From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: DECEMBER 8
1960: Teen idol Fabian visits Elvis Presley at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Elvis rips his pants demonstrating his new passion, karate, and Fabian lends him his pair.
1962: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed appears at his payola trial in New York City and testifies to receiving money from labels to play their records on the air. He is found guilty, fined $300, and given six months probation, but the irreparable damage to his career has been done.
1963: Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.
1969: In a Toronto, Canada courtroom, Jimi Hendrix testifies in his trial for possession of hashish and heroin. Claiming to have “outgrown” drugs, the guitarist gives a very detailed history of his drug use. After eight hours, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty.
1975: The benefit concert “A Night of the Hurricane” is held at Madison Square Garden. The last date on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the show features many non-musical celebrities and raises over $100,000 for the release of wrongly imprisoned boxer “Hurricane” Carter and his alleged accomplice. Carter himself calls the stage from jail.
1976: The Carpenters’ Very First Special, featuring guest star John Denver, airs on ABC.
1980: At 11:07 PM EST, former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in New York by a deranged fan just outside the Dakota Hotel, New York City. Lennon was shot in his chest, back and left arm and was pronounced dead thirty minutes later. Earlier that day, the killer had met Lennon outside the Dakota and had him sign a copy of his latest album, Double Fantasy.
1995: Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead officially announce their breakup.
1998: The FBI opens its 1,300 page file on Frank Sinatra to the public.
2003: Ozzy Osbourne suffers several fractures in his upper body in an ATV accident.
Birthdays: 1921: Johnny Otis. 1925: Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Smith. 1939: Jerry Butler (The Impressions). 1942: Bobby Elliott (The Hollies). 1943: Jim Morrison (The Doors). 1946: Graham Knight (Marmalade). 1947: Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers Band).
Releases: 1961: The Beach Boys; “Surfin,'” (LP). 1967: The Beatles; Magical Mystery Tour (UK; EP). 1967: Traffic; Mr. Fantasy (LP).
Recording: 1941: Ray Eberle and The Modernaires with The Glenn Miller Orchestra; “Moonlight Cocktail.” 1960: Henry Mancini, “Moon River.” 1966: The Beatles; “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “When I’m Sixty-Four.” 1969: The Beatles, “Octopus’s Garden.”
Charts: 1954: The Drifters; “White Christmas” enters the R&B charts. 1956: Guy Mitchell; “Singing the Blues” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1979: Styx; “Babe” hits No. 1 on the charts.
Deaths: 1980: John Lennon. 1981: Big Walter Horton. 1982: Marty Robbins. 1991: Buck Clayton.
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 8
