In 1939, Marlene Dietrich recorded an English version of the German song "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt" as "Falling In Love Again." The song was originally performed in German by Dietrich in her feature film "Der Blaue Engel" (The Blue Angel).
In 1939, the iconic picture of Betty Grable that later became a favorite pinup of American soldiers in World War II, appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine.
In 1956, at Sun Studio in Memphis, rockabilly singer/guitarist Billy Lee Riley recorded "Flyin' Saucer Rock And Roll" and "I Want You Baby." Pre-fame Jerry Lee Lewis played piano on the session.
In 1957, 22 year old Jerry Lee Lewis secretly marries his 13 year old second cousin, Myra Gale Brown, while still married to Jane Mitcham. The Killer had first married when he was 16 to Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a local preacher. Mitcham became his second wife in a shotgun ceremony and before he had divorced the previous Mrs. Lewis. The marriage to Myra would last until 1970 and at last count, Jerry Lee has been married six times.
In 1959, the Coasters recorded "Charlie Brown." It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, and was the first of three top-ten hits for the Coasters that year. It is best known for the phrase, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?" King Curtis plays the tenor saxophone during the instrumental and the fade out of the record. There is no connection between this song and the character Charlie Brown from the comic strip Peanuts, though the PBS special American Masters: Charles Schulz seems to suggest a connection.
In 1960, Aretha Franklin made her New York debut at the Village Vanguard.
In 1961, Motown Records achieved their first number one song when the Marvelettes'"Please Mr. Postman" reaches the top. The session musicians on the track included 22 year old Marvin Gaye on drums.
Also in 1961, Elvis Presley started a twenty week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with "Blue Hawaii", his seventh US #1 album.
On December 11, 1964, the Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" was released. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) ranked the song as having had more radio and television play in the US than any other song during the 20th century. The song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA and ranked #34 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
In 1965, ABC-TV's "Shindig!" featured the Mamas & the Papas, the Grass Roots, and Barry McGuire.
In 1966, Beatles manager Brian Epstein offered to manage Little Richard after presenting him in concert at London's Saville Theatre. The offer was rejected.
In 1966, The Mamas & the Papas performed "Monday, Monday,""Words Of Love," and "California Dreamin'" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
On this day in 1966, "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys was the #1 song.
In 1967, the television special "Movin' with Nancy Sinatra" aired on NBC, featuring guest appearances by Frank Sinatra, Lee Hazelwood, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
In 1967, the new Beatles company, Apple, signed Grapefruit as their first artist.
In 1968, at Wembley studios in Middlesex, England, the Rolling Stones filmed the "Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus" TV special, featuring performances by John Lennon, Eric Clapton, the Who, Jethro Tull, and Marianne Faithful. Filmed in a circus tent and with actual circus people, the show never aired, supposedly because the Stones thought the Who's performance upstaged them. The film was finally released in 1996.
In 1969, Ringo Starr's movie 'The Magic Christian' premiered in London.
In 1971, John Lennon debuted his new song "John Sinclair" at the Free John Sinclair Rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stevie Wonder, Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs also appeared. Sinclair is a Detroit poet, one-time manager of the band MC5, and for a year in the late 1960s was the leader of the White Panther Party. Following a series of convictions for possession of marijuana, Sinclair had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1969 after giving two marijuana joints to an undercover narcotics officer. Three days after the rally, Sinclair was released from prison when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state's marijuana statutes were unconstitutional.
Also in 1971, Carly Simon released the single, "Anticipation." The song related Simon's state of mind as she waited to go on a date with Cat Stevens. During the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the song was used in commercials for Heinz Ketchup.
In 1972, James Brown was arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" after a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, when a conversation Brown had with fans was somehow mistaken for an attempt to incite a riot. Charges were dropped when Brown claimed police brutality and threatened to sue the city for $1 million.
In 1972, Genesis played their first show in the US at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
In 1976, KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a concert in Florida. He had touched a short-circuited light. He was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later to continue and finish the show.
In 1980, U2 performed at the Mudd Club in New York City.
In 1988, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie put on a benefit show at The Wiltern Theatre to pay tribute to Roy Orbison.
In 1989, four Led Zeppelin albums, 'Physical Graffiti,''Led Zeppelin,''Presence,' and 'In Through The Out Door,' were certified Multi-Platinum.
In 1997, Jewel, Sinead O'Connor and Emmylou Harris performed the Beatles'"In My Life" together at the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.
In 2001, singer/actor David Soul won his $70,000 lawsuit against Matthew Wright, a London theater critic who disparaged Soul's stage performance without seeing it. Wright's newspaper column had made reference to "the Monday performance" when, in fact, the theater was "dark" (closed) on Mondays.
In 2001, Gene Simmons (KISS) did an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" to promote his book "Kiss and Make-Up." The book was released for sale on December 4, 2001.
1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby - 1942
2. Silent Night - Bing Crosby - 1936
3. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry - 1949
4. The Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale - 1958
5. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms - 1957
6. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole - 1946
7. The Chipmunk Song - David Seville and the Chipmunks - 1958
8. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee - 1958
9. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley - 1957
10. Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby / The Andrews Sisters - 1943
In 2002, the balance of Guns N' Roses tour dates were canceled by Clear Channel Entertainment after a number of incidents when Axl Rose and/or the entire band didn't show up.
In 2006, R&B singer Walter Ward, lead vocalist of the Olympics, died at age 66.
In 2008, Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina criticized Madonna's first concert in Santiago, Chile, saying "This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy
enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts." About 60,000 fans were expected to attend each of her two scheduled performances.
In 2008, Dartford, England, hometown of Mick Jagger, approved the naming of some of its streets with titles of Rolling Stones songs.
In 2012, sitarist/composer Ravi Shankar, the father of singer Norah Jones and a former associate of the Beatles, died from complications of heart surgery at age 92.
