In 1927, in New York City, Duke Ellington, with his new, larger big band, opened Harlem's legendary Cotton Club. He continued to perform there for the next five years.
In 1944, in Nashville at the WSM Radio studios, Eddy Arnold recorded four songs, including "Cattle Call," at his first recording session.
In 1953, at CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, Tony Bennett recorded "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight."
In 1954, Billboard magazine reported that the New York Supreme Court had denied radio disc jockey Alan Freed any further use of the nickname "Moondog." Freed had been sued for infringement by New York street musician Louis T. Hardin, who claimed prior ownership of the nickname
In 1956, four Sun Records stars - Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash - recorded what will later be known as the Million Dollar Quartet. Recordings from the impromptu session won't be released for 25 years.
In 1957, after hearing reports that many US radio stations had banned Elvis' Christmas album because of their shock over "the Pelvis" singing religious songs, DJ Allen Brooks of CKWS in Kingston, Ontario, plays the entire album and invites listeners to call in their opinion. Of eight hundred callers, only 56 disapprove of Presley's sacred music.
In 1957, Danny & The Juniors were the guest performers on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1958, at Bell Sound Studio in New York City, Lloyd Price, backed by the Ray Charles Singers, recorded "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)?" and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," a stereo re-make of his 1952 release. Price also recorded a less violent version of his current single "Stagger Lee," requested by Dick Clark for use on the "American Bandstand" TV show.
In 1959, Henry Mancini & His Orchestra recorded "Mr. Lucky."
In 1959, at Bell Sound Studio in New York City, Paul Anka recorded "Puppy Love."
In 1960, Jackie Wilson sang "To Be Loved,""Lonely Teardrops" and "Alone At Last" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1960, after reaching #28 with their first chart entry, "Honest I Do," earlier in the year, Kathy Young and The Innocents attain their only US Top 10 hit when "A Thousand Stars" tops out at #3. Young's follow-up, "Happy Birthday Blues," reached #30 on the Hot 100 in 1961, but subsequent singles such as "Magic Is The Night" and "The Great Pretender," missed the Top 40.
On December 4, 1961, Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" is released on Vee Jay Records. By the first week of February, 1962, it would reach #1 in the US, on its way to selling over one million copies worldwide. The song was a 2002 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame and has also been selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll .
In 1962, the Beatles made their London-area debut on television in 1962 when they appeared in a live broadcast from Wembley on ‘Tuesday Rendezvous’, on ITV station Rediffusion. The Beatles performed live, doing lip-sync performances of "Love Me Do" and 45 seconds of "P.S. I Love You."
On December 4, 1964, the Beatles released their fourth album 'Beatles For Sale.' The album featured: "No Reply,""I'm a Loser,""Rock and Roll Music,""I'll Follow the Sun,""Eight Days a Week,""I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby," among others. The album hit the UK #1 spot and retained that position for 11 of the 46 weeks that it spent in the Top 20.
Also in 1964, the Beatles fan club in England announced its current membership now totaled 65,000.
In 1965, the Kinks entered the Hot 100 with a song that sets them apart from every other contemporary British band, "A Well Respected Man," a tune which marks the beginning of band leader Ray Davies' look of the British way of life. The song peaked at #13 in its 14 weeks on the charts.
In 1965, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was knocked out by an unground microphone during a concert in Sacramento, California. He recovered in seven minutes and the concert continued.
In 1965, Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters held the second Acid Test — a psychedelic multimedia happening fueled by liberal ingestion of the hallucinogenic drug LSD — at a home in San Jose. The Grateful Dead, having recently changed their name from the Warlocks, provided the music.
In 1965, in New York City, singer/songwriter Jacques Brel performed at Carnegie Hall.
In 1965, in a show from London, ABC-TV's "Shindig!" featured the Animals, the Moody Blues, Steve Winwood, Long John Baldry, Georgie Fame, Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll.
In 1966, the Supremes and Gary Lewis & the Playboys performed hits medleys on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1968, the New York Times quotes Soviet music critic A. Martinosa, who says that the Beatles "have become rich idols of the Philistines."
In 1969, President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew and forty US governors embark on a magical mystery fact-finding mission to discover the causes of the generation gap. They viewed films of "simulated acid trips" and listen to hours of "anti-establishment rock music."
In 1970, the Classic Rock album, 'Supersession,' a recorded jam session with Mike Bloomfield (Electric Flag), Al Kooper (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and Steven Stills (Buffalo Springfield), was certified Gold.
On December 4, 1971, Don McLean's "American Pie" entered the US Hot 100. It was a #1 US hit for four weeks in 1972. In the UK, the single reached #2. The eight and a half minute song would eventually sell over 3 million copies and become one of the most discussed, dissected and debated songs that popular music has ever produced.
In 1971, Sly And The Family Stone's "Family Affair" begins a three-week stint at the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100. It is their third and final chart topper and their last to make the Top Ten before missed concert appearances and personal problems brought the band's career to a halt.
