This Day in Music
December 24th
Celebrity Christmas carolling and Elvis genuflects for love, on this day in music.
People
1945: Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy, is born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Kent (Staffordshire), England. A member of the band Hawkwind from 1971 to 1975, Lemmy is more famous as the founder, bassist, vocalist, and songwriter of the heavy metal outfit, Motörhead. He made 23 studio albums with the band between 1977 and 2015, including the seminal "Ace of Spades" in 1980. He died of prostate cancer in Los Angeles on December 28, 2015. He was 70 years old.
Events
1974: So you’re an Angeleno living in rustic Laurel Canyon and it’s Christmas Eve. The doorbell rings, and carolling can be heard. You open the door to find James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and drummer John Guerin, who had worked with both Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt in addition to many other famous artists, singing those songs! The celebrity residents then make their way down to The Troubadour Club on Santa Monica Blvd., to surprise the audience during a set by Flo & Eddie.
1977: The first single from the soundtrack to the motion picture Saturday Night Fever, "How Deep is Your Love" by the Bee Gees, hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would remain in top position for 17 weeks. The album would go on to be the best-selling of all time until unseated by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at the end of 1983. "Saturday Night Fever" remains the 10th-highest selling album, and second-highest selling soundtrack, after “The Bodyguard.”
1972: Police in Miami, Florida pull the plug during a performance by Manfred Mann's Earth Band due to a noise complaint, sparking a riot at the venue. The band hid in their dressing room during the melee. Not a lot of Christmas spirit that night.
The Daily Elvis
1966: Elvis presents a 3.5-carat diamond ring to Priscilla Beaulieu and proposes marriage. They would wed on May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas.
Pictured: Lemmy using his bass for skeet shooting.
