Good Morning, Music Trivia Buffs! Here we are at the proverbial weekend. Today will be my final day of retail servitude for a couple of days and I’m very much looking forward to being a full-time DJ once again.
Here’s today’s lesson:
December 5, 1964: The Zombies’ debut single, She’s Not There, tops the Cashbox Best Sellers Chart. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it peaked at #12 in the UK.
December 5, 1965: The Beatles played their final gig in their own hometown of Liverpool. On December 5, 1980, John Lennon called his Aunt Mimi saying he was homesick and was planning a trip back home. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed.
December 5, 1968: An actual, real-life banquet was held for the launch of the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. It ended abruptly at the (unplanned) pie-throwing fight.
December 5, 1969: Badfinger released Come And Get It, written by Paul McCartney. It is the first hit on Apple Records that is not from The Beatles.
Also on this day, the Rolling Stones release my absolute favorite Stones album, Let It Bleed, loaded with great songs including Gimme Shelter (this could be my favorite Stones song ever) and Midnight Rambler. The title might have been prophetic. The next day, a fan is killed during their performance at the Altamont Speedway.
December 5, 1975: Fleetwood Mac’s tenth album is certified Gold, and will eventually go Platinum. This is the first album of the post-Peter Green era (my preferred version of Fleetwood Mac). John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie are all there. The newcomers are Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. The band’s singles cracks Billboard Top 40 for the first time. They are Rhiannon, Over My Head, and Say You Love Me.
December 5, 1976: Three days after surviving an assassination attempt, Bob Marley performs at the Smile Jamaica Festival, which he organized to promote peace in his country. It is estimated that 80,000 Jamaican’s attend the festival. Marley does a 90-minute set.
December 5, 1980: John Lennon gives his final interview to Jonathan Cott of Rolling Stone magazine. You know the rest, sadly.
Born On This Day
December 5, 1912: Legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson was born Alex Miller in Tallahachie County, Mississippi.
December 5, 1932: Richard Wayne Penniman, later know to the world as Little Richard, was born in Macon, Georgia.
December 5, 1938: Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, who brought us the Tulsa sound, was born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
December 5, 1947: Jim Messina (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins & Messina) was born in Maywood, California.
And that is it for today from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge here in The Mermaid Lounge.
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