December 18

Births

1941: Sam Andrew (Guitar for Big Brother and the Holding Company)

1943: Keith Richards (Guitar for The Rolling Stones)

1953: Elliot Easton (Guitar for The Cars)

1958: Geordie (Kevin Walker) (Guitar for Killing Joke)

1959: Daddy G (Grant Marshall) (Singer in Massive Attack)

1968: Alejandro Sanz (Spanish Singer / Songwriter)

1970: DMX (Earl Simmons) (Rapper)

1972: DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant) (DJ for Limp Bizkit)

1980: Christina Aguilera (Singer)

Events

1892: Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1964: Sam Cooke's funeral brings 200,000 fans to the A.R. Leak Funeral Home in Chicago, so many fans that the crush breaks the glass front doors of the parlor. James Brown, there to pay his respects, is forced to leave in order to avoid the grieving mob. Ray Charles, who makes it in, sings a stirring version of "Angels Keep Watching Over Me" for his friend.

1966: Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness fortune, collides with a bus while driving his sports car in London's South Kensington district. Reading about the coroner's report a few days later, John Lennon incorporates the incident into the first and second verses of his new song, "A Day In The Life."

1968: In San Francisco, Janis Joplin begins to rehearse with her new group, The Kozmic Blues Band.

1969: The New York Times reports that a full three-quarters of the billion-dollar music industry's revenue is generated by American youth.

1971: Jerry Lee Lewis divorces his wife Myra Gale Brown, whom he infamously married when she was 13.

1975: Rod Stewart officially leaves the Faces to begin a solo career on Atlantic Records.

1982: When their latest single, "Maneater," hits #1, Hall and Oates officially surpass the Everly Brothers as the biggest duo of all time.

1983: On his 40th birthday, and with Mick Jagger serving as best man, Keith Richards marries his longtime girlfriend, model Patti Hansen, in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas.

1984: Madonna's "Like a Virgin was the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit. The song was Madonna's first No. 1 hit.

1988: Mike Peters of The Alarm was rushed to hospital after having his eyes burnt by spotlights during a gig in Chester, causing the remaining dates on their UK tour to be cancelled.

1991: In a move that would have widespread implications for the rap industry, Gilbert O'Sullivan is awarded an injunction against rapper Biz Markie for an unlicensed sample of Gilbert's "Alone Again (Naturally)" used in Biz's own "Alone Again."

2003: In Los Angeles, Michael Jackson is officially charged with seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a minor for alleged incidents earlier that year at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. He is also charged with two counts of administering an "intoxicating agent."

2003: President George W. Bush awards James Brown and Loretta Lynn with Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC.

2008: Paul Simon is made a member of the Board of Trustees at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.