Today In Rock History Dec. 4
 

Chris Hillman, bass player for the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds, is born. (1942)

Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson is born. He dies in 1983. (1944)

Southside Johnny is born. (1948)

Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd is born. (1951)

Four Sun Records stars-Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash- record what will later be known as the Million Dollar Quartet. Recordings from the impromptu session won't be released for 25 years. (1956)

Prompted by reports that many radio stations have banned Elvis' Christmas album because of the averred impropriety of "the Pelvis" singing religious songs, DJ Allen Brooks of CKWS, Kingston, Ontario, plays the album and invites listeners to call in their opinion. Of eight hundred callers, all but 56 approve of Presley's sacred music. (1957)

Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" is released on Vee Jay Records. It becomes his biggest hit reaching Number One and selling over one million copies worldwide. (1961)

The Beatles fan club in England announces its current membership now totals 65,000. (1964)

The Kinks enter the Hot 100 with a song that sets them apart from every other contemporary British band, "A Well Respected Man," a tune which marks the beginning of band leader Ray Davies' look of the British way of life. The song peaks at #13 in its 14 weeks on the charts. (1965)

The Knickerbockers enter the Hot 100 with their first of only three hits, "Lies," which tops out at #20 in thirteen weeks. (1965)

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is knocked out by an underground microphone during a concert in Sacramento, California. He recovers in seven minutes and the concert continues. (1965)

The New York Times quotes Soviet music critic A. Martinosa saying that the Beatles "have become rich idols of the Philistines." (1968)

President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew and forty U.S. governors embark on a magical mystery fact-finding mission to discover the causes of the generation gap. They view films of "simulated acid trips" and listen to hours of "anti-establishment rock music." (1969)

"Supersession," an album which came about after an ad hoc studio jam session with Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Steve Stills, is certified gold. (1970)

Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair" begins a three-week reign in the Number One spot on the pop chart. It is their third and last Number One record and their last to make the Top Ten. (1971)

"Alive!," the fourth album by Kiss, goes gold--as has every one of the band's other albums. (1975)

Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones make public their decision not to re-form Led Zeppelin in the wake of the death of drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham. Fifteen years later, Page and Plant get together for a highly successful tour. (1980)

Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn. She later changes her mind but files again in January of 1988. (1987)

Roy Orbison gives his final concert in Akron, Ohio. He will die 2 days later. (1988)

The Supreme Court upholds a ruling that says Prince did not steal the song, "U Got The Look" from his half-sister. Lorna Nelson claimed the lyrics were similar to ones she had written. (1989)

Madonna appears on "Nightline" to defend her "Justify My Love" video, which was banned by MTV. She denies the video's explicit contents were meant to stir up controversy and get her publicity. (1990)

Van Halen performs a free concert in Dallas. Lead singer Sammy Hagar had promised to do the show because he had lost his voice during a concert in Dallas three and a half years earlier. (1991)

Frank Zappa dies of pancreatic cancer at age 52. (1993)


(BOBBYORR)


Chart Toppers On This Day:

1957
Sam Cooke You Send Me - YouTube

1966
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations - YouTube

1993
Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - Album version - YouTube