April in Rock-n-Roll History

1954:
Bill Haley records "Rock Around The Clock". A modest hit, selling 75,000 copies, but just 12 months later infamy featured in the movie The Blackboard Jungle.

1955:
Elvis Presley headlines on The Big D Jamboree, a live radio show on KRLD in Dallas, Texas. Ticket price for studio audience a mere 60 cents.

1956
Nat King Cole is attacked by a group of five racial segregationists while singing onstage at the Municipal Hall in Birmingham, Alabama. The attackers were quickly arrested by police and Cole would return later that night for a second show.

On a flight Amarillo to Nashville, Elvis Presley's plane makes an emergency landing in Arkansas. It leaves him with a permanent fear of air travel.

James Brown his first chart entry recorded in his home town of Macon, GA "Please, Please, Please" debuts on the Billboard R&B chart.

Buddy Holly's first single "Blue Days, Black Nights", was released. This up-tempo, country flavored tune was a poor seller.

1957
16 year old Ricky Nelson sings his first record, “I’m Walking” a version of Fats Domino's tune" on his parents' TV show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on ABC.

Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" hits No.1 on the Cash Box best seller list and The Billboard Pop chart, and remained for the next 8 weeks.

1958
Dick Clark dedicates part of his American Bandstand TV show to the memory of Chuck Willis, who had died earlier in the day from peritonitis. Willis’ hits that included: "C.C. Rider", "What Am I Living For" and "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes".

1959
Bobby Darin records "Splish Splash". The record is a world wide hit, but is outsold in Britain by a rival version from comedian Charlie Drake.

The BBC lifts its ban on The Coasters' new single "Charlie Brown", it airs on radio's Pick of the Pops and becomes the group's best selling UK hit, reaching No.6.

Five weeks after charting on it the Billboard Hot 100, "Pink Shoelaces" by 13 year old Dodie Stevens hits No.3. Her career includes singing with Sergio Mendes and Brazil '77 and Mac Davis, but she never had another Top 40 hit.

1961
19 year old Bob Dylan debuted as a solo artist at Gerde's Folk City in New York.

At the third annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Ray Charles wins three trophies including Best Pop Single for "Georgia On My Mind". Marty Robbins is awarded a statue for Best Country and Western Performance for "El Paso".

1962
The Beatles' original bass player, 22 year old Stuart Sutcliffe dies of a brain hemorrhage. He couldn't play very well but was a part of the original band because he had the equipment and place to rehearse. His girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr, created The Beatle haircut for Stu, and John and Paul followed soon after. Sutcliffe is on very early Beatle tracks and included on "Anthology 1". In 1961 he left to resume painting because his headaches were getting too severe to play.

The Beatles kick off a 48 night booking at The Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.

1963
Gerry And The Pacemakers’s "How Do You Do It?" is No. 1 on the UK singles chart In the U.S,. it didn’t catch on until the Fall of 1964, when it went to No. 9.

Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" is released and its their 2nd Billboard chart-maker, reaching No.3. The song is a note-for-note copy of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" with new lyrics. Berry sues and is granted royalties and writing credit for all further issues of the song.

1964
The Beatles set another music industry record with 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Can't Buy Me Love" at No. 1 to "Love Me Do".

Chubby Checker marries Catharina Johanna Lodders, 1962's Miss World Pageant.

The Rolling Stones release their 1st album. It sold over 200,000 copies and hit number one in the UK two weeks later, claiming the first non-Beatles album to reach the top in over a year.

1965
Freddie and the Dreamers‘"I'm Telling You Now" hits No. 1 in the U.S., two years after it had reached No. 2 in the UK.

Roger Miller wins in five categories at the seventh annual Grammy Awards.

The Hollies start their first US tour but not until a year later would they hit the US Top Ten with "Bus Stop".

1966
Jan Berry, the younger half of Jan and Dean is paralyzed after he ran his Corvette into a parked truck on a side street in Beverly Hills. For over a year, Berry was in total physical paralysis and suffered extensive brain damage never returning to perform again.Their hit streak started in 1958 with "Jennie Lee" and continued with "Baby Talk", "Surf City", "Sidewalk Surfin'", "Drag City", "Dead Man's Curve", "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Popsicle". In 1978, they attempted a comeback after the biographical movie, 'Dead Man's Curve', was shown on TV.

The Beatles record "Paperback Writer" and the vocals for "Eleanor Rigby".

Buffalo Springfield debuts, opening for The Byrds in concert in San Bernardino, California.

The Spencer Davis Group scores their second UK No.1 single with "Somebody Help Me", it never hit the U.S. Top 40.

For a ticket price of 70 cents and $1.40 (US) or 5/10 shillings (UK), fans saw a live concert by Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Englebert Humperdinck at the Blackppol Odeon.

