December 26

Births

1935: Abdul "Duke" Fakir (Tenor singer in The Four Tops)

1939: Phil Spector (Producer & Songwriter)

1953: Henning Schmitz (Member of Kraftwerk)

1961: James Kottak (Drummer for Kingdom Come & The Scorpions)

1963: Lars Ulrich (Drummer for Metallica)

1971: Jared Leto (Vocals for 30 Seconds To Mars)

1979: Chris Daughtry (Singer for Daughtry)

Events

1964: The Rolling Stones, whose long hair has solidified the new standard for teenagers set by the Beatles, take out an ad in New Musical Express wishing starving hairdressers of the UK a "Happy Christmas."

1966: Backstage before a show at London's Uppercut Club, Jimi Hendrix scribbles out the lyrics to a new song called "Purple Haze."

1967: The Beatles' new television movie, a concept of Paul's entitled Magical Mystery Tour, has its first airing on the BBC. Shot in color but broadcast in black-and-white for some reason, the wandering psychedelic mess has critics and fans in the band's home country howling in disappointment and confusion. A planned later US airing is quickly cancelled.

1968: Led Zeppelin begin their first-ever US tour, opening for Spirit, the MC5, and Vanilla Fudge.

1970: George Harrison started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Sweet Lord', making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

1987: Run D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay was hospitalized when his Jeep was hit head-on by a driver going the wrong-way.

1999: Curtis Mayfield died at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia his health having steadily declined following his paralysis.

December 23

Births

1929: Chet Baker (Jazz Singer & Trumpeter)

1940: Jorma Kaukonen (Guitar & Vocals for Jefferson Airplane)

1943: Derek Smalls (Bass for Spinal Tap)

1945: Ron Bushy (Drummer for Iron Butterfly)

1949: Ariel Bender (Guitar for Mott The Hoople)

1956: Dave Murray (Guitar for Iron Maiden)

1964: Eddie Vedder (Vocals for Pearl Jam)

Events

1959: Chuck Berry is arrested in St. Louis after Janice Norine, a 14-year old Apache girl he'd driven in from Mexico is revealed to be a prostitute. (Berry claims she was hired merely to be a hat check girl at his club.) Under the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport a minor across state line for immoral purposes, Berry is sentenced to five years in prison. He would serve less than four.

1964: After making their first appearance on ABC-TV's Shindig! (where they perform "Little Saint Nick," "Dance, Dance, Dance," "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Monster Mash"), and in flight from Los Angeles to a concert in Houston, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown, leading to his immediate retirement from touring. Glen Campbell, still a studio musician, is hired to take his place on stage, and is eventually replaced by permanent member Bruce Johnston.

1967: John Lennon makes the first contact with his estranged father, Alf, in years: after hearing that he's taken ill, John sends him a get well note and a car so that he can visit his famous son.

1968: At Apple's Christmas party, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hand out presents to the children of the staff, dressed as Santa and Mrs Claus.

1969: Elton John meets for the first time with what would become his classic team -- songwriter Bernie Taupin, arranger Paul Buckmaster, and producer Gus Dudgeon -- to begin work on his first solo album.

1969: Willie Nelson's home in Ridgetop, Tennessee, burns while he's in Nashville at a Christmas party. When Nelson sees the house in flames, he runs in to rescue his guitar, Trigger, and a bag of marijuana stashed inside the case.

1977: Cat Stevens announces that he has changed his name to Yusuf Islam and converted to the Islamic religion.

1985: Judas Priest fans Raymond Belknap and James Vance shot themselves after listening to the Judas Priest album ‘Stained Class.’ The two had drunk beer, smoked marijuana and then listened to hours of the album. Afterwards they took a shotgun to a nearby school playground where Belknap shot and killed himself. Vance then blew away his jaw, mouth and nose but lived for more than three years before dying of effects of the shooting.

1992: Eddie Hazel (Guitar for Funkadelic) died from internal bleeding and liver failure. "Maggot Brain" was played at his funeral.

1996: Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx married TV's 'Baywatch' star Donna Deruico.

1999: Cristin Keleher, an unemployed musician in Hawaii, breaks into George Harrison's Maui home and makes herself at home, ordering pizza, drinking root beer, doing laundry, and calling her mother before authorities arrive to arrest her. She is eventually charged with breaking and entering and theft. She would serve four months.

2005: Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered $9,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.

December 22

Births

1946: Rick Nielsen (Guitar for Cheap Trick)

1949: Maurice & Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees)

1972: Vanessa Paradis (Singer)

1989: Jordin Sparks (Singer)

Events

1956: Billboard announces that Elvis Presley has notched seventeen chart hits this year alone. (Pat Boone only manages five.)

