This Date in Rock Music History: July 13

1956:  Another of the famous days of the Rock Era as Elvis Presley released the top double-sided single in history--"Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel". 
1958:  Buddy Holly nearly drowned trying to swim across a lake in the North Woods, near Rhinelander, Wisconsin while on tour.
1962:  Bob Dylan signed a contract with publisher Witmark.
1963:  Elvis Presley had one of the hottest songs, "(You're The) Devil In Disguise", moving up from 49- to 16.
1963:  Rolf Harris scored a #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport".  












1963:  The Surfaris rode into the Top 10 with "Wipe Out".
1964:  The Supremes recorded "Come See About Me"















1964:  The Beatles released the single "A Hard Day's Night".
1964:  The Animals reached #1 in the U.K. with "The House Of The Rising Sun".
1965:  John Lennon and Paul McCartney were presented with five Ivor Novello awards.
1967:  The Who opened for Herman's Hermits at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.
1968:  Hugh Masekela's instrumental "Grazing In The Grass" was the top R&B song.

1968:  The Doors had one of the fastest-rising songs of the decade as "Hello, I Love You" climbed from #77 to #22 on this date.









  
       
                                  Puckett & the Union Gap had a Top 5 hit...


1968:  Herb Alpert remained at #1 for the fourth week in a row with "This Guy's In Love With You".  Cliff Nobles & Company's great instrumental "The Horse" was at #2 while the Rolling Stones were stopped at three with "Jumpin' Jack Flash".  Gary Puckett (from Twin Falls, Idaho) & the Union Gap moved up to #4 with "Lady Willpower" while Hugh Masekela's instrumental "Grazing In The Grass" was song #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 with "The Look Of Love", Merrilee Rush had #7--"Angel Of The Morning", the 5th Dimension shot up from 17-8 with "Stoned Soul Picnic", Shorty Long's "Here Comes The Judge" was #9 and the Cowsills had the #10 song--"Indian Lake".  
1969:  Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, the Jeff Beck Group and Vanilla Fudge played at the Singer Bowl Music Festival in New York's Flushing Meadows.  One of the highlights was when lead guitarist Jimmy Page, lead singer Robert Plant, and drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, and Rod Stewart and Ron Wood of Faces jammed with the Jeff Beck Group, playing "Jailhouse Rock". 
1971:  David Cassidy had an operation to have his gall bladder removed at age 21.
1973:  Bob Dylan released the Soundtrack to "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid".  (Note:  many websites report the album was released July 16 and some say it was released July 1.  The books 'The Gospel According to Bob Dylan:  The Old, Old Story of Modern Times' by Michael J. Gilmour and 'Dylan:  Disc by Disc' by Jon Bream state that the album was released July 13.)

1973:  Queen released their self-titled debut album on EMI Records.
1973:  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were guest hosts of The Midnight Special, welcoming the Stylistics and Rare Earth.












1974:  Dionne Warwick & the Spinners released their collaboration "Then Came You".
1974:  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York.
1974:  Caribou by Elton John was the #1 album in the U.K.
1974:  "Annie's Song" by John Denver was #1 on the Adult chart for a second week.









                                         "Grimsby" from Caribou...

1974:  Caribou by Elton John took over as the #1 album after debuting at #5 in its first week.  Another hot album was Back Home Again by John Denver, which moved from 17-2.  Gordon Lightfoot was third with Sundown followed by Paul McCartney & Wings with Band on the Run.  The Soundtrack to "The Sting" by Marvin Hamlisch was #5.  The Rest of the Top 10:  John Denver's Greatest Hits at #6 in its 32nd week of release, Diamond Dogs from David Bowie, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman at #8, Cat Stevens with Buddha and the Chocolate Box and Loggins & Messina On Stage at #10.







1974:  George McCrae moved into the #1 slot with "Rock Your Baby" while John Denver was making a move (8-2) with "Annie's Song".  The former #1 from the Hues Corporation, "Rock The Boat" moved down to 3.  Gordon Lightfoot was at #4 with "Sundown".  The rest of the Top 10:  "On And On" from Gladys Knight & the Pips, Elton John moved from 25-6 with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods were at 7 with "Billy, Don't Be A Hero", Anne Murray edged up with "You Won't See Me", the Hollies scored their 20th hit with "The Air That I Breathe" and the Righteous Brothers reminded us of the great stars in "Rock and Roll Heaven" at #10.  
1974:  George McCrae returned for a second week atop the R&B chart with "Rock Your Baby".
1981:  Always feeling he was above talking to the press, Bob Dylan suddenly met with the media and answered questions for two hours after seeing the transcript of an interview with an man who posed as Dylan in a Danish newspaper.

