This Date in Rock Music History: May 18

1959: This artist changed the name at the suggestion of Dick Clark's wife Bobbie because he resembled a teenage Fats Domino.  He scored 35 hits over three decades, but on this date, Chubby Checker debuted on the chart for the first time with "The Class", in which he did imitations of Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, the Coasters, Cozy Cole and the Chipmunks.

1959:  Wilbert Harrison rose from 6 to 1 with "Kansas City".  The Impalas were lodged at #2 with "Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)" while Dave 'Baby' Cortez slipped to 3 with "The Happy Organ".  The three top newcomers to the Top 10 were "A Teenager In Love" by Dion & the Belmonts, which moved from 12 to 5, "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin, up from 16-6, and "The Battle Of New Orleans", which climbed from 23-7 for Johnny Horton.
1963:  The Beatles, Roy Orbison, and Gerry and the Pacemakers performed at the Adelphi Theatre in Slough, England.  (Note:  some websites claim the concert was at the Grenada Theatre in Slough, and that the Beatles were the featured act for the first time.  According to 'The Beatles Bible', the official website for the city of Slough, and the official website of Roy Orbison, the show was at the Adelphia Theatre in Slough, and Roy Orbison got top billing to start the tour.  The Beatles were not the featured act on this night--Roy Orbison was.  The Beatles had started out their four week tour in February opening for Tommy Roe, but assumed headline status by the end of the tour, according to 'The Beatles Bible'.)
1963:  20-year-old Jackie DeShannon appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS-TV, in DeShannon's U.S. television debut.
1963:  Jackie Wilson ruled the R&B chart for a third week with "Baby Workout".







1963:  Jimmy Soul had the #1 song with "If You Wanna' Be Happy", replacing Little Peggy March's "I Will Follow Him".  "Puff The Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul & Mary slipped to 3, followed by the Beach Boys with "Surfin' U.S.A."
1964:  A very special day in rock history for this is the day that the Animals went into De Lane Lea Studios in London to record "The House Of The Rising Sun".
1966:  The Castilles, featuring Bruce Springsteen on lead vocals, recorded a couple of tracks at Mr. Music in Brick Town, New Jersey.
1966:  The Hollies recorded "Bus Stop" at EMI Studios in London.  (Note:  some websites insist on saying the song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.  The studio was not renamed Abbey Road until after the Beatles album of the same name was released in 1968, long after the Hollies recorded "Bus Stop".  When the Hollies recorded the song, the studio was still named EMI Studios)
1967:  Paul McCartney and John Lennon sang backing vocals on the Rolling Stones song "We Love You" during a recording session in London.
1968:  Jefferson Airplane, the Steve Miller Band, the Youngbloods, and the Grateful Dead performed at the Northern California Rock Festival at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds in Santa Clara.  (Note:  several websites claim that the Doors performed on May 18.  The Festival was a two-day event, and the Doors played on May 19.) 1968:  "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells took over at &1 on the R&B chart.







1968:  Hugo Montenegro's classic instrumental "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" from the movie of the same name, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.










                 Dionne Warwick seemed to know her way up the charts...

1968:  Archie Bell & the Drells climbed up to #1 with "Tighten Up".  Simon & Garfunkel's latest, "Mrs. Robinson" was up impressively from 9-2 while Bobby Goldsboro finally dropped after five weeks at #1 with "Honey".  Hugo Montenego held steady with "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and the Rascals grabbed position #5 with "A Beautiful Morning".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Intruders with "Cowboys To Girls", the Troggs had the #7 song with "Love Is All Around", the Irish Rovers and "The Unicorn", Gary Puckett from Twin Falls, Idaho & the Union Gap with "Young Girl" and Dionne Warwick moved from 19-10 with "Do You Know The Way To San Jose".
1970:  The Beatles released Let It Be, their final studio album, in the United States .

