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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

December 22nd

December 22nd Birthday, Big Brother and The Holding Company guitarist James Gurley, born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan. He died on December 20th, 2009 at the age of 69.

December 22nd Birthday, Saxophonist Dick Parry, session player who has worked on Pink Floyd albums and performed as part of their touring group, with The Who and many others, born in Kentford, Suffolk, England in 1942.
December 22nd Birthday, Barry Jenkins, drummer for the Nashville Teens and later The Animals, born Colin Ernest Jenkins in 1944 in Leicester, England.

December 22nd Birthday, Bassist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer Mo Foster, born Michael Ralph Foster in 1944 in Wolverhampton, England. A prolific session musician, Foster appeared on hundreds of hit records. He passed away on July 3rd, 2023 at the age of 78.

December 22nd Birthday, Rick Nielson, guitarist and songwriter for Cheap Trick, born in Elmhurst, Illinois in 1948.

December 22nd Birthday, Twin brothers Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, born in 1949 in Douglas, Isle Of Man, England. Maurice Gibb died on January 12th, 2003 at the age of 53. Robin Gibb passed away on May 20th, 2012 at the age of 62.

Today In Rock and Roll History

December 22nd

December 22nd, 1956 King Records release “One Hand Loose” by Charlie Feathers with Jody and Jerry on 45. The song was co-written by the three, Feathers, Jerry Huffman and Jody Chastain. Feathers started out doing sessions for Sam Phillips for Sun Records, later releasing two singles on Sun and another on the Sun subsidiary Flip Records. “One Hand Loose” is considered a rockabilly classic.

December 22nd, 1958 Ace Records release “Sea Cruise” by Frankie Ford on 45. The song was written and originally recorded by Huey “Piano” Smith and His Clowns for Ace, but the Frankie Ford version came out first, sung over Smith’s original backing track. The record peaked at No. 14 on April 11th.

December 22nd, 1958 “The Chipmunk Song” by The Chipmunks was the No. 1 record in the US.

December 22nd, 1962 The Tornados became the first British group to have a No. 1 record in the US when they hit the top with their instrumental “Telstar.”

December 22nd, 1964 RCA Records release “Shake” backed with “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke on 45. Both songs were written by Cooke. “Shake” entered the charts in January and peaked at No. 7 on February 27th. “A Change Is Gonna Come” was recorded on January 30th, 1964 at RCA Studios in Hollywood with producers Hugo and Luigi. Written by Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come” was inspired by events in Cookes life and the American civil rights movement. The track had a chart run of its own, peaking at No. 31 on March 6th.

December 22nd, 1967 Pink Floyd play their final gig with the original four members at London’s Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of the Christmas On Earth Continued Festival.

December 22nd, 1968 Singer Eric Burdon leaves The Animals for a solo career.

December 22nd, 1969 Columbia Records release “Jesus Is Just Alright” by The Byrds on 45. Written by noted “Gospel Rock” songwriter Art Reynolds, the track was produced by Terry Melcher. The record entered the charts in February for a week and peaked at No. 97. The song became a No. 35 hit for The Doobie Brothers in February 1973.

December 22nd, 1972 Joni Mitchell’s “For the Roses” album is certified gold for a million copies sold.

December 22nd, 1973 Reprise Records release Fleetwood Mac’s version of Graham Gouldman’s “For Your Love” on 45 backed with Bob Welch’s “Hypnotized.” Produced by Fleetwood Mac and Martin Birch, it was the single’s B-side that received significant FM radio airplay.

December 22nd, 1973 With “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” sitting at the top both the US and UK charts, Elton John’s show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon is broadcast live by BBC Radio 1.

December 22nd, 1976 Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s “Live Bullet” album is certified Gold.

December 22nd, 1978 Original Small Faces drummer Kenny Jones, officially becomes a member of The Who.

December 22nd, 1979 “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar enters the singles charts. The record was produced by Peter Coleman and Mike Chapman, co-written by Geoff Gill and Cliff Wade and done originally by British singer Jenny Darrin a year earlier. The single peaked at No. 23 on March 15th, 1980.

December 22nd, 1979 Jimmy Buffett’s “Volcano” enters the singles charts following a November release. Co-written by Jimmy Buffett, Keith Sykes and Harry Dailey, the song is named for the then-dormant Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies where Buffett recorded the album in May at AIR Studios. The studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Soufrière Hills erupted again in 1995. “Volcano” reached No. 66 on January 19th, 1980.