1963: The Dave Clark Five scored their only US No.1 single with 'Over And Over', a No.5 in the UK.

1966: Acting on an earlier order from John Lennon, producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick manage to adjust the tape speeds of two completely different versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever" in order to create the track we know today.

1968: Singer Eric Burdon leaves the Animals for a solo career.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono meet with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Minister of Health John Munro to discuss drug abuse.

1975: Ike and Tina Turner's suitcase, containing $86,000 in concert receipts, is stolen.

1976: Singer Isaac Hayes files for bankruptcy.

1978: Faces' drummer Kenney Jones joins the Who, replacing Keith Moon, who had died from an accidental overdose of anti-alcoholic medications two months earlier.

1979: The Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea benefit premieres at London's Hammersmith Odeon, featuring organizer Paul McCartney, the Who, Queen, and an all-star "Rockestra."

1981: A Sotheby's auction in London features an enameled Abbey Road street sign ($600), an autographed program from the Beatles' Royal Command Performance ($2,000), a letter of introduction from Buddy Holly to Decca Records (also $2,000), the marriage certificate of John Lennon and first wife Cynthia ($850), an autographed program from the world premiere of the Beatles' movie Help! ($2,100) and a jacket once worn by Tom Jones ($12).

1987: Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue was pronounced 'dead on arrival' in an ambulance when his heart stopped beating for two minutes. Sixx was given two shots of adrenaline in his chest to revive him. Fellow band members were prematurely informed of his death.

1988: The Smiths played their farewell gig at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, (without guitarist Johnny Marr). To gain entrance to the gig fans had to wear a Smiths or Morrissey T- shirt.

1991: Gregg Allman makes his acting debut as a drug kingpin in the movie Rush.

1994: Martina McBride delivers her first baby, a 6-pound, 4-ounce girl, Delaney Katharine.

2000: Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, Scotland. Celebrities attending the wedding included Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Sting and fashion designers Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier and Stellla McCartney. The couple divorced in Nov 2008.

2002: Former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer (John Graham Mellor) died of a suspected heart attack aged 50.

December 21

Births

1940: Frank Zappa (Singer & Guitarist)

1942: Carla Thomas (R&B Singer)

1946: Carl Wilson (Lead Guitar & Vocals for The Beach Boys)

1951: Nick Gilder (Singer)

1953: Betty Wright (R&B Singer)

1964: Emmett Murphy (Drummer for Dinosaur Jr. & Lemonheads)

1966: Gabrielle Glaser (Singer for Luscious Jackson)

Events

1968: Crosby, Stills, and Nash perform together on stage for the first time.

1968: Janis Joplin makes her solo stage debut in Memphis, TN, at a Stax/Volt Christmas party that also features label artists such as Eddie Floyd and Booker T. and the MGs.

1969: On CBS' Ed Sullivan Show, Diana Ross appears with the Supremes for the last time.

1970: Elvis Presley makes a visit to the White House in order to volunteer his services to President Nixon in fighting the war on drugs. Presley, who loved official badges, had been trying to get a BNDD (Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) badge for himself, and when calling the Bureau failed, Nixon himself stepped in and ordered his deputy counsel to arrange a meeting. Presley presented the President with a chrome-plated Colt .45 gun, and the next day, Presley received his badge.

1971: Martha and the Vandellas officially disband.

1979: Linda Ronstadt hosts a benefit show for her paramour, Governor of California and Presidential candidate Jerry Brown, at the San Diego Sports Arena. The singer performs, as do Chicago and the Eagles.

1979: Willie Nelson makes his film debut with the opening of "The Electric Horseman," also starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

1985: Bruce Springsteen's album, ‘Born in the USA’ passed Michael Jackson's ‘Thriller’ to become the second longest-lasting LP on the Billboard US Top 10. It stayed there for 79 weeks. Only ‘The Sound of Music’ with Julie Andrews lasted longer at 109 weeks.

1987: John Spence, singer, original member of No Doubt in the late 80's, committed suicide.

1989: Carlos Santana and wife Debbie become the proud parents of daughter Angelica Faith.

1992: David Crosby was a guest on ABC-TV's "Roseanne."

1996: En route to a White House dinner with the Clintons, Tony Bennett suffers a ruptured hernia and is rushed to the hospital.

2005: Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish became the first gay celebrities to register their relationship as a civil partnership. The 20 minute ceremony took place at The Guild Hall, Windsor, England, guest’s included Ringo Starr, Victoria Beckham, Joss Stone, Sting, Elvis Costello, Jamie Cullum, George Michael and The Osbournes - Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly.

2006: P Diddy’s girlfriend, Kim Porter gave birth to twin girls, who were named D'Lila Star and Jessie James Combs.