Music Almanac: December 26
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| Phil Spector |
- 1922 - Harry Choates (d. 1951)
- 1935 - Abdul “Duke” Fakir (Four Tops) (76)
- 1939 - Phil Spector (73)
- 1942 - Earl Cate (Cate Brothers) (70)
- 1942 - Ernie Cate (Cate Brothers) (70)
- 1946 - Bob Carpenter (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) (66)
- 1950 - Michael Jones (B.T. Express) (62)
- 1951 - Paul Quinn (Saxon) (61)
- 1953 - Henning Schmitz (Kraftwerk) (59)
- 1954 - Peter Woods (Romeo Void) (58)
- 1962 - James Kottak (Scorpions) (50)
- 1963 - Lars Ulrich (Metallica) (49)
- 1963 - Dana Baldinger (Popinjays) (49)
- 1966 - Jay Yuenger (White Zombie) (46)
- 1969 - Peter Klett (Candlebox) (43)
- 1970 - James Mercer (Shins) (42)
- 1971 - Jared Leto (30 Seconds to Mars) (41)
- 1979 - Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) (33)
Deaths
- 1999 - Curtis Mayfield - Complications from paralysis (57)
- 2007 - Joe Dolan - Brain hemorrhage (68)
- 2010 - Teena Marie (born Mary Brockert) (54)
- 1926 - The WSM Bard Dance began regular Saturday night broadcasts. It would become the Grand Ole Opry.
- 1965 - Paul McCartney crashed on a moped suffering a five-inch cut to his mouth.
- 1966 - Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to Purple Haze while playing a club in London.
- 1967 - The BBC broadcast the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. The film was almost universally banned with the result being U.S. networks dropping their plans to air the feature.
- 1967 - Paul Desmond left the Dave Brubeck Quartet, causing the group to split up.
- 1968 - Led Zeppelin opened their first U.S. tour in support of Vanilla Fudge and Spirit in Denver, CO.
- 1979 - The concerts for the people of Kampuchea began in London with performances by Queen, the Clash, Elvis Costello, the Pretenders, the Who, Wings and others.
- 1987 - Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. was hospitalized after his jeep was hit by a car going the wrong way on a one-way street.
- 1988 - Shane McGowan of the Pogues was arrested for breaking the front glass of a store while drunk.
- 1997 - The Spice Girls' film, Spice World, opened in the U.K.
- 2003 - Stuart Beckerman, Michael Jackson's spokesman, quits after the singer appears on CBS about his child abuse charges.
- 2003 - Cris Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets was shot during an altercation with a post office security guard in Phoenix, AZ.
- 2005 - Gary Glitter got lucky when Vietnamese police can't get enough evidence to charge him with child rape.
- 2006 - Michael Jackson sued his former accountants for supposedly taking $2.5 million per year from his accounts but not paying his bills.
Recorded
- 1939 - St. Louis Blues - W.C. Handy
- 1961 - She Cried - Jay & the Americans
- 1976 - God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols
Released
- 1955 - See You Later Alligator - Bill Haley & the Comets
- 1963 - I Want to Hold Your Hand / I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles (single)
Broadcasts
- 1967 - Magical Mystery Tour (BBC) - Beatles
