Events in Music
Film Premier
Dec 18 "The Pink Panther" film premieres directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers and David Niven with theme by Henry Mancini
- Dec 26 "Double Dublin" opens at Little Theater NYC for 4 performances
- Dec 26 The Beatles release "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" in the US
- Dec 28 "Double Dublin" closes at Little Theater NYC after 4 performances
- Dec 28 "Jennie" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 82 performances
Event of Interest
Dec 28 Merle Haggard 1st appearance on country chart with "Sing a Sad Song"
Merle Haggard
- Dec 31 Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir play music together for the 1st time
Birthdays in Music
- Dec 3 Joe Lally, American musician (Fugazi)
- Dec 7 Barbara Weathers, vocalist (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
- Dec 11 Jon Brion, American musician/record producer
- Dec 12 Ai Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
- Dec 16 Jeff Carson, American singer
- Dec 18 Pauline Ester, French singer
- Dec 19 Jennifer Beals, actress (Flashdance, Bride), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 24 Mary Ramsey, singer (10,000 Maniacs)
- Dec 26 Lars Ulrich, Danish/US heavy metal drummer (Metallica-Kill 'em All)
- Dec 28 Mel Stottlemyre Jr, pitcher (Toronto Blues Jays)
- Dec 31 Scott Ian, American heavy metal guitarist (Anthrax-I'm the Man), born in Queens, New York
Deaths in Music
- Dec 5 Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer, dies at 58
- Dec 13 Stan Jones, American songwriter, composer and actor (Rio Grande, The Sheriff of Cochise), dies of cancer at 49
- Dec 14 Dinah Washington, American singer (What a Difference a Day Makes), dies of sleeping pill overdose at 39
- Dec 18 Winifried P I Zillig, German composer/conductor (Opfer), dies at 58
- Dec 20 Paul Constantinescu, composer, dies at 54
- Dec 28 Paul Hindemith, German composer (Composer's World), dies at 68