November

Singer Johnny Horton was killed in a car accident on 11/5/1960 at the age of 33. Horton (whose biggest hit was “The Battle of New Orleans”) had just played his last show at the Skyline in Austin, Texas — the same club where Hank Williams had played his last show. Williams also died in a car, but of a heart attack. As if that's not weird enough, Horton's wife, Billy Joe, was also Williams's widow. Billy Joe didn't go on to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge, but we wouldn't have blamed her if she had … On 11/2/1963, singer Dion stalked off the set during a live performance being taped for the British TV show “Ready, Steady, Go.” The intensely focused crooner was allegedly distracted by the go-go dancers adorning the stage … Roger Daltrey had a similar experience on 11/19/1965, walking off in a huff during the Who's set at the Glad Rags Ball in London. P.A. problems — not hyperkinetic women — were to blame. Rumors of a Who breakup spread; the smart money had future King Crimson and Bad Company member Boz Burrell replacing Daltrey … Simon and Garfunkel's TV special “Songs of America” aired on 11/30/1969. The show's sponsor, Bell Telephone, dropped out after learning that that the duo wanted to reach out and touch their audience by showing footage of Bobby Kennedy's funeral and the war in Vietnam … Elton John announced his retirement from live performance at an 11/3/1977 concert in London. After only a few months off the road, he changed his mind … Ozzy Osbourne quit Black Sabbath on 11/5/1977, only to return a few weeks later. He eventually quit again and went on to star in a successful TV series.

December

Frank Zappa, guitarist, composer, and leader of the Mothers of Invention, suffered a broken leg and fractured skull on 12/10/1971 after being pushed from a London stage by the jealous boyfriend of a fan. He was confined to a wheelchair for months. Zappa died 22 years later, on 12/4/1993, of an unrelated illness (prostate cancer) … On 12/10/1965, the band formerly known as the Warlocks played their first gig under a new name, The Grateful Dead, at the then-new Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco … Legendary DJ Alan Freed's Christmas Rock 'n' Roll Spectacular, featuring such acts as Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, and the Everly Brothers, opened at Loew's State Theater in New York City on 12/25/1958. 33 years later, on 12/10/1991, Freed — who reputedly coined the phrase “rock 'n' roll” — was given the ultimate show biz honor: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The award was given posthumously, however; Freed died in 1965 of humiliation and neglect caused by his involvement in the payola scandals of the early '60s.