Today in Music History...December 30, 2016

Music History: December 30

 

Births

1928: Bo Diddley
1931: Skeeter Davis
1934: Del Shannon
1937: Paul Stookey
1937: John Hartford
1939: Felix Pappalardi (Mountain)
1939: Kim Weston
1940: Perry Ford (Ivy League)
1940: Kenny Pentifallo (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes)
1942: Mike Nesmith (The Monkees)
1945: Davy Jones (The Monkees)
1947: Jeff Lynne (The Electric Light Orchestra)
1949: William King (The Commodores)
1951: Chris Jasper (Isley Brothers)

Deaths

1991: Richard Blandon (The Paragons)
1995: Clarence "Satch" Satchell (Ohio Players)
1998: Johnny Moore (The Drifters)
2004: Artie Shaw

Events

1948: Kiss Me Kate, Cole Porter's musical adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play The Taming Of The Shrew, opens on Broadway at the New Century Theatre.
1962: Eighteen-year-old Brenda Lee's house in Nashville, TN, catches fire and burns to the ground; Lee injures herself slightly rushing back into the house to save her poodle, Cee Cee, but the pet unfortunately dies later from smoke inhalation. 
 1962: The BBC begins filming its play Madhouse On Castle Street, which features a cameo from Bob Dylan playing, in one of its first public airings, his recently-recorded song "Blowin' In The Wind."
1963: The Beatles win Group and Record Of The Year ("She Loves You") in British music newspaper New Musical Express' annual year-end poll.
1968: The first Led Zeppelin bootleg, Gonzaga '68, is a recording of tonight's show at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, one of their very first in America and the first ever live recording of the band.
1968: Peter Tork becomes the first Monkee to leave the pre-fabricated group, using every penny he has -- $160,000 -- to buy himself out of his contract.
1978: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer publicly announce their breakup.
1991: Bruce Springsteen is the proud parent of his second child, daughter Jessica Rae, with his second wife, former backup singer Patti Scialfa.
1999: At approximately 3 am, George Harrison is the victim of an intruder at his home in Oxfordshire, England, when one Michael Abram, a disturbed 33-year-old Liverpudlian who believes he is on a "mission from God," breaks into the home and stabs the former Beatle several times in the chest with a six-inch knife. Harrison's second wife, Olivia, attacks Abram with a poker and a bedroom lamp, then detains him until authorities arrive. Although Harrison comes out of the melee with a collapsed lung, he survives; Abram is later judged not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered to a psychiatric hospital only a few miles from George's residence.
1999: Slade singer Noddy Holder is awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II, and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire).
2002: After being pulled over for driving erratically, Diana Ross is arrested in Tucson, AZ, for driving under the influence, with a blood alcohol limit reportedly twice the legal limit. She fails all sobriety tests at the scene, reportedly falling over when asked to walk a straight line. She is charged with three misdemeanor DUIs.
2003: The Nation of Islam activist group denies reports that it has begun handling the affairs of Michael Jackson.

Releases

1957: Elvis Presley, "Don't" b/w "I Beg Of You"

Recording

1956: Charlie Gracie, "Butterfly"
1966: The Beatles, "Penny Lane"
1968: Frank Sinatra, "My Way"
1974: Bob Dylan: "Tangled Up In Blue," "Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts," "If You See Her, Say Hello"

Charts

1957: Elvis Presley's Elvis' Christmas Album hits #1
1967: The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" hits #1

Certifications

1969: Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving On A Jet Plane" is certified gold
1976: ABBA's Greatest Hits is certified gold