Rock 'n' Roll History for
December 3


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
RCA announces its first two releases from the newly signed Elvis Presley. The first two sides were actually purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records: "Mystery Train" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget". Elvis was described by his new record company as 'The most talked about personality in recorded music in the last ten years.'

1961 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Brian Epstein invites The Beatles into his office to discuss the possibility of becoming their manager. After retreating to a local fast food venue, Epstein said, "Look, I don't really know too much about managing a group such as yours, but with all the contacts I have with the major record companies in London, I feel certain I can help you and be of real assistance in your future endeavours. And, if you were prepared to go along with me and give me a chance, I feel sure we can do something really special together." At the end of the meeting, John spoke up and said, "We definitely appreciate your interest in us. But you've given us a lot to chew over for one night. Plus, we've got to go play the Casbah Club over in West Derby before bedtime. So if it's alright with you, like, we'll just sleep on it."

1965 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Keith Richards steps on a microphone cable and is knocked unconscious from an electric shock during a Rolling Stones concert in Sacramento, California. After a short break, he recovers and is able to continue.

December 3
The Beatles kick off a series of nine shows, starting in Glasgow and wrapping up at Cardiff's Capitol Cinema on December 12th. It would prove to be their final tour of Great Britain.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
The Monkees appear live in concert for the first time at a show at the Honolulu International Center Arena in Hawaii. They performed solely as a four-piece band, with Mickey Dolenz on drums, Mike Nesmith on guitar, Peter Tork on bass, organ and banjo, and Davy Jones alternating between tambourine, maracas and drums. Organizers had booked them at the out-of-the-way destination hoping that if the group flopped, news would be slow to travel to the mainland.

December 3
At a time when the airwaves and record charts where dominated by Rock and Roll, a most unusual song called "Winchester Cathedral" by The New Vaudeville Band became the number one tune in the US. It also reached the top in the UK. The song would go on to win the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Recording, edging out The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", The Beatles' "Elenor Rigby", The Mamas And The Papas' "Monday Monday", The Association's "Cherish" and The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville".

December 3
Paul Revere And The Raiders saw their sixth Billboard Top 40 hit, "Good Thing", enter the Billboard Hot 100 at #88. The song will eventually reach #4 and enjoy a ten week chart run.

December 3
Tom Jones' cover version of Porter Wagoner's "Green, Green Grass of Home" tops the UK charts for the first of a seven week stay. It will become his biggest hit, selling over 1.2 million copies in Britain alone. The record reached #11 in the US.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
After it had peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 in early October, "Girl Watcher" by The O'Kaysions is awarded a Gold Record by the RIAA. The band's only other song to reach the chart would be "Love Machine", which stalled at #76.

December 3
The Recording Industry Association of America certifies Cream's "Fresh Cream" and Aretha Franklin's "Aretha Now" as Gold Records for sales of 500,000 copies.

December 3
In his first appearance before a live audience in seven years, Elvis Presley's comeback special airs on NBC-TV. At the end of the show The King performs his latest single, "If I Can Dream", which is currently #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest charting song since his 1965 hit "I'm Yours" reached #11.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Apple Records releases Ringo Starr's rendition of "You're Sixteen" in the United States. Originally a number eight hit for rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette in 1960, Ringo would take the song to #1 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the UK's Official Chart.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Bob Marley narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when seven gunman sprayed bullets into his Kingston, Jamaica home where he and The Wailers were rehearsing. He had become unpopular in some circles because of his influence on local politicians. Marley moved to Miami Florida soon after the incident and the gunmen were never caught.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Paul McCartney saw his song "Mull Of Kintyre" hit number one in the UK and become the largest selling single that he or any of the other Beatles ever had, either as a group or solo. It was the first record to sell over two million copies in the UK. The song was co-written by Wings' guitarist Denny Laine, who penned most of the verses, but later sold his rights to McCartney when he went bankrupt in the mid '80s. The six pipers and six drummers that Paul hired from the Campbelltown Pipe Band signed off for a one-time performance fee of £30 cash ($46) plus another £300 ($460) for the video. The bagpipe laden tune was virtually ignored in the US, although the B-side, "Girls' School", charted at #33 early in 1978.

