December 1948 in Music History

Events in Music

Music History

Dec 23 "Cinderella" the first full-length ballet by Frederick Ashton with music by Sergei Prokofiev is first presented by Sadler's Wells Ballet at Covent Garden, London

Dec 29 "Rape of Lucretia" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 23 performances
Dec 30 "Kiss Me, Kate" opens at New Century Theater NYC for 1077 performances

Music Premiere

Dec 30 Cole Porter's musical "Kiss Me Kate" opens at the New Century Theatre, NYC, later transferred to Sam S. Shubert Theatre; runs for 1077 performances

Birthdays in Music

Dec 3 (John) "Ozzy" Osbourne, English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter (Black Sabbath), born in Birmingham, England
Dec 4 Southside Johnny [Lyons], American rocker (Asbury Jukes - "I Don't Want Go Home"; "Talk To Me"), born in Neptune, New Jersey
Dec 6 Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German rocker (Stinker), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
Dec 7 Gary Morris, American country singer ("100% Chance of Rain"), and actor (The Colbys), born in Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 7 Mads Vinding, Danish jazz double-bassist, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Dec 7 Yoko Morishita, Japanese prima ballerina (Baterina No Habataki), born in Hiroshima, Japan
Dec 10 Jessica Cleaves, American soul singer and songwriter (The Friends of Distinction - "Grazing In The Grass"; Earth, Wind & Fire; Parliament Funkadelic), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2014)
Dec 11 Chester Thompson, American session and touring drummer and percussionist (Frank Zappa; Genesis; Chester Thompson Trio), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Dec 11 Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek guitarist and composer, born in Athens, Greece
Dec 12 Ray Jackson, British folk-rock mandolin and harmonica player (Lindisfarne, 1970-90), born in Wallsend, Northumberland, England
Dec 13 Davy O'List, British rock guitarist (The Nice. 1967-68; Roxy Music, 1970-72), born in Chiswick, England
Dec 13 Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, American rock guitarist (Steely Dan, 1972-74; The Doobie Brothers, 1974-79), and missile defense consultant, born in Washington, D.C.
Dec 13 Ted Nugent, American rock guitarist ("Cat Scratch Fever"; Damn Yankees) and right-wing gun advocate, born in Detroit, Michigan
Dec 17 James Alexander, American R&B bassist (The Bar-Kays - "Soul Finger"; "Shaft)
Dec 17 Jim Bonfanti, American drummer (Raspberries - "Go All the Way"), born in Windber, Pennsylvania
Dec 18 Bill Nelson, British progressive rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Be-Bop Deluxe), born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Dec 18 Laurent Voulzy, French singer and composer, born in Paris, France
Dec 20 Alan Parsons, British music producer (The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot) and recording engineer (The Dark Side of the Moon; Let it Be), born in London, England
Dec 20 Stevie Wright, Australian singer with the Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind"), born in Leeds, West Yorkshire (d. 2015)
Dec 21 (Wilhelm) "Willi" Resetarits, Austrian singer and human rights activist, born in Stinatz, Austria (d. 2022)
Dec 22 Rick Nielsen, American rock vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter (Cheap Trick- "I Want You to Want Me"; "The Flame"), born in Elmhurst, Illinois

Barbara Mandrell (74 years old)

Dec 25 American country singer and TV host (Mandrell Sisters), born in Houston, Texas

Dec 25 Merry Clayton, American soul, gospel, and session singer (Ray Charles; Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter"; Ringo Starr - "Oh My My"), and documentary subject (20 Feet From Stardom), born in Gert Town, New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 27 Larry Byrom, American rock guitarist (Steppenwolf, 1969-71), born in Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 27 Martin Birch, British sound engineer and record producer (Whitesnake; Fleetwood Mac; Iron Maiden), born in Woking, Surrey, England (d. 2020)
Dec 28 Mary Weiss, American pop singer (The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"), born in Jamaica, Queens, NYC

Donna Summer (1948-2012)

Dec 31 American disco and pop singer-songwriter ("Love to Love You, Baby"; "On the Radio"; "Last Dance"), born in Boston, Massachusetts

Dec 31 Stephen Cleobury, British organist and music director (King's College - Cambridge, 1982-2019), born in Bromley, England (d. 2019)

Deaths in Music

Dec 7 Godfrey Turner, composer, dies at 35
Dec 14 R. O. Morris [Reginald Owen], British composer & music teacher, dies at 62
Dec 17 Edgar Istel, German composer, dies at 68