Rock 'n' Roll History for
December 1


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
After leading the Cashbox Best Sellers chart for fifteen weeks, Elvis Presley is finally knocked out of the number one spot by Guy Mitchell's "Singing The Blues". Elvis had topped the list with "Hound Dog" (4 weeks), "Don't Be Cruel" (6 weeks) and "Love Me Tender" (5 weeks). Starting December 8th, "Singing The Blues" would lead the Billboard Top 100 for ten weeks and spend three non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK chart.


1957 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Ed Sullivan Show was rockin' when it featured appearances by three of the hottest young acts of the day. Buddy Holly And The Crickets played "That'll Be The Day and "Peggy Sue", Sam Cooke sang his number one smash, "You Send Me" and The Rays performed what would prove to be their biggest hit, "Silhouettes".

1958 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Phil Spector written "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was the number one song in the US for The Teddy Bears. The trio consisted of Spector along with two friends, Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard. The song climbed to #2 on the UK's New Musical Express chart.

December 1
Neil Sedaka signs with RCA Records, where he would enjoy twelve Billboard Top 40 hits over the next five years. Six of those tunes entered the Top 10, including the number one smash "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (1962).

1960 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Bobby Darin took time out from his busy recording schedule to marry actress Sandra Dee. Bobby had put four songs on the singles chart that year, including "Beyond the Sea" (#6), "Clementine" (#21), "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" (#19) and "Artificial Flowers" (#20). The couple would divorce in early 1967.

December 1
A San Diego, California quintet called Rosie And The Originals reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a loosely recorded ballad called "Angel Baby". Written by the group's 14 year old singer, Rosie Hamlin, the song held the position for six weeks and stayed on the chart for three months.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Mamas And The Papas earn their fourth Gold record for their album, "Cass, John, Michelle and Dennie". Apparently no one at Dunhill Records realized that Doherty's first name was supposed to be spelled Denny.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Singer Jimmie Rodgers, who enjoyed a string of US Top Ten hits in the 1950s, suffered a fractured skull and a broken wrist, allegedly at the hands of three Los Angeles police officers. He would recover, but couldn't return to performing until a little over a year later. In 1973, after suits and counter-suits had been filed, Rodgers would accept a $200,000 settlement from the City Of Los Angeles.


1969 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb announces that he is "fed up, miserable and completely disillusioned" and is quitting the group. His brother Robin had made the same decision earlier in the year and all three brothers ended up releasing solo material before they would reform in late 1970. Robin was later quoted as saying, "If we hadn't been related, we would probably never have gotten back together."

1973 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
"Top Of The World" becomes The Carpenters' second number one hit on the Billboard Pop Chart. It made #5 in the UK. An earlier version by Lynn Anderson had already topped the US Country chart.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Bette Midler celebrates her 30th birthday with an emergency appendectomy.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Sex Pistols, who have just released their first single, "Anarchy in the UK", appear on British TV's Today Show as a last-minute replacement for Queen. After interviewer Bill Grundy asks them about their "nasty reputation", bass player Glenn Matlock utters a four letter word on the air. In the resulting uproar, The Sex Pistols are banned from appearing in all but five cities that were booked for their first UK tour. By next month, no club or concert hall in Great Britain will book the group.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Barry Sadler, who scored a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 with "The Ballad of the Green Berets", killed a Country music songwriter named Lee Emerson Bellamy. The two were involved with the same woman and after Bellamy aggressively approach him, Sadler shot him in the head. In June, 1979 he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but served just twenty-one days in jail after a successful self-defence appeal.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Lee Dorsey, who had two US Top Ten hits with "Ya Ya" (#7 in 1961) and "Working In A Coal Mine" (#8 in 1966), died of emphysema just three days shy of his 60th birthday. He had released nearly two dozen other singles after 1966, but none could crack Top 40.


1989 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Sly Stone is sentenced to fifty-five days in jail for driving under the influence of cocaine. Two weeks later he also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to spend nine to fourteen months in rehabilitation.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Elton John suffered a rare flop when his album "Duets" failed to crack the top twenty-five on the US album chart. The effort, which featured Don Henley, Chris Rea, kd lang, Little Richard, Kiki Dee, Gladys Knight, Bonnie Raitt and Leonard Cohen, was received much better in the UK, topping out at number 5.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Kenny G, whose real name is Kenny Gorelick, set a world record when he held a note on his soprano saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. That record was later broken by Geovanny Escalante, who held a sax note for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 45 seconds, using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time.

December 1
William Smith, vocalist and keyboard player for Motherlode, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 53. The Canadian group hit #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 with "When I Die".

2009 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
Little Richard asked fans to pray for his speedy recovery after undergoing hip surgery at a Tennessee hospital. The 76-year-old Rock 'n' Roll pioneer asked family friend Rev. Bill Minson to tell fans "to get ready to rock 'n' roll with him in the new year because he's coming back strong."

2016 - ClassicBands.com

December 1
The Rolling Stones ended their longest-ever studio album drought with the release of "Blue & Lonesome", a 12-song, 42-minute collection of Blues classics. The LP would reach #4 in America and top the chart in fifteen other countries around the world. It was the British rockers' first studio LP since 2005's "A Bigger Bang", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.




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