10 ready-to-read segments for December 4, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1965, 61 years ago: The Byrds reach No. 1 with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" Pete Seeger built the song almost entirely from verses in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and the Byrds' version took it to the top of the Hot 100. Here's The Byrds with “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
On this day in 1956, 70 years ago: The Million Dollar Quartet jams at Sun Studio. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash ended up together at Sun in Memphis. The tapes of their session finally came out in Europe in 1981.
On this day in 1964, 62 years ago: Beatles for Sale is released in the UK. The band's fourth album, home to "Eight Days a Week" and "No Reply," spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in Britain.
On this day in 1988, 38 years ago: Roy Orbison plays Ohio's Front Row Theater, two days before his death. After the show in Highland Heights he went home to Hendersonville, Tennessee, to rest. On December 6 he died of a heart attack at 52, weeks after the Traveling Wilburys' debut album came out.
On this day in 1955, 71 years ago: Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is born in Mississippi. Her 1993 album Blue Light 'til Dawn mixed blues, pop, jazz and country, and she has won two Grammys for jazz vocals.
On this day in 1969, 57 years ago: Jay-Z is born in New York City. He started Roc-A-Fella Records as an independent label in 1995, dropped his debut Reasonable Doubt the next year, and has since collected 25 Grammys.
On this day in 1984, 42 years ago: Jelly Roll is born in Tennessee. His first country single, "Son of a Sinner," hit No. 1 on country radio in 2023, and he took the CMA's New Artist of the Year that November.
On this day in 1976, 50 years ago: Composer Benjamin Britten dies at 63. Months earlier he had become the first composer given a life peerage. His Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra stayed his most played piece.
On this day in 1993, 33 years ago: Frank Zappa dies at 52. The guitarist, composer and satirist was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later.
On this day in 2011, 15 years ago: Howlin' Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin dies at 80. Wolf brought him to Chicago in 1954 to play in his band, and his jagged, surprising lines earned him a spot on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest guitarists.
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