December 22nd, 1979 Rod Stewart’s “I Don’t Want To Talk About It” enters the singles charts. The song was written by the late Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten for the band’s self-titled debut album in 1971. The Rod Stewart version was produced by Tom Dowd. The record peaked at No. 46 on February 2nd, 1980.

Miscellaneous December

December 1951 RPM Records release “3 O’clock Blues” backed with “That Ain’t The Way To Do It,” the first single by B. B. King. Both songs were written by B.B. King. Johnny Ace played piano on the track.

December 1953 Specialty Records release “The Things I Used To Do” backed with “Well, I Done Got Over It” by Guitar Slim and His Band on 45. The tracks were recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in New Orleans with John Vincent producing. The songs were arranged by Ray Charles, who plays piano on the sessions. Both tracks were written by Guitar Slim, credited to his real name, Eddie Jones. Slim was seriously injured in an automobile accident at the time “The Things I Used To Do” was the No. 1 R&B single in the country.

December 1959 Checker Records release the Bo Diddley album “Have Guitar Will Travel.”

December 1963 Daytone Records release “Hurricane” backed with “Sweet Love” by Conrad and The Hurricanes on 45. The tracks were taped at PAL Studios in Cucamonga, California. Both songs were written by Ed Sigarlaki and produced by Frank Zappa and Dave Aerni using the aliases Curry, Ivan. The single was reissued on Era Records in June 1964 with the A&B sides reversed.

December 1964 Fantasy Records release “Don’t Tell Me No Lies” backed with “Little Girl (Does Your Mama Know?),” the first record by The Golliwogs on 45. Both sides were co-written by Tom and John Fogerty, using the names Rann Wild and Toby Green. The Golliwogs renamed themselves Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967.

December 1965 Sue Records release “The New Breed (pts. 1&2)” by Ike Turner and His Kings Of Rhythm on 45. The instrumental was written by Ike Turner and co-produced by he and Tinas Turner.

December 1968 Verve Forecast Records release “Reason To Believe” by Tim Hardin on 45. The song was a No. 62 hit for Rod Stewart when it was released as the first single from Stewarts “Every Picture Tells A Story” LP in 1971.

December 1968 Island Records in Britain release “What We Did On Our Holidays,” the second album by Fairport Convention, their first to feature singer and songwriter Sandy Denny. Produced by Joe Boyd, the record was released in America with a different cover and a self-titled name.

December 1969 Mercury Records release “Earth” backed with “Step On Me” by Smile at 45. The A-side was written by singer and bassist Tim Staffell. “Step On Me” was co-written by Staffell and guitarist Brian May. Drummer Roger Taylor and May changed the name of the band to Queen when Staffell quit the group and they hired singer Freddie Mercury.

December 1969 Island Records in Britain release the Joe Boyd produced “Liege And Lief” album by Fairport Convention. The record was issued in America on A&M Records the following July. A No. 17 hit in England, it was Fairport’s third album of 1969 and their first following the road accident that killed drummer Martin Lamble.

December 1970 The Famous Charisma Label in Britain release “H To He Who Am The Only One,” the third album by Van der Graaf Generator. The LP was recorded at Trident Studios in London with John Anthony producing. Dunhill Records in the US issued the album in February 1971. Robert Fripp of King Crimson played guitar on the track “The Emperor And His War Room.”

December 1972 Epic records release “R.E.O. T.W.O.,” the second studio LP by REO Speedwagon. Initial sessions for the LP were recorded in Nashville, then moved to The Record Plant in Los Angeles. The album was co-produced by Paul Leka and Billy Rose II.

December 1972 United Artists Records release The Move compilation “Splits Ends.” The tracks drew mostly from the band’s previous album “Message From The Country” as well as earlier group singles.

December 1974 Atlantic Records release “Can’t Stop The Music (He Played It Much Too Long)” by Hall and Oates on 45. Written by John Oates, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren at Secret Sound Studios in New York City.

December 1987 Barking Pumpkin Records release Frank Zappa “Old Masters Box Three.” The set completed a trio of archival reissues of the original albums Zappa recorded with The Mothers Of Invention. The release featured the albums “Waka/Jawaka,” “The Grand Wazoo,” “Over-Nite Sensation,” “Apostrophe (‘),” “Roxy And Elsewhere,” “One Size Fits All,” “Bongo Fury” and “Zoot Allures”.