December 8

Births

1925: Sammy Davis, Jr.(Singer / Performer)

1939: Jerry Butler (Singer in The Impressions)

1939: James Galway (Irish Flute Player)

1941: Bobby Elliott (Drummer for The Hollies)

1943: Jim Morrison (Singer in The Doors)

1947: Gregg Allman (Singer & Keyboards for The Allman Brothers Band & Solo)

1950: Dan Hartman (Singer / Producer)

1953: Phil Collen (Guitarist for Def Leppard)

1953: Sam Kinison (Comedian)

1959: Paul Rutherford (Frankie Goes To Hollywood)

1962: Marty Friedman (Guitar for Megadeth)

1966: Sinead O'Connor (Singer / Songwriter)

1973: Alice Deejay (Vocals for Alice Deejay)

1973: Number 8 (Corey Taylor) (Singer for Slipknot)

1974: Nick Zinner (Guitar for Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

1982: Nicki Minaj (R&B / Hip-Hop Artist)

Events

1960: Teen idol Fabian visits Elvis Presley at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Elvis rips his pants demonstrating his new passion, karate, and Fabian lends him his pair.

1962: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed appears at his payola trial in New York City and testifies to receiving money from labels to play their records on the air. He is found guilty, fined $300, and given six months probation, but the irreparable damage to his career has been done.

1963: Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, NV, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.

1969: In a Toronto, Canada courtroom, Jimi Hendrix testifies in his trial for possession of hashish and heroin. Claiming to have "outgrown" drugs, the guitarist gives a very detailed history of his drug use. After eight hours, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty.

1975: The benefit concert "A Night of the Hurricane" is held at Madison Square Garden. The last date on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the show features many non-musical celebrities and raises over $100,000 for the release of wrongly imprisoned boxer "Hurricane" Carter and his alleged accomplice. Carter himself calls the stage from jail.

1975: Gary Thain bass player with Uriah Heep died of a drug overdose aged 28. Had a hit with ‘Easy Livin' from the 1972 album Demons and Wizards.

1976: The Carpenters' Very First Special, featuring guest star John Denver, airs on ABC.

1977: Four people were arrested after a riot broke out when Blondie didn't arrive for a gig in Brisbane. Over 1,000 Australian fans had waited over an hour for the group to appear on stage, but the gig was cancelled due to singer Debbie Harry being unwell.

1979: Styx went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Babe', the group's only US No.1.

1980: At 10:50 PM EST, former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in New York by a deranged fan just outside the Dakota Hotel, New York City. Lennon was shot in his chest, back and left arm and was pronounced dead at 11:07 PM. Earlier that day, the killer had met Lennon outside the Dakota and had him sign a copy of his latest album, Double Fantasy.

1982: Marty Robbins dies of a heart attack, just two months after his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Beginning in 1952, he spun love songs, pop crossover hits and Western story songs, including "El Paso".

1984: Vince Neil from Motley Crue was involved in a car accident in Redondo Beach, Ca, which killed Nick Dingley from Hanoi Rocks and injured two other passengers. Neil was jailed for 20 days and paid $2.6 million in compensation.

1995: Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead officially announce their breakup.

1998: The FBI opens its 1,300 page file on Frank Sinatra to the public.

2003: Ozzy Osbourne suffers several fractures in his upper body in an ATV accident.

2004: Former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was one of five people killed after a man stormed the stage during a Damageplan show at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus. Nathan Gale, aged 25, began firing at the band and crowd, was then shot and killed by a police officer who arrived shortly after the first shots were fired.