December 30

 

The Beatles' end became official today in 1970 when Paul McCartney filed suit against his former bandmates to dissolve their partnership, the legal action making public what fans had feared since their breakup earlier that year and ending rock's greatest collaboration…

 

The Monkees' manufactured perfection cracked today in 1969 when Peter Tork quit the band, buying himself out of his contract for $150,000 to escape the pressures of being a prefabricated pop star and pursue his own musical vision…

 

We remember The Monkees' heartthrob Davy Jones on his birthday today in 1945, the British singer whose diminutive stature and boy-next-door charm made him the band's teen idol focal point before his sudden heart attack death in 2012 shocked fans worldwide…

 

We honor The Monkees' country gentleman Mike Nesmith on his birthday today in 1942, the wool-hatted musician who fought to make the manufactured band legitimate before his solo career and pioneering music videos proved his artistic vision, until his death in 2021…

 

Mountain's bass-playing producer Felix Pappalardi was born on this day in 1939, the musician who produced Cream's 'Disraeli Gears' before forming his own power trio, only to be shot and killed by his wife in 1983 in a tragic domestic incident…

 

We remember rock and roll's founding rhythm Bo Diddley on his birthday today in 1928, the guitarist whose distinctive "shave and a haircut" beat influenced everyone from Buddy Holly to the Rolling Stones before his death in 2008 ended a career of pure innovation…

 

Pop's most tragic falsetto Del Shannon was born today in 1934, the singer whose "Runaway" became a classic before depression and career struggles led him to take his own life in 1990, silencing one of rock's most distinctive voices…

 

Punk poetry's godmother Patti Smith celebrates her 79th birthday today, the New Jersey poet whose fusion of rock energy and beat generation consciousness on 'Horses' made her one of music's most influential artists across five decades…

 

Electric Light Orchestra's mastermind Jeff Lynne turns 78 today, the British producer-songwriter whose orchestral pop with ELO and production work for Tom Petty, George Harrison, and the Traveling Wilburys made him one of rock's most successful studio wizards…

 

Beatles tragedy was narrowly averted today in 1999 when George Harrison was stabbed repeatedly by intruder Michael Abram who broke into his Friar Park home, the former Beatle surviving the attack that left him with punctured lungs and multiple injuries…

 

Rock met Hollywood royalty today in 2000 when Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson, the union of the shaggy Southern rocker and Goldie Hawn's daughter lasting seven years before divorce ended one of the early 2000s' highest-profile music marriages.