Rock and Metal History, December 20
1944: Bobby Colomby, drummer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in New York City.
1945: Peter Criss, drummer of Kiss, was born in Brooklyn, New York.(1974 US No.5 single 'On And On' 1976 US No 11 album 'Rock and Roll Over' spent 26 weeks on the chart. 1987 UK No.4 single 'Crazy Crazy Nights').
1948: Alan Parsons, British studio audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of The Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor. Parsons' own group, The Alan Parsons Project released several albums.
1956: Elvis Presley made US chart history by having ten songs on Billboard's Top 100.
1958: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison appeared as The Quarrymen at the wedding reception of Harrison's older brother Harry. The reception was at the Harrison family home at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool.
1967: Singer Ian Anderson formed Jethro Tull with bassist Glenn Cornick in Blackpool, England. No, there is no one named Jethro Tull in the group; the name is from an 18th century inventor of farming tools.The were formed in Luton, Bedfordshire. The band was led by vocalist/flutist/guitarist Ian Anderson, and included other significant members such as guitarist Martin Barre, keyboardist John Evan, drummers Clive Bunker, Barriemore Barlow, and Doane Perry, and bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, and Dave Pegg.The group first achieved commercial success in 1969, with the folk-tinged blues album Stand Up, which reached No. 1 in the UK charts, and they toured regularly in the UK and the US. Their musical style shifted in the direction of progressive rock with the albums Aqualung (1971), Thick as a Brick (1972) and A Passion Play (1973), and shifted again to hard rock mixed with folk rock with Songs from the Wood (1977) and Heavy Horses (1978).The last works released as a group were in 2003, though the band continued to tour until 2011. In April 2014, as he was concentrating on his solo career, Anderson said that Jethro Tull were finished.
1969: The Rolling Stones reached #1 on the U.K. album chart with Let It Bleed.
1969: The #1 album was Abbey Road by the Beatles, just as it had been for the previous seven weeks. Led Zeppelin II was a distant second.
1971: The Rolling Stones released their first compilation album Hot Rocks 1964-1971.
1975: Elite guitarist Joe Walsh joined the Eagles, replacing original member Bernie Leadon, who left for a solo career.
1980: Twelve days after his death, John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" was #1 in the U.K.
1986: Newcomers Bon Jovi were up from 83 to 56 with "Livin' On A Prayer".
1986: The Bangles started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Walk Like An Egyptian'.
2013: David Richards, a producer who worked with David Bowie, Queen, Iggy Pop, and others died.
2019: My Chemical Romance return after a seven-year absence with a show at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