1967
While flying back to London from the US, Paul McCartney writes "Magical Mystery Tour" .

Nancy and Frank Sinatra had the No.1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, The Cashbox Best Sellers List and Britain's New Musical Express record chart with "Something Stupid".

To this day, they are the only father and daughter team to have a US chart topping single. ("Unforgettable" by Natalie Cole and Nat "King" Cole hit No. 14 in 1991)

1968
Janis Joplin, along with Big Brother and the Holding Company make their national TV debut on ABC-TV's Hollywood Palace.

Producer Phil Spector marries Ronnie Bennett of The Ronettes. Bennett, files for divorce in 1972, citing instances of alleged cruelty.

1969
After scoring a series of instrumental hits in the early 1960s including "Walk Don't Run" and "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue", The Ventures hit Billboard's Hot 100 for the last time with the theme from the TV show, Hawaii Five-0.

The Fifth Dimension score their first No. 1 and their 8th Billboard Top 40 hit with "Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In".

John Lennon and Paul McCartney record "The Ballad of John and Yoko" without George and Ringo. Paul played bass, drums and piano with John on guitars.

1970
The progressive Rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer is formed when drummer Carl Palmer joins keyboardist Keith Emerson and singer / guitarist Greg Lake.

Peter Green, founding member of Fleetwood Mac, leaves the band to follow his religious beliefs.

Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky" hits No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sells 2 million but never makes the Top 40.

1972
Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" became an unlikely No. 1 hit after it is featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me.

Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen enter the Billboard Top 40 for the 1st and only time with "Hot Rod Lincoln", a re-worked version of "Hot Rod Race",a No. 29 hit for Tiny Hill in 1951.

1973
Led Zeppelin's fifth album, "Houses of the Holy" hits Gold.

Stevie Wonder appeared on TV's Sesame Street, and performed "123 Sesame Street" and "Superstition".

1974
Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets" is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart for the 2nd time.

Paul McCartney's LP "Band On The Run" is a No. 1 Billboard album chart and sells over 6 million copies world-wide.

1975
Elton John’s "Philadelphia Freedom", a song inspired by Billie Jean King's World Team Tennis League entry tops the charts.

1976
Peter Frampton’s album, with "Frampton Comes Alive" tops the charts and remains for 97 weeks, selling 6 million copies. It is the 4th largest selling 'live' album of all time, behind Garth Brooks' "Double Live", "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975 - '85" and "The Eagles Live".

Stevie Wonder signs the largest music contract to date with Motown for $13 million and produces a half dozen top 10 hits.

1977
In the midst of success with a top hit TV show Starsky and Hutch, David Soul tops Billboard charts with "Don't Give Up On Us".

1978
The Four Tops sing at Aretha Franklin's wedding to actor Glynn Turman. The union lasted six years.

1979
Mickey Thomas replaces Marty Balin as the lead singer for Jefferson Starship. Thomas' voice was on the 1976 Elvin Bishop hit, "Fooled Around and Fell in Love".

The Doobie Brothers’ band preforms with only the original drummer John Hartman and guitarist Patrick Simmons and cut “Black Water” topping the 1975 charts, followed by “What A Fool Believes”.

1980
The ‘50’s musical Grease finally closes on Broadway after 3,883 performances and earnings over $8 million.

A New Jersey State assemblyman introduces a resolution to make Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" the official state song. After deliberation, legislators site it the state's "rock anthem."

1981
Van Halen lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen marries Valerie Bertinelli, co-star of the 1980's television hit, One Day at a Time. Their union lasted 25 years.

Daryl Hall and John Oates’s "Kiss On My List" hits No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with their 10th Top 40 hit.

1982
The duet "Ebony and Ivory", by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, hits No. 29 when it debuts on the US charts and then No. 1 in both the U.S. and UK. It’s Wonder’s first British chart hit and No. 59 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time; but in October 2007 it's named "the worst duet in history" by BBC.

1983
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes perform "Up Where We Belong" at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, where the song wins in the Best Music category.

1984
Nate Nelson, lead vocalist for The Flamingos on their 1959 hit "I Only Have Eyes For You", dies at the age of 52.

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" LP marks its 37th week at #1 in US, the longest run in Rock history to that date. He made a $100,000 contribution to establish a 19 bed cancer research unit for a New York hospital.

1985
A court rules that the Rock group Boston has the right to record for MCA instead of CBS. The legal dispute prevented the release of the band's 3rd album for over 5 years.

"We Are The World", the Quincy Jones produced a combined effort artists effort to raise millions to help feed starving people in Africa, tops the Billboard singles chart. All 45 artists on the record were asked to "check their egos at the door."

