December 16 – Today in Music History

1945 Tony Hicks born in Nelson, Lancashire, England. Guitarist/Vocalist with The Hollies. He’s the only group member that has been with the band since they formed 1962. He wrote their 1971 hit ‘Too Young To be Married’. (over 25 Top 40 hits since 1963, 1972 US 1972 US No.2 single ‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’, 1988 UK No.1 single ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ first released in 1969. 
1946 Benny Anderson born in Vällingby, Stockholm, Sweden. Keyboard Player/Songwriter/Vocals with Swedish Band Abba. (first UK hit 1974 No.1 single ‘Waterloo’, followed by 8 other UK No.1 singles and 9 UK No.1 albums, 1977 US No.1 single ‘Dancing Queen’). 
1949 Billy Gibbons (William Frederick “Billy” Gibbons ) born in Houston, Texas. Lead Guitarist with US Rock Trio ZZ Top, (1984 US No.8 & 1985 UK No.16 single ‘Legs’). 
1959 Steven Irvine – UK Drummer with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, (1985 UK No.19 single ‘Brand New friend’). 
1965 Released as a double A side The Beatles ‘Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out’, became their ninth UK No.1 and their third Christmas chart topper in a row. The single was a US No.1 in January 1966. 
1966 The first Jimi Hendrix Experience single ‘Hey Joe’, was released in the UK on Polydor records, the track had been rejected by the Decca label. It went on to be a No.6 hit in the UK, but failed to chart in America. Chas Chandler, who was now managing Hendrix had seen Folk singer Tim Rose perform the song at the Cafe Wha? in New York City. 
1967 The Rolling Stones announced that Marianne Faithfull was the first signing to their ‘Mother Earth’ label. 
1969 At the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Keith Emerson’s band The Nice shares a bill with Greg Lake’s band, King Crimson. The pair enjoy a jam session before the show and discuss a partnership, which with the addition of Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster, becomes Emerson, Lake and Palmer. 
1970 Five singles and five albums by Credence Clearwater Revival were certified gold in the US. The singles were: ‘Down on the Corner’, ‘Lookin out My Back Door’, ‘Travelin’ Band’, ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and ‘Up around the Bend’. The LPs were ‘Cosmo’s Factory’, ‘Willy and the Poor Boys’, ‘Green River’, ‘Bayou Country’ and ‘Credence Clearwater Revival’. 
1971 Frank Zappa’s ‘200 Motels’ film opened at London’s Piccadilly Classic Cinema in the UK. The film which also featured Ringo Star, covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville. 
1971 John Paul Young released his first single Pasadena. 
1972 Michael Sean McCary born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vocalsist with Boyz II Men, (1992 US & UK No.1 single ‘End Of The Road’). In 2003, Michael McCary left Boyz II Men due to chronic back problems resulting from scoliosis and personal problems. 
1972 Billy Paul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Me and Mrs Jones’, a No.12 hit in the UK. The song which describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, was later recorded by Michael Buble. 
1973 ITV broadcast a Barbra Streisand spectacular on UK TV, the set had been filmed at Elstree studios. 
1974 Guitarist Mick Taylor announced he was leaving The Rolling Stones, saying he felt that now was the time to move on and do something new. 
1974 Mott The Hoople UK group Mott The Hoople announced they had split up. Their biggest hit was in 1972 (when they first decided to split) with ‘All The Young Dudes’ written and produced by David Bowie.
1978 Appearing at Glasgow’s Apollo Alex Harvey, tickets, £1.50-£3. 
1981 Men At Work went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Down Under’. It was at No.1 for 6 weeks in a row. 
1983 Judas Priest played the first of 2 sold out nights at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. 
1983 The Who announced that they were splitting up. 
1984 Various stars named their favourite party songs in music magazine Smash Hits; Morrissey picked ‘What’s The World’, by James, Siouxsie had ‘Love Is The Drug’ by Roxy Music, Robert Smith from The Cure picked ‘Boogie Nights,’ by Heatwave and Andy Partridge from XTC picked ‘Take Five’ by Dave Brubeck.’ 
1988 American soul and disco singer Sylvester James died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco aged 41. Scored the 1978 US No.36 & UK No.8 single ‘You Make Me Feel, Mighty Real’. He sang back-up vocals for Aretha Franklin on her 1985 Who’s Zoomin’ Who’ Album. 
1988 Proclaimers Appearing at Glasgow Barrowlands, Scotland, The Proclaimers. 
1989 Billy Joel went to No.1 on the US album chart with his 11th studio release ‘Storm Front’. The album featured one of Joel’s three No.1 hits, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’, a fast-paced song, mentioning some of the major historical events that took place in his time, and ‘Leningrad’, Joel’s take on the end of the Cold War. 
1989 Jive Bunny and The Mastermixes had their third and final UK No.1 single with ‘Let’s Party’. With their first three releases making No.1, they equaled the record set by Gerry & The Pacemakers in 1963 and Frankie Goes To Hollywood in 1984. 
