November 28th 1960
Elvis Presley started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', his third US No.1 of 1960. The single included a spoken passage loosely based on Shakespeare.
November 29th 1980
Abba scored their ninth and last UK No.1 single with 'Super Trouper', the group's 25th Top 40 hit in the UK. The name "Super Trouper" referred to the gigantic spotlights used in stadium concerts.
November 30th 1955
was born William Broad (Billy Idol), singer, Generation X, (1979 UK No.11 single 'King Rocker'). Solo (1987 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Mony Mony', plus nine other UK top 40 singles).
November 30th
2021
Adele was at No.1 on the UK chart with her fourth studio album, 30. Its lead single, 'Easy on Me', topped the charts in 27 territories, while 30 was the world's best-selling album of 2021, selling a total of over 5.5 million copies in less than two months of its release.
2012
Rihanna was at No.1 on the UK album chart with her seventh studio album Unapologetic. The album produced seven singles including 'Diamonds', which became Rihanna's twelfth No.1 song, tying her with Madonna and The Supremes for fourth most No.1 songs in the history of the chart.
1982
Michael Jackson's Thriller album was released. It spent 190 weeks on the UK album chart became the biggest selling pop album of all time, with sales over 66 million copies. Seven singles were released from the album, including 'Beat It', which featured guitarists Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather on 'Billie Jean'.
December 1st 1966
Tom Jones was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of 'Green Green Grass Of Home.' It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks giving Decca records its first million selling single by a British artist. Also a No.11 hit in the US.
December 1st 1990
Vanilla Ice started a four-week run at No.1 in the UK with the single 'Ice Ice Baby'. The track sampled the bass intro to the Queen and David Bowie No.1 'Under Pressure'. 'Ice Ice Baby' was initially released as the B-side to the rapper's cover of 'Play That Funky Music', and became the A-side after US DJ's started playing it.
December 2nd 1978
Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy', the singers fifth UK chart topper. A plagiarism lawsuit by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor confirmed that the song had been derived from his composition 'Taj Mahal'. Stewart agreed to donate all his royalties from the song to United Nations Children's Fund.
Born Today In Music December 2nd
1991
Charlie Puth American singer and songwriter Charlie Puth best known for writing and singing on Wiz Khalifa's US No.1 single 'See You Again', taken from the Furious 7 soundtrack.
1981
Britney Spears, US singer, (1999 US & UK No.1 single ''Baby One More Time', 1999 album 'Baby One More Time', spent 82 weeks on the UK chart. Biggest selling teenage act in the world with album sales over 40m).
1978
Nelly Furtado Canadian singer and songwriter Nelly Furtado. Her debut album Whoa, Nelly! (2000) spawned two top 10 hit singles; 'I'm Like a Bird' and 'Turn Off the Light'. Furtado's third album Loose (2006) became her best selling album with 12 million copies sold worldwide.
December 3rd 2006
The reformed Take That topped the UK singles and album charts simultaneously for the first time ever in their career. The single ‘Patience’ remained at number for the second week, and Beautiful World the group’s new album entered the chart at No.1.
December 4th 1971
Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK chart with the Four Symbols album, otherwise known as Led Zeppelin IV. Featuring the 8-minute track 'Stairway To Heaven', the album stayed on the US chart for one week short of five years, selling over 23 million copies in the US alone.
December 5th 1987
Belinda Carlisle went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Heaven Is a Place on Earth', the ex Go-Go's member first solo No.1, also a No.1 hit in the UK. The promotional video was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance of Carlisle's husband Morgan Mason.
December 6th 1986
Europe were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Final Countdown'. They became only the second Swedish act to score a UK No.1. The song reached No.1 in 25 countries and the song's lyrics were inspired by David Bowie's song 'Space Oddity'
December 7th
1985
Mr Mister started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Broken Wings', a UK No.4 hit.
1991
George Michael and Elton John were at No.1 in the UK with a live version of 'Don't Let The Sun Go down On Me', (a hit for Elton in 1974). All proceeds from the hit went to aids charities.
1991
U2 went to No.1 on the US album charts with 'Achtung Baby'. Featuring 'One', Zoo Station', 'The Fly' and 'Even Better Than The Real Thing'.
December 7th
1974
Barry White was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'You're The First, The Last, My Everything', the singers first UK No.1. Originally written in the 1950s as a country song with the title 'You're My First, You're My Last, My In-Between.'
1974
Carl Douglas started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Kung Fu Fighting'. The song was recorded in 10 minutes, had started out as a B-side and went on to sell over 10 million.
1976
The Eagles released 'New Kid in Town', which became the group's third US No.1 in February the following year. The single written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther was released as the first single from their fifth album Hotel California.
December 8th
1973
Roxy Music had their first UK No.1 album when 'Stranded' went to the top for one week. The sleeve featured Playboy's Playmate of The Year, model Marilyn Cole, (who was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold).
1976
The Eagles released their fifth studio album Hotel California, their first album with guitarist Joe Walsh, who had replaced founding member Bernie Leadon. The album topped the US chart for eight weeks (non-consecutively) and at the 20th Grammy Awards, the Eagles won a Grammy Award for 'Hotel California', which won Record of the Year. Worldwide sales now stand at over 32 million.
