Rock 'n' Roll History for
December 20


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Elvis Presley made US chart history by having ten songs on Billboard's Top 100.

December 20
Comedian Jerry Lewis enjoys his only Billboard Top 40 hit when "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" peaks at #12. His former partner, Dean Martin, with whom he had split with the previous July, had three chart hits during this calendar year, and would go on to have fourteen more.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Just five days before Christmas, Elvis Presley received his draft notice from the US Army. He later told reporters that it's a "duty I've got to fill and I'm going to do it." He will be inducted at the Memphis Draft Board in March of 1958 and assigned to Fort Hood, Texas for basic training for six months.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison appear as The Quarry Men at the wedding reception of George's older brother, Harry. The event was held at the Harrison family home at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool.

December 20
The US Army's 32nd Armored unit returns to base after maneuvers and Pvt. Elvis Presley is rewarded for his hard work with a three day pass, which he uses to buy himself a BMW sports car.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
The Osmonds appeared for the first time on The Andy Williams show, where they performed "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas".

1965 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Wilson Pickett records "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)" for Atlantic Records. Included on his album "The Exciting Wilson Pickett", the song will rise to #13 in the US and #36 in the UK.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Vocalist Ian Anderson and bassist Glenn Cornick leave The John Evans Blues Band to form Jethro Tull, naming their group after the 18th century inventor of a number of farm implements. John Evan himself will later join them as Jethro Tull's keyboard player.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
After scoring a pair of number two singles in 1963 with "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Blowin' in the Wind", Peter, Paul And Mary attain their first and only US number one hit with the John Denver written "Leaving On A Jet Plane". The song reached #2 in the UK.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
37-year-old Bobby Darin died during surgery to repair a heart valve that had been implanted two years earlier. His career started in 1958 with "Splish Splash" and continued strong into the early sixties. He was pushed off the charts by the British Invasion, but had a comeback in 1966 with "If I Were a Carpenter". According to his wishes, Darin's body was donated, without a funeral, to UCLA's medical school.

1975 - ClassicBands.com.

December 20
Joe Walsh officially replaces Bernie Leadon in The Eagles, and would take the band from their Rock and Roll cowboy sound to harder Rock. Walsh first came to prominence with The James Gang before forming Barnstorm.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Twelve days after John Lennon was shot dead, "(Just Like) Starting Over" became his first UK solo #1. It was the first new recording that the former Beatle had released since he left the music industry in 1975, and would also top the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Best Sellers chart for the last week of December.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
After being featured as the title track to the movie Stand By Me, Ben E. King's tune reaches #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It had peaked at #4 in 1961.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
A lawsuit is filed against Chuck Berry on behalf of more than seventy women who claimed he had secretly videotaped them while they used rest rooms in his home and a restaurant. Although Berry adamantly denied making the tapes or even knowing who did, the cases were settled out of court for more than one million dollars.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
It was a very good year for Classic Rockers. Elton John and Billy Joel toured together and grossed nearly $60 million from just thirty-one dates, averaging $1.9 million per show. Eric Clapton proved to be a strong draw in international arenas, earning a healthy $43.5 million from fifty-nine shows, racking up thirty-eight complete sell-outs and averaging nearly $750,000 per night.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Money making figures for 2002's top grossing Rock artists were as follows:

Paul McCartney - $126.1 million
The Rolling Stones - $90 million
Cher - $67.6 million
Neil Diamond - $52.2 million
Britney Spears - $43.7 million
Aerosmith - $36.3 million
Eagles - $34.9 million
'N Sync - $33 million
The top grossing country artist was Kenny Chesney at $22.7 million

2003 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Bruce Springsteen was the top-earning concert attraction in 2003, taking in $115.9 million. That ranks second only to The Rolling Stones for the most money ever earned by a concert act in a year.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
ABC television announced that Dick Clark would return to New Year's Rockin' Eve, the annual TV special he had hosted for thirty-two years before a stroke caused him to miss the 2004 edition.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
After seven years of separation, Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli finalized an amicable divorce. Bertinelli cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for divorce in December 2005.

December 20
Edison Media Research and Pinnacle Media Worldwide independently surveyed radio listeners on which Christmas songs they like and dislike. In both surveys, the only song that reached the top of both most-disliked lists was "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Dr. Elmo.

2009 - ClassicBands.com.

December 20
James Gurley, the lead guitarist for Big Brother And The Holding Company, died after suffering a heart attack. He was 69. His distinctive style can be heard on songs such as "Piece of My Heart", "Summertime" and "Ball and Chain".

2011 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Grammy organizers announced that Diana Ross, Glen Campbell, The Allman Brothers Band and The Memphis Horns would receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2012 ceremony.

December 20
Sean Bonniwell, singer / guitarist who led The Music Machine to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Talk Talk" in 1966, died of lung cancer at the age of 71.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

December 20
Chad Stuart, of the British Invasion duo Chad And Jeremy, died of pneumonia at the age of 79. The pair scored seven Billboard Top 40 hits, including "Yesterday's Gone" (#21 in 1964), "A Summer Song" (#7 in 1964) and "Before And After" (#17 in 1965).



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