Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today December 3
1948
Ozzy Osbourne is born, Birmingham's prince of darkness
John Michael Osbourne is born in Aston, Birmingham: a laborer and ex-convict who with Black Sabbath would invent heavy metal from his city's industrial rubble. Fired from the band for his excesses, he built a second legend solo with “Crazy Train” and even a pioneering family reality show. No one survived so much to sing so much.
Ozzy Osbourne
Black Sabbath
1907
Connee Boswell is born, the singer in a wheelchair Ella Fitzgerald tried to imitate
On December 3, 1907, Connee Boswell was born in Kansas City. She grew up in New Orleans and sang her entire career seated, never hiding her wheelchair. With her sisters she formed The Boswell Sisters, the trio that put jazz phrasing inside popular vocal harmony. Ella Fitzgerald said again and again that she was trying to sound like Connee and had learned everything by listening to her.
Connee Boswell
Ella Fitzgerald
1911
Nino Rota is born, whom the Academy stripped of a nomination for recycling himself
On December 3, 1911, Nino Rota was born in Milan, a child prodigy who premiered an oratorio at eleven and ended up writing the music for every Federico Fellini film. He also composed the theme for "The Godfather", nominated for an Oscar until the Academy discovered he had recycled a melody of his own from 1958 and withdrew the nomination. He won two years later for the sequel.
Nino Rota
Federico Fellini
1968
Elvis rises again in black leather: the legendary Comeback Special airs
NBC airs Elvis Presley's Christmas special, which would go down in history as the '68 Comeback Special. After years lost in mediocre movies, Elvis appeared sheathed in black leather, jamming in the round with his old musicians, hungry and magnetic. It was rock's most celebrated return: the king remembered he was one.
Elvis Presley
1988
Melissa Aldana is born, the Chilean who was the first woman instrumentalist to win the Monk prize
On December 3, 1988, Melissa Aldana was born in Santiago, Chile, the daughter and granddaughter of saxophonists. She started on alto imitating Charlie Parker and switched to tenor when she discovered Sonny Rollins. In 2013 she became the first woman instrumentalist to win the Thelonious Monk competition, the most important prize in jazz, and has recorded for Blue Note ever since.
Melissa Aldana
Sonny Rollins
1927
Andy Williams is born, whose voice became a synonym for Christmas in America
On December 3, 1927, Andy Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa. His light baritone ended up being a synonym for the American Christmas thanks to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". His television show ran for nine years and gave the Osmond brothers their first national appearance. He sold more than forty-five million records and racked up eighteen gold albums.
Andy Williams
The Osmonds
1944
António Variações is born, the hairdresser who crossed fado with new wave
On December 3, 1944, António Ribeiro was born in northern Portugal, a hairdresser by trade who at thirty-seven began releasing records as António Variações. He mixed fado with new wave and sang with a freedom that Portuguese society, barely out of dictatorship, did not know where to place. He died in 1984, aged thirty-nine, and is now an absolute cult figure.
António Variações
1968
Montell Jordan is born, the first R&B artist Def Jam took to number one
On December 3, 1968, Montell Jordan was born in South Los Angeles. He stood nearly two metres tall and arrived at Def Jam when the label had virtually no R&B artists. "This Is How We Do It", built on a Slick Rick sample, spent seven weeks at number one in 1995. Two decades later he left secular music to serve as a pastor at a church in Atlanta.
Montell Jordan
Slick Rick
1975
Trina is born, the estate agent who became the queen of Miami rap
On December 3, 1975, Katrina Taylor was born in Miami. She was selling houses until Trick Daddy invited her onto a track and changed her line of work. As Trina she released her first album in 2000 and settled in as one of the very few Southern women rappers able to sustain a long career, writing about money and desire from a position Miami rap then reserved for men.
Trina
Trick Daddy
1994
Lil Baby is born, who got out of prison and released four mixtapes in a year
On December 3, 1994, Dominique Jones was born in Atlanta. He got out of prison in 2017 and started recording at the insistence of neighbourhood friends already in the music business. As Lil Baby he released four mixtapes in his first year. "The Bigger Picture", written during the 2020 protests, was the most successful openly political rap song to reach the American top five in a long time.
Lil Baby
One ephemeris a day, one editorial a week. Zero spam, pure archive.