From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: DECEMBER 6
1948: The CBS television show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts debuts.
1957: Elvis visits radio station WDIA in Memphis and meets two of his idols, Little Junior Parker and Bobby Bland.
1964: The Gerry and the Pacemakers movie “Ferry Cross The Mersey” debuts at the New Victoria Cinema in London.
1968: President Richard Nixon sends out 66,000 signed letters to potential administrative office holders, including Elvis Presley.
1969: Cab Calloway stars in NBC’s “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentation of The Littlest Angel.
1969: The infamous rock concert known as Altamont, featuring Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Rolling Stones, takes place at the speedway of the same name in Altamont, CA.
Headliners the Rolling Stones, who organized the show as a free “thank you” concert, hire Hell’s Angels instead of cops for security, resulting in the deaths of four people in the crowd of 300,000 (including Meredith Hunter, stabbed to death by the Angels).
1970: The Rolling Stones tour documentary Gimme Shelter, featuring footage of the infamous Altamont concert, opens in New York City.
1980: John Lennon mixes Yoko Ono’s “Walking On Thin Ice.” It is the last time he would be in a studio.
1986: Ringo becomes the first Beatle to use his name in an advertisement, for Sun Country wine cooler.
1993: At a video shoot for Travis Tritt’s remake of the Eagles’ “Take It Easy,” the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to reform for new songs and a tour.
1995: Michael Jackson collapses in a New York theater during a rehearsal for an upcoming TV special and is hospitalized.
Birthdays: 1920: Dave Brubeck. 1939: Steve Alaimo. 1941: Helen Cornelius. 1942: Len Barry. 1944: Jonathan King.
Releases: 1957: The Diamonds, “The Stroll.” 1963: The Beatles, The First Christmas Record. 1965: The Beatles, “We Can Work It Out” b/w “Day Tripper.” 1965: The Beatles, Rubber Soul (US). 1965: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “Going to a Go-Go.”
Recording: 1944: The Count Basie Orchestra, “Red Bank Boogie.” 1965: The Rolling Stones: “19th Nervous Breakdown,” “Mother’s Little Helper.” 1966: The Beatles, “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
Certifications: 1968: The Beatles (aka ‘The White Album’) is certified gold by the RIAA. 1973: Steve Miller’s ‘The Joker’ album is certified gold by the RIAA.
Charts: 1952: The Mills Brothers’ “The Glow-Worm” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1969: Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1975: Paul Simon’s ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1975: Tyrone Davis’ “Turning Point” enters the R&B charts.
Deaths: 1949: Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter. 1988: Roy Orbison.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 6
