This Date in Rock Music History: December 24

1955:  The Lennon Sisters were the new featured vocalists on The Lawrence Welk Show on ABC-TV.

1964:  The Beatles began a second series of Christmas concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon on London, with help from the Yardbirds, Freddie and the Dreamers and others.
1966:  Tommy James & the Shondells recorded "I Think We're Alone Now".
1966:  "(I Know) I'm Losing You by the Temptations was the new #1 on the R&B chart, taking over from "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes.
1966:  The New Vaudeville Band made it four weeks in the #1 spot on the Easy Listening chart with "Winchester Cathedral".

This Date in Rock Music History: December 23

1957:  The Champs recorded "Tequila" in three takes at Gold Star Recording Studio in Hollywood, California.
1957:  A new act appeared on the chart for the first time by the name of Tom & Jerry with the song "Hey Schoolgirl".  They have now sold over 105 million albums, but they really didn't take off until they changed their name to Simon & Garfunkel.

1957:  Sam Cooke once again was #1 on the R&B chart for a fifth week with "You Send Me".
1959:  Chuck Berry was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri for transporting a minor (14 year-old girl) across state lines for an immoral purpose. 
1959:  The Drifters recorded "This Magic Moment".

The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era Will Begin When The Evil One IS GONE!

There's a lot of great music waiting as soon as we get back to normalcy.  So if you want to hear all the great music contained within The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era, do everything you can to rid the world of the pathetic pest in the White House.

Merry Christmas to Everyone But Him!

This Date in Rock Music History: December 22

1956:  Elvis Presley finished the year with 17 hit songs, a Rock Era record that would stay until the magical year of 1964, when the Beatles had 30.
1958:  The creation of David Seville, the Chipmunks, made one of the biggest leaps to #1 of the Rock Era (10-1) with "The Chipmunk Song".  The Platters moved strongly to #2 with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".  
1962:  Bob Dylan performed at the Singer's Club Christmas Party in London.
1962:  "Stranger On The Shore" by Mr. Acker Bilk dropped off the U.K. chart after 55 weeks, a Rock Era record for longevity at the time.

This Date in Rock Music History: December 21

1959:  The new single called "The Little Drummer Boy" by the Harry Simeone Chorale moved from 99 to 47.

This Date in Rock Music History: December 20

1957: Elvis Presley received his draft notice from the United States Army.
1958:  John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison appeared as The Quarrymen at the wedding reception of Harrison's older brother Harry.  The reception was at the Harrison family home at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool.
1962: The Osmond Brothers made their television debut on The Andy Williams Show on NBC.
1966:  Otis Redding was in concert at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

This Date in Rock Music History: December 19

1957:  Tom & Jerry released the first single of their career, called "Hey, Schoolgirl".  We now know them as Simon & Garfunkel.  (Note:  some websites mistakenly show the name of the song as "Hey School Girl"; the correct title is "Hey, Schoolgirl", as shown on the 45 above.)

1961:  "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, a perennial fast mover this time of year on the chart, was up from 66 to 33.
1961:  "The Twist" by Chubby Checker set a Rock Era record at the time with 23 weeks on the chart.