1987
Members of the First Church of the Nazarene in Ironton, Ohio, hold a record burning when evangelist Jim Brown told them that the song "A Horse is a Horse", the theme song from the US TV show 'Mr. Ed', contains satanic messages when played backwards.

1988
Cher wins the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the film 'Moonstruck'.

Sonny Bono is elected Mayor of Palm Springs, California, 1988-1992. Then ran for the Republican nomination for United States Senate. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 to represent California's 44th congressional district.

1989
Herbert Mills of the Mills Brothers died of viral meningitis at the age of 77. The vocal group span the 1930's, '40's and '50's with hits and are most often remembered for their 1968, #23 hit, "Cab Driver". Donald Mills, the last of the original group died in 1999.

Roy Orbison had his final Top 10 single on the US chart with "You Got It", four months after he died. The song was written by Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty and appeared on Orbison's "Mystery Girl" album that was released posthumously.

1992
The three surviving members of Queen raise over $15 million at a charity concert in memory of the late Freddie Mercury, who died in November, 1991. On stage also were David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Paul Young.

1993
The Grateful Dead sang the US national anthem before the San Francisco Giants' home opener.

Paul McCartney headlines a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate Earth Day with Ringo Starr, Steve Miller and Don Henley.

1994
Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley announced they had separated after nine years of marriage.

1985
Burl Ives, dies of cancer at the age of 85. He’s remembered for Top 40’s:
"Little Bitty Tear" (No.9), "Funny Way Of Laughing" (No.10) and "Call Me Mr. In-Between" (No. 19) and his famous Christmas classic "Holly, Jolly Christmas",

1986
KISS appear in full make-up at the 38th Grammy Awards and announce a reunion tour marking the first time in 15 years they appeared together.

1997
Grand Funk preform for a three concert tour to raise money for the Bosnian-American Relief Fund.

1999
A charity tribute concert for the late Linda McCartney is held at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Performers include Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, George Michael, Elvis Costello and Sinead O'Connor.

2000
The heavy metal band, Metallica files suit against Napster Inc, Yale University, the University of Southern California and Indiana University for copyright infringement. Yale and Indiana were dropped from the suit after they blocked access to Napster on campus servers.

2003
Little Eva (Boyd), dies at age 57 after a long illness. Her song "The Loco-Motion" hit No. 1 in 1962.

Lynyrd Skynyrd had a hit single on the radio. Rock stations across the country played the band's "Red White and Blue", an anti-protest song that includes the line "If they don't like it, they can just get the hell out."

2004
Former American Bandstand host, Dick Clark, reveals he has had type 2 diabetes since 1994, known only to close friends and family.

2005
Johnnie Johnson, who teamed with Chuck Berry on "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go", dies of natural causes at the age of 80.

John Fred Gourrier, who led John Fred and his Playboy Band to hit Billboard with their No. 1 song "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" 1967 dies at age 63 after a long bout with kidney disease.

2006
June Pointer, the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters with No. 1 hits "Fire", "Slow Hand" and "I'm So Excited", dies of cancer at the age of 52.


2007
A fire destroys the former home of the late Country singer Johnny Cash and June Carter. The 13,880-square-foot house, located in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, was home to Johnny and June until their deaths in 2003. Bee Gees' Barry Gibb and his wife, Linda, purchased the property in January 2006 with plans to restore it and write songs there.

The Beatles' company, Apple Corps, settled a £30 million ($59.2 million) royalties dispute with the band's label, EMI. The suit alleges unpaid royalties on Beatles albums based on an audit of sales between 1994 and 1999. Settlement details were not disclosed.

Legendary crooner Don Ho, who entertained Hawaiian tourists for decades with "Tiny Bubbles", dies of heart failure at age 76.

2009
Phil Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion six years ago. The 69 year old music producer is sent to prison for a minimum of 18 years.

According to a chart compiled for the UK's BBC Radio 2, Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" was the most played song in public places in the past 75 years.
Rounding out the top ten were: #2 - "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, #3 "All I Have To Do Is Dream" by The Everly Brothers, #4 - "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet, #5 - ("Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams, #6 - "Angels" by Robbie Williams, #7 - "All Shook Up" by Elvis Presley, #8 - "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, #9 - "Magic Moments" by Perry Como and #10 - "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.

George Harrison receive a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records building.

2010
The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Ramano praise The Beatles and forgive John Lennon's 1966 comment that the group was "bigger than Jesus."

After 11 years away from audiences, and bad reviews and boos during a performance, Whitney Houston insisted she played to a “tough crowd” during her first show in the U.K. after recently being hospitalized with chronic rhinopharyngitis, (swelling of the membranes in the nose and throat) that caused problems.