Music Almanac: December 17

Paul Rodgers

Birthdays

• 1894 - Arthur Fiedler (d. 1979)
• 1903 - Ray Noble (d. 1978)
• 1910 - Spade Cooley (d. 1969)
• 1931 - Frankie Miller (81)
• 1933 - Nat Stuckey (d. 1988)
• 1936 - Tommy Steele (76)
• 1937 - Art Neville (Neville Brothers) (75)
• 1937 - Tom Tall (75)
• 1938 - Carlo Little (Rolling Stones, Scraming Lord Sutch's Savages) (d. 2005)
• 1939 - Eddie Kendricks (Temptations) (d. 1992)
• 1939 - James Booker (d. 1983)
• 1941 - Mickey Jones (Bob Dylan) (71)
• 1942 - Paul Butterfield (d. 1987)
• 1943 - Dave Dee (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich) (d. 2009)
• 1943 - Ron Geesin (Pink Floyd) (69)
• 1948 - Jim Bonfanti (Raspberries) (64)
• 1949 - Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company, Firm, Queen) (63)
• 1950 - Carlton Barrett (Bob Marley & the Wailers) (d. 1987)
• 1951 - Wanda Hutchinson (Emotions) (61)
• 1953 - Mark Gane (Martha & the Muffins) (59)
• 1953 - Sharon White (Whites) (59)
• 1958 - Mike Mills (R.E.M.) (54)
• 1959 - Bob Stinson (Replacements) (d. 1995)
• 1961 - Sara Dallin (Bananarama) (51)
• 1966 - Tracy Byrd (46)
• 1966 - Duane Propes (Little Texas) (46)
• 1969 - Mike Quinn (Supergrass) (43)
• 1970 - DJ Homicide (born Craig Bullock) (Sugar Ray) (42)
• 1978 - Neil Sanderson (Three Days Grace) (34)
• 1979 - Flo Rida (born Tramar Dillard) (33)
• 1979 - Ryan Key (Yellowcard) (33)
• 1989 - Taylor York (Paramour) (23)

Deaths

• 1982 - Big Joe Williams (79)
• 1996 - Ruby Murray - Liver cancer (61)
• 1999 - Rex Allen - Heart attack (78)
• 1999 - Grover Washington, Jr. - Heart attack (56)
• 2006 - Denis Payton (Dave Clark Five) - Cancer (63)
• 2010 - Captain Beefheart (born Don Van Vliet) - Multiple sclerosis (69)

Elvis Costello on SNL (1977)

On This Day

• 1955 - Carl Perkins wrote Blue Suede Shoes.
• 1963 - WWDC in Washington, DC was the first station in the U.S. to broadcast a Beatles record. DJ James Carroll played I Want to Hold Your Hand.
• 1965 - The Astrodome opened in Houston, TX with performances by Judy Garland and the Supremes.
• 1970 - The Beach Boys played a royal demand performance in London.
• 1977 - Elvis Costello was brought in at the last minute to replace the Sex Pistols on Saturday Night Live after the group was refused entry to the country due to their criminal records. Costello would be banned for years from the show after he stopped playing the song Less Than Zero, which had been requested by the NBC producers, in the middle and launched into Radio Radio.
• 1982 - Karen Carpenter played live for the last time in Sherman, California.
• 1982 - The Who play their first farewell concert in Toronto.
• 1986 - The Doobie Brothers reunited for a benefit in Palo Alto, CA. The show inspired them to reform.
• 1986 - Wayne Newton won a $19.2 million suit against NBC news because of a false report that he was tied to mob figures.
• 1987 - Robert Plant played with his former group, Band of Joy, in Folkestone, England and, for the first time, played Led Zeppelin songs as a solo artist.
• 1995 - A statue of Frank Zappa was erected in Vilnius, Lithuania.
• 1996 - Celine Dion announced she was taking a break to start a family.
• 2000 - Eminem was the victim of an early internet rumor/hoax after it was reported he had been killed in a car accident.
• 2003 - Remy Zero split up.
• 2003 - Nas was charged with assault after hitting a patron of a club over the head with a bottle.
• 2004 - Lisa Marie Presley sold 85% of her holdings in her father's estate to Robert Sillerman for about $100 million.
• 2004 - The Libertines played their last show in Paris as opening act for P.J. Harvey. Harvey went on to say that this was also the last show she would ever play.

Marriages

• 1969 - Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Budinger
• 1994 - Celine Dion and Rene Angelil

Recorded

• 1961 - She's Got You - Patsy Cline

Released

• 1968 - Point Met at the Sky - Pink Floyd (U.K. single)

Broadcasts

• 1969 - Tonight Show (NBC) - Tiny Tim & Miss Vicki's wedding
• 1977 - Saturday Night Live (NBC) - Elvis Costello
• 1983 - Saturday Superstore (U.K.) - Culture Club, Duran Duran, Police
• 1984 - Razzmatazz Solid Gold Christmas Special (U.K.) - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Big Country, Duran Duran, Ultravox, Paul Young, Wham
• 1990 - A Mom For Christmas - Oliva Newton-John
• 2002 - According to Jim (ABC) - Brad Paisley