... and more December 11 birthdays --
Perez Prado (1916) – Cuban band leader, “King of the Mambo.”
Benny Spellman (1931) – R&B singer ("Lipstick Traces (On A
Cigarette)").
Rita Moreno (aka Rosa Alverío, 1931) – actress/singer (West Side
Story).
Curtis Williams (1934) – The Penguins.
Tom Brumley (1935) – pedal steel guitarist for The Buckaroos and The
Stone Canyon Band.
J. Frank Wilson (1941) – J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers (“Last
Kiss”).
Tony Brown (1946) – pianist, record producer.
Justin Currie (1964) – singer/songwriter for Del Amitri.December 11 R.I.P. – Walter Ward (2006) – Age 66. The Olympics. December 11 album releases – Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968) Deep Purple – The Book Of Taliesyn (1968) U.S. John Lennon – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) Yoko Ono – Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (1970 King Crimson – Lizard (1970) The Rolling Stones – More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972) Monty Python – Monty Python Sings (1989) No Doubt – Rock Steady (2001) December 11 events – 1939 – Marlene Dietrich records an English version of the German song "Ich Bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe Eingestellt" as "Falling In Love Again.” 1944 – NBC Radio begins broadcasting The Chesterfield Supper Club, a 15-minute radio program airing at 7pm weeknights. Perry Como is the host. During the show’s seven year stay on air, other hosts included Jo Stafford and Peggy Lee. 1957 – Jerry Lee Lewis secretly marries his 13-year old cousin Myra Brown in Hernando, Mississippi, even though Lewis is still married to his first wife. 1958 – The Coasters record "Charlie Brown." 1960 – Aretha Franklin makes her New York debut at the Village Vanguard. 1961 – Bing Crosby’s first Christmas special airs on ABC-TV. The show was filmed in black and white in London, and features guests Shirley Bassey, Terry Thomas and Bob Hope. 1965 – The Mamas and The Papas, The Grass Roots, and Barry McGuire all appear on Shindig! 1966 – Little Richard appears at Brian Epstein’s Saville Theatre in London. After the show, Epstein offers to manage Little Richard, but the singer declines. 1966 – The Mamas and The Papas make their debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing "Monday Monday," "California Dreamin'" and "Words Of Love." Also on the show is Lana Cantrell. 1967 – NBC airs the Nancy Sinatra special, Movin’ With Nancy, with guest appearances by her dad, Frank, Dean Martin, Lee Hazelwood and Sammy Davis, Jr. 1968 – The Rolling Stones film what is intended to be a BBC television program entitled The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus at the InterTel video facility at Stonebridge House in Wembley, London. Filming begins at 2:00 in the afternoon and stretches on for the next 15 hours, until 5:00 the next morning. Acts include The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, The Dirty Mac (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell), Yoko Ono, and The Rolling Stones. Afterward, Jagger refuses to release the film due to The Stones’ lackluster performance. 1968 – An airplane is hijacked to Cuba carrying country artist Tex Ritter. 1969 – Pat Boone appears as himself in the “She Never Had The Vegas Notion” episode of That Girl. 1971 – John Lennon debuts his new song "John Sinclair" at a Free John Sinclair Rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stevie Wonder and Phil Ochs also appear. 1972 – James Brown is arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" after his concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, when a conversation Brown has with fans from the stage is somehow mistaken for an attempt to incite a riot. Charges are later dropped after Brown threatens to sue the city for $1 million for police brutality. 1972 – Genesis makes their U.S. stage debut at Boston's Brandeis University. 1976 – KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is nearly electrocuted when he touches a short-circuited light during a concert in Florida. He is carried from the stage, but returns to finish the show ten minutes later. 1980 – U2 appears at the Mudd Club in New York City: the first date of four U.S. shows which also take the band to Boston and Washington DC. 1982 – The Jam plays their final gig together at the Brighton Centre. 1985 – The most expensive non-oil acquisition in U.S. history takes place when the General Electric Company agrees to buy the RCA Corporation, which includes NBC radio and television, for $6.3 billion. 1988 – A Roy Orbison tribute concert is held at the Wiltern Theatre in L.A., featuring Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt. 1989 – Four Led Zeppelin albums - Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin, Presence, and In Through The Out Door - are certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. 1992 – During a gig at the National Ballroom in Kilburn, Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers tells the audience, "In this season of goodwill, let's pray that Michael Stipe (of R.E.M.) goes the same way as Freddie Mercury." 1996 – Johnny Marr and Morrissey lose their court case over unpaid royalties with former Smiths members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, and are left with a £300,000 legal bill. 1998 – During a gig in Tucson, Arizona, a bottle is thrown from the audience and hits Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson. A security guard is later stabbed trying to eject a man from the crowd. 2000 – The Verve is forced to cancel the remaining dates of their UK tour after singer Richard Ashcroft falls on stage and breaks two ribs. 2001 – East 17 singer Brian Harvey undergoes emergency surgery after suffering a serious head injury after being attacked by a group of youths as he left the Works nightclub in Nottingham, after appearing at a promotional event. 2001 – Actor/singer David Soul wins his £20,000 libel lawsuit against London theater critic Matthew Wright, who ridiculed Soul's stage performance and play, The Dead Monkey, saying it was the worst West End show he had ever seen, even though he never saw the play. 2008 – Simon Cowell says he is "very embarrassed" after contracts signed by this year's X Factor contestants are leaked to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The 80-page document, which is enforceable "anywhere in the world or the solar system," was signed by all 12 finalists before the live shows began. It included a clause that prevents them from saying anything "unduly negative, critical or derogatory" about Cowell. Also, the show claims the prize as a "£1 million recording contract," but the contestants' contract says the prize money is only £150,000. 2008 – Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina criticizes Madonna’s first concert in Santiago, Chile, stating, “This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts."
