This Day in Rock History: December 22
Dec. 22 is a bittersweet day for rock music fans. Pink Floyd held their last major performance with Syd Barrett, Elton John topped the U.K. albums chart, and the world…
Photo by M. Stroud/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Dec. 22 is a bittersweet day for rock music fans. Pink Floyd held their last major performance with Syd Barrett, Elton John topped the U.K. albums chart, and the world said goodbye to two of the most iconic names in rock. Keep reading to learn more about the events that took place on this day in rock history.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
A couple of the biggest names in music history achieved significant milestones on Dec. 22:
- 1967: Pink Floyd played their final major show with founding member Syd Barrett at the Christmas on Earth Continued festival at Olympia London.
- 1973: Elton John's seventh studio album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, reached No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart. It spent two weeks there and also topped the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for eight weeks.
Industry Changes and Challenges
These are the noteworthy changes and challenges from Dec. 22:
- 1948: Cheap Trick guitarist and songwriter Rick Nielsen was born in Elmhurst, Illinois. Known for his custom-made guitars and onstage appearance, Nielsen formed Cheap Trick in 1973, and the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
- 2002: Joe Strummer, co-founder and lead vocalist of The Clash, died from a heart attack at age 50. He formed the band in 1976, and they achieved global success a few years later. Their album London Calling went Platinum in the U.S.
- 2014: Joe Cocker died at age 70 from lung cancer. His long and illustrious career started in the early 1960s, and he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.
Dec. 22 is a memorable day associated with a chart-topping album and the births and deaths of rock legends. Visit this page again tomorrow to discover all the important events that happened on that day in rock history.
Dan TeodorescuWriter
