HC's Rock Rewind - Dec 19 - Jan 1

HC's Rock Rewind

A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History

by Team HC

December  19th - 25th

It’s Christmas week! From the births of Jimmy Buffett and Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder to the formation of Jethro Tull, the rock events don’t stop for the holiday week of Dec. 19 through 25. Read on for some major events, historic record releases and births and deaths taking place Dec. 5 through 11. 

Events

1818 - "Silent Night" has its first performance at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria. 

1906 - Reginald A. Fessenden was the first person to successfully broadcast a music program over the radio. He did it from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.

1967 - Jethro Tull forms.

1968 - Crosby, Stills and Nash plays their debut public show.

1968 - Singer Eric Burdon parts ways with the Animals. He embarks on a solo career.

1971 - Martha and the Vandellas call it quits.

1974 - Ron Woods becomes a member of the Rolling Stones. 

1975 - Joe Walsh becomes a member of the Eagles. 

Births 

Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), December 19, 1941 

Doug Johnson (Loverboy), December 19, 1957 

Kevin Shepard (Tonic), December 19, 1968 

Agatha Nathalia Weston (Kim Weston), December 20, 1939 

Bobby Colomby (Blood, Sweat & Tears), December 20, 1944 

Alan Parsons (The Alan Parsons Project), December 20, 1948 

Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), December 20, 1966 

Frank Zappa, December 21, 1940 

Carla Thomas, December 21, 1942 

Carl Wilson (The Beach Boys), December 21, 1946 

Brett Scallions (Fuel), December 21, 1971 

James Gurley (Big Brother & the Holding Company), December 22, 1939 

Barry Jenkins (Nashville Teens, the Animals), December 22, 1944 

Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), December 22, 1946 

Maurice and Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees), December 22, 1949 

Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane), December 23, 1940 

Johnny Contardo (Sha Na Na), December 23, 1951 

Dave Murray (Iron Maiden), December 23, 1956 

Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), December 23, 1964 

Ian Fraser Kilmister (Lemmy of Motorhead), December 24, 1945 

Jan Akkerman (Focus), December 24, 1946 

Tony Martin, December 25, 1913 

O'Kelly Isley (The Isley Brothers), December 25, 1937 

Noel Redding (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), December 25, 1945 

Jimmy Buffett, December 25, 1946 

Robin Campbell (UB40), December 25, 1954 

Annie Lennox, December 25, 1954 

Shane McGowan (The Pogues), December 25, 1957 

Noel Hogan (The Cranberries), December 25, 1971 

Deaths 

Michael Clarke (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers), December 19, 1993

James Gurley (Big Brother & the Holding Company), December 20, 2009 

Bluesman Albert King, December 21, 1992 

Ma Rainey (“The Mother of the Blues”), December 22, 1939 

Dennes Boon (guitarist, vocalist for Minutemen), December 22, 1985 

Joe Strummer of The Clash, December 22, 2002 

Dave Dudley, December 22, 2003 

Joe Cocker, December 22, 2014 

Eddie Hazel (Funkadelic), December 23, 1992 

Dan Hamilton (Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds), December 23, 1994 

Bobby LaKind (The Doobie Brothers), December 24, 1992 

Nick Massi (The Four Seasons), December 24, 2001 

Dean Martin, December 25, 1995 

James Brown, December 25, 2006 

Releases 

The Beach Boys, Barbara Ann, 1965 

The Beatles, The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record, 1968 

The Beatles, The Beatles' Seventh Christmas Record: Happy Christmas 1969, 1969 

George Harrison, Ding Dong, Ding Dong, 1974 

December  26th - January  1st 

Historically speaking, this week in rock music has been marked by a trove of memorable events. Great Britain’s most influential hard rock band kicked off their first American tour, a country music icon passed away at a tragically young age, and a spectacularly popular Swedish pop group performed onstage for the last time. A spate of classic albums was released as well, including landmark records by Bob Dylan, The Stooges and Rush. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week.

Events

1953 – Country music icon Hank Williams dies of a heart attack. He is just 29. More than 20,000 mourners attend his funeral. 

1960 – Johnny Cash plays the first of his prison concerts, performing for inmates at San Quentin. Among those in the audience is Merle Haggard. 

1961 – The Beach Boys perform under their just-adopted bandname for the first time, earning $300 for a show staged in Long Beach, California. 

1963 – Capitol Records issues the first Beatles single to be released in America: “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” backed by “I Saw Her Standing There.” 

1967 – The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film debuts on Great Britain’s BBC television network. 

1968 – The Miami Pop Festival is staged, making it the first major rock festival held on America’s East Coast. Performers include Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, The Box Tops, Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly and The Grateful Dead, among others. 

1968 – Led Zeppelin kicks off their very first U.S. tour, opening in Denver, Colorado, for Vanilla Fudge and Spirit. 

