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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

December 3rd

December 3rd Birthday, Black Sabbath singer and solo artist Ozzy Osbourne is born John Michael Osbourne in 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, England.

December 3rd Birthday, Singer Mickey Thomas from Jefferson Starship and The Elvin Bishop Band, born in 1949 in Cairo, Georgia.

December 3rd Birthday, Mike Stock of the British songwriting and production team Stock Aitken and Waterman is born in Margate, Kent, England in 1951.

December 3rd Birthday, Producer and audio engineer Chris Kimsey, who has worked with hundreds of artists, including The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, Yes and others, born in Battersea, London, England in 1951.

December 3rd Birthday, Guitarist Duane Roland from Molly Hatchet, born in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1952. He died on June 19th, 2006 at his home in St. Augustine, Florida of natural causes at the age of 52.

Today In Rock and Roll History

December 3rd

December 3rd, 1965 Parlophone Records release The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” backed with “Day Tripper” on 45 in Britain. The “Rubber Soul” album came out in England on the same day where it spent nine weeks at No. 1. After collaborating on the writing of “We Can Work It Out,” John Lennon and Paul McCartney took the song to The Beatles studio session on October 20th where George Harrison suggested the middle section be played in 3/4 time. “Day Tripper” was mostly written by John Lennon, who claimed the opening guitar riff was modeled, like his composition “I Feel Fine,” on the Bobby Parker song “Watch Your Step.” Paul McCartney’s main contribution was to add to some of the lyrics Lennon had written. “Day Tripper” was recorded on October 16th, early in the Rubber Soul” LP sessions. Completed at EMI on October 29th, “We Can Work It Out” reached No. 1 on January 8th.

December 3rd, 1965 The Who’s first LP “My Generation” is released in Britain. The album reached No. 5 in the UK charts. Sessions for the LP were spread out through April, October and November, recorded with Nicky Hopkins on piano and Shel Talmy producing.

December 3rd, 1965 Keith Richards gets an electric shock and is knocked unconscious when his guitar makes contact with his microphone during the song “The Last Time” at a Rolling Stones show in Sacramento, California. Earlier that day, The Rolling Stones began sessions that ended on December 8th at RCA studios in Hollywood with producer Andrew Loog Oldham during which they recorded their next single “19th Nervous Breakdown.” Released in Britain on February 4th, 1966 and February 12th in the US, the record went to No. 1 in Britain and No. 2 in the US on March 19th.

December 3rd, 1966 “Winchester Cathedral” by The New Vaudeville Band is the No.1 record in the US.

December 3rd, 1966 Aaron Neville’s “Tell It Like It Is” enters the singles charts on the Par-Lo Records label. Co-written by George Davis and Lee Diamond, session players on the record were George Davis arranging and playing baritone saxophone, Emory Humphrey-Thompson on trumpet, Deacon John on guitar, Alvin “Red” Tyler on tenor saxophone, Willie Tee on piano and June Gardner on drums. The record went to No. 2 on January 28th, 1967.

December 3rd, 1966 The Mamas & The Papas “Words Of Love” enters the singles charts. The song was written by John Phillips. The track was recorded with producer Lou Adler and featured Cass Elliot on lead vocals. The mono single contains a horn section overdub not heard in the stereo mix, extra backing vocals and a more prominent piano. Elliot’s vocals fade out near the end of the 45 a bit sooner than the version heard on the band’s self-titled second album. The record peaked at No. 5 on January 21st, 1967.

December 3rd, 1966 Herman’s Hermits recording of the Graham Gouldman song “East West” enters the singles charts, produced by Mickie Most. The record peaked at No. 27 on January 14th, 1967.

December 3rd, 1966 New Jersey band The Critters “Bad Misunderstanding” enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Pete Andreoli and Vinnie Poncia, Jr. “Bad Misunderstanding” was co-produced by Poncia, Artie Ripp and Peter Anders. The record peaked at No. 55 on December 31st.

