Special thanks to Ron Smith and his book "Eight Days A Week: Births, Deaths And Events Each Day In Oldies History" and to Bob Dearborn and his webiste "The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac" ...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eight-days-a-week-ron-smith/1100441248?ean=9780983373704
http://oldediscjockeysalmanac.blogspot.com/
1955 - Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" reaches #1 on The Billboard Pop Singles Chart ... the first rock and roll record to do so ... thus launching The Rock Era.
1955 - Pat Boone's version of the Fats Domino tune "Ain't That A Shame" debuts on The Billboard Pop Singles Chart. Boone will become a huge factor in bridging the gap between parents and teenagers over this new-fangled fad called rock and roll, helping to make it acceptable to white-bread middle America, most of whom were still offended by what was then considered "race music".
1956 - Dick Clark officially becomes the host of of "Bandstand" in Philadelphia, a local television series aimed at the teenagers in the area at the dawn of the rock and roll era. This program will eventually become syndicated as "American Bandstand" and shown all over the country to an audience that will stay captivated for the next thirty years.
1956 - Bill Haley and His Comets were denied permission to play at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. After trouble at Asbury Park on June 30th, the city passed an ordinance prohibiting live stage performances of rock 'n' roll, claiming that this music "encouraged juvenile delinquency and inspired young females in lewd bathing suits to perform obscene dances on the city's beaches."
1957 - Singer Bobby Helms records "My Special Angel" at Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut studio in Nashville. The Anita Kerr Singers handle the background vocals.
1957 - Elvis Presley's second film, "Loving You," co-starring Lizabeth Scott and Wendell Corey, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters. Elvis did not attend the Memphis premier because he was given a special showing the night before.
1958 - Johnny Cash signs with Columbia Records.
1959 - The Drifters record "Dance With Me" with Ben E. King on lead vocals.
1962 - Bob Dylan records "Blowin' In The Wind" at Columbia Studios in New York City.
1968 - I love the way Bob Dearborn reports this one on his Olde Disc Jockey Almanac site so I'm going with it verbatim: Co-lead singer David Ruffin exited the Temptations. His cocaine abuse, missed shows, financial disputes with Motown head Berry Gordy, and the group's refusal to change their name to "David Ruffin and the Temptations" were all factors in the decision. Dennis Edwards, formerly of the Contours, replaced him in the group. Ruffin later began showing up, uninvited, at Temptations concerts and taking the stage to sing the hits he made famous, causing the group to tighten its security measures.
1969 - The Beatles begin recording "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for their upcoming "Abbey Road" album. The song would be completed on August 6th. This track became a real point of contention with John Lennon (who did not participate in the recordings) as an example of Paul McCartney's overindulgence in recording a simple track. At one point he declared that "the band spent more money on this song than any other on the 'Abbey Road' album."
1972 - Speaking of Paul McCartney, he and his new band Wings began their first European tour with an appearance at Chateauvillion in the south of France. (They had already done a few spot, "surprise" appearances at various universities in England but this was to be a full-on tour.) Paul still wasn't performing any Beatles material at this point ... and the first Wings album, "Wild Life", was critically panned and not a big commercial success. Incredibly a show in France scheduled for July 14th had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Today ... some 44 years later ... McCartney continues to perform to record-breaking, sold-out crowds around the world ... but the launch of Wings seemed somewhat unpromising at first.
1974 - Crosby, Stills and Nash begin their reunion tour at The Coliseum in Seattle.
1977 - Our good Forgotten Hits Buddy Alan O'Day reaches #1 with his single "Undercover Angel". (Sadly we lost Alan a few years ago) Although this was his biggest solo hit, Alan also wrote the #1 Record "Angie Baby" for Helen Reddy and the #3 Hit "Rock And Roll Heaven" for The Righteous Brothers.
1978 - The Rolling Stones make a surprise visit to the home of Willie Dixon right here in Chicago. Dixon takes them to The Quiet Knight, a local club (and one of my favorite hang-outs in the early '70's) to see Muddy Waters perform. Dixon and The Stones join Muddy on stage to perform a couple of their favorite Waters songs. (Sure woulda been cool to be there THAT night!!!)
1983 - The Police begin an eight week stay at the top of The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart with their classic stalker song "Every Breath I Take".
1990 - The Stones make our calendar again in 1990 when, for the first time in over 26 years, they have to cancel some upcoming performances after Keith Richards' inflamed finger became septic during a show in Glasgow, Scotland. (July 9th was also an important date in Mick Jagger's personal history when, on this date in 1999, his marriage to model Jerry Hall is annulled.)
1995 - The Grateful Dead perform their last concert with Jerry Garcia, right here in Chicago at Soldier Field. Garcia will die a month later of a heart attack while in rehab.
1999 - Elton John has a pacemaker implanted in a London hospital.
2012 - Our recent Forgotten Hits interviewee, Bobby Rydell, undergoes liver and kidney transplant surgery. He pulls through beautifully (and will be appearing here in Chi-Town on November 26th at The Arcada Theatre!)
