... and more December 19 birthdays –
Édith Piaf (aka Édith Gassion, 1915) – French singer.
Charlie Ryan (1915) – singer/songwriter (“Hot Rod Lincoln”).
Little Jimmy Dickens (1920) – Country and novelty singer/songwriter.
Robert Sherman (1925) – Disney songwriter ("It's A Small World").
Cornell Dupree (1942) – Jazz/R&B guitarist with Bill Withers and King
Curtis.
Jeff Davis (1952) – The Amazing Rhythm Aces.
Walter Murphy (1952) – instrumentalist/songwriter (“A Fifth Of
Beethoven”).
Doug Johnson (1957) – keyboardist for Loverboy.
Limahl (aka Christopher Hamill, 1958) – singer for Kajagoogoo.
Kevin Shepard (1968) – drummer for Tonic.December 19 R.I.P. – “Blind” Lemon Jefferson (1929) – heart attack. Age 36. Blues singer/ guitarist, “Father of the Texas Blues.” Michael Clarke (1993) – liver failure. Age 47. Drummer for The Byrds. Jimmy Rogers (1997) – colon cancer. Age 73. Guitarist for Muddy Waters. Rob Buck (2000) – liver disease. Age 42. Guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs. Pops Staples (2000) – concussion from a fall. Age 85. The Staple Singers. December 19 events – 1932 – The BBC begins its BBC Empire Service, broadcasting to Australia, New Zealand, and countries in four other world time zones. 1952 – Hank Williams plays his final show at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. 1955 – Carl Perkins records “Blue Suede Shoes” at the Sun Studio in Memphis two days after writing the song. 1956 – Elvis Presley sets a record by having 10 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart: a record that will stand until 1964 when The Beatles place 14 songs on the chart. 1957 – The musical The Music Man, written by Meredith Willson and starring Robert Preston, opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City. An instant smash, it will run for 1,375 nights and later inspire the film version, also starring Preston. 1957 – Jerry Vale performs “Pretend You Don’t See Her” on American Bandstand. 1960 – Neil Sedaka releases his single, “Calendar Girl” b/w “The Same Old Fool” on RCA Records. 1960 – Frank Sinatra records “Ring-A-Ding-Ding” and “Let’s Fall In Love” at his first session for his new record label, Reprise Records. 1960 – At North Hollywood High School, The Four Preps record a "live" version of "More Money For You And Me." It will prove to be their last hit. 1962 – Tony Bennett records “The Good Life” at CBS Studios in New York City. 1962 – Priscilla Beaulieu arrives in New York from Germany, and is picked up by Vernon Presley and his wife Dee, who then drive to Memphis, where Elvis will pick her up at his dad’s home and take her to see Graceland. Upon arriving, Priscilla says she's nervous, and Elvis gives her some sleeping pills which knocks her out for the better part of two days. 1967 – Buffalo Springfield appears at the Community Concourse in San Diego with opening act The Brain Police. 1968 – The Friends Of Distinction record “Grazing In The Grass” for RCA. 1969 – Mick Jagger is arrested in London for possession of marijuana. He is fined £200 plus 50 guineas at Marlborough Magistrates Court and sent on his way. 1970 – Elton John’s “Your Song” enters the Billboard Hot 100. 1973 – Jim Stafford records “Wildwood Weed” in Atlanta. 1974 – Ron Wood officially joins The Rolling Stones. 1976 – In an interview with the UK newspaper The Daily Mail, Sex Pistol Paul Cook's mother says he is no longer welcome at home and she is going to turn his bedroom in a dining room. 1978 – ABC-TV airs the holiday special The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait. 1979 – Elvis Presley's personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos is charged with prescribing over 12,000 doses of amphetamines, barbiturates, and painkillers for Elvis in the two years leading up to his death in August 1977. 1980 – The film Nine To Five, starring Country singer Dolly Parton in her first major motion picture, opens in theaters. 1985 – Country music singer Johnny Paycheck is arrested for shooting a man during a barroom brawl in Hillsboro, Ohio. 1987 – Paul Simon and Linda Ronstadt are the musical guests on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The show is hosted by presidential candidate, Senator Paul Simon. 1988 – Johnny Cash undergoes heart bypass surgery at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. 1992 – Neil Diamond’s holiday special, Christmas In Washington, airs on NBC, with guests Julie Andrews and Peabo Bryson. 1994 – The Manic Street Preachers play the first of three nights at the Astoria in London: the last shows Richey Edwards makes with the band before disappearing on February 1, 1995. 1996 – Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas re-names Avenue H as Buddy Holly Avenue. 1998 – The Dave Matthews Band appears at the United Center in Chicago, and records the show for a live album release. 2000 – Wu Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard is returned to New York to face drug charges after being arrested in Philadelphia. 2001 – Country artist Waylon Jennings has his left foot amputated due to the effects of diabetes. 2001 – Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton pays £3,000 for a custom built, hand-painted toilet, complete with a hand-crafted toilet roll holder for her new £500,000 seaside apartment. 2001 – Dick Clark sues Grammy president Michael Greene for $10 million, accusing him of unfairly barring musicians from performing on the Grammy Awards that have preformed on Clark’s American Music Awards show. 2005 – Elton John turns down nearly $6 million for the rights to broadcast his civil union to David Furnish on a U.S. television station. 2006 – Rapper Eminem and his wife Kim are divorced for the second time. 2006 – Two giant eyeballs donated by Pink Floyd raise £16,500 for the homeless charity Crisis. The 6ft-high props, made to promote the Pulse DVD, were on the auction site eBay for a week and attracted 46 bids. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, a vice-president of Crisis, said extra help was needed in the winter months. 2010 – Carlos Santana marries his touring drummer Cindy Blackman in Hawaii.
