This Day in Rock History Dec 18
 

Keith Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, is born. (1943)

Chas Chandler, bass player for the Animals, is born. (1938)

Chubby Checker's "The Twist" has now been on the Hot 100 chart for 23 straight weeks, longer than any other disc on the chart. (1961)

Funeral services are held in Chicago for Sam Cooke. Hundreds of fans break the glass doors off and cause other damage to the A.R. Leak Funeral Home, where Cooke's body is on display. Among his big hits were "Cupid," "You Send Me," "Chain Gang," "Having a Party," "Twistin' the Night Away" and "Wonderful World." (1964)

The Beatles enter the Hot 100, again, with both sides of their latest record, "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper." The former is on the charts for 12 weeks making it to Number One while the latter only makes it up to number five. (1965)

Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" enters the Hot 100 where it stays put for 14 weeks, peaking at number three. It's Wonder's first trip to the top ten since his first smash, "Fingertips Part Two." (1965)

At a Christmas Party called "An Alchemical Wedding" at the Underground Club in London, John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear, sort of. They're both onstage but they aren't visible. They're crawling inside a large white bag. This is the start of what Yoko terms "bag-ism." (1968)

A New York Times article estimates that the youth audience in America accounts for 75-percent of the $1 billion spent annually on recorded music. The same issue contains one of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's full page "War is Over" ads. (1969)

Freakazoid Tiny Tim, 40, marries Miss Vicki, 17, on "The Tonight Show." (1969)

Creedence Clearwater Revival's latest album, "Pendulum," is added to their gold collection. Bob Dylan's second album, "Freewheelin'" (from 1963), is certified gold. (1970)

Dial Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records, releases Joe Tex's funk record "I Gotcha." In late January 1972, the song will reach #2 on the pop chart. A big factor in the success of the song is Tex's slurred delivery of the line "Told you not to play with my affection," which causes millions of teenage girls to mistake the last word for erection. (1971)

Singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson earns his second gold record, for "Me and Bobby McGee," four years after the album's release. The album's title song was a million selling hit for Janis Joplin three years earlier. (1974)

At a press conference in London, Rod Stewart announces he's leaving the Faces to go solo. (1975)

The Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle" LP is released. (1976)

An estimated 35 million people around the world watch Rod Stewart's satellite televised concert at the Forum in Los Angeles. The show features guest appearances by Kim Carnes, who sings "Tonight's the Night" with Stewart and Tina Turner who duets on "Hot Legs," "Stay with Me" and "Get Back." The broadcast is the first of its kind since Elvis Presley's "Aloha from Hawaii," back in 1973. (1981)

Keith Richards marries model Patti Hansen during a ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Mick Jagger was the best man. (1983)


(BOBBYORR)