Rock and Metal History, December 19
1941: Maurice White, co-founder, lead singer, songwriter, drummer and the genius behind Earth, Wind & Fire and a producer and arranger, was born in Memphis, Tennessee; died in his sleep February 4, 2016 in Los Angeles after being afflicted by Parkinson's disease since the late 1980s.
1944: Zal Yanovsky, The Lovin Spoonful, (1966 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Summer In The City'). Died of a heart attack on 13th December 2002.
1947: Jimmy Bain former bassist with R.J.Dio was born. He was also the founder of Hear N Aid,he also worked with Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums.On January 23, 2016, Jimmy Bain died while in his cabin on Def Leppard's "Hysteria on the High Seas" cruise. He was due to perform on the cruise with his group Last In Line the following day.
1955: Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
1964: Beatles for Sale was the new #1 album in the U.K., knocking off the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night.
1968: During a UK tour Led Zeppelin appeared at The Civic Hall, Exeter, England, supported by The Empty Vessels, featuring Martin Turner and Steve Upton who later formed Wishbone Ash. Zeppelin were paid £125 for the gig.
1968: 48 years ago today, Iron Butterfly’s single edit of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” made its first appearance on the Billboard Pop Singles chart...or if you want to get technical, it appeared just under it.
1969: The Rolling Stones moved to #1 in the U.K. with their album Let It Bleed.
1970: Abraxas by Santana continued as the #1 album for a fourth week, while Led Zeppelin III was, well, third
1974: Ron Woods joined the Rolling Stones.
1981: The Rolling Stones wrapped up a tour at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.
1981: 4 by Foreigner was #1 for a fifth week.
1987: "Hot In The City" by Billy Idol, climbed from 81 to 65 before being killed by conservative radio people.
1987: Whitesnake hits #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with their power ballad: Is This Love. This song is featured on Whitesnake’s self-titled album from 1986.
1993: Byrds drummer Michael Clarke died of liver failure at the age of 47. After The Byrds, he went on to play for The Flying Burrito Brothers from 1969 to 1973 and Firefall from 1974 to 1981. He and the rest of The Byrds were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in January 1991.
1994: Aerosmith performed the final concert of their 240 date tour in support of their 11th studio album Get a Grip. This concert took place at Mama Kin’s Music Hall in Boston and was broadcasted on radio stations throughout North America.
2000: 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck died of liver failure aged 42. Best know for ‘Hey Jack Kerouac’, ‘What's The Matter Here’ and 'Candy Everybody Wants'.
