This Date in Rock Music History: April 1

1955:  George Martin became the head A&R man at Parlophone Records, a division of EMI.

This Date in Rock Music History: March 31

 
1949:  The 45 rpm single record was first introduced by RCA Victor, one year after the LP record was introduced by Columbia.  Both provided better sound quality and longer playing time than the 78 rpm that had been the standard.
1956:  Brenda Lee made her television debut on Ozark Jambouree on ABC, singing "Jambalaya".
1957:  Elvis Presley played two concerts at Olympia Stadium in Detroit before 24,000 fans.

This Date in Rock Music History: March 30

1957:  Buddy Knox became the first rock artist to write his own #1 song as "Party Doll" topped the charts.
1959:  "Venus" was her name, but it was also the name of the #1 song that Frankie Avalon had for the fourth week.  

This Date in Rock Music History: March 29

1961:  Governor Ernest Vandiver of Georgia declared it "Brenda Lee Day".

1963:  The Shadows had their fifth #1 in the U.K. with "Foot Tapper".
1964:  The Hollies, the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks and the Mojos began a U.K. tour at the Coventry Theatre.
1966:  Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones, was injured during a concert in Marseilles, France after a fan threw a chair at the stage, with the left leg of the chair hitting the surprised Mick just below the left eye.  Jagger had to have eight stitches.
1966:  Fans mobbed the Walker Brothers after they entered their hotel in Cheshire, England.  Two group members suffered concussions.

This Date in Rock Music History: March 28

1942: Frank Sinatra appeared on the charts for the first time with "Night And Day".
1957: Elvis Presley appeared live at the Chicago International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois.

This Date in Rock Music History: March 27

1958: CBS announced the invention of stereophonic records.  The new discs could be played on existing record players, but when played on new stereo players, the listener could hear a much richer and fuller sound.

This Date in Rock Music History: March 26

1955:  Johnny Ace was still cooking with the #1 R&B song--"Pledging My Love" was there for a ninth week.
1956:  Elvis Presley had a screen test for the first of three days at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.  Presley performed two scenes from The Rainmaker.  (Note:  several websites report that the test was on April 1.  They're fooling you.  According to the books 'Elvis Presley:  194 Success Facts -Everything you Need to Know about Elvis Presley' by Helen French and 'Elvis Presley:  The King of Rock 'n' Roll' by Jean-Pierre Hornbach, as well as numerous other credible sources, Presley did his screen tests on March 26-28.)