December 3rd, 1966 Jimmy Ruffin’s “I’ve Passed This Way Before” enters the singles charts. Co-written and produced by James Dean and William Weatherspoon, sessions for the song were recorded at Motown’s Hitsville USA Studios in Detroit in September and October. Released in England where it became a Top Thirty chart hit, the release there had the song’s spoken word intro removed. The record reached No. 17 on January 28th, 1967.

December 3rd, 1966 “Psychotic Reaction,” the debut album by Count Five, enters the charts. Featuring the hit title track, the record peaked at No. 122 on December 31st.

December 3rd, 1966, Elektra Records release “Hard Lovin’ Loser” by Judy Collins on 45. Produced by Mark Abramson, the studio track was arranged and conducted by Joshua Rifkin. Written by American folksinger Richard Fariña, it was Collins’ first chart single, peaking at No. 97 on January 28th, 1967.

December 3rd, 1970 Apple Records release Billy Preston’s cover version of the George Harrison song “My Sweet Lord” five weeks after Harrison’s original version was issued. Co-produced by Preston and Harrison, the track was recorded at Trident Studios in London with Alan White on drums. Preston’s version of “My Sweet Lord” entered the charts in February and peaked at No. 90 on February 27th, 1971.

December 3rd, 1971 A&M Records in Britain release “Benedictus” by Strawbs on 45. The song was written by Dave Cousins. The studio track was produced by Tony Visconti, later appearing on the band’s 1972 album “Grave New World.”

December 3rd, 1971 The Montreux Casino caught fire and burned during a show by Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention. Deep Purple were the night’s opening act. The event became the basis for the lyrics of the Deep Purple song “Smoke On The Water.”

December 3rd, 1972 Island Records in Britain release “Islands,” the fourth studio album by King Crimson. The LP was recorded at Command Studios in London from July through October with the band, Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield, Mel Collins, Ian Wallace and Boz Burrell producing the sessions. The record came out in the US in January, reaching No. 76 on March 4th, 1972.

December 3rd, 1973 Atlantic Records release “Abandoned Luncheonette,” the second album by Hall and Oates. Produced by Arif Mardin, the LP would be out for three months before entering the charts in February but wasn’t a big hit until 1975 when Atlantic re-released “She’s Gone” from the LP as a single following the chart success of “Sara Smile.” “Abandoned Luncheonette” peaked at No. 33 on November 20th, 1976.

December 3rd, 1973 Apple Records release “You’re Sixteen,” Ringo Starr’s cover version of the Johnny Burnette hit from 1960, out two months later, February 8th in Britain. Co-written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Ringo version was produced by Richard Perry during sessions that September. The record went to No. 1 in the US on January 26th, No. 4 in Britain.

December 3rd, 1976 The photo shoot for Pink Floyd’s “Animals” LP causes pilots flying around London to beware of a flying pig when the forty-foot inflatable being photographed at Battersea Power Station breaks free. The flying swine reached a height of eighteen thousand feet before coming down in Kent, England.

December 3rd, 1977 Neil Diamond’s “Desiree” enters the singles charts. Written by Neil Diamond, the studio track was produced by Four Seasons keyboardist and songwriter Bob Gaudio. “Desiree” peaked at No. 16 on February 11th.

December 3rd, 1977 Steve Martin’s “Grandmothers Song” enters the singles charts. Written by Martin, the live track was produced by William E. McEuen. The record peaked at No. 72 on December 10th.

December 3rd, 1977 The Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach” enters the singles charts. Written by the Ramones and co-produced by bassist Tommy Ederlyi, AKA Dee Dee Ramone and Tony Bongioi. The record was the band’s highest charting single, peaking at No. 66 on January 21st, 1979.

December 3rd, 1979 Toto’s “99” enters the singles charts. The song was written by David Paich. The lyrics were inspired by the 1971 George Lucas science fiction film THX 1138 starring Robert Duvall. Taken from the second Toto album, “Hydra,” the record was co-produced by the band and Tom Knox. The single version of “99” was edited nearly two minutes shorter than the “Hydra” album version and peaked at No. 26 on March 15th, 1980.

December 3rd, 1979 Eleven fans die at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium when the doors open for a concert by The Who. The band were not told of the deaths until after they played the show.