This Date in Rock Music History: December 16

1957:  For the fourth week, Sam Cooke sat atop the R&B chart with "You Send Me".

1959:  Mark Dinning released the single "Teen Angel".

1965:  The Beatles appeared in the tribute The Music of Lennon-McCartney on BBC-TV, along with Peter & Gordon, Lulu, Billy J. Kramer, Cilla Black, Marianne Faithfull, Esther Phillips and Peter Sellers.

1965:  "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper", released as a double-A side 45, both made #1 in the U.K. on this date.

1966:  The Jimi Hendrix released their first single "Hey Joe" in the U.K.

1967:  The Rolling Stones announced that Marianne Faithfull was the first artist signed to their new Mother Earth Records.

1967:  Gladys Knight & the Pips made it three weeks at #1 on the R&B chart with their remake of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".

1967:  Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. by the Monkees topped the Album chart for the third straight week.  It was the group's fourth consecutive #1 album to begin their career.

1967:  The Monkees topped the singles chart for a third week with "Daydream Believer".  

1968:  Bob Seger released his first career single "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".

1970:  CCR was as hot as anyone in the late 1960's and on this date was awarded five gold singles ("Down On The Corner", "Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Travelin' Band", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Up Around The Bend") and five gold albums (Cosmo's Factory, Willy and the Poor Boys, Green River, Bayou Country and their self-titled Creedence Clearwater Revival).

1972:  Living in the Past by Jethro Tull moved from 12 to 5, the only new entry among the Top 10 albums.

1973:  Stephen Stills lost a paternity suit in California.

1974:  America released the single "Lonely People".

1974:  John Lennon released the single "#9 Dream".

1974:  Mott the Hoople broke up.

1977:  The landmark movie Saturday Night Fever premiered in New York City.  (Note:  many websites list the premiere date as December 14, but this is at odds with the book 'America's Film Legacy, 2009-2010:  A Viewer's Guide to the 50 Landmark Movies Added to the National Film Register in 2009-10' by Daniel Eagan as well as the official website for the American Film Institute.)

1978:  Bob Dylan played the final show of his Street Legal world tour at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1978:  Chic and "Le Freak" commanded attention at the top of the R&B chart for the third straight week.

1978:  One of the hottest songs moved up the chart from 78 to 45--"Please Come Home For Christmas" by the Eagles.

1978:  Billy Joel led the way on the Album chart for a fifth week with 52nd Street.  Steve Martin continued to sit at #2 with A Wild and Crazy Guy, Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 was a big-seller and Donna Summer remained fourth with Live and More.  The rest of the Top 10:  Foreigner's Double Vision, the Soundtrack from "Grease", Comes a Time from Neil Young, C'est Chic by Chic entered the Top 10, Queen moved from 30 to 9 with Jazz and Al Stewart crawled into the Top 10 with Time Passages.

All proceeds from this song released at the height of the Bee Gees' popularity went to UNICEF.

1978:  Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond moved to #1 with "You Don't Bring Me Flowers".  Chic relinquished with "Le Freak" while the Bee Gees had their fourth Top 10 song in a row, as "Too Much Heaven" rose from 12 to 3.
1979:  The original members of KISS performed for the final time at the Toledo Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio before their 1996 reunion.  (Note:  Numerous websites report that drummer Peter Criss performed with KISS for the final time on November 29.  However, the book 'Going Platinum:  KISS, Donna Summer, and How Neil Bogart Built Casablanca Records', however, by Brett Ermilio and Josh Levine states that Criss performed on drums for the final time on December 16, 1979 before the 1996 reunion of the original members.)
1983:  The Who officially called it quits.





1985:  Newcomers Mr. Mister released the single "Kyrie".  "Kyrie Elieson" means "Have mercy, O Lord."









