On July 8, 1958, the first Gold record album presented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was awarded to the soundtrack LP, 'Oklahoma.' The honor signified that the album had reached one million dollars in sales. The first Gold single issued by the RIAA was "Catch a Falling Star" by Perry Como in March of 1958. A Gold single represented sales of one million records.
Also in 1958, Hank Ballard recorded a self-penned tune called "The Twist" at Vee-Jay Records' studios in Gary, Indiana. A re-recorded version released by King Records would make a modest splash on the R&B charts in 1959, but it would take Chubby Checker to make a giant hit out of it in 1960.
In 1958, Dion and The Belmonts were guest performers on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1959, the singing duo Billy & Lillie visited ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1960, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, the Everly Brothers recorded "Lucille."
In 1963, in the UK, Freddie and the Dreamers recorded "I'm Telling You Now." It wasn't released in the US until late 1964, and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1965.
In 1963, Little Stevie Wonder was a guest performer on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1965, the Dave Clark Five followed the Beatles onto the silver screen with a movie of their own called 'Catch Us If You Can.' The film was renamed to 'Having a Wild Weekend' for its US release and featured the group performing "Catch Us If You Can," "Having a Wild Weekend" and "I Can't Stand It."
In 1965, in Studio A at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, the Four Tops recorded "It's The Same Old Song."
In 1965, ABC-TV's "Where The Action Is" featured performances by Sonny & Cher, Del Shannon, Linda Scott, Steve Alaimo, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.
On July 8, 1966, the Beatles released the ‘Nowhere Man’ 4-track EP in the UK, which included: "Drive My Car," "Michelle" and "You Won't See Me." All four tracks were taken from the Beatles sixth UK studio album, 'Rubber Soul.'
In 1967, in Jacksonville, Florida, Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees on their latest tour. The band loved him, but the audience kept screaming for Davy Jones. Hendrix was dropped after six shows and told his act was not suitable for the Monkees' teenybopper audience.
In 1967, the Five Americans and Donna Lauren appeared on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1968, Pink Floyd kicked off their first 20-date North American tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. The club became a driving force in the music business, hosting famous rock acts such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Byrds, Janis Joplin, The Mothers of Invention, The Grateful Dead, MC5, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, Fleetwood, Vanilla Fudge, Muddy Waters and Jefferson Airplane.
In 1969, a patent for the game "Twister" was issued by the U.S. Patent Office.
In 1970, "The Everly Brothers Show" was launched on ABC-TV as a 10-week summer series. Guests on the first broadcast were Johnny Cash, Melanie, and Kenny Rogers And the First Edition.
In 1971, a small riot occurred at the Mott the Hoople show at London's Royal Albert Hall, causing a short ban on rock shows at the venue.
In 1972, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the Concert 10 Festival featured performances by Three Dog Night, Faces with Rod Stewart, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Edgar Winter, Humble Pie, Claire Hamill, the Groundhogs, and the J. Geils Band.
In 1972, Climax performed their hit "Precious and Few" on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1972, 34 year-old Bill Withers had the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Lean On Me," his second US Top Ten hit after "Ain't No Sunshine" in September 1971. The song reached #18 in the UK. Just a couple of years earlier, Withers was making toilet seats for Boeing 747s.
In 1972, Donny Osmond scores the first of his three UK number one singles with "Puppy Love", a remake of Paul Anka's 1960 hit. Donny's version reached #3 in the US.
In 1978, after a six month stay, the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever is finally knocked out of the top spot on the Billboard album chart by Gerry Rafferty's "City To City", which contained the single "Baker Street."
In 1978, Rare Earth performed on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1978, Exile's "Kiss You All Over" was released.
In 1979, after signing with Island Records, the B-52s make their live debut at London's Lyceum Ballroom.
On July 8, 1981, the Go-Go's released their debut album, 'Beauty and the Beat.' The LP sold in excess of two million copies and reached double platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums of all time. It is now widely considered as one of the cornerstone albums of 1980s new wave music.
In 1984, in London, Van Morrison and Bono joined Bob Dylan on the Wembley Stadium stage to sing "It's All Over Now Baby Blue."
In 1985, nude photos of Madonna, taken early in her career, are published by Playboy and Penthouse.
In 1985, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night is admitted to the psychiatric ward of a Los Angeles hospital because of drug-induced problems. He would eventually recover, but was denied re-admission to the band and would be forced to tour as a solo act.
In 1989, El DeBarge was a performing guest on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."
In 1995, TLC started a seven week run at #1 on the US singles chart with "Waterfalls," the group's second US #1, a #4 hit in the UK.
In 1998, Nancy Sinatra announced that her father, Frank Sinatra's archive would be donated to the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute.
In 2002, Counting Crows released their fourth studio album, 'Hard Candy.'
In 2002, Michael Jackson spoke out against the music industry's treatment of artists, alleging that the business was rife with racism. Speaking at a civil rights meeting in New York, Jackson claimed there was a 'conspiracy' among record companies, especially towards Black artists. A spokesman for Jackson's record label said the remarks were "ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful."
In 2003, one of Elvis Presley's teeth went up for auction on eBay. The tooth was owned by the King's former fiancée, Linda Thompson, until it went to the Elvis Presley Museum which later sold the tooth. The current owner said he'd been contacted by a European company that wanted to extract DNA from the tooth, but he refused. The opening bid on the tooth, a lock of hair from his Army induction haircut and a Gold record for "Love Me Tender" was $100,000.
In 2003, David Lee Roth released the solo album 'Diamond Dave.'
In 2006, Queen guitarist Brian May made a "substantial" donation to save hedgehogs from slaughter in the Outer Hebrides. Although the exact amount was not revealed it was said to be enough to pay for the rescue of hundreds of hedgehogs from the Uists, where Scottish Natural Heritage has been culling the animals for the past four years. May's money would go towards funding cash rewards for islanders so hundreds more hedgehogs can be saved.
In 2007, Prince was forced off stage by police halfway through his set at the First Avenue nightclub during a late-night gig in his home town of Minneapolis. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3.am but Prince took to the stage at 2.45am. Prince had already played two concerts in Minneapolis before his late-night club appearance; His first performance was at a department store, where he promoted his new cologne with a nine-song, 45-minute set. birthdays today include: Jerry Vale (81), Steve Lawrence (78), Jaimoe "Johnny" Johanson (Allman Brothers Band) (69), Greg T Walker (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot) (62), Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot) (56), Toby Keith (52), Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) (52), Joan Osborne (51), Beck (43) and Jamie Cook (Arctic Monkeys) (28); to name a few....