6 DECEMBER
In Music History
1965 The Beatles release the album Rubber Soul in the US. Songs include "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Michelle" and "I'm Looking Through You."
1965 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles release "Going To A Go-Go."
1964 The Gerry & the Pacemakers film Ferry Cross The Mersey, a document of the Merseybeat scene, premieres in London. The hit title track was written specifically for the movie.
1962 Bob Dylan records "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" in Studio A at Columbia Recording Studios.
1962 Ben Watt (of the alt rock duo Everything but the Girl) is born in Marylebone, London, England.
1961 Keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who is on tour with Smashing Pumpkins when he dies of a drug overdose in 1996, is born in Los Angeles. He is the brother of Wendy Melvoin of Wendy & Lisa.
1961 David Lovering (drummer for the Pixies) is born in Burlington, Massachusetts.
1957 The Diamonds release "The Stroll."
1957 Elvis Presley visits radio station WDIA in Memphis and meets two of his idols, Little Junior Parker and Bobby Bland.
1956 Guitarist Randy Rhoads is born in Santa Monica, California. An early member of Quiet Riot, he makes his biggest impact as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist, supplying the electrifying riffs on songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley." He dies at 25 in an airplane accident.
1956 Peter Buck (lead guitarist for R.E.M.) is born in Berkeley, California. While attending the University of Georgia, he works at Wuxtry Records and meets future bandmate Michael Stipe.
1955 Rick Buckler (drummer for The Jam) is born in Woking, Surrey, England.
1952 The Mills Brothers' "The Glow-Worm" hits #1.
1949 Blues musician Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 60.
1948 The CBS television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts debuts. Plenty of up-and-coming talents appear on the variety program, including Patsy Cline and Tony Bennett.
Travis Tritt Reunites Eagles
1993At a video shoot for Travis Tritt's remake of the Eagles' "Take It Easy," the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to re-form for new songs and a tour.
Read more6 DECEMBER
Featured Events
2004 Mötley Crüe announce their "reunion/farewell tour," with drummer Tommy Lee returning to the fold after a five-year absence. It is not their farewell: They tour every year until 2015, when they sign a "cessation of touring agreement." That one doesn't stick either - they go back on the road in 2022.
1995 Coolio wins Single Of The Year for "Gangsta's Paradise" at the Billboard Music Awards. When he performs the song at the ceremony, he is joined by Stevie Wonder, whose "Pastime Paradise" is the basis for Coolio's track.
1994 Bush release their debut album, Sixteen Stone, which takes off in America but is largely ignored in their native England.More
1988 Roy Orbison, in the midst of a career resurgence thanks to his supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, dies of heart failure at age 52. His album Mystery Girl, completed at the time of his death, is released in January 1989.
1977 Jackson Browne releases Running On Empty, a live album compiled from performances at various stops on his summer tour. Live albums typically rely on songs that have already been released, but this one features all new songs, the first major rock album to do so.More
1975 Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years album hits #1 in America, his first solo album to top the chart.
1969 The Rolling Stones headline the Altamont concert at a speedway in California. It's a free event with Jefferson Airplane and Santana also on the bill, but it turns violent when the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, who are hired as security, kill a crowd member. The concert is documented in The Stones movie Gimme Shelter.More
1969 Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," the ultimate "see ya later" song, hits #1 in America.More
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC