Rock and metal history, December 23
1940: Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist for Jefferson Airplane) is born in Washington, DC.
1945: Ron Bushy (drummer for Iron Butterfly) is born in Washington, DC.
1949: Adrian Belew is born Robert Steven Belew in Covington, Kentucky. The guitarist plays with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, King Crimson, Paul Simon, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, and William Shatner.
1951: Anthony Phillips, English guitarist (Genesis, 1967-70), born in London, England
1956: Dave Murray (guitarist for Iron Maiden) is born in Edmonton, London, England.
1964: Eddie Vedder was born, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Pearl Jam, was born in Evanston, Illinois.
1966: London's premiere psychedelic hangout, the UFO club, opens on Tottenham Court Road, with Pink Floyd as the house band.
1967: For the fourth week, the Monkees were at the top of the Album chart with Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
1966: Ready, Steady Go! aired for the final time on BBC-TV in the U.K. with the Who as guests.
1968: The Doors released the single "Touch Me".
1989: "Another Day In Paradise" by Phil Collins was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the fourth week.
2020: Leslie West, vocalist and lead guitarist for the band Mountain, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 75. Their only Top 40 single, "Mississippi Queen" reached #21 on the Hot 100 in 1970.
