Music History on December 22

Beethoven Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6

1808 Beethoven's Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring the composer as soloist) premiere at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria

"Prélude à L'apres-Midi d'un Faune"

1894 Claude Debussy's first orchestral masterpiece "Prélude à l'apres-midi d'un faune" premieres in Paris

  • 1946 "Bal Negre" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 54 performances
  • 1956 "New Faces of 1956" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 221 performances
  • 1958 "Whoop-Up" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 56 performances
  • 1958 Christmas novelty single "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by David Seville and the Chipmunks reaches #1 - the only holiday chart-topper until Mariah Carey’s "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in 2019
  • 1976 "Your Arm's Too Short..." opens at Lyceum NYC for 429 performances
  • 1976 East Germany grants rock singer Nina Hagen her request to leave the country, after refusing her stepfather re-entry

New Drummer for The Who

1978 Kenney Jones becomes The Who's new drummer, replacing the deceased Keith Moon

"Like a Virgin"

1984 Madonna's "Like a Virgin" single goes #1 for 6 weeks

  • 1985 "Wind in the Willows" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 4 performances

Nikki Sixx Overdoes

1987 Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx overdoses from heroin

  • 1994 "Christmas Carol" opens at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC for 18 performances

MTV Removes Prodigy Video

1997 MTV removes music video of The Prodigy's song "Smack My Bitch Up" from broadcast rotation