Rock 'n' Roll History for
December 24


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
The Lennon Sisters make their first appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show when they perform on his Christmas Special. The Lennons would become a staple of Saturday night TV for the next fourteen years and scored a #15 hit in America in 1959 with their version of "Tonight You Belong To Me".

1959 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
The Philadelphia Orphan's Court gives Chubby Checker a raise in his weekly allowance from $150 to $200. The 19-year-old singer (who's real name is Ernest Evans) has already put three songs, "The Class" (#38), "The Twist" (#1) and "The Hucklebuck" (#14) in the US Top 40.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
At a Christmas Eve taping session, Tommy James And The Shondells record "I Think We're Alone Now", which will go on to be the group's forth Top 40 hit in the US, selling over a million copies. Tommy James and guitarist Eddie Gray were the only members of the band to actually appear on the record, with the other instruments being provided by studio musicians.

December 24
After their million selling "96 Tears" led the Hot 100 last October, ? And The Mysterians enjoy their second and final Billboard Top 40 hit when "I Need Somebody" peaks at #22. Their next effort, "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", would stall at #56.

December 24
After topping the UK charts three weeks earlier, Tom Jones' rendition of "Green, Green Grass Of Home" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #76. It would prove to be his biggest hit, selling over 1.2 million copies in Britain alone, and reaching #11 in the US. Although the song had already been recorded by Johnny Darrell, Porter Wagoner and Bobby Bare, Jones would later say that he emulated the version he heard on Jerry Lee Lewis' 1965 album, "Country Songs for City Folk".

1972 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Police provoked a riot in Miami, Florida after pulling the plug during a Manfred Mann's Earth Band concert because of a noise complaint. The band was touring to promote their latest album, "Glorified Magnified". As the battle raged, the band hid in a dressing room.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Tom Johnson of The Doobie Brothers is arrested in Visalia, California and charged with possession of marijuana. His court date is set for January 10th, the same day the band's new LP is to be released. The album is ironically titled "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits".

1974 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Rondstadt and Joni Mitchell are spotted crooning Christmas carols around the streets of Los Angeles.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
The first single from the soundtrack of the film Saturday Night Fever, The Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love", rises to the top of the Billboard singles chart. The song would stay in the Top 10 for an amazing seventeen weeks. In the UK it reached #3.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog (the blond) are granted a divorce, ending their eight year marriage. The group's other couple, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who had just wed three months earlier, would split in 1981.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Bobby LaKind, conga player and vocalist for The Doobie Brothers, died of colon cancer at the age of 47.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
65-year-old Zeke Carey of The Flamingos passed away on Christmas Eve at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The group is most often remembered for their 1959, US #11 single, "I Only Have Eyes For You".

2000 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Nick Massi, vocalist and bass guitarist for The Four Seasons, died of cancer at the age of 73. Nick was responsible for many of the group's vocal arrangements, but sadly didn't live to see the phenomenal success of their musical biography on Broadway, Jersey Boys.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Ray Collins, a singer who co-founded the Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, but left when "too much comedy" started appearing in the band's songs, passed away at the age of 75.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Music by The Beatles was finally made available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon Prime Music. The deal with the group involved the rights to stream 224 songs from the original 13 studio albums.

December 24
William Guest of Gladys Knight And The Pips died of heart failure at the age of 74. His background vocals can be heard on all of the group's hits, including "Midnight Train To Georgia", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and the Grammy winning "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)".

2016 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
Rick Parfitt, original guitarist for the English Rock band Status Quo, died at the age of 68 due to a severe infection after suffering an injury to his shoulder. The band reached #12 in the US in 1968 with "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" and topped the UK chart in 1975 with "Down Down".

2020 - ClassicBands.com

December 24
The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch had been sold to billionaire Ron Burkle for $22 million. First listed for $100 million in 2015, the property underwent several price cuts, and was offered for $31 million in 2019. Jackson originally paid about $19.5 million for the ranch in 1987. He moved out in 2005 and defaulted on $24.5 million he owed on the property in 2008. Michael passed away the following year.



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