... and more December 31 birthdays – Jule Styne (aka Julius Stein, 1905) – songwriter (“Three Coins In The Fountain”). Cyril Stapleton (1914) – British violinist, jazz bandleader. Evelyn Knight (1917) – singer (“A Little Bird Told Me”). Rex Allen (1920) – actor/singer/songwriter (“Don’t Go Near The Indians”). Ross Barbour (1928) – The Four Freshmen. Gil Mellé (1931) – Jazz saxophonist, album cover artist. Pete Quaife (1943) – bassist for The Kinks. Fermin Goytisolo (1951) – percussionist for KC & The Sunshine Band. Michael Hedges (1953) – acoustic guitarist. Paul Westerberg (1959) – The Replacements. Scott Ian Rosenfeld (1963) – guitarist for Anthrax. Bob Bryar (1979) – drummer for My Chemical Romance. ____________________
Birthday correction -- Tom Hamilton was born in 1951. ____________________ December 31 R.I.P. – Richard Rodgers (1979) – jaw cancer. Age 77. Composer. Floyd Cramer (1997) – lung cancer. Age 64. Pianist. Jake Carey (1997) – Age 71. The Flamingos. Kevin MacMichael (2002) – lung cancer. Age 51. Guitarist for Cutting Crew. December 31 album releases – Steve Winwood – Arc Of A Diver (1980) Live – Mental Jewelry (1991) December 31 events – 1912 – 12-year old Louis Armstrong decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve by “borrowing” a .38 pistol from one of his many “stepfathers,” and shooting it into the air. He is instantly arrested by a nearby policeman for illegally discharging a firearm. Armstrong will be sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where he will learn to read and write music, as well as play cornet and bugle with the school band. 1929 – Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians perform “Auld Lang Syne” for the first time at the Hotel Roosevelt Grill in New York. The show is broadcast on CBS radio and is such a hit that Lombardo and CBS continue their New Year’s Eve show for the next 24 years. 1940 – The contract between American radio stations and ASCAP - the American Society of Publishers and Composers – expires amid legal wranglings, causing radio stations across the U.S. to ban all ASCAP affiliated songs for the next 10 months. The ban allows the new and smaller rival company BMI - Broadcast Music Inc. - to gain a foothold. 1947 – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are married in Davis, Oklahoma. 1955 – Billboard magazine announces that Les Baxter's "Unchained Melody" is voted the top-selling single of the year, with four different hit versions making the chart. 1956 – Elvis Presley appears on a KLAC-TV in Memphis on a New Year's Eve TV special hosted by Wink Martindale. 1956 – Johnny Mathis releases his single, "Wonderful! Wonderful!" b/w "When Sunny Gets Blue." 1957 – The Fontane Sisters appear on American Bandstand. 1961 – 18-year old Janis Joplin makes her stage debut at the Halfway House in Beaumont, Texas. 1962 – Folk singers John Phillips and Michelle Gilliam are married. 1963 – Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir meet and play together for the first time. 1963 – The Kinks make their stage debut at the Lotus House Restaurant in London. 1965 – John Lennon’s father, Alfred “Freddie” Lennon, releases his single, “That’s My Life (My Love And My Home)” b/w “The Next Time You Feel Important” on Pye Records. The record is an attempt to capitalize on his son’s success, and to compete with John’s new song “In My Life,” prompting the younger Lennon to instruct manager Brian Epstein to have the song blackballed in the UK. The song is not a hit and does not chart. 1966 – The Monkees appear at the Cincinnati Gardens in Ohio. 1966 – Ray Charles plays the City Center Arena in Seattle, Washington. 1967 – Sonny and Cher are suddenly disinvited to appear at tomorrow's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena after publicly supporting the teenaged Sunset Strip rioters protesting the city's new curfew. 1967 – Jay and The Techniques, Vikki Carr, Miriam Makeba and Buddy Rich and his orchestra all appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1968 – Billboard magazine reports that for the first time ever, U.S. music sales have topped $1 billion. 1968 – Joe Cocker, Amen Corner, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Small Faces, Free and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band all appear at Alexandra Palace in London. The Small Faces’ set proves to be the last with their original line-up, as this is singer/guitarist Steve Marriott’s final show with the group before heading off to form Humble Pie. 1969 – John Lennon appears on an ATV television special which declares him Man of the Decade, while in the U.S., Rolling Stone magazine names him Man of the Year. 1970 – Paul McCartney sues John, George and Ringo to dissolve The Beatles. 