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December 8, 1979

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 8, 1979

Concorde and Air Force Fighters Came Within 10 Feet Near Jersey

By Richard Within

Concorde jetliner, minutes after take‐off for Paris from Kennedy Airport, came within 10 feet of collision with US Air Force fighters flying loose formation off southeast coast of New Jersey on October 30; Air Force accepts blame for incident; says fighters, maneuvering for rendezvous with refueling plane, did not receive adequate traffic data from radar controllers to flight formation commander, who inadvertently allowed flight to deviate from assigned altitude (M)

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 5, 1979, covering December 8, 1979.

  1. 1
    Album cover for The Long Run by Eagles

    The Long Run

    Eagles

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  2. 2
    Album cover for On The Radio: Greatest Hits: Volumes I & II by Donna Summer

    On The Radio: Greatest Hits: Volumes I & II

    Donna Summer

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    6
  3. 3
    Album cover for Cornerstone by Styx

    Cornerstone

    Styx

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    9
  4. 4
    Album cover for Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants by Stevie Wonder

    Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants

    Stevie Wonder

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    3
  5. 5
    Album cover for In Through The Out Door by Led Zeppelin

    In Through The Out Door

    Led Zeppelin

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    14

Notable Births

Daniel Fitzhenry

1979Daniel Fitzhenry, Australian rugby player[†]

Daniel Fitzhenry is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played for the Wests Tigers in the NRL and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. He primarily played on the wing.

Johan Forssell (politician, born 1979)

1979Johan Forssell, Swedish lawyer and politician[†]

Carl Johan Henrik Forssell is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He has served as Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy in the cabinet of Ulf Kristersson since 10 September 2024, having served as Minister for Foreign Trade and International Development Cooperation prior to that. and has been Member of the Riksdag since the 2010 general election, representing Stockholm Municipality. He was chairman of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Moderate Party, from 2004 to 2006.

Raymond Lam

1979Raymond Lam, Chinese actor and singer[†]

Raymond Lam is a Hong Kong actor and singer who is best known for roles in the television dramas A Step into the Past, Twin of Brothers, Moonlight Resonance, Highs and Lows and Line Walker and was dubbed the King of Chok after his role in The Mysteries of Love.

Ingrid Michaelson

1979Ingrid Michaelson, American singer-songwriter and pianist[†]

Ingrid Ellen Michaelson is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "The Way I Am" and her 2014 single "Girls Chase Boys", both of which achieved success on Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts, and received platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She has released eight independent albums.

Christian Wilhelmsson

1979Christian Wilhelmsson, Swedish footballer[†]

Christian Ulf "Chippen" Wilhelmsson is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Beginning his career with MjÀllby AIF in 1997, he went on to represent clubs in Norway, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, England, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Qatar before retiring at MjÀllby in 2015. Wilhelmsson won 79 caps for the Sweden national team between 2001 and 2012, and represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and at Euro 2004, 2008, and 2012.

Historical Context for December 8, 1979

In 1979, the world population was approximately 4,368,539,528 people[†]