1957: Nat King Cole canceled his television show on NBC after a year-long search for a sponsor was fruitless.
A phone call made on this date solidified a group's destiny, plus famous singles by the Rolling Stones and the Association, all that and much more on This Date in Rock Music History...
1959: Bobby Darin signed a $1 million contract with Paramount Pictures. 1964: The Supremes recorded "Baby Love". 1964: Manfred Mann topped the U.K. charts with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy". 1965: The Beatles released the album Help! in the United States.
A great San Francisco group made their live debut on this date, while one of the best bands ever from Canada called it quits. All that and more on This Date in Rock Music History...
1956: Elvis Presley received the key to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. 1956: The Platters performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1957: Frankie Lymon left his group the Teenagers for a solo career. 1957: Buddy Holly & the Crickets debuted on the Singles chart with their first hit record--"That'll Be The Day". 1958: The Crests recorded "16 Candles". 1960: Pete Best became the new drummer for the Silver Beatles.
New releases dominated This Date in Rock Music History--great songs from the Commodores, Dan Fogelberg, Heart and more were all released on this date. Details below...
1957: Jerry Lee Lewis performed on The Steve Allen Show on NBC-TV. (Note: some websites claim Lewis was on 'The Big Beat Show' on ABC-TV. He performed on that show on August 2--on August 11, he was on 'The Steve Allen Show', according to 'Spin' magazine and 'TV.com'. 'The Big Beat Show" only lasted four episodes, with the last one being on August 2, the date that Lewis performed.) 1958: "Patricia" by Perez Prado was #1 on the R&B chart. 1958: In Billboard's second chart, Ricky Nelson remained at #1 ("Poor Little Fool") but Domenico Modugno rose from 54 to 2 with "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)". 1962: Kid Galahad starring Elvis Presley premiered in theaters. (Note: there are websites which report the film's release as July 25 (one quotes a 'Variety' magazine article about the movie premiere from July 25, 1962 which we cannot find. The official Graceland website reports that the film opened nationally in theaters on August 28 (some websites say August 29). Unfortunately, there are no sources which definitively decide the correct date for the premiere, but our best research indicates that the film premiered on August 11.)
The first hit for an all-female group that would take the world by storm, the premiere of a Beatles movie and the theme song from a disaster movie was at #1--all ahead on This Date in Rock Music History...
1954: Elvis Presley sang his new song "That's Alright Mama" at Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee. 1959: Brook Benton had the top R&B song with "Thank You Pretty Baby". 1959: Elvis Presley moved to #1 with his 37th hit, "A Big Hunk O' Love". 1961: 14-year-old Helen Shapiro became the youngest person to reach #1 in the U.K. with "You Don't Know". 1963: Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Searchers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes were on the 100th edition of Thank Your Lucky Stars on BBC-TV. 1963: The Rolling Stones, Acker Bilk and Long John Baldry were all at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, Surrey, England. Sounds like they couldn't find enough jazz artists to perform. Albums by John Denver and Bryan Adams were at #1 on this date, plus the beginning of a series of concerts by the King--all that and more on This Date in Rock Music History...
The lead singer from this group, Eric Bazilian, and the keyboardist (Rob Hyman) were arrangers and also provided backing vocals and played on Cyndi Lauper's debut album, She's So Unusual. Great song here from Philly's Hooters. If you look at the peak for the song in 1985 (#58) you would be very deceived by its popularity:
All You Zombies Hooters
Written By Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman
Holy Moses met the Pharaoh Yeah, he tried to set him straight Looked him in the eye "Let my people go"
Holy Moses on the mountain High above the golden calf Went to get the Ten Commandments Yeah, he's just gonna break 'em in half
All you zombies, hide your faces All you people in the street All you sittin' in high places The pieces gonna fall on you
No one ever spoke to Noah They all laughed at him instead Working on his ark Working all by himself
Only Noah saw it coming 40 days and 40 nights Took his sons and daughters with him Yeah, they were the Israelites
All you zombies, hide your faces All you people in the street All you sittin' in high places The rain's gonna fall on you
Holy Father, what's the matter? Where have all your children gone? Sitting in the dark, living all by themselves You don't have to hide anymore
All you zombies, show your faces All you people in the street All you sittin' in high places The pieces gonna fall on you
All you zombies, show your faces (I know you're out there) All you people in the street (Let's see you) All you sittin' in high places It's all gonna fall on you
1958: Cliff Richard signed a recording contract with EMI Records and also began a four-week residency at Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton-On-Sea, Essex. 1960: Johnny Horton recorded "North To Alaska" at Quonset Hut Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. 1963: The British television show Ready Steady Go! debuted on the BBC. 1964: The Rolling Stones were live at the New Elizabeth Ballroom in Belle Vue, Manchester. 1965: The Silkie recorded their version of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". Paul McCartney played guitar, George Harrison played tambourine and John Lennon produced the song.
