December 4

Births

1942: Chris Hillman (Bass & Vocals for The Flying Burrito Brothers & The Byrds)

1944: Dennis Wilson (Drums for The Beach Boys)

1948: Southside Johnny (John Lyon) ( Singer / Songwriter)

1951: Gary Rossington (Lead & Rhythm guitar for Lynyrd Skynyrd & The Rossington-Collins Band)

1955: Cassandra Wilson (Jazz Singer)

1966: Masta Ace (Rapper)

1969: Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter) (Rapper)

1973: Ferry Corsten (DJ)

Events

1927: Duke Ellington’s new, larger big band opens Harlem's legendary Cotton Club.

1956: Elvis Presley visits the Sun recording studio with his companion, Marilyn Evans, a showgirl from Las Vegas, interrupting a Carl Perkins session that featured Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Fellow labelmate Johnny Cash also arrives and the four begin running through an impromptu jam on a series of songs they all know (mainly spirituals). Producer Sam Phillips records what would become famously known as the "Million Dollar Quartet" sessions, although they don't get released to the public officially until the early Eighties.

1957: Because of the furor created by Elvis Presley's recently released Christmas album, radio station CKWS in Kingston, Ontario plays the album in its entirety, opening the phones to public comment. Most listeners approve of the album.

1969: President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, and forty US governors view "simulated acid trip" films and listen to rock music in order to comprehend the generation gap.

1971: The Montreux Casino in Switzerland burnt to the ground during a gig by Frank Zappa. The incident is immortalized by Deep Purple's 1973 hit, 'Smoke On The Water' - 'some stupid with a flare gun, burned the place to the ground..'.

1976: Guitarist Tommy Bolin (Deep Purple, The James Gang) died of a heroin overdose at age 25.

1980: Led Zeppelin officially disbands following the death by misadventure of drummer John Bonham due to excessive alcohol intake.

1987: Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn and then changed her mind a week later, but would file again in January 1988.

1988: Roy Orbison gives what would prove to be his last concert, in Akron, OH. He dies two days later.

1991: The Judds perform the final show of their Farewell Tour at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Naomi Judd is retiring, suffering from a potentially fatal strain of hepatitis, leaving Wynonna to pursue a solo career.

1993: Frank Zappa died from prostate cancer at age 52.

2002: Whitney Houston admitted in a TV interview that drink and drugs nearly killed her. Bobby Brown's wife also admitted to being addicted to sex. She said her business is sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, and got into the lifestyle after missing out on partying when her career kicked off aged 18.