Today in rock history 4th December

1944 – Byrds bassist Chris Hillman is born in Los Angeles. He also was a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers. 1948 – Johnny Lyon, who garnered fame as the titular Southside Johnny of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes and a pal of Bruce Springsteen, is born in Neptune, N.J. 1951 – Guitarist and drummer Gary Rossington, one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, is born in Jacksonville, Fla. 1956 – Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins hold an impromptu recording session at Sun Studios, Memphis, Tenn.. 1968 – In a New York Times article, a Soviet music critic declares that the Beatles “have become rich idols of the Philistines.” 1971 – T Rex scored their first No.1 album with their 6th release ‘Electric Warrior’. 1975 – Tragedy strikes Deep Purple in Jakarta, Indonesia, after their bodyguard Patsy Collins falls six floors down an elevator shaft in their hotel. Rumors persist that Collins had gotten into a fight with local promoters who owed the heavy-metal band money. 1976 - Tommy Bolin, guitarist for Deep Purple and The James Gang was found dead in a Miami hotel room from a drug overdose. He was 25 years old. 1976 - Workers at EMI Records in the U.K. went on strike refusing to package The Sex Pistols’ single “Anarchy in the U.K.” 1980 – Led Zeppelin announces its decision to break up. 1991 – Van Halen perform a free concert in Dallas to make up for a show back in 1988 when singer Sammy Hagar lost his voice mid-set. 1993 – Frank Zappa dies at age 52 in Los Angeles. The avant-garde rocker had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. 2003 – Courtney Love takes a break from rehab to go nightclubbing in Los Angeles. She’s seen performing with local band Let’s Go Sailing. 2012 – Randy Blythe from ‘Lamb of God’ is charged over the death of a fan at a concert in Prague in 2010.