1981:  Journey released "Who's Crying Now".
1985:  Elton John re-signed with MCA Records, a five-album deal worth $8 million.  At the time, the contract was the biggest in history.










1985:  Live Aid concerts were featured at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wembley Stadium in London.  George Michael sang lead vocals on Elton John's performance of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me".
1985:  Survivor owned the top Adult Contemporary song for the fourth straight week with "The Search Is Over".
1986:  Stevie Nicks and Peter Frampton performed at the San Diego Sports Arena in California.
1988:  Sting gave a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to benefit the rainforests.
1990:  Curtis Mayfield was seriously injured when a strong gust of wind blew a lighting scaffold down that hit Curtis in the back of the neck during an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Brooklyn, New York.  Mayfield suffered a critical spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed below the neck.
1991:  INXS, Jesus Jones and Deborah Harry performed at Wembley Arena in London.
1991:  Bryan Adams had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Everything I Do) I Do It For You".
1991:  Bonnie Raitt debuted at #9 on the Album chart with Luck of the Draw.

1993:  Severn, Maryland's Toni Braxton released her self-titled debut album.







1993:  Janet Jackson released the single "If".
1995:  Geddy Lee of Rush sang "Oh Canada" before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.
1996:  Over 2,000 guitarists, including Chet Atkins and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, set a new world record for the largest jam session when they played "Heartbreak Hotel" for 75 minutes at Riverfront Park in Nashville, Tennessee.  The previous mark was set when Randy Bachman led 1,322 guitarists in a 68-minute performance in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on May 7, 1994.
1996:  The Eagles performed in Wembley Stadium in London.









1996:  Metallica had the top album with Load, holding off Jagged Little Pill from Alanis Morissette, which was making yet another bid for #1 after 55 weeks  The Fugees owned #3--The Score while Toni Braxton fell to 4 with Secrets and Keith Sweat debuted at 5 with his self-titled debut.  The rest of the Top 10:  Tracy Chapman's New Beginning, E. 1999 Eternal from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Celine Dion at 8 with Falling Into You, the Soundtrack to "The Nutty Professor" at #9 and No Doubt slipped into the Top 10 with Tragic Kingdom..  
1997:  The Prodigy topped the U.K. album chart with The Fat of the Land.
1999:  Paul McCartney displayed 73 of his paintings at the Kunstforum Lÿz gallery in Siegen, Germany.

2000:  The Corrs had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Breathless".
2001:  The Eagles were in concert at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.
2002:  Green Day and No Doubt headlined the opening of the two-day T in the Park Festival in Kinross, Scotland.
2003:  Prince released his new album N.E.W.S. as a digital download.
2003:  Ashanti had the #1 album with Chapter II.










 
2004:  Jimmy Buffett released the album License to Chill.
2004:  In today's "Inmates Run Rap Music" segment, Joe Budden was arrested in Queens, New York for driving with a suspended license.
2004:  Hal Carter, manager, agent and producer who worked with the Kinks, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, died of liver cancer in London at the age of 69.
2005:  R. Kelly had the #1 album with TP.3 Reloaded.
2008:  Les Crane, who gave us "Desiderata", died at the age of 74 in Greenbrae, California.



Born This Day:
1935:  Pete Escovedo, percussionist of Santana, was born in Pittsburg, California.

1942:  Roger McGuinn, singer and guitarist with the Byrds and later McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1942:  Stephen Bladd, drummer for the J. Geils Band, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1945:  Diane Renay, who reached #6 with "Navy Blue" in 1964, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1946:  Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong ("Basketball Jones" and "Santa Claus And His Old Lady") was born in Los Angeles.
1955:  Mark Mendoza, bass guitarist of Twisted Sister, was born in West Hempstead, New York.  (Note:  some websites report Mendoza was born in Long Island, New York.  Long Island is not a city and will not be shown on an official birth certificate.  Mendoza was born in West Hempstead.)
1966:  Gerald Levert, son of Eddie Levert of the Four Tops and a solo performer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died after a lethal combination of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Cleveland, Ohio on November 10, 2006.  (Note:  'Allmusic.com' claims Levert was born in Cleveland.  He was born in Philadelphia, and was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times' and other credible sources.)
1974:  Deborah Cox ("Nobody's Supposed To Be Here") was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.