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Rock and Metal history, December 3

1948: Ozzy Osbourne is born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England. He becomes the lead singer of Black Sabbath.

1949: Mickey Thomas (Jefferson Starship singer) is born in Cairo, Georgia.

1955: Elvis Presley's first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two sides were actually purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records: "Mystery Train" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget". Elvis was described by his new record company as 'The most talked about personality in recorded music in the last ten years.'

1965: The Beatles’ sixth studio album, Rubber Soul, was released in the UK alongside the double A-side single “Day Tripper” backed with “We Can Work It Out.” Rubber Soul met with a highly favourable critical response and topped sales charts in Britain and the United States for several weeks.

1965: The Who’s debut album, My Generation, was released by Brunswick Records in the UK. The album was later issued by Decca Records in the US in late April the following year as The Who Sings My Generation. In addition to the group’s four main members, the album also features contributions from session musicians Nicky Hopkins and Jimmy Page.

1966: The Monkees, who are stars thanks to their TV show, play their first concert. About 8,000 screaming fans show up for the performance in Honolulu, confirming their status as real-life superstars.

1968: Cream's Fresh Cream album is certified gold.

1968: Iron Butterfly's In-a-Gadda-da-Vida album is certified gold.

1969: John Lennon was asked to play the title role in "Jesus Christ, Superstar." The offer was revoked the next day.

1969: The Rolling Stones recorded 'Brown Sugar' at Muscle Shoals studios. The single went on to be a UK & US No.1. The song was written by Mick Jagger with Marsha Hunt in mind; Hunt was Jagger's secret girlfriend and mother of his first child Karis.

1971: Deep Purple arrive in Montreux, Switzerland to record their Machine Head album at the Montreux Casino. It doesn't go as planned: The casino burns down the next day and they end up recording in a hotel using the Rolling Stones' mobile unit. They tell the tale in the song "Smoke On The Water."

1973: Ringo Starr released the song "You're Sixteen." It was his second straight number one single.

1976: Bob Marley is shot in the upper arm when intruders storm his house in Kingston, Jamaica, attempting to assassinate the singer. The attack was motivated by politics, as elections in Jamaica were days away and Marley was seen as supporting the ruling party. Marley made a full recovery and never had the bullet removed, as he was told that the operation could cause him to lose movement in his fingers.

1978: Cat Stevens released Back to Earth, his eleventh studio album and his only album to use the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam until the release of The Laughing Apple in 2017.

1979: Just three months after Keith Moon's death, tragedy struck The Who again when eleven people were trampled to death while trying to reach unreserved concert seats at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. The mayor of Providence, Rhode Island cancels The Who's next concert, scheduled there in two days. Multiple law suits are filed by families of the deceased.

1983: Slayer released their debut album "Show No Mercy", released by Metal Blade.Although the album was criticized for its poor production quality, it became Metal Blade's highest-selling release,producing the songs "The Antichrist", "Die by the Sword" and "Black Magic", which were played at Slayer's live shows regularly.

1992: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards confirm the rumors that Bill Wyman, their bass player since 1962, will be leaving The Rolling Stones.

1996: Spirit released their last studio album, California Blues. Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Randy California died a month later.

2002: It was announced that Peter Garrett had quit Midnight Oil after 25 years.

2014: Ian McLagan, the keyboard player for The Small Faces and later The Faces, died due to complications from a stroke at the age of 69. His work can be heard on hits like "Itchycoo Park" and "Stay With Me".