View Full Version : Pop's December Curse


Steve M.
12-11-2003, 08:36 PM
Some of the absolute worst things to happen to popular music occured in this month. Take a look at this list of December tragedies:

December 2, 1981: Britney Spears's birth.

December 3, 1971: The Montreux Casino burns down during a Frank Zappa concert when some moron fires a flare gun in the auditorium. (Deep Purple writes and records the song "Smoke On the Water" about the tragedy.)

December 3, 1979: A fatal stampeding occurs at a Who concert in Cincinnati.

December 5, 1993: Frank Zappa dies of prostate cancer a few weeks short of his 53rd birthday.

December 6, 1969: The Rolling Stones's Altamont disaster occurs.

December 6, 1988: Roy Orbison dies at 52.

December 8, 1980: John Lennon is shot to death.

December 16, 1984: Madonna's "Like a Virgin" - the song repsonsible for her horrid career - begins the first week of its six-week run at the top of the Billboard singles chart.

December 31, 1985: Rick Nelson is killed in a plane crash.

December 1979: Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's disco duet, Styx's awful power ballad "Babe," and that damn Rupert Holmes song about pina coladas all hit number one on the Billboard singles charts.

P.S. The editors of Spin also cited December 9, 1957 as one of the worst days of all time in popular music - the day Donny Osmond was born.

Dean Winchester
12-11-2003, 08:44 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.
December 1979: Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's disco duet, Styx's awful power ballad "Babe," and that damn Rupert Holmes song about pina coladas all hit number one on the Billboard singles charts.

what is wrong with NO MORE TEARS? IMO, it is one of the greatest "diva" moments recorded. Streisand's career could use her going back and doing another dance record, ala Cher. All the endless standards albums she does get old. One of the plusses of the remastered "BAD GIRLS" cd is that it has the full length 12" of this song, with the "Enough is enough is enough is enough is enough is enough etc...." climax not in the single version. Plus, it was #1 the week I was born, so I gotta give it some creedence.

AllIWantIsYourClutch
12-11-2003, 08:54 PM
:lol: That's funny.

Steve M.
01-02-2004, 12:11 AM
Correction: The fire that burned down the Montreux casino and inspired Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" occured on December 7, 1971, not December 3. Sorry about that. :o

*Pleasant Tomorrow*
01-02-2004, 07:57 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.


December 2, 1981: Britney Spears's birth.


:rotflmao:

Steve M.
12-09-2004, 01:35 PM
Dimebag Darell's murder last night only serves to illustrate the point of this thread - this month is cursed! :(

Hollow
12-09-2004, 03:06 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.
Correction: The fire that burned down the Montreux casino and inspired Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" occured on December 7, 1971, not December 3. Sorry about that. :o
HAPPY NEW YEAR! :wave:

¤I Love Clay Aiken¤
12-09-2004, 07:47 PM
I love No More Tears. One of my favorite songs.

Steve M.
12-09-2004, 08:12 PM
Originally posted by ¤I Love Clay Aiken¤
I love No More Tears. One of my favorite songs.

When Babs and Donna sing Enough is enough is enough is enough. . . . over and over and over ad infintum et ad nauseum, I want to shout, "Enough is enough! SHUT UP ABOUT IT ALREADY!!"

But at least it's not as bad as Rupert Holmes's pina colada ditty. :p

EmoJoe
12-09-2004, 09:23 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.


December 2, 1981: Britney Spears's birth.

:rotflmao:

Cactus Jack
12-09-2004, 10:54 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.


December 2, 1981: Britney Spears's birth.
. :rotflmao:

ABlairican Pie
12-10-2004, 02:10 AM
And Vince Neil getting away with murder in the vehicular homicide of Hanoi Rocks' drummer Razzle is another example. That was a big deal 20 years ago. Never heard Hanoi Rocks? Thank Vince for that.:mad:

His sentence was so light it was a mere slap on the wrist.

Dean Winchester
12-10-2004, 02:38 PM
how did you forget these?

December 1991 - Right Said Fred releases "I'm Too Sexy"
December 1997 - Celine Dion releases "My Heart Will Go On"
December 2001 - Creed and Garth Brooks have #1 albums

Steve M.
12-10-2004, 03:11 PM
Egad, I did! And, I also forgot this:

December 10, 1967: Otis Redding is killed in a crash of his own private plane in Wisconsin. :(

*Pleasant Tomorrow*
12-10-2004, 05:35 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.
Dimebag Darell's murder last night only serves to illustrate the point of this thread - this month is cursed! :( My Grampa died this month about 13 years ago. My mom told me it was rainy and there was no snow. That makes it even worse.

Steve M.
12-20-2004, 10:37 PM
Originally posted by Steve M.
Some of the absolute worst things to happen to popular music occured in this month.

And here's one more: it was on December 15, 1944, that Glenn Miller's plane was lost over the English Channel. :(

James
12-21-2004, 03:49 AM
One more: December 20, 1999, was the day country-western singer Hank Snow, famous for "I'm Movin' On" and "I've Been Everywhere", passed away at 85. :(