Pick a Day

15 DECEMBER

In Music History

2015 In an interview with the London commuter freesheet Metro, Carol Decker of T'Pau is asked if her autobiography gave her any insights into her personality. She replies: "It did actually. I'm a bit of a c***."

2014 After a 14-year hiatus, D'Angelo releases his third studio album, Black Messiah. It ends up being his last, as pancreatic cancer claims his life in 2025.

2009 The RIAA certifies 5 million ringtone sales of Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," making it the best-selling ringtone ever.

2007 After 717 performances, Celine Dion wraps up her A New Day... residency in Las Vegas. Launched in 2003, the show was supposed to run three years but was so successful it ran for five. With a gross of $385 million, it sets a record for a Vegas residency and leads other artists to follow suit in Sin City, including Britney Spears, Elton John, Adele and U2.

2006 Phish lead singer Trey Anastasio is arrested for driving while intoxicated and heroin possession, the climax of a life-threatening addiction that started when he got hooked on opioids six years earlier. After completing the court-ordered rehab, he gets sober, gets his life back together, and resumes work with the band.

2001 Joe Walsh receives an honorary doctorate of music from Kent State University.

2001 Rufus Thomas - R&B, funk, and soul singer - dies of heart failure in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 84.

1990 Rod Stewart marries the supermodel Rachel Hunter, telling reporters, "I've put my last banana in the fruit bowl." The couple split eight years later.

1988 For his interstate car chase and numerous drug, firearms, and assault offenses, James Brown is sentenced to six and one-half years in a South Carolina prison. He serves a little more than two.

1986 At the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Grateful Dead play their first concert since frontman Jerry Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma six months earlier. With Garcia's heath scare, it was unclear if the band would continue, but Garcia reassures fans with the opening number, "Touch Of Grey," as he sings, "I will get by. I will survive."

1984 Olivia Newton-John marries Xanadu dancer Matt Lattanzi. They divorce in 1995.

1979 Jackie Brenston, R&B singer and saxophonist, dies of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 49. Recorded the original "Rocket 88" with Ike Turner.

1977 The Who perform a secret concert for fan club members at London's Shepperton Studios. The show is filmed for Jeff Stein's upcoming Who documentary The Kids Are Alright.

1975 Parliament release their album Mothership Connection, which takes the George Clinton-led group into their own funky universe. On the album cover, Clinton is shown emerging from a spaceship. On their subsequent tour, they introduce a much larger ship (the "Mothership") that descends to the stage when they play the title track.

1973 Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.