1967: Love was contagious. On this date, Scott McKenzie hit #1 in the U.K. with his great song "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair"). 1968: Jerry Lee Lewis, Marmalade, and the Herd helped kick things off at the annual National Jazz and Blues Festival, which was moved to the Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.
1969: A new group appeared on the scene. They first hit the chart on this date with "Questions 67 And 68". Their name originally was Chicago Transit Authority, but we know them as simply Chicago.
1969: Brian Jones was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. (Note: some websites mistakenly say the issue was dated July 26, but as you can see from the photo above, the correct date is August 9.) 1969: The Who, Yes, King Crimson, Chicken Shack, and the Strawbs thrilled crowds on the second day of the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Sussex, England. 1969: The great album Blood, Sweat & Tears continued to be #1 on the Album chart, followed by the Soundtrack to "Hair", which was in its 53rd week of release. The Soundtrack to "Romeo & Juliet" was next, followed by This is Tom Jones and A Warm Shade of Ivory by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra. The rest of the Top 10: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly, Cream, up 25-7 with the Best of Cream, the self-titled Crosby, Stills & Nash, Johnny Cash At San Quentin entered the Top 10 and the 5th Dimension was at 10 with The Age of Aquarius. 1969: "Commotion" by CCR moved from #71 to #34 on this date.
1969: "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans continued to roll along at #1 for a fourth week with "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & the Shondells one step away. The Rolling Stones moved from #8 to #3 with "Honky Tonk Women" . All three songs are still ranked high in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*. Jr. Walker & the All-Stars owned #4--"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" and Neil Diamond moved to #5 with "Sweet Caroline". The rest of the Top 10: Kenny Rogers & the First Edition with "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", Johnny Cash moved from 20-7 with "A Boy Named Sue", Stevie Wonder with "My Cherie Amour", Jackie DeShannon jumped up from 25 to 9 with "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" and Andy Kim fell with "Baby, I Love You". 1970: Deep Purple, Yes, Wishbone Ash and the Incredible String Band helped wrap up the four-day National Jazz and Blues Festival at the Plumpton Race Track in East Sussex, England. 1973: Guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell left the group Wings. 1974: Bill Chase (39 years old), keyboardist Wally Yohn (27), drummer Walter Clark (25), and guitarist John Emma (22) of the group Chase ("Get It On" from 1971) died in a small plane crash in Jackson, Minnesota. 1975: Don Kirshner held the first Rock Music Award Show in Santa Monica, California. The Eagles, Stevie Wonder and Bad Company were among the winners. 1975: Janis Ian's biting "At Seventeen" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Glen Campbell was headed to the top...
1975: The Bee Gees scored their first #1 song in four years with "Jive Talkin'", hopping over 10 cc's "I'm Not In Love", which had to settle for being a #2 song for three weeks. Olivia Newton-John was beginning to cross over on a regular basis as "Please Mr. Please" was #3. The previous #1 from the Eagles ("One Of These Nights") was at #4 followed by Elton John's classic "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". The rest of the Top 10: "Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester followed by four new entries, "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell which moved 14-7, War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?", James Taylor jumped up from 15 to 9 with his remake of the Marvin Gaye hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and Mike Post at #10 with "The Rockford Files".
The Isley Brothers were up to #2...
1975: One of These Nights by the Eagles had only been out seven weeks but three of those were at #1 as the quality was already evident. The Isley Brothers had the biggest album of their career--The Heat Is On at #2. The Captain & Tennille were at 3 with Love Will Keep Us Together while Elton John's amazing Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album was at #4. The rest of the Top 10: Cut the Cake by Average White Band, Venus and Mars from Wings, James Taylor placed Gorilla at #7, the Greatest Hits package from Cat Stevens was at #8, Earth, Wind & Fire were in the 22nd week of release with That's the Way of the World and Jefferson Starship was staging one of rock's most incredible comebacks with Red Octopus, which entered the Top 10.
