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Rock 'n' Roll Almanac for Friday, December 26, 2025

90 years ago 1935Abdul “Duke” Fakir of The Four Tops is born.
85 years ago 1940Record producer Phil Spector is born.
79 years ago 1946Bob Carpenter of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is born.
70 years ago 1955Bill Haley and the Comets' See You Later Alligator is released by Decca Records. Topping out at #6 on the pop chart, it will be his biggest hit since Rock Around the Clock.
69 years ago 1956Fats Domino's Blue Monday enters the pop chart, eventually to peak at #9. Mickey and Sylvia make their pop chart debut with Love is Strange, which peaks at #13.
67 years ago 1958Johnny Cash tops a country & western bill also including Tex Ritter and the Sons of the Pioneers, opening at the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas.
63 years ago 1962The Scorpions' James Kottak is born.
62 years ago 1963Lars Ulrich of Metallica is born.
62 years ago 1963Capitol Records, the EMI-affiliated company which has rejected U.S. rights to every Beatles record offered so far, finally rush-releases I Want to Hold Your Hand backed with I Saw Her Standing There. Within five weeks, it will be #1.
58 years ago 1967The Beatles self-directed film, Magical Mystery Tour premieres on BBC-TV. Audiences are mystified, critics either disapointed or contemptuous, and The Beatles suffer their first flop.
57 years ago 1968Led Zeppelin begins its first U.S. tour.
56 years ago 1969Peter Klett of Candlebox is born.
49 years ago 1976Bluesman Freddie King dies in Dallas at the age of 42. He was a major influence on many British rockers such as Eric Clapton.
38 years ago 1987Run D.M.C.'s Jason Mizell is hospitalized when his Jeep is hit head-on by a wrong-way driver.

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