... and more December 28 birthdays –
Harold Rhodes (1910) – inventor of the electric piano.
Billy Williams (1910) – The Charioteers ("I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And
Write Myself A Letter").
Charles Neville (1939) – The Neville Brothers.
Chas Hodges (1943) – Chas & Dave.
Dick Diamonde (aka Dingeman van der Sluijs, 1947) – bassist for The
Easybeats.
Mary Weiss (1948) – The Shangri-Las.
Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste (1948) – drummer for The Meters.
Louis McCall (1951) – drummer for Con Funk Shun.
Richard Clayderman (aka Philippe Pagès, 1953) – French pianist.
Mike McGuire (1958) – drummer for Shenandoah.
Marty Roe (1960) – guitarist/vocalist for Diamond Rio.
Christine Collister (1961) – British singer/songwriter.
Paul Wagstaff (1964) – guitarist for Happy Mondays and Black Grape.
Joey Shuffield (1969) – drummer for Fastball.
John Legend (aka John Stephens, 1978) – singer/songwriter.
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Birthday corrections --
Johnny Otis was born in 1921.
Bobby Comstock was born December 29, 1941.
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December 28 R.I.P. –
Max Steiner (1971) – congestive heart failure. Age 83. Film composer
(King Kong).
Freddie King (1976) – pancreatitis. Age 42. Blus guitarist/singer
("Have You Ever Loved A Woman").
Eddie "Bongo" Brown (1984) – Age 52. Percussionist with the Funk
Brothers.
Meri Wilson (2002) – car crash. Age 53. Novelty song singer/songwriter
(“Telephone Man”).
The Rev (2009) – multiple drug overdose. Age 28. Drummer for Avenged
Sevenfold.
Billy Taylor (2010) – heart attack. Age 89. Jazz pianist, composer.
Kaye Stevens (2011) – breast cancer. Age 79. Actress, Las Vegas
entertainer.
December 28 album releases –
Stevie Wonder – With A Song In My Heart (1963)
December 28 events –
1944 – Leonard Bernstein has a hit with his first big musical, On The
Town, which opens at the Adelphi Theater on Broadway, and features the
song “New York, New York.”
1954 – Elvis Presley releases his single, “Milkcow Blues Boogie” b/w
“You’re A Heartbreaker” on Sun Records.
1960 – Fats Domino records “What A Price” at Cosimo Recording Studio
in New Orleans.
1960 – The film Where The Boys Are, guest starring Connie Francis,
opens in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
1963 – Teen idol Bobby Vee marries Karen Bergen at the Holy Rosary
Church in Detroit Lakes, Michigan. They’re still married.
1963 – New Yorker magazine runs an interview with Beatles manager
Brian Epstein about the group and their up-coming appearance on Ed
Sullivan’s show. It is considered the first serious piece about the
group in the U.S.
1963 – Hank Williams Jr. has his first MGM recording session.
1964 – Trumpeter Hugh Masekela is the featured guest on CBS-TV's game
show To Tell The Truth.
1965 – Elvis Presley and girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu drop acid at
Graceland for the first and only time. They spend the majority of
their “trip” staring at the fish in the aquarium.
1966 – Ike and Tina Turner appear at the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego.
1968 – The second Miami Pop Festival begins at the Gulfstream Park
racetrack in Hallandale, Florida. It is the first successful three-day
major rock concert on the East Coast. Acts appearing at the festival
include Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, The Turtles, Joni Mitchell, Procol
Harum, Steppenwolf, Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly, The McCoys, Fleetwood
Mac, The Box Tops, Three Dog Night, Pacific Gas & Electric, and The
Grateful Dead.
1968 – Vanilla Fudge plays at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver,
British Columbia, with opening act Led Zeppelin.
1968 – Pink Floyd appears at the two-day Flight To Lowlands Paradise
II festival in Margriethal-Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands,
replacing The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Other acts appearing include
Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, The Pretty Things and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah
Band.
1968 – The Doors release their single, “Touch Me” b/w “Wild Child.”
1969 – Temptations Day is declared in Detroit, Michigan.
1970 – John Lennon releases his single, “Mother,” b/w Yoko Ono’s “Why”
on Apple in the U.S. only.
1971 – Oldies cover act Sha Na Na hits the big time, headlining a show
at Carnegie Hall, hosted by The Who’s drummer Keith Moon.
1972 – Mick Jagger visits Managua, Nicaragua, with his wife Bianca,
searching for her mother after the recent devastating earthquake that
claimed thousands of lives. Fortunately, Bianca's mother is fine.
1975 – Ted Nugent has a .44 Magnum gun pulled on him by 25-year old
David Gelfer at a concert in Spokane, Washington. Security quickly
wrestles the man to the ground.
1978 – Rolling Stone magazine's annual Reader’s and Critic’s Poll both
vote The Rolling Stones’ album Some Girls as Album Of The Year.
1981 – Warner, Elektra and Atlantic Records follow RCA’s lead and
raise the price of their 45-RPM records from $1.68 to $1.98.
1988 – Nirvana appears at the Hollywood Underground in Seattle.
1991 – The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam all appear at
the Pat O'Brien Pavilion in Del Mar, California.
1993 – Singer Shania Twain marries record producer Robert “Mutt” Lang.
1998 – Atlanta Rhythm Section singer Ronnie Hammond attempts suicide
for the second time in a month by slitting his wrist with a steak
knife. When police arrive on the scene, Hammond approaches the
officers with a hammer and he is shot. Hammond will recover over time.
2000 – After moving to a smaller house in Chandler, Arizona, Waylon
Jennings holds a three-day estate sale at his former home in Dixon,
Illinois, offering up, amongst other artifacts, a motorbike that once
belonged to Buddy Holly.
2002 – After spending two days in jail for alleged sex offenses,
singer Gary Glitter is deported from Cambodia to Viet Nam.
2003 – The Who’s Pete Townshend reveals in a London newspaper that he
seriously considered suicide after his 2002 arrest on child
pornography charges.
2005 – The body of Barry Cowsill is found floating in the Mississippi
River near the Charles Street Wharf in New Orleans, after having been
missing since late August when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.