1973 – AC/DC make their performance debut in Sydney, Australia. 

1974 – Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are asked to join Fleetwood Mac. 

1975 – The Faces formally disband. 

1980 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy album begins an eight-week run atop the U.S. album charts. 

1982 – ABBA make their final live appearance, performing in Stockholm, Sweden. 

1984 – Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm after crashing his Corvette. He continues on as a member of the band. 

1985 – Country rock icon Rick Nelson is killed, along with six other passengers, when the chartered airplane in which they are flying crashes in Texas. 

1999 – George Harrison suffers a serious stab wound after a mentally disturbed intruder breaks into the ex-Beatles’ home. Harrison’s injuries include a collapsed lung. 

2005 – Pink Floyd are voted the greatest-ever rock stars in a poll conducted by U.K. radio station Planet Rock. More than 50,000 listeners participate in the survey. 

2010 – Soundgarden reunites. 

Releases

1967 – Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding

1967 – Leonard Cohen: The Songs of Leonard Cohen

1969 – Grand Funk Railroad: Grand Funk

1969 – Blue Cheer: Blue Cheer

1971 – America: America

1971 – The Byrds: Farther Along

1971 – The Electric Light Orchestra: Electric Light Orchestra

1972 – The Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks

1973 – Thin Lizzy: Vagabonds of the Western World

1973 – The Stooges: Raw Power

1974 – Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark

1975 – Emmylou Harris – Elite Hotel

1975 – Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Head On

1976 – Genesis: Wind & Wuthering

1976 – Blondie: Blondie

1979 – Todd Rundgren’s Utopia: Adventures in Utopia

1980 – Warren Zevon: Stand in the Fire

1980 -- Steve Winwood: Arc of a Diver

1980 – Rush: Permanent Waves

1981 – Badfinger: Say No More

1982 – Neil Young: Trans

1984 – Los Lobos: How Will the Wolf Survive?

1987 – Anthrax: I’m the Man

Deaths

Hank Williams – Jan. 1, 1953 

Bert Berns (writer of “Hang on Sloopy” and “Twist and Shout”) – Dec. 30, 1967 

Freddie King – Dec. 28, 1976 

Chris Bell (Big Star) – Dec. 27, 1978 

Tim Hardin – Dec. 29, 1980 

Dennis Wilson – Dec. 28, 1983 

Alex Korner – Jan. 1, 1984 

Rick Nelson – Dec. 31, 1985 

Clarence “Satch” Satchell (The Ohio Players) – Dec. 30, 1995 

Ted Hawkins – Jan. 1, 1995 

Townes Van Zandt – Jan. 1, 1997 

Floyd Cramer – Dec. 31, 1997 

Curtis Mayfield – Dec. 26, 1999 

Meri Wilson – Dec. 28, 2002 

Hank Garland – Dec. 27, 2004 

Delaney Bramlett – Dec. 27, 2008 

Stevie Wright (The Easybeats) – Dec. 27, 2015 

Lemmy Kilmister – Dec. 28, 2015 

Births

Pops Staples – Dec. 28, 1915 

Johnny Otis – Dec. 28, 1921 

Bo Diddley – Dec. 30, 1928 

Odetta – Dec. 31, 1930 

Scotty Moore – Dec. 27, 1931 

Del Shannon – Dec. 30, 1934 

Felix Pappalardi (Mountain) – Dec. 30, 1939 

Phil Spector – Dec. 26, 1940 

Mike Pinder (The Moody Blues) – Dec. 27, 1941 

Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues) – Dec. 29, 1941 

Rick Danko (The Band) – Dec. 29, 1942 

Michael Nesmith (The Monkees) – Dec. 30, 1942 

Pete Sinfield (King Crimson) – Dec. 27, 1943 

John Denver – Dec. 31, 1943 

Mick Jones (Foreigner) – Dec. 27, 1944 

Davy Jones (The Monkees) – Dec. 30, 1945 

Edgar Winter – Dec. 28, 1946 

Marianne Faithfull – Dec. 29, 1946 

Patti Smith – Dec. 30, 1946 

Cozy Powell – Dec. 29, 1947 

Jeff Lynne – Dec. 30, 1947 

Burton Cummings (The Guess Who) – Dec. 31, 1947 

Donna Summer – Dec. 31, 1948 

Alex Chilton – Dec. 28, 1950 

Morgan Fisher (Mott the Hoople) – Jan. 1, 1950 

David Knopfler (Dire Straits) – Dec. 27, 1951 

Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith) – Dec. 31, 1951 

Andy Johns (Producer) – Jan. 1, 1952 

Paul Westerberg – Dec. 31, 1959 

Jim Reid (The Jesus and Mary Chain) – Dec. 29, 1961 

Lars Ulrich – Dec. 26, 1963 

Dexter Holland (The Offspring) – Dec. 29, 1965