December 9, 1974 – John Lennon stops by the Monday Night Football announcer’s booth at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to meet Howard Cosell. The other celebrity guest that night was California governor Ronald Reagan, who explained the rules of football to Lennon.
December 9, 1992 – Bill Wyman, bassist for the Rolling Stones, quits the group over frustrations stemming from their musical process.
December 9, 1978 – While on bail for allegedly murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious is charged with assault after attacking Todd Smith, singer Patti Smith’s brother, at a Skafish concert at a New York club. Vicious is sentenced to 55 days on Rikers Island for rehab. He died the night of his release after OD’ing on heroin his mother had procured for him.
December 9, 1967 – Jim Morrison is arrested during a Doors concert in New Haven, CT after being maced prior to the show while making out with a young fan in a backstage shower. After the macing, Morrison taunted the police from the stage, and was arrested mid-concert for inciting a riot, indecency and public obscenity. Allegedly, he is the first rock star ever arrested onstage during a performance.
December 9, 1966 – Cream release their debut album, Fresh Cream, which is later certified Gold.
Classic Rock Birthdays
December 9, 1946 – Dennis Dunaway, bass (Alice Cooper)
December 9, 1958 – Nick Seymour, bass (Crowded House)
December 9, 1934 – Junior Wells, vocals, harmonica (d. 1998)
December 9, 1964 – Michael Foster, drums (FireHouse)
December 9, 1969 – Jakob Dylan, guitar, vocals, The Wallflowers
December 9, 1964 – Paul Landers, guitar (Rammstein)
December 9, 1954 – Jack Sonni, guitar (Dire Straits) (d. 2023)
December 9, 1950 – Joan Armatrading, vocals, guitar
December 9, 1972 – Tré Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III), drums (Green Day)
The Most Musically Gifted Children of Rock Stars
Rock Remembrances
December 9, 2019 – Gun-Marie Fredriksson, lead vocalist of Roxette, dies following a 17-year battle with cancer. She was 61. With her male counterpart, Per Gessle, Roxette scored four #1 hits in the U.S. and sold over 35 million records worldwide.
December 9, 2005 – Mike Botts dies of colon cancer. He was 61. Botts was the drummer for Bread and died one day after his birthday. In addition to Bread, Botts was an active session musician who worked with hundreds of artists including Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Peter Cetera, Warren Zevon, Dan Fogelberg, Eddie Money, J.D. Souther and Eric Carmen. He also worked on numerous soundtracks including Batman Beyond, The Simpsons, Footloose and Urban Cowboy.