In 1971, Led Zeppelin started a two week run at the top of the UK album chart with the 'Four Symbols' (or Led Zeppelin 4) album. Featuring the 8 minute track, "Stairway To Heaven," the LP stayed on the US chart for nearly 5 years, selling over 11 million copies.
In 1972, Billy Paul received a Gold record for "Me and Mrs. Jones," which was still climbing the US charts on its way to number one in mid-December. Paul's only other appearance on the Billboard Top 40 would come in 1974 when "Thanks For Saving My Live" would reach #37.
In 1975, tragedy struck Deep Purple in Jakarta, Indonesia, after their bodyguard Patsy Collins falls six floors down an elevator shaft in their hotel. Rumors persist that Collins had gotten into a fight with local promoters who owed the heavy-metal band money. Collins was still conscious after his fall and got into a taxi demanding to be taken to the hospital, but he died en route. Mysteriously, his body was never recovered.
In 1976, workers at EMI records went on strike, refusing to package the Sex Pistols single 'Anarchy In The UK.'
In 1976, a year after leaving The Guess Who, lead singer Burton Cummings is awarded a Gold record for his million selling, US Top Ten, solo hit, "Stand Tall".
In 1976, Tommy Bolin, the guitarist who took over when Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, died from a drug overdose at the age of 25.
In 1976, classical music composer (Billy Budd, Death in Venice) Benjamin Britten died of heart failure at age 63.
In 1977, Queen performed at University Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
In 1980, Led Zeppelin declared that they will not re-form following the death of drummer John Bonham, although Jimmy Page and Robert Plant later tour together in the '90s. Their statement read: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."
In 1980, Prince played the first night of his 31-date Dirty Mind tour at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. After being told by his managers he couldn't wear spandex pants without any underwear, Prince began performing in a long trench coat, black high-heeled boots with leggings, and bikini brief trunks.
On December 4, 1982, a retrospective compilation album of John Lennon's solo music called 'The John Lennon Collection' started a six-week run at #1 on the UK album chart. The front and back covers for the LP were taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz on December 8th, 1980, just five hours before Lennon was murdered. The release did extremely well, reaching #1 in the UK and peaking at #33 in the US, where it would eventually reach triple platinum.
In 1988, Roy Orbison gives his final concert in Akron, Ohio. He will die 2 days later.
In 1990, Madonna appeared on "Nightline" to defend her "Justify My Love" video. She denied the video's explicit contents were intended to stir up controversy and get her publicity. The video was banned by MTV. She knew exactly what she was doing, she is one shrewd businesswoman.
In 1991, at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Judds performed their final concert.
On December 4, 1993, 52-year-old Frank Zappa died of pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his wife and children. At a private ceremony the following day, Zappa was interred in an unmarked grave at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles. Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult to categorize; however, his enduring musical adventures are influencing musicians to this day. The next day, his family publicly announced: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 pm on Saturday."
In 1995, Michael Jackson appeared with legendary mime Marcel Marceau at a New York news conference promoting a Jackson special on HBO.
In 1995, the third annual Country Music Cares concert was held in Nashville for World AIDS Day. Performers included Mary Chapin Carpenter, Pam Tillis, David Ball, Bryan White and John Berry.
In 2000, a Bob Marley tribute was held in Jamaica with Lauren Hill, Jimmy Cliff, the Black Crowes and others.
In 2001, readers of the British magazine Q voted singer/songwriter P.J. Harvey the greatest female rock and pop artist of all time. Madonna was the runnerup, followed by Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and Bjork.
In 2001, Gene Simmons' book "Kiss and Make-Up" was released.
In 2002, on ABC-TV's "Primetime Live" with Diane Sawyer, Whitney Houston said that drink and drugs nearly killed her. She also admitted to having a sex addiction.
In 2002, Bernie Dwyer, drummer for Freddie And The Dreamers, died of lung cancer at the age of 62.
In 2006, Yahoo revealed that Britney Spears was the most searched for term of 2006 with more online searches done about Spears than any other topic or person. No wonder it all went to her head....
Also in 2006, a page of Paul McCartney's working lyrics for the Beatles tune "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (from the Beatles’ 'Abbey Road' album) nets $192,000 at Christie’s memorabilia auction in New York. A ‘68 Fender Stratocaster guitar once owned by Jimi Hendrix goes for $168,000. A handwritten poem by late Doors singer Jim Morrison sold for $50,400.
In 2006, the Internet company Yahoo announced that Britney Spears was their most searched-for term of the year, garnering more online searches than any other person or topic.
In 2007, Pink Floyd’s 16-CD collection, "Oh, By The Way," was issued as an import-only release. It held 14 studio albums packaged in miniature reproductions of the original vinyl sleeves and was limited to an initial run of 10,000 copies.
In 2010, at the Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, a-ha played their farewell concert.
birthdays today include (among others): Freddy Cannon (74), Bob Mosley (Moby Grape) (71), Chris Hillman (Byrds) (69), Terry Woods (Pogues, Steeleye Span) (66), Southside Johnny (born John Lyon) (65), Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (62) and Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter) (44)
