Johnson's 31 Medal Recipients
Dec 6 President Lyndon B. Johnson confers Presidential Medal of Freedom on 31 recipients selected by JFK, including: contralto Marian Anderson; diplomat Ralph Bunche; cellist Pablo Casals; Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter; labor leader George Meaney; architect Mies van der Rohe; pianist Rudolf Serkin; writers E. B. White and Thorton Wilder; and painter Andrew Wyeth; as well as posthumously to JFK himself, and Pope John XXIII
- Dec 6 The Beatles begin a tradition of releasing a Christmas record for fan club members
- Dec 8 "Girl Who Came to Supper" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 112 performances
Donny Osmond Debut
Dec 10 6-year old Donny Osmond's singing debut on Andy Williams Show
Kaddish
Dec 10 Leonard Bernstein premieres his Third Symphony "Kaddish" with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv, Israel
- Dec 13 Capital records signs right of first refusal agreement with The Beatles
The Pink Panther
Dec 18 "The Pink Panther" film premieres, directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Peter Sellers and David Niven, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini
Musical Finale
Dec 28 Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's musical "Jennie", starring Mary Martin, closes at the Majestic Theater, NYC, after 82 performances
"Sing a Sad Song"
Dec 28 Merle Haggard's 1st appearance on country music chart with "Sing a Sad Song"
Garcia, Weir Play for First Time
Dec 31 Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead play music together for the 1st time at Dana Morgan's Music Store in Palo Alto, California
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers