From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: DECEMBER 31
1955: Les Baxter’s “Unchained Melody,” the hit theme from the movie Unchained, is voted Billboard’s top-selling single of the year, with no less than four hit versions. And the Righteous Brothers’ hit version was still nearly a decade away!
1960: The risque (and soon to be hit) beach vacation movie, Where The Boys Are, premieres in New York City, starring Connie Francis.
1961: The Beach Boys, formerly known as the Pendletons, make their onstage debut under their new name at a Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert in Long Beach, CA. They are paid $300 for the gig.
1961: Janis Joplin makes her on-stage debut at the Halfway House in Beaumont, TX.
1962: John Phillips and Michelle Gilliam, later of the Mamas and Papas, are married.
1963: The Kinks make their on-stage debut at London’s Lotus House Restaurant.
1965: Alf Lennon, John’s estranged deadbeat father, releases “That’s My Life (My Love And My Home),” a single designed to ride the coattails of John’s success and his recent song “In My Life.” Lennon instructs manager Brian Epstein to make sure it is blackballed in the UK. It is not a hit.
1967: Sonny and Cher are suddenly disinvited to appear at tomorrow’s Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA, after publicly backing the “Sunset Strip Rioters,” teenagers protesting the city’s new curfew.
1968: Billboard magazine reports that this year, for the first time, US total music sales have topped one billion dollars.
1969: Jimi Hendrix’s new group, Band of Gypsys, makes its onstage debut tonight at the Fillmore East ballroom in New York City. The concert is later released on LP as simply Band Of Gypsys.
1969: A BBC TV special declares John Lennon Man Of The Decade, on the same day that Rolling Stone names him ‘Man Of The Year’ and New Musical Express quotes him as saying he’s thinking of leaving the Beatles.
1970: Paul McCartney officially sues the other members of the Beatles for a legal dissolution of their “partnership,” effectively breaking up the band (though John Lennon had been the first to leave permanently, and George and Ringo had both quit temporarily before that). On the same day, British magazine Melody Maker announces that the Beatles are looking for a new bassist. Four years later to the day, and after endless legal wrangling, all four would come to terms, making the separation final.
1971: Elvis Presley announces to his entourage that his wife Priscilla will be divorcing him, saying simply, “She says she doesn’t love me anymore.” In contrast to previous years, tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebration is held at Graceland rather than a local club.
1971: Blood Sweat & Tears essentially break up as lead singer David Clayton-Thomas performs his last live show with the group. (The band would briefly reunite four years later.)
1972: Dick Clark begins a new holiday tradition as his first New Year’s Rockin’ Eve concert is broadcast on ABC-TV. Dick himself will host the annual event for the next 32 years. Guests for the inaugural event include Three Dog Night and Al Green.
1974: Pink Floyd begin recording their landmark LP ‘Wish You Were Here’ after abandoning an earlier concept of an album recorded entirely with household objects.
1974: Ex-Faces guitarist Ron Wood flatly denies rumors that he will be joining the Rolling Stones to replace Mick Taylor, who had recently quit the band.
1974: Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are asked to join Fleetwood Mac.
1975: Casablanca Records’ single release party for Donna Summer’s debut single, “Love To Love You Baby” features a life-size cake in the shape of the singer, flown in all the way from Los Angeles to New York. (It’s Summer’s 23rd birthday.)
1975: Elvis Presley sets a new single-show solo record at tonight’s concert in Pontiac, MI, earning $800,000.
1978: Bill Graham’s Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco closes its doors for good after the Grateful Dead play their 48th concert there. Also appearing this night: The Blues Brothers.
1982: Max’s Kansas City club in New York, where Bruce Springsteen, the New York Dolls, and the Velvet Underground played some of their first concerts, shuts its doors for good.
1982: E Street Band guitarist “Miami Steve” and/or “Little Steven” Van Zandt marries Maureen Santora at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Little Richard officiates; Bruce Springsteen is the best man; Percy Sledge sings “When A Man Loves A Woman” during the reception.
1991: After 62 years, Radio Luxembourg, Europe’s oldest commercial radio station, goes off the air for good.
1991: Ted Nugent donates 200 pounds of venison to a Detroit soup kitchen run by the Salvation Army, declaring in a note, “I kill it, you grill it.”
1996: In the traditional New Year’s Eve knighthood announcements of England’s ruler Queen Elizabeth II, Paul McCartney is granted knighthood. Tom Jones was knighted in 2005, while Roger Daltrey (2004), and Eric Clapton and Ray Davies (2003) both received lesser “Commander” titles.
Birthdays: 1943: John Denver; 1943: Pete Quaife (The Kinks); 1947: Burton Cummings (The Guess Who); 1948: Donna Summer; 1951: Fermin Goytisolo (KC and the Sunshine Band); 1951: Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith)
Releases: none
Recordings: none
Charts: 1966: The Monkees’ “I’m A Believer” hits No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Certifications: 1965: The Beatles’ single “I Feel Fine” is certified gold by the RIAA. 1965: The Beatles’ Beatles ’65 is certified gold by the RIAA.
Deaths: 1967: Bert Berns; 1985: Rick Nelson; 1997: Floyd Cramer
And that’s some of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . 
MCRFB says, remember:
PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE . . .
B E S A F E N E W Y E A R ‘ S E V E 2 0 1 4 !
