10 ready-to-read segments for December 10, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1967, 59 years ago: Otis Redding dies in a plane crash at 26. His plane went down in Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin, killing four of the Bar-Kays too. Days earlier he had recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", the first posthumous No. 1 on the Hot 100. Here's Otis Redding with “(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay.”
On this day in 1949, 77 years ago: Fats Domino records "The Fat Man" in New Orleans. Cut at J&M Recording Studio on Rampart Street, it is often named among the earliest rock and roll records, and it became the first of them to sell a million copies.
On this day in 1966, 60 years ago: "Good Vibrations" reaches No. 1. Brian Wilson built the Beach Boys' single over about 20 sessions in four Hollywood studios across seven months. It was already their first million-seller and a UK No. 1.
On this day in 1976, 50 years ago: Queen release A Day at the Races. Their fifth album went to No. 1 in the UK and Japan and No. 5 in the US. Its lead single "Somebody to Love" reached No. 2 in Britain.
On this day in 1983, 43 years ago: McCartney and Jackson's "Say Say Say" hits No. 1. The duet began its run at the top of the Hot 100 and held on through the end of the year.
On this day in 1822, 204 years ago: Composer César Franck is born in Liège. His Violin Sonata in A major, a wedding gift for violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, became his most popular work. His motet "Panis angelicus" is among his best-known short pieces.
On this day in 1908, 118 years ago: Olivier Messiaen is born in Avignon. He wrote his Quartet for the End of Time in a WWII prison camp, where it premiered in January 1941 for prisoners and guards. Birdsong runs all through his music.
On this day in 1926, 100 years ago: Blues guitarist Guitar Slim is born. "The Things That I Used to Do", produced by a young Ray Charles, spent weeks at No. 1 on the R&B chart and sold over a million copies.
On this day in 1957, 69 years ago: Producer Paul Hardcastle is born. His 1985 single "19" held No. 1 in the UK for five weeks and also topped the US dance chart.
On this day in 1996, 30 years ago: Country singer Faron Young dies. He turned Willie Nelson's "Hello Walls" into a country No. 1 and pop crossover in 1961. "It's Four in the Morning" was his last country chart-topper and reached No. 3 in the UK.
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