Cheap Trick' Rick Nielsen was born on this day in 1948. His mother and father were both opera singers that also operated a music store in Rockford, Illinois, giving their son the opportunity to develop multi-instrumental skills during his teen years. After deciding to concentrate on guitar and keyboards, Nielsen joined his first band, a group first dubbed The Phaetons, which soon after became the Grim Reapers and added his future Cheap Trick band mate Tom Petersson, before opting for another new name, Fuse. After Fuse's debut album fizzled, Nielsen quit to briefly take over Todd Rundgren's vacated spot in Nazz. Cheap Trick came together after Nielsen, Petersson and Bun E. Carlos had a brief stint in a Philadelphia based group named Sick Man of Europe. Nielsen and Carlos bailed to start Cheap Trick in 1973, with Petersson joining late that year and Robin Zander signing on late the following year.
Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on December 22 include...
1939 Big Brother & the Holding Company's James Gurley is born.
1944 Animals Barry Jenkins is born.
1967 Pink Floyd, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Animals and Soft Machine perform at a Christmas concert at the Olympia in London.
1973 Stephen Stills loses a paternity suit filed by California woman.
1978 Who announce Kenny Jones will replace the late Keith Moon as drummer.
1979 Concert for Kampuchea staged in London with the Who, Paul McCartney, the Clash, Elvis Costello and Rockpile.
1991 The movie Rush with Gregg Allman playing a drug kingpin premieres.
1994 Pearl Jam announces plan to by-pass Ticketmaster on tour.
1987 Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx revived with adrenaline shots after being pronounced dead.
2002 Joe Strummer of the Clash dies of heart attack.
2008 Bruce Springsteen joins Jon Bon Jovi on Run Run Rudolph, Merry Christmas Baby and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town during benefit for community health services at Count Basie Theater in Red Band, NJ.
2010 The zebra crosswalk the Beatles were photographed crossing for the 1969 album cover near Abbey Road Studios gets recognition and protection as a "Grade II" historical site.
2014 Joe Cocker dies of lung cancer in Crawford, Colorado at 70...
