December 16th in Rock & Roll History
Laurence Cottle (bass guitar with The Alan Parsons Project – ‘Standing On Higher Ground’ and played bass on all of Black Sabbath’s ‘Headless Cross’ album, but was never an official band member) is 53
Robben Ford (former guitarist with jazz fusion band L.A. Express – they backed Joni Mitchell on ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ and ‘Woodstock’, and were George Harrison’s 1974 touring band ) is 63
Billy Gibbons (guitarist with ZZ Top – ‘Legs’) is 65
Benny Andersson (keyboards/co-songwriter with ABBA – ‘Take A Chance On Me’) is 68
Tony Hicks (lead guitarist with The Hollies – ‘Bus Stop’) is 69
The Beach Boys recorded ‘Kiss Me, Baby’—1964
Peter & Gordon recorded ‘Woman’—1965
The Jimi Hendrix Experience released ‘Hey Joe’ on Polydor Records after Decca rejected it—1966
The Dave Clark Five released ‘I’ve Got To Have A Reason / ‘Good Time Woman’ in the U.S.—1966
NME in the U.K. announced the Rolling Stones were launching their record label Mother Earth and further claimed that Marianne Faithfull was their first signing. The label never appeared—1967
The Lemon Pipers released ‘Green Tambourine’ / ‘No Help From Me’—1967
Rock Factoid: Although the single went to #1 on Billboard, it proved to be a curse. Buddah, their label, put pressure on the group to stay in the bubblegum genre, so in 1968 – against their wishes – the band released ‘Rice Is Nice’ and the equally horrible ‘Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade)’.
Neither single reached the Top 40, and by 1969, the band that only wanted to play serious blues and folk rock was fed up with the music business and disbanded.
Elvis Presley recorded ‘She Wears My Ring’ and ‘Spanish Eyes’—1973
Lead singer Ian Hunter announced the breakup of Mott The Hoople—1974
George Harrison played an unannounced live set for the regulars at a local pub in Henley-On-Thames—1977
Jenny Lou Carson (country music songwriter, including ‘Let Me Go, Lover’ and ‘C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S’) died (heart attack)—1978
Sylvester (born Sylvester James – disco, soul and gay drag performer – ‘You Make Me Feel’) died (complications from AIDS)—1988
Nicolette Larson (‘Lotta Love’) died (liver failure & cerebral edema)—1997
Stuart Adamson (lead singer and guitarist with Big Country – ‘In A Big Country’) died (suicide)—2001
Gary Stewart (‘Ten Years Of This’) died (self-inflicted gunshot three weeks after his wife of 43 years passed away)—2003
Dan Fogelberg (‘Part Of The Plan’) died (prostate cancer)—2007
Paul McCartney announced he was leaving EMI, his record label of 45 years, as it had become “boring.” McCartney told The Times the company’s handling of his music had become “symbolic of the treadmill.”—2007
Bob ‘Shabby’ Skold (site designer of our Streamingoldies’ site and graphic artist – ‘The Master’) died (cancer)—2012
Ray Price (‘For The Good Times’) died (pancreatic cancer)—2013
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