1991 Chubby Checker filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s in Canada seeking $14million for it’s alleged use of an imitation of his voice. The song ‘The Twist’ had been used on a French fries commercial. 
1993 MTV aired Nirvana’s ‘Unplugged’ session for the first time. The album featured an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993. Unlike many artists who appeared on the show, Nirvana filmed its entire performance in a single take with the band’s fourteen-song setlist included six cover versions. 
1993 With stories beginning to surface about Michael Jackson’s alleged improprieties with young boys, St. Louis radio station KEZK announced that it would be no longer playing the singer’s records. 
1996 The Spice Girls went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Wannabe’. It was at No.1 for 6wks. 
1997 Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson. Her debut album, So Good was released in March 2017 and debuted at No.7 on the UK Albums Chart. She had the UK No.1 single ‘Symphony with Clean Bandit.
1997 American singer songwriter Nicolette Larson died aged 45 of complications arising from cerebral edema. Worked with Neil Young, (Comes a Time and Harvest Moon albums), Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys and The Doobie Brothers. Best known for her 1978 cover of Neil Young’s ‘Lotta Love’. 
1999 A 28 year-old man died after falling more than 80ft at Earls Court, London, while dismantling the set at a Spice Girls concert. 
2000 The estranged father and former manager of LeAnn Rimes made embarrassing allegations during a legal battle involving millions of pounds. One fact told in court was that LeAnn paid her mother £6,700 every time she styled her hair before a show. 
2001 Stuart Adamson, lead singer of Big Country was found dead in Hawaii a month after disappearing from his home in the US. The 43-year old Scottish musician had fought a long battle against alcoholism. His body was found in a hotel room. 
2001 Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra 1967 No.1 hit ‘Somethin’ Stupid’. The Christmas No.1 for this year. From William’s album Swing When You’re Winning. 
2003 Michael Jackson was out on police bail of $3m after being arrested following allegations of child abuse. The 45-year-old singer strenuously denied the allegations, calling them a big lie. Following the allegations of child abuse a special information web site was set up by the District Attorney’s office because of the level of media interest in the case. Mr Jackson, who was arrested, cited and released after surrendering to police on 20th November, was due to appear in court on 9 January. 
2004 Gold and silver Black Sabbath discs were stolen from the Kent home of Ozzy Osbourne’s former manager Patrick Meehan. Police recovered the discs a week later after they were offered for sale on the internet auction site eBay. 
2004 A Detroit studio where Eminem recorded ‘My Name Is’ went up for auction on the website eBay. Studio 8, in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale was to be listed in eBay’s commercial property section for 30 days, with a minimum bid is $215,000 (£161,448). 
2005 The surviving Beatles and relatives of the band’s late members began legal action against EMI to get royalties allegedly worth £30m. Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relations of George Harrison and John Lennon claimed EMI owed record royalties to their company Apple Corps. 
2006 Sir Paul McCartney said he left EMI, his record label of 45 years, as it had become “boring” and he had “dreaded going to see” its executives. McCartney told The Times that the company’s handling of his music had become “symbolic of the treadmill”. The ex-Beatle went on to sign a deal with Starbucks’ label, Hear Music. 
2007 American singer songwriter Dan Fogelberg died at his home in Maine at the age of 56. The US singer, songwriter discovered he had advanced prostate cancer in 2004. Had the 1981 album ‘The Innocent Age’, which featured the hits ‘Leader of the Band,’ ‘Hard to Say,’ and ‘Run for the Roses.’ 
2007 Katie Melua & Eva Cassidy went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of ‘What A Wonderful World’ the version was released to raise money for the Red Cross. 
2011 An ultra-rare ‘Beatles VI’ in-store promotional poster sold at an eBay auction for $6,300. Seventeen bids were placed before the 20 – 28 inch rarity sold. Beatles VI Is Here! was printed in block letters across the top of the black-and-white photo of the Fab Four, with album art of the first five records printed along the bottom edge. 
2012 X Factor winner James Arthur topped the UK singles chart with his debut single, Impossible. The 24-year-old’s cover of Shontelle’s 2010 track sold 490,000 copies becoming the fastest-selling single of the year. 
2013 Ray Price – American country music singer died age 87 of pancreatic cancer, at his home in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
2013 It was reported that Miley Cyrus had insured her infamous tongue for $1 million. A source told Heat magazine: “Miley’s totally aware of how her tongue is getting more headlines than she is, and getting it insured is just part of her trademarked image. It’s not the first time she’s done something like this – when she first cut her hair short, she tried to get her new crop patented. She wanted it to become known as The Miley”. 
2013 NPR ran a feature called ‘That’s A Bad Lyric And You Know It’, naming The Smiths, America, New Order, The Black Keys and The Cranberries for all committing crimes against the English language with lyrics in their songs.