December 3
After eight straight weeks at the top of the Cashbox Magazine Best Sellers chart, Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" finally gives way to "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle. Gayle has often told the story that the song's composer, Richard Leigh, was inspired to write it because his dog had one brown eye and one blue eye. However, in a 2016 interview, Leigh said that was not true.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Al Stewart's "Time Passages" peaks at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the help of the catchy sax solo by Britain's Phil Kenzie. Despite achieving his highest chart position, Stewart would later say that he never really cared for the song.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Just three months after Keith Moon's death, tragedy struck The Who again when eleven people were trampled to death while trying to reach unreserved concert seats at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. The mayor of Providence, Rhode Island cancels The Who's next concert, scheduled there in two days. Multiple law suits are filed by families of the deceased.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Lionel Richie started a three-week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with "Can't Slow Down". The LP has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over ten million copies in the United States and over twenty million copies worldwide, making it Richie's best-selling album.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
A Florida trio called Will To Power achieved a Billboard number one hit by combining Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way" with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird".

1991 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Radio announcer Alan Freed gets a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The pioneer disc jockey and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame member passed away on January 20, 1965 at the age of 43.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
The Recording Industry Association of America gave Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers a Diamond Award to mark the sale of ten million copies of the band's "Greatest Hits" album in the United States. The LP had reached #5 in America and #18 in the UK.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Investigators from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and County District Attorney's Office conducted a second raid of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. In November of 2003, more than sixty sheriff's deputies raided Jackson's estate in the foothills above Santa Barbara, looking for evidence that he had molested a young boy and plied him with alcohol.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Diana Ross and Brian Wilson both collected awards for contributions to US culture in a ceremony in Washington, attended by President George Bush.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Rolling Stones' guitarist Ron Wood was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, 20-year-old Ekaterina Ivanova outside a restaurant in Surrey, England. Although she suffered several cuts to her knees, she was insistent that she didn't want the police involved or to press charges. The pair would split up a few days later.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Billy Joel announced that he would play once a month at New York's Madison Square Garden for the indefinite future, "as long is there is a demand." That run would last until 2024.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Ian McLagan, the keyboard player for The Small Faces and later The Faces, died due to complications from a stroke at the age of 69. His work can be heard on hits like "Itchycoo Park" (US #16, UK #3) and "Stay With Me" (US #17, UK #6).

December 3
The Alliance Of Artists And Recording Companies filed a class action lawsuit against, Chrysler and Mitsubish for refusal to pay royalties or include copy protection systems on in-car music readers. The devices allowed users to copy CDs directly onto a hard drive for playback in vehicles. Ford and GM were named in a similar suit the previous July.

December 3
Sonny Bivins, leader of The Manhattans, passed away at the age of 78. The Jersey City group is most often remembered for their hits, "Kiss And Say Goodbye" (US #1 in 1976) and "Shining Star" (US #5 in 1980).

2015 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Rick Nelson's twin sons, Matthew and Gunnar, appeared on a Billboard chart for the first time in more than twenty years when their original holiday song "This Christmas" debuted on the Adult Contemporary list at #22. Billed as Nelson, the pair first appeared on the Hot 100 in 1990 with their breakthrough hit "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection", which went all the way to number one.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Forbes magazine announced it's annual list of the highest paid musicians between June 2015 and June 2016. Taylor Swift topped everyone at #170 million, One Direction was second with $110 million. Of people we care about, AC/DC finished 7th with $67.5 million, The Rolling Stones were 8th at $66.5 million, Bruce Springsteen was 11th with 60.5 million, Paul McCartney was 12th at $56.5 million, Elton John was 24th at $42 million, and Jimmy Buffett was 27th with $40.5 million.

December 3
Nearly a month after his death, Leonard Cohen's version of "Hallelujah" cracks the Billboard Hot 100 at #59, giving him his first entry on the chart. The song would fall off the list the following week.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
With the COVID-19 pandemic decimating the year's live music schedule, Elton John still came in as the top grossing tour artist. The Rocket Man earned over $100 million for the forty-seven shows he performed early in the year, while selling 800,000 tickets.

2021 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
The Swedish pop group ABBA filed a lawsuit to stop a British cover band known as Abba Mania from using that name. About six weeks later a settlement was reached and the tribute artists agreed to stop using that moniker.

December 3
The University of Florida posthumously awarded Tom Petty an honorary PhD in music. The Rock artist was born in Gainesville, Florida, where the university is located.

2023 - ClassicBands.com

December 3
Brenda Lee's holiday classic, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" topped the Billboard Hot 100, sixty-five years after it was first released. Lee described the news as "amazing," and added "The song came out when I was a young teenager and now to know that it has resonated with multiple generations and continues to resonate, it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Keep on Rockin' and Merry Christmas!".

December 3
Myles Goodwyn, guitarist and lead vocalist for the Canadian band April Wine, passed away at the age of 75. The band placed three songs on the Billboard Hot 100, "You Could Have Been A Lady" (#32 in 1972), "Roller" (#34 in 1979) and "Just Between You And Me" (#23 in 1981).



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