History Highlight:

Today in 1964, the animated TV special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer debuted on NBC. Based on the 1949 song written by Johnny Marks, the TV special follows Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards), who, after being told he cannot play in any Reindeer Games due to his glowing nose, sets out on an Arctic journey where he meets Hermey the elf, prospector Yukon Cornelius, and a group of Misfit Toys, all while trying to hide from the Abominable Snow Monster. The story is narrated by Sam the Snowman, voiced by Burl Ives — one of the only American actors in the otherwise Canadian cast; the producers hired Canadian radio actors as the voice cast given their experience doing radio dramas. The longest-running holiday special in TV history, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer aired on NBC from 1964 until 1971, when it moved to CBS. This year, 60 years after debuting on the network, the special returns to NBC for a special 75-minute telecast at 7 p.m. CT on December 6 — the exact same date it premiered in 1964 as part of the General Electric Fantasy Hour. In addition to the title song, other songs included in the special — in particular, “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Silver and Gold” — have become perennial favorites.

Also, Today In:

1949 - Blues artist Lead Belly died. He was best-known for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced which dealt with topics ranging from liquor to prison life to racism to cowboys to politics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

1969 - The Rolling Stones performed a free concert at the Altamont Speedway in northern California with support from Jefferson Airplane, Santana, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform following CSNY, but declined to play shortly before their scheduled appearance due to the increasing violence at the venue. And in fact, that's what the event is best-known for -- its considerable violence, including the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter and three accidental deaths: two caused by a hit-and-run car accident, and one by LSD-induced drowning in an irrigation canal. Many concert goers were injured, numerous cars were stolen, and there was extensive property damage.

1969 - Led Zeppelin made their debut on the U.S. singles chart with "Whole Lotta Love", which went on to make No.4 on the chart and was the first of six Top 40 singles for the group in the U.S.

1969 - Steam's hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" hit No. 1 in America.

1973 - The Steve Miller Band received their first Gold album for The Joker which went on to sell one million copies in the U.S.

1975 - Paul Simon went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Still Crazy After All These Years, his first U.S. No. 1 solo album.

1977 - Jackson Browne released his fifth album, Running on Empty. It features the singles "Running on Empty," "The Load-Out"/"Stay," and "You Love the Thunder."

1977 - Al Green released his 12th studio album, The Belle Album.

1978 - Sex Pistol Sid Vicious smashed a glass in the face of Patti Smith's brother Todd Smith during a fight at New York City club Hurrah.

1980 - U2 performed their first concert in North America at The Ritz in New York City.

1986 - Ringo Starr became the first Beatle to get into advertising after signing a seven-figure deal to be the spokesperson for a wine cooler company.

1988 - Roy Orbison, in the midst of a career resurgence thanks to his supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, died of heart failure at age 52. His album Mystery Girl, completed at the time of his death, was released in January 1989.

1993 - Enigma released their second studio album, The Cross of Changes. It features the singles "Return to Innocence," "The Eyes of Truth," "Age of Loneliness," and "Out from the Deep."

1994 - Bush released their debut album, Sixteen Stone. The album is a ‘90s grunge staple which took off in America but was largely ignored in their native England. Becoming the band’s most popular album, the release peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 while also containing several successful singles like Comedown, Machinehead and Glycerin.

1994 - Black Sheep released their second studio album, Non-Fiction. It features “Without a Doubt” and “North South East West.”

1995 - Michael Jackson collapsed and was treated for dehydration while rehearsing for the HBO special Michael Jackson: One Night Only at The Beacon Theater in New York.

1995 - Four months after the death of guitarist Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead announced that they were splitting up. They would tour again from 1998-2002 as The Other Ones and in 2003 and 2009 as The Dead.

1995 - Coolio won Single Of The Year for "Gangsta's Paradise" at the Billboard Music Awards. When he performed the song at the ceremony, he was joined by Stevie Wonder, whose "Pastime Paradise" was the basis for Coolio's track.

1997 - Metallica entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart at number one with their seventh studio album ReLoad which spent one week on top of the chart and went on to sell four million copies in the U.S. This was Metallica's third album to debut at number one in the U.S.

2005 - Lil Wayne released his fifth studio album, Tha Carter II. It features “Fireman,” “Hustler Musik,” and “Shooter.”

2005 - T-Pain released his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga. It features “I’m Sprung” and “I’m ‘n Luv (wit a Stripper).”

2009 - Bruce Springsteen was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors for his contributions to American culture. President Barack Obama said "I'm the President, but he's The Boss."

2011 - The Black Keys released their seventh studio album, El Camino. It features the singles "Lonely Boy," "Gold on the Ceiling," "Dead and Gone," "Little Black Submarines," and "Run Right Back.”

2011 - Singer/songwriter Dobie Gray died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 71. His hit records included 'The 'In' Crowd' in 1965 and 'Drift Away', which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, and went on to sell over one million copies.

2013 - The electric guitar played by Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was sold at an auction in New York for $965,000. The Fender Stratocaster had been in the possession of a New Jersey family for 48 years after Dylan left it on a private plane.

2015 - Carole King was celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors, where 73-year-old Aretha Franklin brought the audience to its feet with her rendition of "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman," one of many classic songs written by King.

2018 - English singer, songwriter and guitarist Pete Shelley died at 63.

Birthdays:

Ira Gershwin — brother of George and co-writer of songs like “Someone to Watch Over Me” — was born today in 1896.

Hugo Peretti — who produced hits for Jimmie Rodgers, Perry Como, the Tokens, and Elvis Presley — was born today in 1916.

Dave Brubeck, jazz piano legend, was born today in 1920.

Helen Cornelius — who recorded several hits with Jim Ed Brown (“I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You,” “Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers’) — is 84.

Robb Royer, founding member of Bread, is 83.

Mike Smith, singer for The Dave Clark Five, was born today in 1943.

Keith West (“Excerpt From a Teenage Opera”) is 81.

Soul and funk singer Frankie Beverly of Maze was born today in 1946. He died on Sept. 10, 2024.

Linda Creed — songwriter who co-wrote "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)," "People Make the World Go Round," and "The Rubberband Man" — was born today in 1948.

Chris Stamey — cofounder of the dB’s, and Alex Chilton collaborator — is 71.

Rick Buckler, former drummer of the Jam, is 70.

Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, was born today in 1956.

Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M., is 69.

Adrian Borland, frontman of the Sound, was born today in 1957.

Pixies drummer Dave Lovering is 64.

Jonathan Melvoin, former Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist and brother of Wendy and Susannah Melvoin, was born today in 1961.

Ben Watt of Everything But the Girl is 63.

Ulf Ekberg, keyboardist from Ace of Base, is 55.

A Boogie wit da Hoodie is 30.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts, Deadline, NBCUniversal Media, and Wikipedia.