On This Day, December 1 in Music History
EVENTS ON DECEMBER 1 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day December 1 in 1958 – The Teddy Bears started a three-week run at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘To Know Him Is to Love Him’.
1966 – With his rendition of ‘Green, Green Grass of Home’, Tom Jones started a seven-week stint at No.1 on the UK Singles chart. Also a chart-topper in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, and Norway that year.
1967 – Track Records released ‘Axis: Bold as Love’, the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album peaked at No.3 in America and reached No.5 in Britain.
1969 – American blues musician Samuel Gene Maghett better known by his stage name Magic Sam died at the age of 32 from a heart attack.
1973 – With ‘Top of the World’, The Carpenters went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks. It also peaked at No.1 in Australia and Canada.
1984 – Scottish singer-songwriter Jim Diamond scored his first and only number one single in the UK with ‘I Should Have Known Better’.
1984 – The first edition of ‘The Hits Album’ also known as ‘Hits 1’ released by CBS and WEA Records started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK Albums chart. It’s a compilation album that features 32 songs by various artists such as Wham!, Michael Jackson, Prince, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Sade, Cyndi Lauper, etc.
1986 – American R&B and soul music singer Irvin Lee Dorsey died at the age of 61. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘Working in the Coal Mine’ and ‘Ya Ya’.
1989 – Scottish musician William “Billy” Lyall died at the age of 36 from AIDS. Best remembered for his work with bands such as Pilot, Bay City Rollers, and The Alan Parsons Project.
1990 – American rapper Vanilla Ice started a four-week stint at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Ice Ice Baby’.
1990 – With ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’, Whitney Houston scored her eighth No.1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was a worldwide hit and a chart-topper in five other countries.
1993 – American rock singer Raymond “Ray” Gillen died at the age of 34 from AIDS. Best remembered for his work with Black Sabbath and Badlands.
2001 – With his fourth studio and first swing cover album ‘Swing When You’re Winning’, Robbie Williams hit No.1 on the UK Albums chart for the first of seven consecutive weeks.
2001 – British pop group S Club 7 scored their fourth domestic number one single with ‘Have You Ever’.
2001 – Country music singer Garth Brooks went to number one on the US Billboard 200 with his eighth studio album ‘Scarecrow’.
2007 – Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys started a five-week stint at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘No One’. She also topped the Billboard 200 on this day with her third studio album ‘As I Am’.
2012 – The number one album in the United Kingdom on this day was Rihanna‘s seventh studio release ‘Unapologetic’. She also started a three-week run at No.1 on the US Singles chart on this day with ‘Diamonds’.
2012 – Boy band One Direction scored their second No.1 album of the year in the US with ‘Take Me Home’. They previously topped the Billboard 200 on March 31 with their debut LP ‘Up All Night’.
2012 – Pop singer Olly Murs and rapper Flo Rida topped the UK Singles chart today with ‘Troublemaker’.
2013 – English musician Richard Coughlan died on this day December 1 at the age of 66. Best remembered as a founding member and drummer of the rock band Caravan.
2016 – Girl group Little Mix scored their first number one album in the UK with their fourth studio LP ‘Glory Days’.
2018 – British pop rock band Mumford & Sons scored their third number one album in the US with ‘Delta’.
BORN ON DECEMBER 1 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1930 – English singer Matt Monro nicknamed “The Man with the Golden Voice” was born Terence Edward Parsons in London.
1931 – American jazz alto saxophone player Jimmy Lyons was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Best known for his collaboration with Cecil Taylor.
1933 – Singer, record producer, and composer Louis “Lou” Rawls was born in Chicago, Illinois. Best known for the song ‘You’ll Never Find Another Love like Mine’.
1934 – Grammy Award-winning soul music singer Paul Williams also known by his stage name Billy Paul was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Best known for his chart-topping single ‘Me and Mrs. Jones’.
1938 – American rock and roll and jazz drummer Sander “Sandy” Nelson was born in Santa Monica, California.
1939 – Singer and founding member of the sibling vocal group The Lennon Sisters, Dianne “DeeDee” Lennon was born in Los Angeles, California.
1944 – American drummer and songwriter John Densmore was born in Los Angeles, California. He came to prominence as a member of the band The Doors.
1944 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eric Bloom was born in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as a longtime member of the band Blue Öyster Cult.
1945 – American singer and actress Bette Midler nicknamed “The Divine Miss M” was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1946 – Singer-songwriter Raymond Edward “Gilbert” O’Sullivan was born in Waterford, Ireland. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Clair’, ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’, and ‘Get Down’.
1946 – Percussionist and founding member of the band KC & The Sunshine Band, Oliver C. Brown was born in Berkeley, California.
1951 – American bass guitarist, keyboardist, drummer, producer and composer John “Jaco” Pastorius was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
1956 – Singer, songwriter and actress Julee Cruise was born in Creston, Iowa. Best known for songs such as ‘Falling’, ‘If I Survive’, and ‘Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart’.
1959 – Multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and co-founder of the band Japan, Steve Jansen was born Stephen Ian Batt in London, England.
1963 – Founding member and keyboardist for the rock band Glass Tiger, Samuel Reid was born in Brampton, Canada.
1977 – Co-founder and lead guitarist of the band Linkin Park, Bradford “Brad” Delson was born in Agoura, California.
1988 – Singer, rapper, songwriter and one half of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph was born in Columbus, Ohio.