EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY DECEMBER 31 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day December 31 in 1963 – On New Year’s Eve, English rock band The Kinks performed live for the first time at the Lotus House restaurant in London.
1966 – With the Neil Diamond-penned song ‘I’m a Believer’, The Monkees hit No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first of seven consecutive weeks. The song was a worldwide hit and it also reached number one in twelve other countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia.
1973 – Hard rock band AC/DC also made their debut live performance on this day December 31 in music history on New Year’s Eve. They performed at the Chequers Bar in Sydney, Australia.
1973 – New Year’s Eve seems like a great opportunity for new bands to make their debut as rock band Journey also performed in front of a crowd for the first time on this day.
1974 – Guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham and singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac on this day December 31.
1985 – Rock and roll icon and actor Eric “Ricky” Nelson died on this day in a plane crash, aged 45. Best remembered for the hit singles ‘A Teenager’s Romance’, ‘Poor Little Fool’, and ‘Travelin’ Man’.
1994 – Rod Stewart set a new Guinness record for the biggest free concert when he sang on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to more than 3.5 million people on this day December 31.
1997 – American pianist Floyd Cramer died on this day at the age of 64 from lung cancer. Best remembered for his chart-topping piano instrumentals ‘Last Date’ and ‘On the Rebound’.
2002 – Canadian guitarist, producer and songwriter Kevin MacMichael died on this day December 31 at the age of 51 from lung cancer. Best known as a member of the rock band Cutting Crew.
2005 – With his debut single ‘That’s My Goal’, singer Shayne Ward hit number one in the UK for the first of four consecutive weeks.
2005 – The number one single in the United States on this day December 31 in music history was ‘Don’t Forget About Us’ by Mariah Carey.
Mariah Carey – Don’t Forget About Us
2011 – The Military Wives choir featuring Gareth Malone went to number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Wherever You Are’.
2015 – The number one single in the United Kingdom on this day December 31 was the charity song ‘A Bridge over You’ by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir.
2016 – With his fourth studio album ‘4 Your Eyez Only’, American rapper J. Cole reached the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart.
2018 – American singer and multi-instrumentalist Ray Sawyer died on this day December 31 in music history, aged 81. Best remembered for his work with rock band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show.
2020 – With his eighteenth solo studio album ‘McCartney III’, Paul McCartney scored his first number one album in the UK since 1989 when he topped the chart with ‘Flowers in the Dirt’.
2020 – English blogger couple LadBaby had the number one single in the UK on this day December 31 with ‘Don’t Stop Me Eatin”, a parody of Journey‘s hit song ‘Don’t Stop Believin”.
BORN ON THIS DAY DECEMBER 31 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1908 – American jazz double-bassist John Kirby was born in Winchester, Virginia on this day December 31 in music history.
1909 – American jazz trumpeter and alto saxophonist Jonah Jones was born Robert Elliott Jones in Louisville, Kentucky.
1928 – Singer and co-founder of the vocal quarter The Four Freshmen, Ross Barbour was born on this day December 31 in Columbus, Indiana.
1930 – American singer, guitarist, lyricist Odetta Holmes was born on this day in Birmingham, Alabama. She’s also known for her human rights activism which earned her the nickname ‘The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement’.
1942 – English guitarist Andrew Somers also known by his stage name Andy Summers was born in Poulton, Lancashire. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band The Police with whom he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Suggestion: Metal Bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1943 – Founding member and bassist of the rock band The Kinks, Peter “Pete” Quaife was born in Travistock, England on this day December 31 in music history.
1943 – American singer-songwriter and guitarist John Denver was born Henry Deutschendorf on this day in Roswell, New Mexico. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’, ‘Annie’s Song’, and ‘Rocky Mountain High’ among others.
1947 – Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Burton Cummings was born on this day December 31 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He came to prominence as the leader of the rock band The Guess Who during their most successful years.
1948 – The Queen of Disco – LaDonna Adrian Gaines also known as Donna Summer was born on this day in Boston, Massachusetts.
1951 – American bass guitarist and songwriter Thomas Hamilton was born on this day December 31 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Best known as a founding member of the hard rock band Aerosmith.
1951 – Bassist and founding member of the jazz fusion band The Yellowjackets, James “Jimmy” Haslip was born in The Bronx, New York City.
1959 – Co-founder and frontman of the punk rock band The Replacements, Paul Westerberg was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on this day December 31 in music history.
1963 – Founding member and rhythm guitarist of the thrash metal band Anthrax, Scott Ian was born on this day in Queens, New York.
1972 – American singer-songwriter and actor Joseph “Joey” McIntyre was born on this day December 31 in Needham, Massachusetts. He came to prominence as a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block.
1977 – South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper Park Jae-sang also known professionally as PSY was born in Seoul. He achieved international fame with the 2012 hit single ‘Gangnam Style’.
1979 – American drummer and sound engineer Robert “Bob” Bryar was born on this day December 31 in Chicago, Illinois. Best known as a member of the band My Chemical Romance.