... and more December 18 birthdays –
Montana Slim (aka Wilf Carter, 1904) – Canadian country singer/
songwriter.
James Carter (1925) – amateur singer, inmate (“Po’ Lazarus” from O
Brother, Where Art Thou?)
Harold Land (1928) – hard bop saxophonist with The Timeless All Stars.
Allen Klein (1931) – manager of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Sam Andrew (1941) – guitarist for Big Brother and The Holding Company.
Les Cauchi (1942) – The Brooklyn Bridge.
Bill Nelson (1948) – guitarist for Be Bop Deluxe.
Randy Castillo (1950) – drummer for Ozzy Osbourne.
Martha Johnson (1950) – Martha and The Muffins.
Elliot Easton (aka Elliot Steinberg, 1953) – guitarist for The Cars.
Kevin “Geordie” Walker (1958) – guitarist for Killing Joke.
Daddy G (aka Grantley Marshall, 1959) – rapper for Massive Attack.
Greg D’Angelo (1963) – drummer for White Lion.
DMX (aka Earl Simmons, 1970) – rapper.
Christina Aguilera (1980)
December 18 R.I.P. –
Les Kummel (1978) – car crash. Age 33. Bassist for The New Colony Six.
Jimmy Nolen (1983) – heart attack. Age 49. Guitarist for James Brown.
Irving Caesar (1996) – Age 101. Lyricist (“Sometimes I’m Happy”).
Kirsty MacColl (2000) – hit by a speed boat. Age 41. Singer/
songwriter.
Clifford T. Ward (2001) – pneumonia. Age 57. British singer/songwriter
(“Gaye”).
Gilbert Bécaud (2001) – cancer. Age 74. Composer ("Et Maintenant" -
"What Now My Love").
Ralph McDonald (2011) – lung cancer. Age 67. Songwriter ("Where Is The
Love").
December 18 album releases –
The Beach Boys – Wild Honey (1967)
The Jackson 5 – Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (1969)
The Beatles – From Then To You (1970) (Fan club Christmas album)
T. Rex – T. Rex (1970)
Sly and The Family Stone – Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back (1976)
December 18 events –
1945 – Perry Como records “Prisoner Of Love” at RCA Studios in New
York City.
1961 – Chubby Checker's "The Twist" begins its 23rd week on the
singles chart, becoming the longest stay on Billboard's Hot 100 to
date.
1961 – Sam Cooke records "Twistin' The Night Away" at RCA Studios in
Hollywood.
1961 – EMI’s Ron White responds to Brian Epstein’s December 8 request
for a recording contract for The Beatles by turning them down.
1962 – The Beatles return to Hamburg, Germany for the fifth and final
time as a club act, playing a two week engagement at the Star Club.
1964 – Sam Cooke's funeral brings 200,000 fans to the A.R. Leak
Funeral Home in Chicago - so many fans that the crush breaks the glass
front doors of the parlor. James Brown, there to pay his respects, is
forced to leave in order to avoid the grieving mob. Ray Charles, who
makes it in, sings a stirring version of "Angels Keep Watching Over
Me" for his friend.
1965 – SSgt. Barry Sadler records 12 songs for an album, including
“The Ballad Of The Green Berets.”
1966 – Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness fortune, is killed when he
collides with a bus while driving his sports car in London's South
Kensington district. Reading about the accident a few days later, John
Lennon incorporates the incident into the first and second verses of
his new song, "A Day In The Life."
1968 – Janis Joplin begins rehearsing with her new group, The Kozmic
Blues Band.
1968 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono participate in the Underground
Christmas party at the Royal Albert Hall, presenting their “Alchemical
Wedding” by sitting in a huge white bag for a half hour and chatting
with passersby. The following year, the couple will begin their Bagism
project.
1968 – Frankie Laine releases his single, “You Gave Me A Mountain” b/w
“The Secret Of Happiness.”
1969 – The New York Times reports that 75 percent of the billion-
dollar music industry's revenue is generated by American youth.
1971 – Joe Tex releases his single, “I Gotcha” b/w “A Mother’s
Prayer.”
1972 – Bob Dylan begins filming the Sam Peckinpah film, Pat Garrett
And Billy The Kid.
1973 – Jim Stafford records “My Girl Bill” in Atlanta.
1975 – Rod Stewart officially quits The Faces.
1978 – Led Zeppelin completes work on what will be their last album,
In Through The Out Door.
1981 – Kim Carnes and Tina Turner open for Rod Stewart at the Los
Angeles Forum, and the concert is broadcast via satellite to 35
million people in 23 countries.
1982 – Hall and Oates’ “Maneater” hits #1, causing the pair to surpass
The Everly Brothers as the biggest selling duo of all time.
1983 – On his 40th birthday, Keith Richards marries Patti Hansen at
the Finisterra Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
1988 – The Alarm’s Mike Peters is rushed to the hospital from the
Northgate Arena in Chester when his eyes are burned from the intense
spotlights. The group is forced to cancel dates in London and
Birmingham while Peters regains his eye sight.
1991 – In a move that will have widespread implications for the rap
industry, Gilbert O'Sullivan is awarded an injunction against rapper
Biz Markie for an unlicensed sample of Gilbert's "Alone Again
(Naturally)" used in Biz's own "Alone Again."
1991 – Céline Dion signs a $10 million contract with Sony Music.
1992 – Canadian radio station CFRA bans The Beatles' "Run For Your
Life" from its playlist for its alleged anti-women sentiment.
1995 – Saxophonist Kenny G and his family escape a fire that causes
$275,000 damage to their home in suburban Los Angeles.
1999 – Madame Tussauds in London unveils their Spice Girls wax-works.
2000 – 15-year old Danielle McGuire sues ‘N Sync singer Justin
Timberlake for harassment, assault and intentional infliction of
emotional distress following a November 19 incident after a concert in
St. Louis, charging Timberlake was allowed “to take over security and
control the lobby area of the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and control
members of the public located in the lobby.”
2000 – The last issue of Melody Maker is published.
2003 – In Los Angeles, Michael Jackson is formally charged with seven
counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a minor, and two counts of
administering an "intoxicating agent" to a minor.
2003 – President George W. Bush awards James Brown and Loretta Lynn
with Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC.
2004 – The red Gibson SG guitar that George Harrison used while
recording Revolver fetches $570,000 at a Christie’s New York auction.
2005 – Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty is arrested for possession of
heroin after being pulled over by police for driving erratically.
2008 – Paul Simon is made a member of the Board of Trustees at the
prestigious Berklee College of Music.
