In 1947, Ernest Tubb and Roy Acuff performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY. It was the first country show at the venue.
In 1954, Elvis Presley appeared at The Eagles Nest, Memphis Tennessee.
In 1955, the Sunday night program on CBS-TV that had been called "The Toast of the Town" since 1948 was formally renamed "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1956, a Fats Domino concert at a naval station in Rhode Island in 1956 ended in a riot. As a result, the base commander banned Rock n’ Roll shows saying the damage was caused by the "excitement accompanying the fever-pitched Rock n’ Roll."
In 1957, a record hop style show called The Big Record premieres on CBS-TV. Hostess Patti Page welcomed her guests, Sal Mineo, Billy Ward And The Dominos and Tony Bennett.
In 1957, Alan Freed's "The Biggest Show Of Stars For 1957" concert tour played the Coliseum in Baltimore. Performers included Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chuck Berry, Paul Anka, Frankie Lymon, Clyde McPhatter, the Everly Brothers, LaVern Baker, the Drifters, Eddie Cochran, the Bobettes, Buddy Knox, Johnnie & Joe, the Spaniels, and Jimmy Bowen.
In 1960, on his twenty-first birthday, Frankie Avalon was given $600,000 that he earned as a minor from such hits as his 1959 US #1 single 'Venus'.
In 1961, Bobby Vee started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart with "Take Good Care Of My Baby."
In 1961, 15 year-old English actress Hayley Mills sees her US debut recording "Let's Get Together" enter the Billboard charts, where it will reach #8. Concentrating mostly on her film career, she would have just one more hit next year when "Johnny Jingo" reached #21.
In 1961, Brenda Lee released the single "Fool No.1."
In 1962, at Reco-Art Sound Recording in Philadelphia, Dee Dee Sharp recorded "Ride!"
In 1964, the Beatles, on tour in the USA, performed at Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas.
In 1965, ABC-TV's "Shindig!" featured the Dave Clark Five, the Righteous Brothers, Freddie and the Dreamers, Jackie DeShannon, the We Five, and Marianne Faithfull.
In 1966, the Doors appeared at Bido Lito's, Hollywood, California in 1966. Also on the bill The Seeds.
In 1967, the Beach Boys released their 12th studio album, 'Smiley Smile.' The LP was primarily recorded in Brian Wilson's home studio in June and July 1967. Though the album reached #9 in the UK, it only resonated moderately with US audiences, reaching #41 on the Billboard charts; the lowest chart placement the band had yet had for a record. Though initially reviewed in the US with indifference, 'Smiley Smile' has grown in stature over the years to become a cult and critical favorite in the Beach Boys catalog. The album contained the #1 hit "Good Vibrations," and the Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks cut "Heroes and Villains." Brian Wilson in a 1967 radio interview acknowledged, "We had done about six months work on another thing, but we jumped and ended up doing the entire thing here at the house with an entirely different mood and approach than what we originally started out with."In 1968, working at Abbey Road studios on new songs for their forthcoming ‘White Album,' the Beatles recorded 20 takes of "Birthday." Roadie Mal Evans added handclaps, and Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contributed backing vocals on the track.
In 1969, Tiny Tim announced on "The Tonight Show" to Johnny Carson his engagement to Miss Vicki Budinger. Carson asked the two to be married on the show. They made TV history with the wedding on December 17, 1969.
In 1970, Freda Payne topped the UK chart for the first of six weeks with "Band Of Gold," a song that she was reluctant to record because she thought it was more appropriate for a much younger woman. The record would go on to reach #3 in America and sell over a million copies.
In 1970, after scoring 12 US number one hits with The Supremes, Diana Ross has her first solo US chart topper with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." It made #6 in the UK.
In 1972, the Who, Mott The Hoople, the Faces and Atomic Rooster all appeared at The Oval, London.
In 1972, Lobo released the single of his composition "I'd Love You To Want Me."
In 1974, John Lennon appears as a guest D.J. on New York radio station WNEW-FM.
In 1976, one hit wonders Wild Cherry started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart with the cut "Play That Funky Music." The song started life as a B-side. It was the first of five chart singles for the Ohio band who took their name from a box of cough drops.
In 1976, the second annual Rock Music Awards ran on CBS.
In 1978, Neil Young and Crazy Horse kicked off a 23 date US tour at The Cobo in Detroit promoting the album "Comes A Time.'
In 1979, Greg Arama, bassist for the Amboy Dukes on their 1968 hit, "Journey To The Center Of The Mind," was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was 29 years old.
In 1979, ABBA played the Portland Opera House in Oregon.
