Music Almanac: December 31

Donna Summer

Birthdays

• 1920 - Rex Allen (d. 1999)
• 1928 - Ross Barbour (Four Freshman) (d. 2011)
• 1930 - Odetta (born Odetta Holmes) (d. 2008)
• 1942 - Andy Summers (Police) (70)
• 1943 - John Denver (born Henry John Deutschendorf) (d. 1997)
• 1943 - Pete Quaife (Kinks) (d. 2010)
• 1947 - Burton Cummings (Guess Who) (65)
• 1948 - Donna Summer (d. 2012)
• 1951 - Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith) (61)
• 1951 - Fermin Goytisolo (K.C. & the Sunshine Band) (61)
• 1951 - Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets) (61)
• 1953 - Michael Hedges (d. 1997)
• 1959 - Paul Westerburg (Replacements) (53)
• 1959 - Jeff Johnson (Jason & the Scorchers) (53)
• 1963 - Scott Ian (Anthrax) (49)
• 1970 - Danny McNamara (Embrace) (42)
• 1971 - Marcus Adoro (Eraserheads) (41)
• 1972 - Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block) (40)
• 1979 - Bob Bryar (My Chemical Romance) (33)
• 1993 - Jess Bonner (Girl Authority) (19)

Deaths

• 1985 - Rick Nelson - Plane crash (45)
• 1997 - Floyd Cramer - Lung cancer (64)
• 2000 - Eddy Shaver (member of father Billy Joe Shaver's band) - Heroin Overdose (38)
• 2002 - Kevin MacMichael (Cutting Crew) - Lung cancer (51)
• 2002 - Jim McReynolds (Jim & Jesse McReynolds) (75)

The Pendletones

On This Day

• 1940 - A dispute between the radio networks and ASCAP forced the removal of all music published through the society, shutting down much of the music programming for the next ten months.
• 1961 - The Beach Boys (formerly the Pendletones) performed for the first time under their new name in Long Beach, CA.
• 1961 - Janis Joplin sang in public for the first time in Beaumont, TX.
• 1963 - The Kinks performed live for the first time in London.
• 1965 - The Beatles opened a European tour in Paris.
• 1969 - Jimi Hendrix introduced his new group Band of Gypsies. The performance would later be released.
• 1970 - Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit to dissolve the Beatles.
• 1971 - David Clayton-Thomas made his last appearance (for now) with Blood, Sweat & Tears.
• 1971 - Stevie Ray Vaughan dropped out of high school and moved to Austin with his band.
• 1973 - AC/DC performed live for the first time in Sydney, Australia.
• 1973 - Journey made their live debut in San Francisco.
• 1975 - Elvis Presley set a record by making $800,000 for a concert before 60,000 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI.
• 1976 - The Cars played live for the first time in Portsmouth, NH.
• 1978 - Bauhaus played live for the first time in England.
• 1982 - Max's Kansas City in New York closed.
• 1984 - Rick Allen, guitarist for Def Leppard, was in a traffic accident that caused him to lose his left arm.
• 1991 - Ted Nugent coined his phrase “I kill it, you grill it” when he donated 200 pounds of venison to the Salvation Army in Detroit for their homeless shelters.
• 1993 - Barbra Streisand played live before a paying crowd for the first time in 22 years at the MGM in Las Vegas, NV.
• 1996 - Paul McCartney was named to the Queen's New Years Honours list, making him a “sir.”
• 1997 - Little Texas performed their final show in Cookville, TN.
• 1999 - The Manic Street Preachers set a record in Europe for the biggest indoor concert when they played for 57,000 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
• 1999 - John Fogerty sued his lawyer over what he says was incompetent handling of his 1985 copyright infringement lawsuit.
• 2000 - Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright performed their farewell show in Nashville.
• 2002 - 50 Cent and four others were arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
• 2003 - Alex Lifeson of Rush was hit with a stun gun while being arrested for disorderly conduct at a Naples, FL New Year's celebration.
• 2003 - Eric Clapton and Ray Davies of the Kinks were made CBE's by the Queen.
• 2004 - Roger Daltrey was awarded a CBE by the Queen.
• 2009 - Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi of Status Quo were awarded OBE's by the Queen.
• 2010 - The Discovery Channel indefinitely postponed a program that was to reenact Michael Jackson's autopsy.

Marriages

• 1947 - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
• 1981 - Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
• 1982 - Steve Van Zandt (E-Street Band) and Maureen Santora
• 2000 - Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) and Kate Hudson
• 2003 - Natalie Imbruglia and Daniel Johns (Silverchair)

Broadcasts

• 1969 - Man of the Decade (BBC) - John Lennon
• 1979 - Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC 2) - Blondie
• 1979 - Kenny Everett New Year's Show (U.K.) - David Bowie
• 1981 - New Year's Rockin' Eve (MTV) (first program)
• 1995 - The White Room (C4-TV U.K.) - David Bowie, Oasis, Pulp, Stevie Wonder, PM Dawn
• 2003 - Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (ABC) - Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Elton John