1976: ABBA released the single "Fernando".
1976: Linda Ronstadt released her cover of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day". 1980: ABBA had the top song in the U.K. with "The Winner Takes It All". 1980: AC/DC hit #1 in the U.K. with the album Back in Black.
1980: The Rolling Stones remained at #1 on the Album chart for the third week with Emotional Rescue. Jackson Browne's great album Hold Out moved to #2 while Billy Joel remained at 3 with Glass Houses. Those are three great albums. The Soundtrack to "Urban Cowboy" was at #4 while Queen's The Game was fifth. The rest of the Top 10: Diana from Diana Ross, Empty Glass by Pete Townshend, the Soundtrack to "The Empire Strikes Back" was at #8, the debut from Christopher Cross moved from 19 to 9 and another of The Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*--Against the Wind from Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band entered the Top 10. 1980: Olivia Newton-John had one of her biggest hits as "Magic" was #1 for a third week on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1980: Diana Ross had one of the hottest up-and-coming songs in the nation as "Upside Down" moved from 49 to 10. 1985: "The Motown Review", hosted by Smokey Robinson, premiered on television. 1986: The classic lineup of Queen appeared in concert for the final time at Knebworth Park in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England. 1986: Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho remained at #1 for the third week on the AC chart with "Glory Of Love".
1991: The great group the 5th Dimension earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1995: Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead died of a heart attack in Forest Knolls, California at the age of 53. 1996: The Ramones broke up.
Matchbox 20 entered the Top 10...
1997: No Way Out debuted at #1 on the Album chart by Puff Daddy & the Family. The Soundtrack to "Men in Black" had to fall, while Spice by the Spice Girls was #3. Hanson owned #4--Middle of Nowhere and Sarah McLachlan's fine Surfacing fell to #5. The rest of the Top 10: The Fat of the Land by Prodigy, Supa Dupa Fly from Missy Elliott, Jewel was now moving back up at #8 with Pieces of You in its 76th week, Matchbox entered the Top 10 with their great album Yourself or Someone Like You and the self-titled God's Property was at #10. 1999: Bob Herbert, manager of the Spice Girls, was killed in a car crash in Windsor, Berkshire, England at the age of 57. 2003: Hanson began their acoustic tour of the United States at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland.
2003: The Eagles performed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. 2005: In Today's edition of "Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music", rapper Beanie Sigel was released from federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey. 2008: Bo Diddley was given an honorary doctorate posthumously from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Born This Day: 1939: Billy Henderson of the Spinners was born in Indianapolis, Indiana; died February 2, 2007 in Daytona Beach, Florida of complications from diabetes. (Note: some websites claim Henderson was born in Detroit, Michigan; he was born in Indianapolis, then moved with his family to Detroit as a child, according to the newspaper 'The Indianapolis Recorder'.) 1946: Marinus Gerritsen, bassist and keyboardist of Golden Earring, was born in Hague, the Netherlands.
1947: Barbara Mason ("Yes I'm Ready") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1954: Pete Thomas, elite drummer of Elvis Costello's Attractions, was born in Hillsborough, Sheffield, England. 1955: Charlie Morgan, drummer and percussionist who worked with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tina Turner, Orleans and Kate Bush, was born in Hammersmith, London, England. 1959: Kurtis Blow (real name Kurtis Walker) was born in Manhattan, New York (Note: some websites say he was born in the Bronx, some simply say New York City. According to the book 'Hip Hop Culture' by Emmett George Price, Walker was born in the neighborhood of Harlem, which of course is in Manhattan.)
1963: Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey; died February 11, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California when she drowned in her hotel bathtub after taking drugs. 1972: Arion Salazar, bass guitarist of Third Eye Blind, was born in Oakland, California.
1957: We were introduced to the Fat Man as Fats Domino released his debut album This Is Fats. 1960: Ferrante & Teicher had one of the fastest-rising songs of the decade as "Theme From 'The Apartment'" moved from #85 to #36. 1960: Chubby Checker performed his smash hit "The Twist" on American Bandstand. New releases from the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Genesis and the Police on this date--all that and more on This Date in Rock Music History...
