It’s December 1st and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2012, Shania Twain performed the first show of her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Shania: Still the One featured Twain’s sister Carrie-Ann and former Canadian pop stars Ryan and Dan Kowarsky (b4-4, RyanDan) as backup singers.
- In 1971, John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band released “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” featuring the Harlem Community Choir. The protest song was written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono using a melody from the traditional folk song “Skewball.”
- In 1989, musician Billy Lyall, an early member of the Bay City Rollers who also played in The Alan Parsons Project, died of AIDS-related illness. He was 36.
- In 1963, Sam Reid was born in Brampton, Ont. In the early ‘80s he co-founded a band called Tokyo, which morphed into Glass Tiger. The group went on to record several successful albums with hits like “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” and “Someday.”
- In 1983, Canada’s Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records over the commercial failure of his electronic music album Trans and his rockabilly album Everybody’s Rockin’. The label said the releases were “unrepresentative” of his music and a violation of his contract. The suit was eventually settled.
- In 1988, Tyler Robert Joseph was born in Columbus, Ohio. A basketball star in school, he decided to pursue music and formed Twenty One Pilots in 2009. Their hits include “Stressed Out” and “Ride.”
And that’s what popped on this day.