1959: Bobby Rydell appeared on American Bandstand.
1960: Elvis Presley recorded for the first time since being discharged from active service in the United States Army. He recorded "Stuck On You" among others in a 12-hour session at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, who had quit Presley's touring band back in 1957, joined him in the studio but it would be their last time backing Elvis.
1961: Ricky Nelson began recording "Hello Mary Lou".
Steve Young, who should be remembered and respected for writing "Seven Bridges Road", has died in Nashville, Tennessee at age 73. Young also wrote several Country hits.
1955: Johnny Ace ruled the R&B chart for an eighth week with "Pledging My Love". 1957: Elvis Presley first viewed the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He fell in love with it instantly, and agreed to purchase the property. His mother, Gladys, had made a cash deposit of $1,000 (believed to be on March 16, with an official sales contract signed by his father Vernon (subject to Elvis's approval) on March 17. The Presleys (Vernon, Gladys and Elvis) signed the official real estate contract on March 21, and the sale closed on March 26 (according to Heritage Auctions). (Note: some websites erroneously claim that Presley purchased the home on March 17. He was on the set of the movie 'Loving You' in Hollywood, California on that date, and did not arrive in Memphis until 11:35 p.m. on March 18, according to several websites. The official closing date was not until several days later.)
1955: For the seventh week, "Pledging My Love" by Johnny Ace set the pace on the R&B chart. 1958: Jerry Lee Lewis performed on American Bandstand on ABC-TV. 1959: EMI Records announced that it had halted all production of 78 rpm records. 1960: The Everly Brothers recorded "Cathy's Clown" at RCA Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. 1960: Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson joined John Wayne and Walter Brennan in the movie Rio Bravo, which opened in theaters.
1957: Mickey and Sylvia moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Love Is Strange". 1959: The Platters moved to #1 in the U.K. with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".
1963: Skeeter Davis took over at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "The End Of The World". 1963: The 4 Seasons continued to own the top song with "Walk Like A Man" for the third week. Ruby & the Romantics were at #2 with "Our Day Will Come", Bobby Darin moved to 3 with "You're The Reason I'm Living" and Skeeter Davis moved from 7-4 with "The End Of The World". The rest of the Top 10: The Cascades with their smash "Rhythm Of The Rain", Dion's "Ruby Baby", Paul & Paula were down with their former #1 "Hey Paula", Eydie Gorme placed "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" at #8, Johnny Mathis with "What Will Mary Say" and the Chiffons bounced from 19-10 with "He's So Fine".
1956: Elvis Presley hired Colonel Tom Parker as his manager.
1964: Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown Records, and his wife celebrated the birth of son Kennedy William Gordy, who would later be known as Rockwell ("Somebody's Watching Me"), in Detroit, Michigan. 1964: The Rolling Stones began a tour of the U.K. at the Invicta Ballroom in Chatham, Kent, England.
1955: CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey turned down Elvis Presley for a recording contract, opting to sign Pat Boone instead. Big mistake, Arthur. 1955: Elvis Presley was interviewed on The Jimmy Dean television show.
1956: The movie Rock Around the Clock, starring Billy Haley, premiered in Washington, D.C. It was the second movie to include the song "Rock Around The Clock", the first being Blackboard Jungle a year earlier. (Note: you will see several dates all over the Internet for the opening. Inside The Rock Era investigates discrepancies, strives to use the most reliable sources for our Calendar*, and publishes who those sources are. Some websites say the premiere was on March 17, and others on March 21, but according to the book 'Rock Around the Clock: The Record that Started the Rock Revolution!' by Jim Dawson, the movie premiered on March 14.)
He may be best known for his classic "Cat's In The Cradle", but before that, Harry Chapin recorded this great song:
"Taxi"
Harry Chapin
It was raining hard in 'Frisco; I needed one more fare to make my night. A lady up ahead waved to flag me down; She got in at the light.
Oh, where you going to, my lady blue. It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain. She just looked out the window; She said, "Sixteen Parkside Lane".
Something about her was familiar; I could swear I'd seen her face before. But she said, I'm sure you're mistaken, And she didn't say anything more.
It took a while, but she looked in the mirror And she glanced at the license for my name. A smile seemed to come to her slowly; It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?" I said, "How are you Sue?" Through the too many miles And the too little smiles, I still remember you.
It was somewhere in a fairy tale; I used to take her home in my car. We learned about love in the back of a Dodge; The lesson hadn't gone too far.
You see, she was gonna be an actress And I was gonna learn to fly. She took off to find the footlights And I took off to find the sky.
Oh, I've got something inside me To drive a princess blind. There's a wild man, wizard. He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind. Oh, I've got something inside me, Not what my life's about. 'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me Over 'til my time, runs out.
(Yes, she's flying, afraid to fall) (I'll tell you why baby's crying) ('Cause she's dying, aren't we all)
There was not much more for us to talk about, Whatever we had once was gone. So I turned my cab into the driveway, Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawn.
And she said, we must get together, But I knew it'd never be arranged. And she handed me twenty dollars For a two- fifty fare. She said, "Harry, keep the change."
Well, another man might have been angry, And another man might have been hurt. But another man never would've let her go, I stashed the bill in my shirt.
And she walked away in silence, It's strange, how you never know. But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for Such a long, long time ago.
You see, she was gonna be an actress And I was gonna learn to fly. She took off to find the footlights, And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy Inside her handsome home, And me, I'm flying in my taxi, Taking tips, and getting stoned. I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.