1985:  Jefferson Starship released the single "Sara".
1986:  Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram released the single "Somewhere Out There".
1988:  Sylvester James ("You Make Me Feel Mighty Real" from 1978), who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco, California at age 41.
1989:  Billy Joel moved to #1 with his new album Storm Front.  Phil Collins had a hot new release, ...But Seriously, that rose from 16-6 in just its third week.





           Cher continued her comeback with "Just Like Jesse James"...

1989:  "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel was #1 again with Phil Collins in hot pursuit with "Another Day In Paradise".  Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville moved to 3 with "Don't Know Much", Soul II Soul were next with "Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)" and Taylor Dayne reached #1 "With Every Beat Of My Heart".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Blame It On The Rain" from Milli Vanilli, Technotronic were at 7 with "Pump Up The Jam", Janet Jackson collected another hit with "Rhythm Nation", Bon Jovi's "Living In Sin" was up to #9 and Cher had her 25th career solo hit with "Just Like Jesse James".
1989:  The top Adult Contemporary song was "Another Day In Paradise" by Phil Collins for the third week in a row.





1991:  Mr. Big released the single "To Be With You".
1993:  Oasis opened for the Verve at the Krazy House in Liverpool, England.
1995:  Whitney Houston had the #1 R&B song for a fourth week with "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)".
1995:  Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men had a big hit on their hands with "One Sweet Day", #1 for the third week, and they weren't close to done.

1997:  Oasis played the first of three nights at Wembley Arena in London.  (Note:  numerous sources state that this concert was on December 9 but as you can see from the t-shirt, it was December 16.)








1997:  Nicolette Larson ("Lotta Love" from 1978), who worked with Linda Ronstadt, the Beach Boys, the Doobie Brothers, Neil Young and Jimmy Buffett, died in Los Angeles at age 45 from a seizure arising from cerebral edema after symptoms of depression.  According to close friend Astrid Young, her death "was in no small way related to her chronic use of Valium and Tylenol PM".   






1999:  Celine Dion officially went over 100 million in career sales in the United States.
2001:  Stuart Adamson, lead singer of Big Country, was found dead in a Honolulu, Hawai'i hotel room a month after he had disappeared from his home.
2003:  Ron Wood, guitarist of the Rolling Stones, joined the Stereophonics on stage to play "Handbags And Gladrags" and the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" at Earls Court in London.  (Note:  numerous websites incorrectly spell the venue as Earl's Court.)




2004:  Freddie Perren, Grammy Award-winning co-producer of Saturday Night Fever who wrote "I Will Survive" for Gloria Gaynor and hits for Tavares and Peaches & Herb and co-wrote and produced "ABC" and "I Want You Back" for the Jackson 5, died at age 61 in Los Angeles.  He had suffered a massive stroke 11 years earlier.
2005:  Jessica Simpson filed for divorce from Nick Lachey.

2007:  Superstar singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg died at his home in Deer Isle, Maine at age 56, after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004.

2011:  The Beach Boys announced plans to reunite (with Brian Wilson included) for a 50th Anniversary Tour.
2013:  Ray Price ("For The Good Times") died in Mount Pleasant, Texas at the age of 86 from pancreatic cancer.


Born This Day:
1945:  Tony Hicks, guitarist of the Hollies, was born in Nelson, Lancashire, England.

1946:  Benny Andersson of ABBA was born in Stockholm, Sweden.  (Note:  some websites report Benny's place of birth as Vällingby, Sweden.  According to the book 'Abba:  Bright Lights Dark Shadows' by Carl Magnus Palm, Andersson was born in central Stockholm, then lived in Vällingby.) 








1949:  Billy Gibbons, lead singer, songwriter and great guitarist from ZZ Top, was born in Houston, Texas.
1968:  Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon was born in Dover, Delaware.

1972:  Michael McCary, bass singer of Boyz II Men, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Note:  some websites report his birth year as 1971 (one even shows it as June 7, 1958!).  According to both 'Billboard' and 'MTV', McCarty was born in 1972.)