On This Day, December 26 in Music History
EVENTS ON DECEMBER 26 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day December 26 in 1957 – The Champs recorded their first singles ‘Train to Nowhere’ and ‘Tequila’. They were released on January 16 1958 with ‘Train to Nowhere’ as the A-Side which the band thought it would be a big hit. However, it was the B-side ‘Tequila’ that went on to become a chart-topper in the US and a hit worldwide.
1963 – A month after it was originally released in the UK, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and its B-Side single ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ by The Beatles entered the US market as well. On January 18, 1964, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ became the band’s first No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1964 – With ‘I Feel Fine’, The Beatles scored their sixth No.1 single of the year in the US on this day December 26 in music history. They previously topped the Hot 100 chart with ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.
1966 – Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to the now rock standard ‘Purple Haze’ during a break between performances in his dressing room.
1968 – Led Zeppelin kicked-off their first North American concert tour with a show at the Denver Auditorium Arena on this day December 26. The tour lasted for 31 dates and concluded on 16 February 1969 with a show at the Baltimore Civic Center.
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1970 – With the double A-side single ‘My Sweet Lord’/’Isn’t It a Pity’, George Harrison started a four-week stint at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making him the first solo Beatle to have a No.1. The song was a big hit worldwide and it topped the singles charts in fourteen other countries, including the UK and Canada.
1981 – With their eighth studio album ‘For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)’, hard rock band AC/DC hit No.1 on the US Billboard 200 on this day December 26 in music history. They held the top spot for three consecutive weeks.
1998 – Girl group Spice Girls scored their third consecutive Christmas number one single in the UK with ‘Goodbye’. It also became a chart-topper in Ireland and Scotland.
1999 – American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Curtis Mayfield died on this day December 26 at the age of 57 from complications of diabetes. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘Freddie’s Dead’ and ‘Superfly’.
2009 – Seventeen years after the song’s initial release, Rage Against the Machine reached number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Killing in the Name’. The reason? It was used as the anthem for the campaign protesting the talent show “The X Factor”.
2012 – American soul and R&B singer-songwriter and pianist Fontella Bass died on this day December 26 in music history at the age of 72. Best remembered for the 1965 chart-topping single ‘Rescue Me’.
2019 – English blogger and musician LadBaby topped the UK Singles chart with ‘I Love Sausage Rolls’, a parody of the rock standard ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’.
2020 – Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift scored her second number one single of the year in the US with ‘Willow’. She previously topped the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Cardigan’ in August. She also topped the Billboard 200 with her ninth studio album ‘Evermore’ on this day December 26.
BORN ON DECEMBER 26 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1922 – American Cajun music fiddler Harry Choates nicknamed the “Godfather of Cajun music” was born in Cow Island, Louisiana.
1935 – Singer and founding member of the vocal quarter The Four Tops, Abdul Kareem Fakir also known as Duke Fakir was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1940 – American record producer and songwriter Phillip “Phil” Spector was born in New York City.
1943 – American singer Fleming Williams was born in Flint, Michigan. He came to prominence as a member of the group The Hues Corporation.
1951 – American jazz pianist Brooks Kerr was born Chester Monson Brooks Joseph Kerr III in New Haven, Connecticut.
1951 – Multi-genre guitarist and composer John Scofield also known professionally as Sco was born in Dayton, Ohio.
1957 – English jazz music trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Guy Barker was born in Chiswick, London.
1962 – Drummer, songwriter and vocalist James Kottak was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He rose to fame as a member of the hard rock band Scorpions.
1963 – Drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Metallica, Lars Ulrich was born in Gentofte, Denmark.
1966 – American guitarist Jay Yunger also known by his stage name “J” was born in Chicago, Illinois. Best known for playing guitar with the heavy metal band White Zombie.
1970 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James Mercer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Best known as the co-founder and frontman of the indie rock band The Shins.
1971 – American musician and actor Jared Leto was born in Bossier City, Louisiana. Best known as the frontman of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.
1990 – Founding member and frontman of the rock band Black Veil Brides, Andy Biersack was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1992 – British singer and songwriter Jade Thirwall was born in South Shields, England. She rose to fame as a member of the girl group Little Mix.