In 1935, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra recorded "King Porter Stomp," featuring Fletcher Henderson's arrangement of the Jelly Roll Morton tune and a memorable solo by trumpeter Bunny Berigan.
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on NBC-TV's The Steve Allen Show and performed “Hound Dog,” to a live Hound Dog. TV critic John Crosby panned Elvis' performance, calling him an “unspeakable, untalented and vulgar young entertainer.” Backstage, a humiliated Elvis exploded in anger at his manager "Colonel" Tom Parker for agreeing to the stunt.
Also in 1956, Brenda Lee signed her first recording contract at the age of 11, after five years of singing professionally. Little Miss Dynamite, as she was called, would go on to have a total of 29 US Top 40 singles in the 1960s, including "I'm Sorry", "Break It Too Me Gently" "All Alone Am I" and "Fool #1."
In 1957, the headlines of Billboard magazine say, "Good music may be making a comeback on the bestseller charts...but rock & roll discs continue to dominate the pop market."
In 1958, Frankie Avalon appeared on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1959, at CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, the Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded "Take Five" and "Strange Meadow Lark" for their "Time Out" album, which featured time signatures that were unusual for jazz, such as 9/8 or 5/4. "Take Five," played in 5/4 time and written by the group's saxophonist Paul Desmond, was released as a single in 1959 but did not become a hit until it was re-released in 1961.
In 1959, Jimmy Clanton performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
On July 1, 1963, the Beatles recorded "She Loves You," which was released in August (in the UK and 9/6/63 in the US) and become the group's second UK #1 hit. Adding to the song's popularity among young people was the phrase "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," which was looked down upon by British establishment and in some quarters was seen to hail "the collapse of civilized society." It was done on a two-track recording machine and in November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "She Loves You" #64 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 1965, the Shangri-Las, the Detergents, Steve Alaimo, and Paul Revere and the Raiders appeared on ABC-TV's "Where the Action Is."
In 1965, the Beatles' album "Beatles VI" was certified gold.
In 1966, Martha & the Vandellas and Del Shannon were the guests on ABC-TV's "Where the Action Is."
In 1967, the Ventures and Tina Turner performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1967, the Association held down the top spot in the US for the first of four weeks with their biggest hit, "Windy." Strangely, the record failed to chart at all in the UK. The song's writer, Ruthann Friedman said that she wrote it in about 20 minutes when she started to fantasize about what kind of a guy she would like to be with.
In 1968, the Rascals released the single "People Got To Be Free." Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and featuring a lead vocal from Cavaliere, it is an upbeat but impassioned plea for tolerance and freedom. The single was RIAA-certified as a gold record on August 23, 1968, and eventually sold over 4 million copies.
In 1969, Sam Phillips sells the legendary Sun Records Studio in Memphis to Shelby Singleton. Sun, more than other record company, was responsible for the emergence of White Rock 'n' Roll in the mid-1950's.
In 1969, at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, Paul McCartney overdubbed lead vocals onto take 30 of the Beatles track "You Never Give Me Your Money," recorded on May 6.
In 1970, in New York City, Jimi Hendrix' Electric Ladyland Studios opened.
In 1971, Jethro Tull's first US Top Ten album, 'Aqualung' was awarded a Gold record. It has since sold over 15 million copies world wide, making it the band's most successful LP.
In 1972, Neil Diamond went to the top spot on the Billboard singles chart with "Song Sung Blue", his second US #1. The tune made it to number 14 in the UK. "Song Sung Blue" was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1973, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, but lost both to Roberta Flack's rendition of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."
In 1972, Michael Jackson performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1973, the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar closed after 720 performances.
In 1976, Connie Francis is granted a $2.5 million judgment against the hotel where she was assaulted in 1974.
In 1977, in New York City, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden.
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In 1978, Pablo Cruise performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1979, the Walkman, the world’s first portable cassette player, was introduced by Sony.
In 1981, Rushton Moreve, bass player with Steppenwolf was killed in motorcycle accident Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. Had the 1968 U.S. #2 single “Born to be Wild” and he co-wrote their hit “Magic Carpet Ride.”
In 1983, a New Jersey based quintet calling themselves Bon Jovi were signed to Phonogram's Mercury label.
In 1984, in Grayslake, Illinois, Steven Tyler broke his ankle jumping from the stage during an Aerosmith concert. He finished the show but was forced to perform the next few shows from a wheelchair.
In 1986, Wham! released the album 'Music From the Edge of Heaven' in North America.
On this day in 1992, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot was the #1 song.
In 1997, Puff Daddy released his debut studio album "No Way Out."
In 1998, Martina McBride became the first country music artist to perform as a member of Lilith Fair when the traveling music festival stopped at All Sports Stadium in Oklahoma City.
In 1999, singer Guy Mitchell, died aged 72 at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas. He had the 1957 U.K. & U.S. #1 single “Singing the Blues' plus over 10 other U.K. Top 40 singles. Mitchell also appeared as George Romack in the 1961 NBC western detective series Whispering Smith.
In 2000, Cub Koda, the leader of Brownsville Station and composer of their hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room", passed away from complications arising from kidney dialysis at the age of 51.
In 2000, in New York City, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began a ten-night engagement at Madison Square Garden, marking the end of their Reunion tour.
In 2002, six postage stamps designed by Sir Paul McCartney went on sale in The Isle Of Man, with proceeds from their sale going to the Adopt-A-Minefield charity.
In 2003, jazz flautist (Superman, Hijack) Herbie Mann died of prostate cancer at the age of 73.
In 2005, Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the legendary Motown singing group The Four Tops, died at the age of 69.
Also in 2005, R&B artist Luther Vandross passed away at the age of 54, two years after suffering a major stroke.In 2007, on what would have been Princess Diana's 46th birthday and nearly 10 years after her death, Concert For Diana was held at Wembley Stadium in London. Performers included Elton John, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Fergie, Kanye West, Nelly Furtado, Duran Duran, P. Diddy, Status Quo, Lily Allen, Roger Hodgson, Andrea Bocelli, Donny Osmond, Ricky Gervais, and Tom Jones. The event was hosted by Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, and broadcast in 140 different countries to an estimated audience of 500 million people. All net proceeds from the concert went to charities chosen by Princes William and Harry.
In 2008, an interview from April 30, 1964, in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney discussed how they met and the way they composed songs together, was broadcast by the BBC after it was discovered in a film can in a damp garage in south London.
In 2009, the week after Michael Jackson's death, The King Of Pop dominated the Top Ten of Billboard's album chart. Leading the pack was "Number Ones", followed by "The Essential Michael Jackson" at #2, "Thriller" was #3 and "Off The Wall" was #4. The Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" held the #5 spot, "Bad" was #6, "Dangerous" was #7, "Greatest Hits - HIStory - Vol. 1" came in at #8 and Michael's "Ultimate Collection" occupied the #9 position. Collectively, Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.
In 2011, an 8-foot bronze statue of rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry was installed in the St. Louis suburb of University City, Missouri. The privately-funded tribute, which includes an illuminated wall highlighting his songs, is located in a plaza across the street from Blueberry Hill, a club at which Berry performs once a month.
In 2012, Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees revealed on his Twitter page that he planned to continue performing as a solo artist, singing his group's hits as a tribute to his late brothers, Maurice and Robin.
