Music Almanac: December 8, 2017

Birthdays 

• 1912 - Jack Stapp (producer and songwriter) (d. 1980) 
• 1914 - Floyd Tillman (d. 2003)
• 1922 - Jean Ritchie (d. 2015)
• 1925 - Sammy Davis, Jr. (d. 1990)
• 1933 - Dick Glasser (d. 2000)
• 1939 - Jerry Butler (78)
• 1939 - James Galway (78)
• 1941 - Bobby Elliott (Hollies) (76)
• 1943 - Graham Knight (Marmalade) (74)
• 1943 - Jim Morrison (Doors) (d. 1971)
• 1944 - Bertie Higgins (73)
• 1944 - Mike Botts (d. 2005)
• 1947 - Geoff Daking (Blues Magoos) (70)
• 1947 - Gregg Allman (d. 2017)
• 1949 - Ray Schulman (Gentle Giant) (68)
• 1950 - Dan Hartman (d. 1994)
• 1952 - Richie Morales (Spyro Gyra) (65)
• 1953 - Colin Gibb (born Colin Routh) (Black Lace) (64)
• 1956 - Warren Cuccurullo (Missing Persons) (61)
• 1957 - Phil Collen (Def Leppard) (60)
• 1959 - Paul Rutherford (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) (58)
• 1959 - Marty Raybon (Shenandoah) (58)
• 1962 - Marty Friedman (Megadeth) (55)
• 1966 - Bushwick Bill (born Richard Shaw) (Geto Boys) (51)
• 1966 - Sinéad O'Connor (51)
• 1972 - Ryan Newell (Sister Hazel) (45)
• 1973 - Corey Taylor (Slipknot) (44)
• 1974 - Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) (43)
• 1982 - Serena Ryder (35)
• 1982 - Chrisette Michele (35)
• 1982 - Nicki Minaj (35)
• 1984 - Sam Hunt (33)
• 1986 - Kate Voegele (31)

Deaths

• 1967 - John Mills, Sr. (Mills Brothers) (78)
• 1975 - Gary Thain (Uriah Heep) - Heroin overdose (27)
• 1980 - John Lennon - Murdered (40)
• 1981 - Big Walter Horton (aka Shakey) - Heart failure (64)
• 1982 - Marty Robbins - Complications following cardiac surgery (57)
• 1988 - Herbert "Tubo" Rhoad (Persuasions) (44)
• 1994 - Antonio Carlos Jobim - Cardiac arrest (67)
• 2004 - Dimebag Darrell (born Darrell Abbott) - Murdered (38)

On This Day

• 1928 - The name Grand Ole Opry was used for the first time by George D. Hay on a WSM radio broadcast.
• 1945 - Earl Scruggs debuted as the newest member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was the first time he played with Lester Flatt.
• 1963 - Frank Sinatra, Jr. was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe. Frank, Sr. paid a $240,000 ransom two days later to win his son's release.
• 1968 - Graham Nash announced the formation of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
• 1969 - A Toronto jury found Jimi Hendrix not guilty of drug possession charges.
• 1975 - Bob Dylan played a benefit for jailed boxer Hurricane Carter at Madison Square Garden, raising $100,000. It's also the last night of the Rolling Thunder Revue.
• 1976 - The movie A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson was released in the U.S. 
• 1977 - A riot broke out in Brisbane, Australia when Blondie had to cancel a show at the last minute due to Debbie Harry being ill. Four people were arrested.
• 1983 - The musical Abbacadabra, which used the music of ABBA, opened in London's West End.
• 1984 - Patrick Cavanaugh, one time manager of the Coasters, was found guilty of the first degree murder of the group member Buster Wilson.
• 1991 - Roy Acuff was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors. 
• 1995 - The remaining members of the Grateful Dead announced they were breaking up.
• 1998 - Bruce Springsteen announced he would tour with the E-Street Band for the first time since the late-80's.
• 1998 - The FBI released 1,300 pages of investigations into the life and activities of Frank Sinatra.
• 2000 - A plaque was put outside the childhood home in Liverpool of John Lennon commemorating his death.
• 2000 - Sting received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 2003 - David Bowie had to postpone his first U.S. tour in eight years when he gets the flu.
• 2003 - Ozzy Osbourne crashed an ATV on his estate in England, breaking his collarbone and several ribs.
• 2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court said that Rosa Parks can sue OutKast for using her name in the lyrics to one of their songs.
• 2004 - DMX plead guilty to DUI and reckless endangerment in Queens, NY.
• 2004 - Jay-Z and Damon Dash sold their ownership of Roc-a-fella Records to Def Jam for $10 million.
• 2013 - Metallica played on their seventh and final continent with a show in a dome at Argentine Antarctic Bass Carlini. 
• 2016 - Mick Jagger became a father (he's already a great-grandfather) at the age of 73.

Marriages

• 2007 - Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) and Leigh Boniello

Divorces

• 2010 - Nancy Wilson (Heart) and Cameron Crowe

Recorded

• 1962 - Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall - Flatt & Scruggs
• 1966 - Strawberry Fields Forever - Beatles

Released

• 1961 - Surfin' - Beach Boys (debut single)
• 1967 - Mr. Fantasy - Traffic (debut album)
• 1989 - Here in the Real World - Alan Jackson (single)
• 1999 - James Brown Christmas For The Millennium & Forever - James Brown (MP3 only album sold through Emusic).

Broadcasts

• 1976 - Carpenters Special (ABC) - Carpenters, John Denver
• 1995 - 10 Most Fascinating People (ABC) - Courtney Love
• 1999 - Today (NBC) - Prince
• 2004 - CMT Homecoming: Jimmy Carter in Plains - Willie Nelson

Number Ones – U.S. Singles

• 1956 - Singing the Bues - Guy Mitchell (9 weeks)
• 1979 - Babe - Styx (2 weeks)
• 1984 - Out of Touch - Daryl Hall & John Oates (2 weeks)
• 1990 - Because I Love You (The Postman Song) - Stevie B (4 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Albums 

• 1945 - Merry Christmas - Bing Crosby (6 weeks)
• 1956 - Elvis - Elvis Presley (5 weeks)
• 2001 - Weathered - Creed (8 weeks)
• 2007 - Noel - Josh Groban (5 weeks)
• 2012 - Unapologetic - Rihanna (1 week)

Number Ones – U.S. R&B Singles

• 1951 - Because of You - Tab Smith & His Orchestra (2 weeks)
• 1958 - A Lover's Question - Clyde McPhatter (1 week)
• 1962 - Release Me - Esther Phillips (1 week)
• 1973 - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) - Staple Singers (3 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Country Singles

• 1945 - It's Been So Long Darling - Ernest Tubb (1 week)
• 1979 - I Cheated Me Right Out Of You - Moe Bandy (1 week)
• 1984 - Chance of Lovin' You - Earl Thomas Conley (1 week)
• 1990 - I've Come to Expect It From You - George Strait (5 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles

• 2001 - Hero - Enrique Iglesias (4 weeks)
• 2012 - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Rod Stewart (5 weeks)

Number Ones – U.K. Singles

• 1979 - Walking on the Moon - Police (1 week)
• 1984 - The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1 week)
• 2001 - Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield (2 weeks)
• 2012 - The Power of Love - Gabrielle Alpin (1 week)

Number Ones – U.K. Albums 

• 1973 - Stranded - Roxy Music (1 week)
• 1979 - Greatest Hits - Rod Stewart (5 weeks)
• 2012 - Right Place Right Time - Olly Murs (2 weeks)