In 1979, the Eagles released the single "Heartache Tonight." It reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year. Although it remained in the top position for only one week, the single sold 1 million copies. The recording received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song originated from an electric jam session between Glenn Frey and J. D. Souther who would visit Frey's home in Los Angeles whenever he was in town on tour.In 1980, at the Paradise Club in Amsterdam, the 10th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix' death was marked by a multimedia event that featured Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell.
In 1981, the Doors were hot. Their 'Greatest Hits' goes platinum in 1981. What’s interesting is The Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison had been dead for a decade and the rest of the group ceased recording shortly thereafter.
In 1983, Kiss appeared without their 'make-up' for the first time during an interview on MTV.
In 1983, the album 'Lick It Up' was released by KISS.
In 1984, David Bowie won Video of the year for 'China Girl' at the first MTV Video awards.
In 1987, KISS released the album 'Crazy Nights.'
In 1992, Motown keyboardist Earl Van Dyke of the Funk Brothers died of prostate cancer at age 62.
In 1993, Garth Brooks went to #1 on the US album chart in 1993 with 'In Pieces.' The album spent 25 weeks on the chart and sold over 6m copies.
In 1994, Farm Aid VII, held in New Orleans, featured country and rock performers John Conlee, Kris Kristofferson, the Neville Brothers, Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, and the organizers Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young.
In 1996, at Sotheby's in London, Julian Lennon successfully bid just over $39,000, for the recording notes for the song Paul McCartney wrote for him, "Hey Jude." At the same event, John Lennon's scribbled lyrics to "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" sold for $103,500.
In 1997, blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon died of throat cancer at 77.
In 1998, Charlie Foxx, a guitarist and vocalist who teamed up with his sister Inez on the 1963 Billboard #7 hit "Mockingbird", died of leukemia at the age of 68.
In 1999, it was reported that Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky had quit the band.
In 2002, Bon Jovi performed at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. More than 375,000 people viewed the live Web cast of the show.
In 2004, Farm Aid '04 was held at White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Washington. Performers included Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jerry Lee Lewis, Trick Pony, Tony Coleman, Blue Merle, Kate Voegle, Marc Broussard, Dave Matthews, and the organizers Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young.
In 2006, 73 year-old country singer Willie Nelson and four members from his band were charged with drug possession after marijuana and magic mushrooms were found by police on his tour bus. Police had stopped the tour bus near Lafayette, Louisiana.
In 2006, Foo Fighters, the Eagles and Bob Dylan performed at a private party in San Francisco to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the biotechnology firm Genentech.
In 2006, Sir Cliff Richard unveiled a plaque to mark a tiny basement said to be the birthplace of British rock and roll, fifty years after the "2 i's" coffee bar opened in London's Old Compton Street. The Tornados, Tommy Steele, The Shadows and Adam Faith were among stars who started out at the club.
In 2006, Carlos Santana and wife Deborah co-chair the US edition of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 75th birthday festivities in Beverly Hills, California. The event benefits the Artists for a New South Africa organization, which seeks to fight the African AIDS crisis and supports human rights and democracy in South Africa.
In 2007, Santana performed at the Dream Concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event raises money for construction of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, pop singer Gloria Estefan issues "90 Millas" with the single "No Llores," featuring Santana.
In 2007, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's biography, 'The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star' was in bookstores. " It's given me some closure on a lot of different issues, to be able to discover, through the book, what was driving me," says Sixx. He makes a book store tour in L.A. to promote the tome’s publication.
In 2008, the US House Of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the late Isaac Hayes as "a passionate humanitarian."
In 2008, the Martin Guitar Company partners with John Mellencamp to create a special John Mellencamp Signature Edition Martin Guitar - inspired by Mellencamp’s acoustic 12-fret parlor guitar he calls Maybell, believed to be one of the May Bell (or May-Bell) guitars built in the ‘20s and ‘30s. Martin donates a portion of the proceeds from sales to Farm Aid, a cause very close to Mellencamp.
In 2008, the documentary "It Might Get Loud," featuring Jimmy Page, Jack White and the Edge, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.In 2009, John Fogerty was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting by the Americana Music Association.
In 2012, using a survey of more than 160,000 readers, British music magazine NME named John Lennon as Rock’s ultimate icon. Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher placed second, followed by David Bowie, Arctic Monkeys star Alex Turner and late Nirvana icon Kurt Cobain.
In 2012, Randy Bachman, of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was named to Canada’s Walk of Fame for the second time. He was also inducted in 2001 as a member of The Guess Who.