1984
Frankie Goes To Hollywood were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Power Of Love'. The group's third No.1 of the year and final UK No.1. This made them the first group since Gerry And The Pacemakers to have a UK No.1 with their first three singles.
December 9th 1978
Boney M had their second UK No.1 single with their version of the Harry Belafonte 1957 hit 'Mary's Boy Child'. On the list of the all-time best selling singles in the UK, Boney M. appear in fifth place (with 'Rivers of Babylon') and tenth place (with 'Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord'). The single sold almost 1.8 million copies.
Chic started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Le Freak.' Nile Rodgers later stated that the song was devised during New Years Eve of 1977, as a result of him and bassist Bernard Edwards being refused entrance to Studio 54, in New York City, where they had been invited by Grace Jones, due to Jones's failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "Fuck off!" rather than "Freak out!"
December 9th
1989
Billy Joel started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'We Didn't Start The Fire'. Its lyrics are made up from rapid-fire brief allusions to over a hundred headline events between 1949 (Joel was born on May 9 of that year) and 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front.
1995
Michael Jackson scored his 6th solo UK No.1 single when 'Earth Song' started a 6-week run at the top of the charts. It gave Jackson the UK Christmas No.1 of 1995 and his best-selling UK single ever. The song kept the first single released by The Beatles in 25 years, 'Free as a Bird', off the No.1 position.
December 10th
1966
The Beach Boys went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Good Vibrations', the group's third US No.1. As a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up "vibrations" from people, so that the dog would bark at "bad vibrations" Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.
1975
ABBA released 'Fernando'. The song is one of ABBA's best-selling singles of all time, with six million copies sold in 1976 alone and is one of fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. The song was written for group member Anni-Frid Lyngstad and was included on her debut 1975 album Frida ensam.
December 11th
1961
The Marvelettes went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Please Mr Postman'. The session musicians on the track included 22 year old Marvin Gaye on drums. The song gave The Carpenters a US No.1 and UK No.2 single in 1975.
1982
Singer, TV actress and dancer Toni Basil went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Mickey', making her a US One Hit Wonder. Also a No.2 hit in the UK, the song was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as 'Kitty', and was first recorded by UK group Racey during 1979.
1983
The Flying Pickets were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Yazoo song 'Only You'. Also this years Christmas No.1 and the first a cappella chart-topper in the UK.
December 12th
1915 Was born
Frank Sinatra American singer, actor and producer, who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He was the first singer to encounter 'pop hysteria', and his single 'My Way' holds the UK longevity record of 136 weeks on the charts. Sinatra died on 14th May 1998 after a heart attack.
1981
The Human League had their only UK No.1 single with 'Don't You Want Me.' The Christmas hit of 81, the biggest seller of 1981 and Virgin Records first No.1 UK single. The group's singer Phil Oakey disliked the song so much that it was relegated to the last track on their latest album Dare.
December 13th
1970
Dave Edmunds was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the 1955 Smiley Lewis hit 'I Hear You Knocking.' The Welsh singer, songwriter and producers only No.1 hit.
1986
Bruce Hornsby & The Range went to No.1 on the US singles chart, with 'The Way It Is', a No.15 hit in the UK. Written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John Hornsby, it made explicit reference to the American Civil Rights Movement. The song was heavily sampled by Tupac Shakur in his song, 'Changes' from 1998.
Born Today In Music December 13th
1975
Tom Delonge, Blink 182, (2000 UK No.2 single 'All The Small Things' 2001 US No.1 album 'Take Off Your...').
1981
Amy Lynn Lee, singer with American rock band Evanescence who had the 2003 UK No.1 & US No.5 single ‘Bring Me To Life’, and the 2003 UK No.1 & US No.3 album Fallen.
1989
American singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift. Her third single, 'Our Song', made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a No.1 song on the US country chart. She has sold over 40 million albums and 130 million digital single downloads worldwide. She is also the recipient of ten Grammy Awards, five Guinness World Records, one Emmy Award, 23 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, eight Academy of Country Music Awards, and one Brit Award.
December 14th
1968
Marvin Gaye scored his first US No.1 single when 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' started a five-week run at the top of the charts. It was Marvin's 15th solo hit and also his first UK No.1 single in March 69. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles as well as Gladys Knight & the Pips.
1991
Michael Jackson started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his eighth studio album 'Dangerous'. The album has sold over 32 million copies worldwide making it one of the best selling albums of all time. Nine singles were released from the album spanning two years (1991–1993).
December 15th 1984
Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid entered the UK chart at No.1 and stayed at the top for five weeks. It became the biggest selling UK single of all time with sales over 3 and a half million. Band Aid was masterminded by former Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, who had been moved by a TV news story of famine in Ethiopia. Geldof had the idea of raising funds with a one-off charity single featuring the cream of the current pop world. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, Culture Club, George Michael, Sting, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo and Bananarama all appeared on the recording.
December 16th 2001
Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra 1967 No.1 hit 'Somethin' Stupid'. The Christmas No.1 for this year. From William's album Swing When You're Winning.