1971 – Elvis Presley throws this year’s New Year's Eve celebration at Graceland rather than a local club as has been the norm, and announces to his entourage that his wife Priscilla will be divorcing him, saying simply, "She says she doesn't love me anymore." 1971 – David Clayton Thomas makes his final appearance with Blood, Sweat & Tears. 1972 – Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve premieres on NBC, with guests Three Dog Night and Al Green. 1972 – The MC5 play their final concert at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. 1973 – AC/DC makes their stage debut at Chequers in Sydney, Australia. 1973 – Journey makes their stage debut at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, consisting of former Santana members Gregg Rollie and Neil Schon, Ross Vallory and George Tickner from Frumious Bandersnatch, and Tubes drummer Prairie Prince. 1974 – Ex-Faces guitarist Ron Wood denies reports that he’s joining The Rolling Stones, and replacing recently-departed guitarist Mick Taylor. 1974 – Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac. 1975 – On the singer’s 23rd birthday, Casablanca Records throws a single release party for Donna Summer's debut single, "Love To Love You Baby," which includes a life-size cake in the shape of the singer, flown in to New York from L.A. 1975 – Elvis Presley performs a special New Year's Eve concert in Pontiac, Michigan, and sets a single performance attendance record of 62,500, bringing in over $800,000. 1976 – The Cars make their live stage debut at Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 1978 – Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco holds its last concert before closing the doors for good with a show by The Grateful Dead, and opening act The Blues Brothers. 1979 – Blondie appears at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, and the show is broadcast live on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. 1979 – David Bowie performs an acoustic version of “Space Oddity” on the Kenny Everett New Year's Show. 1982 – New York club Max’s Kansas City closes its doors for good. 1984 – Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen crashes his Corvette while street racing someone in an Alfa Romeo on the A57 outside of Sheffield. Failing to navigate a sharp turn, the Corvette launches over a stone wall and Allen is thrown from the car, severing his left arm at the shoulder. In the hospital, his arm is re-attached, but is removed permanently after a couple of days when infection sets in. 1991 – After 62 years of broadcasting, Radio Luxembourg, Europe's oldest commercial radio station, goes off the air. 1991 – Ted Nugent donates 200 pounds of venison to a Salvation Army soup kitchen in Detroit with the message, "I kill it, you grill it." 1991 – Pearl Jam, Nirvana and The Red Hot Chili Peppers all appear at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. 1993 – Barbara Streisand begins her first tour in 22 years, playing the first of two nights at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 1996 – Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. 2000 – Janet Jackson's estranged husband René Elizondo files a lawsuit against the singer claiming that Jackson, who’s sold more than 40 million records, promised to share equally any assets acquired after their relationship began in 1987. 2000 – Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson marries actress Kate Hudson in Aspen, Colorado. 2000 – Country music husband-and-wife team Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright perform their final concert together at the Nashville Nightlife Theater. 2003 – Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia marries long-time boyfriend, Silverchair singer Daniel Johns. 2004 – The Who's Roger Daltrey is granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. 2005 – Welsh singer Tom Jones is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. 2006 – George Michael is paid a reported £1.5 million for an hour's concert at a Russian billionaire's New Year’s Eve party. The unnamed businessman paid for Michael to entertain his 300 guests on his private estate 20 miles outside of Moscow. 2009 – Status Quo’s Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt are awarded OBEs.
