Music History on December 6

Schumann's 4th Symphony

1841 Robert Schumann's 4th Symphony in D minor premieres

La Damnation de Faust

1846 Hector Berlioz's dramatic oratorio "La Damnation de Faust" premieres, conducted by the composer at the Opéra-Comique, Paris

Du Barry Was A Lady

1939 Cole Porter's musical "Du Barry Was A Lady" opens at 46th Street Theatre, NYC; runs 408 performances

Happy Hunting

1956 Harold Karr and Matt Dubey's musical "Happy Hunting", starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 412 performances

Sessions' 3rd Symphony

1957 Roger Sessions' 3rd Symphony premieres in Boston with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony

Johnson's 31 Medal Recipients

1963 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

  • 1963 The Beatles begin a tradition of releasing a Christmas record for fan club members
  • 1965 2 trucks crash into a crowd of dancers in Sotouboua Togo, kills 125

Beggar's Banquet

1968 Decca Records releases Rolling Stones album "Beggar's Banquet" in UK, the last during Brian Jones' lifetime (US release the next day)

Rolling Stones at Altamont

1969 300,000 attend free concert featuring The Rolling Stones in Altamont, California; the event is marred by violence and four deaths

Buck White

1969 Oscar Brown, Jr's musical "Buck White", starring Muhammad Ali, closes at George Abbott Theatre, NYC, after 7 performances

Ding Dong, Ding Dong

1974 George Harrison releases single "Ding Dong, Ding Dong"

  • 1995 6th Billboard Music Awards: TLC & Hootie & The Blowfish win

Michael Jackson Collapses

1995 Michael Jackson collapses while rehearsing for an HBO special

Music History

2023 Taylor Swift is named Time's Person of the Year [1]