniors got their big break when they were asked to fill in for Little Anthony & the Imperials on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Their performance of "At the Hop" sent the song to #1 a month later.
In 1957, Harvey and The Moonglows recorded "The Ten Commandments Of Love."
In 1959, Bobby Darin was featured on the TV show "This Is Your Life."
In 1960, Elvis enlists the help of his father Vernon to try to convince Priscilla Beaulieu's father to let her spend the holidays at Graceland. Their efforts would succeed and a scheduled two week stay over Christmas would be extended to nearly a month.
In 1962, the Beatles appear as an opening act for Frank Ifield in Peterborough, England. While Ifield performed in his usual, calm, crooning style, the Beatles were pounding out loud rock 'n' roll, causing many in the crowd to demand that they "turn it down!"
In 1962, Andy Williams recorded "Can't Get Used To Losing You."
In 1963, Brenda Lee released the single "Losing You."
In 1964, in London, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had his tonsils removed at University College Hospital. He arrived at the hospital the previous day and stayed through December 10.
In 1964, "Shindig!" on ABC-TV featured performances by Aretha Franklin, Bobby Vinton, Freddy Cannon, Bobby Sherman, and the Chambers Brothers.
In 1965, ABC-TV's "Shindig!" featured the Hollies, the Searchers, We Five, and Bobby Sherman.
In 1966, in New York City, Love, Moby Grape and Lee Michaels performed at the Fillmore East.
In 1967, singer Jimmie Rodgers is found in his car with a fractured skull. Although he alleges that a police officer beat him, no charges are ever filed. Rodgers had three big hits in 1958, "Kisses Sweeter than Wine,""Oh Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" and "Honeycomb".
In 1969, Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes was kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in. She later escaped unharmed by jumping out of his car on the San Diego freeway. The kidnapper was arrested in Las Vegas four days later.
In 1969, George Harrison joined the Delaney & Bonnie and Friends (which included Eric Clapton) tour as a guitarist in Bristol, England, making it the first tour since 1966 to include a member of the Beatles.
In 1970, Eric Burdon launched a bumper sticker campaign aimed at fighting venereal disease. For every donation to the Los Angeles Free Clinic, Burdon sent out a bumper sticker that said Curb the Clap.
In 1972, in Los Angeles, the Eagles ended their first concert tour with a performance at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA.
In 1973, the Who and some companions were jailed overnight for $6,000 worth of destruction they imposed on a hotel room after a show.
In 1978, Rod Stewart was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,” the singer’s fifth UK chart topper. A plagiarism lawsuit by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor confirmed that the song had been derived from his composition “Taj Mahal.” Stewart agreed to donate all his royalties from the song to United Nations Children’s Fund.
In 1979, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand’s “You Don't Bring Me Flowers” was at #1 on the U.S. singles chart. A radio station engineer had spliced together Neil’s version with Barbra’s version and got such good response, the station added it to their playlist. When Neil Diamond was told about it, he decided to re-record the song with Streisand herself, and within weeks of its release, the single went to #1 in the US and #5 in the UK.
In 1980, 'Kenny Roger's Greatest Hits' is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, while his latest single, "Lady" is currently #1 on the Billboard Pop chart.
In 1982, folk singer David Blue died of a heart attack at age 41 while jogging in New York’s Washington Square Park. He was a member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue during the late ’70s. He wrote “Outlaw Man” covered by the Eagles on their 1973 'Desperado' album.
In 1985, the Who's Roger Daltrey began his first North America solo tour with a concert at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey, and reportedly forgot the lyrics to "Summertime Blues.''
In 1986, Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics ripped off her bra while performing "Missionary Man" in front of 10,000 fans in Birmingham, England.
In 1986, R&B singer Lee Dorsey died of emphysema at age 61.
In 1986, musician/producer/actor Desi Arnaz died of lung cancer at age 69.
In 1988, Kiss members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons join Willie Nelson on US TV's Geraldo to discuss the day's topic: Sex on the Road.
In 1991, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Shirelles, Gene Pitney and B.J. Thomas were owed $1.2 million in unpaid royalties.
In 1995, the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that Ace of Base's 'The Sign' was the best-selling debut of all time, with 19 million copies sold.
In 1997, a fan died after falling from a balcony during a Rolling Stones concert at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.
In 1997, Third Street Jazz and Rock Holding Corp., a Philadelphia record store, filed a class-action lawsuit against the six major US record distributors. The suit claimed that EMI, Sony, WEA, Universal, Bertelsmann Music Group and Polygram conspired "to raise, fix, and maintain at artificially high and non-competitive levels the wholesale prices" of CDs.
In 1997, new Age acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges was killed in a one-car accident at the age of 43.
In 1998, Jimmy Buffett performed in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama for the first time in eight years. The concert was held to aid victims of Hurricane Georges.
In 1999, Cliff Richard started a three week run at the top of the UK singles chart with "Millennium Prayer," a version of the Lord's Prayer set to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". Despite the record being boycotted by most radio stations, it became Sir Cliff's 14th UK #1 single.
In 1999, it was reported that Stevie Wonder met with doctors to discuss an operation to regain his sight. The breakthrough by top eye specialists involved inserting a microchip in the retina. Unfortunately, Stevie was later ruled out as a candidate for the procedure.
In 2000, thieves broke into the London home Madonna shares with Guy Ritchie. The raiders forced their way in through a basement door then took a set of car keys before loading up Guy Ritchie’s car with some of the couple’s possessions and driving off.
Also in 2000, the Smashing Pumpkins played their last show in Chicago.
In 2003, Simon & Garfunkel performed at Madison Square Garden, their first New York City concert in ten years, part of the 40-date coast-to-coast "Old Friends" tour.
In 2006, David Mount, the drummer with Mud, died in London. They had the 1974 UK #1 single “Tiger Feet” (also the best-selling single of 1974). Mud also had 14 other UK Top 40 singles.
In 2007, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne made more than $800,000 for charity after they sold off some of their possessions from their former US home. Items sold included the family’s custom pool table for $11,250 and a pair of Ozzy’s trademark round glasses went for $5,250. The beaded wire model of the Eiffel Tower that adorned the kitchen fetched $10,000, while skull-adorned trainers worn by Ozzy sold for $2,625.
In 2008, Odetta, the folk singer whose powerful voice moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for over 50 years, died of heart disease at the age of 77. Although never a mainstream Pop star, she was nominated for a Grammy Award three times.
In 2009, singer/songwriter/pianist/producer Eric Woolfson, co-creator and voice of the Alan Parsons Project, died of kidney cancer at 64.
In 2010, Billboard.com introduced a new chart called The Social 50, which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. The chart will follow artists' popularity using a formula blending weekly additions of friends / fans / followers, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike.
In 2011, R&B singer Howard Tate died of cancer at 72.
