This Day in Music History – December 4th

1956 – Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash recorded together (the Million Dollar Quartet). The session would not be released for 25 years.

1961 – Gene Chandler’s “Duke of Earl” was released.

1971 – The Montreaux Casino was destroyed by fire during a show by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

1976 – Tommy Bolin of Deep Purple died of a drug overdose at the age of 25.

1980 – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones made the announcement of their decision not to re-form Led Zeppelin in the wake of the death of drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham.

1987 – Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn. She changed her mind, but would file again in January 1988.

1987 – Metallica released the “Cliff ‘Em All” video collection. The bootleg and unprofessional recordings had been shot during 1982-1986 when Cliff Burton was still with the band.

1988 – Roy Orbison gave his final concert in Akron, OH. He died two days later.

1989 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that said that Prince did not steal the song, “U Got The Look” from his half-sister. Lorna Nelson claimed the lyrics were similar to ones she had written.

1990 – Madonna appeared on “Nightline” to defend her “Justify My Love” video. She denied the video’s explicit contents were intended to stir up controversy and get her publicity. The video was banned by MTV.

1991 – Paula Abdul was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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