EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY DECEMBER 21 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day December 21 in 1966 – The Beach Boys ended the year spectacularly as two of their albums (‘Little Deuce Coupe’ and ‘Shut Down Volume 2’) alongside the hit single ‘Good Vibrations’ were certified Gold by the RIAA.
1968 – Glen Campbell scored his first and only number one album on the US Billboard 200 with his eleventh studio release ‘Wichita Lineman’.
1968 – After leaving the Big Brother and the Holding Company band, 25-year old Janis Joplin made her debut as a solo artist at a show in Memphis, Tennessee on this day December 21 in music history
1969 – Diana Ross made her last appearance with The Supremes on the Ed Sullivan Show where they performed ‘Someday, We’ll Be Together’, a chart-topping hit from 1961.
1971 – Heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple finished recording their sixth studio album ‘Machine Head’ on this day December 21. The album was released on 25 March 1972 and it went on to top the charts in eight countries worldwide. It also became the band’s most commercially successful release.
10 Fun Facts About Deep Purple
1974 – Folk rock singer-songwriter Harry Chapin scored his first and only chart-topping single in the US with ‘Cat’s in the Cradle’.
1974 – Glam rock band Mud hit number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Lonely This Christmas’ for the first of four consecutive weeks. Also a chart-topper in the Netherlands and Belgium that year.
1985 – The number one album in the United States on this day December 21 was the self-titled eighth studio LP by the rock band Heart.
1985 – Lionel Richie hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Say You, Say Me’ for the first of four weeks straight. The song was a worldwide hit and it also peaked at No.1 in Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Africa.
1985 – The compilation album ‘Now – The Christmas Album’ released by Virgin and EMI Records peaked at No.1 in the UK on this day December 21 in music history. The album features songs by various artists such as Wham!, Elton John, John Lennon, Band Aid, Queen, Slade, and others.
1991 – A month after Freddie Mercury‘s death, Queen started a five-week stint at the top of the UK Singles chart with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’/’These Are the Days of Our Lives’ which were re-released as a double A-side single.
1992 – Influential blues singer and guitarist Albert “King” Nelson died on this day December 21 at the age of 69 from a heart attack.
1996 – With their third studio album ‘Tragic Kingdom’, No Doubt hit No.1 on the US Billboard 200 for the first of eight consecutive weeks. The album also reached No.1 in eight other countries worldwide.
1996 – The double A-side single ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’/’Throw These Guns Away’ in memory of the schoolchildren and teacher killed in the Dunblane school massacre was at No.1 in the UK on this day December 21.
1999 – American rapper Earl Simmons also known professionally as DMX released his third studio album ‘…And Then There Was X’. The album became a chart-topper in the US and it went on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide.
2002 – Boy band Blue featuring Elton John topped the UK Singles chart on this day December 21 in music history with a new rendition of Elton‘s hit song ‘Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word’.
Blue, Elton John – Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
2012 – American musician Douglas Lee Dorman died on this day at the age of 70. Best remembered as the bass guitarist of the rock band Iron Butterfly.
2013 – Singer-songwriter Robbie Williams scored his ninth solo number one album in the UK on this day December 21 with ‘Swing Both Ways’. He held the top spot for three weeks straight.
2013 – Eminem and Rihanna hit No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Monster’ for the first of four weeks straight. The song also became a chart-topper on more than 30 music charts worldwide.
2013 – Country music singer Garth Brooks topped the US Billboard 200 with his compilation box sex ‘Blame it All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences’ on this day December 21 in music history.
2019 – 25 years after the song was originally released, Mariah Carey hit number one in the US for the first time with ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’.
2019 – With his debut studio album ‘Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial’, rapper Roddy Ricch reached No.1 in the US on this day December 21.
BORN ON THIS DAY DECEMBER 21 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1926 – Country music singer and songwriter Frederick Segrest also known as Freddie Hart was born in Loachapoka, Alabama on this day December 21 in music history. Best known for the 1971 chart-topping hit ‘Easy Loving’.
1934 – Multi-genre saxophonist, piano player and songwriter Bennie Ross “Hank” Crawford was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
1940 – Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer Frank Zappa was born on this day December 21 in Baltimore, Maryland.
1942 – American singer Carla Venita Thomas nicknamed the Queen of Memphis Soul was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Best known for songs such as ‘Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)’, ‘B-A-B-Y’, and ‘Tramp’. She’s also the daughter of musician Rufus Thomas.
1946 – Co-founder and lead guitarist of the Beach Boys, Carl Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California on this day December 21 in music history.
1951 – British singer-songwriter Nicholas “Nick” Gilder was born in London, England. Best known as the frontman of the glam rock band Sweeney Todd.
1953 – Soul and R&B singer-songwriter Bessie Norris also known professionally as Betty Wright was born on this day December 21 in Miami, Florida. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Tonight is the Night’ and ‘Clean Up Woman’.
1956 – Country and blues music singer-songwriter and guitarist Lee Roy Parnell was born in Abilene, Texas. Best known for the songs ‘What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am’, ‘A Little Bit of You’, and ‘Tender Moment’.
1971 – American singer Brett Scallions was born in Brownsville, Tennessee on this day December 21 in music history. He rose to fame as a founding member and frontman of the rock band Fuel.
1974 – Singer-songwriter and actress Erika Ender Simoes was born in Panama City, Panama. Best known as the co-writer of the worldwide hit single ‘Despacito’.
1978 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon DeRosa was born on this day December 21 in Lodi, New Jersey.
1988 – American signer-songwriter and guitarist Emily Elbert was born on this day in Dallas, Texas.