11 ready-to-read segments for December 11, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1964, 62 years ago: Sam Cooke is shot dead days before "A Change Is Gonna Come" single. He was killed at a Los Angeles motel, and an edited single of his civil-rights song reached shops two weeks later. It grew into an anthem of the movement. Here's Sam Cooke with “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
On this day in 1961, 65 years ago: The Marvelettes give Motown its first No. 1 with "Please Mr. Postman." The Marvelettes' single reached the top of the Hot 100 this week, the first time a Motown record had done so. It also sold a million copies.
On this day in 1968, 58 years ago: The Rolling Stones start filming Rock and Roll Circus. Over two days the Stones hosted The Who, Jethro Tull and the Dirty Mac, a one-off group with John Lennon and Eric Clapton. Apart from one clip, the show went unreleased until 1996.
On this day in 1982, 44 years ago: The Jam play their farewell show in Brighton. An extra date at the Brighton Conference Centre became the band's last concert. Within months Paul Weller had launched the Style Council with keyboardist Mick Talbot.
On this day in 1982, 44 years ago: Toni Basil's "Mickey" tops the Hot 100. Basil's single spent this one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 before Hall & Oates took over with "Maneater."
On this day in 1803, 223 years ago: French composer Hector Berlioz is born. The French composer, conductor and critic introduced his Symphonie fantastique in 1830.
On this day in 1916, 110 years ago: Pérez Prado, the King of the Mambo, is born in Cuba. His big-band mambos travelled the world. His "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" held No. 1 in America for ten weeks in 1955, and he wrote "Mambo No. 5."
On this day in 1926, 100 years ago: Blues singer Big Mama Thornton is born. Her 1952 recording of "Hound Dog" spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the R&B chart. Janis Joplin's band later took her "Ball 'n' Chain" to a huge audience.
On this day in 1944, 82 years ago: Brenda Lee, "Little Miss Dynamite," is born. She recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" at 13 in 1958. Sixty-five years later, in December 2023, it finally hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, with Lee aged 78.
On this day in 1973, 53 years ago: Brooklyn rapper Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) is born. He teamed with Talib Kweli as Black Star in 1996, then won strong reviews for his 1999 solo debut, Black on Both Sides.
On this day in 2012, 14 years ago: Sitar master Ravi Shankar dies at 92. George Harrison travelled to India in 1966 to study sitar with him. He also played the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969.
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