December 25 – Today in Music History

1907 Cab Colloway born in Rochester, New York. US Singer/Drummer/Bandleader and Songwriter. On June 12, 1994, Calloway suffered a stroke. He died five months later on November 18, 1994. 
1929 Chris Kenner born in Kenner, Louisiana. US Singer/Songwriter. (1961 US No.2 single ‘I Like It Like That’). Also a hit for Dave Clarke Five.
1929 Bill Horton born in Hickory, North Carolina. US Lead Singer with The Silhouettes. “Get A Job” was a number 1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. He died January 23, 1995)
1937 O’Kelly Isley – US Singer with the Isley Brothers. O’kelly was the oldest of The Isley Brothers, (1968 UK No.3 single ‘This Old Heart Of Mine’). Died on 31st March 1986. 
1940 Pete Brown – UK lyricist/poet/singer producer. He wrote most of the songs for Cream, (1967 UK No.11 single ‘I Feel Free’), worked with Jack Bruce, Graham Bond, Mick Jagger, Peter Green. 
1940 Tony Worsley born in England. Australian Pop Singer who had a hit with ‘Velvet Waters’ in 1965.
1943 Trevor Lucas, Fairport Convention, UK folk group, (1969 UK No.21 single ‘Si Tu Dois Partie’). Also worked with Al Stewart and The Strawbs. Died 4th February 1989. 
1944 Henry Vestine – US Guitarist with Canned Heat. He was a founding member then left in 1969 and came back in 72/73. Died on 20th October 1997. 
1944 Noeleen Batley born in Sydney, NSW. Australian Singer. In 1960 at aged 16 she had a No.1 hit in Australian with ‘Barefoot Boy’. She later settled with her two children in Florida in the United States.
1944 Kenny Everett, UK radio and TV presenter, (1983 UK No.9 single ‘Snot Rap’). Died 4th April 1995. 
1944 John Edwards – US Singer with the Spinnters. He joined the group in 1977. 
1945 Noel Redding, bass, Jimi Hendrix Experience, (1967 UK No.3 single ‘Purple Haze’, 1970 UK No.1 single ‘Voodoo Chile’). Died on 12th May 2003 aged 57. 
1946 Jimmy Buffett born in Mobile, Alabama. US Singer/Songwriter. (1977 US No.8 single ‘Margaritaville’). 
1948 Barbara Mandrell born in Oceanside, California. US Country Singer. She was named Country Music Association entertainer of the year in 1979, 1980 & 1981, (1977 US No.1 Country single ‘Sleeping Single In A Double Bed’). 
1954 Annie Lennox born in Aberdeen, Scltland. Scottish singer with The Tourists, (1979 UK No.4 single ‘I Only Want To Be With You’), Eurythmics, (1983 US No.1 single ‘Sweet Dreams’, 1985 UK No.1 single ‘There Must Be An Angel,)’
1954 Robin Campbell born in Birmingham, England. Guitarist/Vocalist with UB40 (1983 UK No.1 & 1988 US No.1 single ‘Red Red Wine’ and over 30 other Top 40 singles). 
1954 R&B singer Johnny Ace shot himself dead during a game of Russian roulette backstage at a concert in Houston. 
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’. 
1957 Shane MacGowan – UK singer/songwriter with the Pogues formed in 1982. , guitar, vocals, The Pogues, (1987 UK No.8 single ‘The Irish Rover’, 1987 UK No.2 single with Kirsty MacColl, ‘Fairytale Of New York’). 
1958 The first day of a 10 day residency in Alan Freeds Christmas rock n’ roll spectacular in New York with Chuck Berry, Frankie Avalon, Dion, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers. 
1962 Francis Dunnery – UK Singer/Guitarist and Songwriter. 
1964 Bob Stanley, Saint Etienne, (1993 UK No.12 single ‘You’re In A Bad Way’) 
1964 Beatles fans attacked George Harrison’s girlfriend Patti Boyd as they arrived at London’s Hammersmith Odeon for tonight’s Beatles concert. 
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.’ 
1964 The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder and The Marvelettes all appeared at The Fox Theatre, Brooklyn, New York. 
1965 Dave Clark Five went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Over And Over’. They became the 7th UK act of 1965 to score a US No.1 single. 
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. 
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 
1971 Dido born (Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong) in Kensington, London. Kensington, London. (2001 UK No.1 & US No.4 album ‘No Angel’, 2001 UK No.4 single ‘Here With Me’). 
1971 Noel Hogan, guitar, The Cranberries, (1994 UK No.14 single ‘Linger’). The bands 1993 album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We’ spent 86 weeks on the UK chart. 
1971 Melanie started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Brand New Key’, the first release on her new label Neighbourhood Records. 
1972 Josh Freese, drummer, Nine Inch Nails, (2005 US No.1 album ‘White Teeth’). Also worked with The Vandals, Devo, Viva Death and A Perfect Circle. 
1976 American MOR singer Johnny Mathis was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘When A Child Is Born’, the singers only UK No.1 and the Christmas hit of 1976. 
1976 The Eagles started a eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Hotel California.’
1978 John Lydon’s new group Public Image Ltd played their first live gig at the Rainbow Theatre, London. 
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. 
1982 David Bowie had a No.3 UK hit with a duet with Bing Crosby, ‘Peace On Earth – Little Drummer Boy.’ 
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’. 
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. 
1995 Mariah Carey was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Daydream’.
1998 Bryan MacLean, guitarist with Love, died of a heart attack aged 62 while having Christmas dinner with a young fan who was researching a book about the band. Love had the 1966 US No.33 single ‘7 And 7 Is’, and the 1968 album ‘Forever Changes’. 
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. 
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 along the Georgia-South Carolina state border. 
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.’ 
2014 Ed Sheeran was at No.1 on the UK album chart with x, (pronounced “multiply”). In 2015, x won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and at the 57th Grammy Awards it was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year. Spotify named x the most-streamed album in the world for 2014, racking up more than 430 million streams for the year. 
2016 George Michael died at his home aged 53. Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT. The singer who launched his career with Wham in the 1980s and later continued his success as a solo performer, was said to have “passed away peacefully at home”. Up to the time of his death, Michael sold more than 115 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.