... and more December 29 birthdays –
Pablo Casals (aka Pau Casals i Defilló, 1876) – cellist, conductor.
Clyde McCoy (1903) – Jazz trumpeter ("Sugar Blues").
Rose Lee Maphis (1922) – Country singer with Joe Maphis, “Mr. and Mrs.
Country Music.”
Virgil Johnson (1935) – The Velvets.
Bobby Comstock (1941) – Bobby Comstock and The Counts.
Jerry Summers (aka Jerry Gross, 1942) – The Dovells.
Rick Danko (1942) – bassist/vocalist for The Band.
Barbara Alston (1943) – The Crystals.
Marianne Faithfull (1946)
Cozy Powell (1947) – drummer for The Jeff Beck Group and Rainbow.
Charlie Spinosa (1948) – trumpeter for John Fred & His Playboy Band.
Rob Parissi (1950) – vocalist for Wild Cherry (“Play That Funky
Music”).
Neil Giraldo (1955) – guitarist for Pat Benatar.
Jim Reid (1961) – singer for The Jesus And Mary Chain.
Mark “Cow” Day (1961) – guitarist for Happy Mondays.
Bryan “Dexter” Holland (1965) – guitarist/vocalist for The Offspring.
Glen Phillips (1970) – vocalist for Toad The Wet Sprocket.December 29 R.I.P. – Paul Whiteman (1967) – Age 77. Bandleader, "King of Jazz." Freddie Hubbard (2008) – heart attack. Age 70. Jazz trumpeter. Bobby Purify (2011) – Age 72. James and Bobby Purify. December 29 album releases – Grand Funk Railroad – Grand Funk (1969) America – America (1971) The Trammps – Disco Inferno (1976) Neil Young – Trans (1982) Meat Beat Manifesto – 99% (1990) December 29 events – 1943 – Bing Crosby, along with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, records “San Fernando Valley” in Los Angeles. 1945 – Sheb Wooley records the first commercial records ever produced in Nashville, recording four songs for the Bullet label, which is owned by radio station WSM, home of the Grand Ole Opry. 1952 – Patti Page releases her single, “(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window” b/w “My Jealous Eyes” on Mercury Records. 1953 – Perry Como, along with the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra and Choir, records “Wanted” at the Manhattan Center in New York City. 1955 – 13-year old Barbara Streisand makes her first recording, “You’ll Never Know,” in New York. 1956 – While driving North on Avenue K in Lubbock, Texas, a not-yet- famous Buddy Holly notices a woman screaming "Stop that thief!" and chases down a fleeing shoplifter, making the local newspaper for his good deed. 1957 – Singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé are married at the El Rancho Hotel in Las Vegas. They’re still married. 1957 – Chuck Berry records “Reelin’ And Rockin’,” “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “Johnny B. Goode” at Chess Studios in Chicago, with Lafayette Leake on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. 1958 – Frank Sinatra records “French Foreign Legion” at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood. 1958 – The Platters record “Enchanted” at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. 1962 – Bob Dylan appears at the Troubadour folk club in London. 1963 – Folk icons The Weavers perform their farewell concert at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. 1963 – New York radio stations WMCA and WABC begin playing The Beatles’ new Capitol single “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” 1964 – Liverpool’s Youth Employment Service reports that recent graduates are having trouble getting jobs with their Beatle-style haircuts and suits. 1965 – The Supremes release their single, “My World Is Empty Without You” b/w “Everything Is Good About You” on Motown. 1966 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience makes their debut appearance on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops, performing “Hey Joe.” 1966 – Paul McCartney begins recording “Penny Lane” at Abbey Road, laying down several piano tracks before adding percussion and sound effects. 1966 – Pink Floyd plays the Marquee club in London, with opening act Syn (featuring bassist Chris Squire). 1967 – Dave Mason quits Traffic for a solo career. 1967 – The Doors appear at the Family Dog in Denver, Colorado. 1968 – Led Zeppelin opens for Vanilla Fudge at the Civic Auditorium in Portland, Oregon. 1968 – Sly and The Family Stone perform a medley of their hits, and Judy Collins sings "Both Sides Now" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Also on the show are Lainie Kazan, Eddie Albert and Earl Wilson, Jr. 1969 – Motown artists hold five of the top seven spots on Billboard’s singles chart, including the top three: a milestone for the record company. 1975 – Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner and Grace Slick are divorced. 1982 – Jamaica issues its first set of Bob Marley commemorative stamps. 1999 – Three ferrets named Beckham, Posh Spice and Baby Spice are used to lay power cables for a New Year’s Eve concert by Simply Red, The Eurythmics and Bryan Ferry at Royal Park in Greenwich, London, when workers are not allowed to dig up the turf at the park. Organizers choose to utilize existing gopher tunnels to run the cables through, but find that rods can not push the cables through the tiny underground tunnels, which frequently bend and dog-leg, so the ferrets are put into nylon harnesses and successfully pull the cables through the tunnels with them. 2001 – Aretha Franklin sues the Star tabloid newspaper for $50 million for reporting the singer has alcohol problems. 2004 – The Bobby Darin biopic, Beyond The Sea, premieres in theaters. The film’s star, Kevin Spacey, sings all of Darin’s songs in the movie himself. 2006 – Burlesque dancer and model Dita Von Teese files for divorce from husband Marilyn Manson, citing irreconcilable differences.
