December 11

 

Soul music lost one of its greatest voices today in 1964 when Sam Cooke was shot dead at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles by motel manager Bertha Franklin in what was ruled justifiable homicide, though questions about the circumstances of the 33-year-old's death have persisted for six decades…

 

Rock and roll's most scandalous marriage occurred on this day in 1957 when 22-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin once removed Myra Gale Brown, the revelation destroying his career in America when it became public and overshadowing his musical genius for years…

 

We remember blues pioneer Big Mama Thornton on her birthday today in 1926, the powerful vocalist whose original versions of "Hound Dog" and "Ball and Chain" would be covered by Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin respectively, though Thornton never received the fame or fortune she deserved before her death in 1984…

 

Soft rock's melodic craftsman David Gates celebrates his 85th birthday today, the Bread frontman whose smooth vocals and compositions like "Make It with You" and "If" made him one of the early 1970s' most successful purveyors of romantic pop…

 

World music lost its greatest ambassador today in 2012 when sitar master Ravi Shankar died at 92, ending the life of the Indian musician whose collaborations with George Harrison introduced Eastern classical music to Western rock audiences and influenced generations of musicians…

 

Session bass royalty was born today in 1961 when Darryl Jones entered the world, the Chicago musician who has toured with the Rolling Stones since 1993 while his session work with Miles Davis, Sting, and countless others has made him one of rock's most in-demand bassists…

 

Heavy metal's most notorious bassist Nikki Sixx was born today in 1958, the Mötley Crüe co-founder whose outrageous lifestyle and business acumen made the band synonymous with 1980s excess while his autobiography "The Heroin Diaries" documented his near-death from addiction…

 

Raw emotion met stark production today in 1970 with the release of John Lennon's 'Plastic Ono Band,' the primal scream therapy-influenced album that stripped away the Beatles' polish to reveal Lennon's pain, anger, and vulnerability in his most honest artistic statement.