1973:  Pink Floyd played The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety at Earls Court in London.
1974:  Another instrumental, "The Entertainer" from the classic movie The Sting, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1978:  The movie The Buddy Holly Story, with Gary Busey in a tremendous performance in the title role, premiered at the Medallion Theatre in Dallas, Texas.
1980:  Peter Criss officially left KISS to begin a solo career. (Note:  several websites report that Criss left on May 17.  While there are no credible sources for either date, our best research indicates that the official date of the announcement was May 18, 1980.)
1981:  Diana Ross left Motown Records, signing with RCA Records for $20 million, the largest recording contract at that time.  (Note:  some websites report Ross left Motown on May 20.  While there are no credible sources for the exact date, our best research indicates that the transaction took place on May 18.)
1983:  Bob Dylan finished recording of the album Infidels at the famous recording studio The Power Station in New York City.











1985:  This artist debuted on the chart with her first single on this date.  She went on to have 12 hits and was very popular in the 1990's.  Her first single was "Find A Way"--Amy Grant.
1985:  Kool and the Gang collected their eighth #1 on the R&B chart with "Fresh".










1985:  "Smooth Operator" by Sade spent another week atop the Adult Contemporary chart.
1985:  Simple Minds celebrated a #1 song with "Don't You (Forget About Me)".  

1985:  Phil Collins moved into the #1 spot on the Album chart with No Jacket Required.  We Are the World from USA for Africa fell to 2 with the Soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop" coming in third.  Bruce Springsteen had #4--Born in the U.S.A. and Prince & the Revolution were 5 with Around the World in a Day.  The rest of the Top 10:  Sade with Diamond Life, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers remained at #7 with Southern Accents, Madonna slipped to #8 with Like a Virgin, Wham! had the #9 album Make It Big and John Fogerty was at 10 with Centerfield.

1988:  Fleetwood Mac played the first of six sold-out shows at Wembley Arena in London.
1988:  Ike Turner was sentenced to a year in jail for possession and transportation of cocaine.
1991:  Hi-Five moved to #1 with "I Like he Way (The Kissing Game)".

                                 "Shiny Happy People" loved R.E.M.'s new album...

1991:  R.E.M. had the top album with Out of Time but Mariah Carey only slipped to #2 in her 47th week on the chart with her debut album.

1991:  Amy Grant remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week with "Baby Baby".

1999:  The Backstreet Boys released the album Millennium.
2002:  CBS-TV showed the Barry Manilow special Ultimate Manilow.
2003:  Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Piots was arrested for drug possession in Burbank, California.
2004:  Clint Warwick, bassist with the Moody Blues, died of liver disease in Birmingham, West Midlands, England at the age of 63.






2008:  Neil Diamond had the #1 album in the U.K.--Home Before Dark.
2010:  Los Angeles celebrated "John Fogerty Day" as the former CCR member was honored by BMI with their Icon Award at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.








Born This Day:

1912:  Perry Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; died in his sleep May 12, 2001 in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida.
1922:  Kai Winding, the great trombonist who gave us the instrumental "More", was born in Aarhus, Denmark; died of a coronary attack while being treated for a brain tumor in Yonkers, New York May 6, 1983.  (Note:  several websites claim Winding died in New York City, but according to the newspaper 'The New York Times', Winding died at Riverside Hospital in Yonkers.)
1942:  Albert Hammond ("It Never Rains In Southern California" from 1972) was born in London, England.
1949:  William Wallace, guitarist of the Guess Who, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1949:  Rick Wakeman, great keyboardist of Yes, was born in Perivale, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say that Rick was born in Perivale, London.  Perivale was located in the county of Middlesex at the time of Wakeman's birth (at Perivale Maternity Hospital).  In 1974, it became part of the county of Greater London, but that was 25 years after Rick's birth, and you will never see Greater London listed as the county of birth on his official birth certificate.)
1950:  Mark Mothersbaugh, songwriter, singer, and co-founder of Devo, was born in Akron, Ohio.
1953:  Butch Tavares of the group Tavares ("It Only Takes A Minute" and "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel")
1957:  Michael Cretu of Enigma was born in Bucharest, Romania.
1966:  Michael Tait of dc Talk was born in Washington, D.C.
1967:  Rob Base ("It Takes Two") was born in Harlem, New York.
1969:  Martika ("Toy Soldiers") was born in Whittier, California.
1970:  Billy Howerdel, founding member, songwriter, guitarist and producer of A Perfect Circle

1975:  Jack Johnson was born in North Shore, Oahu, Hawai'i.