DEC 8-14: Historic events this week from John Lennon, Metallica, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, KISS and Paul McCartney
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DECEMBER 8, 1980: JOHN LENNON IS MURDERED
Two months after turning 40, Lennon was shot and killed by one of his own fans.
John & Yoko had released their Double Fantasy album three weeks prior.
After his murder, the album went straight to #1 with a surge in record sales.
Double Fantasy would go on to win the 1981 Album of the Year Grammy.
DECEMBER 8, 2013: METALLICA PLAYS ANTARCTICA
Metallica’s Freeze ‘Em All show in Antarctica made them the first band to play on seven continents.
The resulting live album contained the songs: “Sad But True”, “One”, “Enter Sandman”, “Nothing Else Matters” Master of Puppets” and more.
DECEMBER 10, 1966: “GOOD VIBRATIONS” HITS #1
Brian Wilson took an avant-garde approach to writing/recording his “pocket symphony to God.”
The song was written as it was recorded, with recording sessions lasting 7 months.
“Good Vibrations” made it to #1 on the charts, exactly 2 months after its release.
The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994.
DECEMBER 10, 2007: LED ZEPPELIN REUNION
After a handful of reunion shows over the years, Led Zeppelin’s most successful was a 2007 Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert.
The one-off reunion featured the late John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, on drums.
The show was later released as a live album called Celebration Day, and won a Grammy for Best Rock Album.
DECEMBER 11, 1990: “LED ZEPPELIN IV” CERTIFIED DIAMOND
Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album is a masterpiece and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Featuring “Black Dog”, “Misty Mountain Hop” and “Stairway to Heaven”, the album was certified Diamond (10 million sold) in 1990.
It has since gone 23x Platinum in the US alone.
DECEMBER 12, 1976: ACE FREHLEY NEARLY ELECTROCUTED
During a KISS show in Florida, Frehley touched an ungrounded metal railing, resulting in a shock that caused him to lose feeling in his hand for the rest of the show.
The experience inspired the 1977 Love Gun classic, “Shock Me.”
DECEMBER 14, 1999: MCCARTNEY RETURNS TO THE CAVERN CLUB
In the Beatles’ early days, they played The Cavern Club in Liverpool 292 times from 1961-1963.
Paul McCartney returned to the club to promote his ’99 album Run Devil Run.
In addition to The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There”, the set was loaded with covers of songs that influenced the Beatles, including Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up”, Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock”, Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and more.
