Music History - March 17

In 1953, at CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, Tony Bennett recorded "Rags To Riches."

In 1955, Sarah Vaughan recorded "Whatever Lola Wants," a song from the musical "Damn Yankees" that became the fourth of her five Top 10 singles.

In 1956, Carl Perkins made his first TV appearance, performing on ABC's "Ozark Jubilee."

In 1957, Elvis Presley buys the Graceland mansion from Mrs. Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500, outbidding the YMCA's offer of $35,000. The 23 room, 10,000 square foot home, sitting on 13.8 acres of land, would be expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space before the king moved in a few weeks later. The original building had at one time been a place of worship, used by the Graceland Christian Church and was named after the builder's daughter, Grace Toof. 

In 1958, the Coasters record what will prove to be their only US number one hit, "Yakety Yak." It was released on Atlantic Records in April of 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as #1 on the Hot 100 pop list.  In the UK, it reached #12. 

In 1958, the Champs started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart with "Tequila," a #5 hit in the UK.

On this day in 1961, "Surrender" by Elvis Presley was the #1 song.

In 1962, the Shadows started an eight week run at #1 in the UK with the single "Wonderful Land," the bands third #1.

In 1962, Billboard magazine reported that Ray Charles had started Tangerine, his own record label.

In 1966, the Walker Brothers had their second UK #1 with the single "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore," (originally recorded by Frankie Valli).

In 1967, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and Booker T and The MG's appeared at London's Finsbury Park Astoria on the first night of a 17-date UK tour.

Also in 1967, working at Abbey Road studios in London, the Beatles finished the recording of "She's Leaving Home" after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg who was part of the string section on the track became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording.

In 1967, Bobby Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up," which will reach #3 on the Billboard Pop chart next September, becoming the 12th of his 14 Top 40 hits.

German single cover

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix released the single "Purple Haze" in the UK (June 19, 1967 in the US).  The song appeared on the US version of his 1967 album 'Are You Experienced.'"Purple Haze" has become one of the "archetypical psychedelic drug songs of the sixties."

In 1968, the Bee Gees made their television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. They performed "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

In 1970, Eddie Holman received a Gold record for the single, "Hey There Lonely Girl," originally recorded by Ruby and the Romantics under the title, "Hey There Lonely Boy" in the 1960s.

In 1972, Ringo Starr released the single "Back Off, Boogaloo." In a 1977 interview, Starr explained that the phrase "Back Off Boogaloo" was inspired when he and fellow musician (and close friend) Marc Bolan had dinner one night, and Bolan used the word "boogaloo" multiple times in his sentences. Starr said that after dinner, when he had been half awake and half asleep, the beat and tune for the song had become stuck in his head. He went to find a tape recorder to record the song but had trouble when all his tape recorders either were broken or had no batteries, adding, "So, I stole batteries from the kids toys and I got the song down.""Back Off Boogaloo" reached #2 in Britain – his highest charting single there – and #9 in the US.

In 1972, at the Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, Tanya Tucker recorded what became her debut single, "Delta Dawn."

In 1973, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show’s single, “The Cover of the Rolling Stone,” peaked at #6 on the US chart, but was banned in the UK by the BBC, due to rules about product placement.

In 1973, Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at #1 on the US album chart with 'Dueling Banjos.' Taken from the film 'Deliverance.'

In 1976, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers appeared at CBGB'S, in New York City.

In 1978, four Irish, high school teens who call themselves U2, win the top prize of £500 ($1,000) in the Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition, sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager. They also win a chance to audition for CBS Ireland next June.

In 1978, the fictionalized account of the early days of disc jockey Alan Freed, "American Hot Wax," widely considered to be one of the best rock 'n' roll movies of all time, opened in North American theaters, featuring appearances and performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Tim McIntire played Freed. Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, Laraine Newman, and Jeff Altman were also in the cast.

On March 17, 1979, Bad Company released their epic LP 'Desolation Angels.' It was their 5th studio release. Paul Rodgers revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an episode to Desolation Angels) that the album's title came from the novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac. The LP was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, England in late 1978 and it reached #3 on the Billboard album charts in 1979 and went Platinum in 1979 and Double Platinum subsequently.
In 1982, Samuel George, Jr., lead singer of the Capitols, who had a US # 7 single with “Cool Jerk” was killed, aged 39, after being stabbed during a family argument.

In 1984, Van Halen's "Jump" peaks at #1 in the US and #7 in the UK. Over the years, David Lee Roth has given various accounts of the meaning behind the lyrics, but most often says they are about a TV news story he saw where a man was about to kill himself by jumping off a building.

In 1988, during his 137-date Faith World Tour, George Michael played the first of four sold-out nights at Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia.

In 1990, Hall And Oates, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick and Barry Manilow take part in Arista Records' 15th anniversary concert where they raise over $2 million for various AIDS organizations.

In 1990, Rick Grech, bass player with Family, Blind Faith and Traffic died of kidney and liver failure.

In 1995, Madonna premiered the "Bedtime Stories" video. The gathering was 1,500 guests that were in pajamas and had teddy bears.

In 1996, Terry Stafford, whose Elvis sound-a-like voice helped make the song "Suspicion" a Billboard #3 hit in 1964, died of liver failure at the age of 54.

In 1997, the RIAA announced that the Eagles''Greatest Hits' album had tied Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' as the all-time best-selling album in the US.

In 1998, Van Halen released 'Van Halen 3.' It was the band's first album with lead singer Gary Cherone (of Extreme).

In 2002, the Soundtrack album 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' started a two week run at #1 on the US album chart.

In 2003, singer/songwriter/comedian/Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Carlisle died at age 94.

In 2004, the Kinks' Ray Davies received a CBE medal (Commander of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry. The CBE is considered to be one level below knighthood.

In 2004, Courtney Love was arrested for allegedly throwing a microphone stand at a member of the audience at a show in New York City. Earlier in the day, she taped a guest appearance on David Letterman's CBS-TV show and "flashed" the host six times.

In 2004, J.J. Jackson, one of the original MTV VJs, died following a heart attack at age 62.

In 2006, Michael Jackson closed the house on his Neverland Ranch in California and laid off a handful of employees, although some workers remained to maintain the rest of the property.

In 2008, Ola Brunkert, the drummer for ABBA on all of their albums, died after he hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. He managed to wrap himself with a towel around but collapsed before reaching help. He was 62.

In 2009, the iTunes Music Store reached 800 million applications downloaded.

In 2010, Alex Chilton, the lead singer for the Box Tops on their Billboard Top Ten hits "The Letter" and "Cry Like A Baby," died following a heart attack. He was 59. 

In 2011, Ferlin Husky, a Country-music entertainer who reached the Billboard Top 40 twice with "Gone" (#4 in 1957) and "Wings of a Dove" (#12 in 1960), died of heart related problems at the age of 85.

In 2013, John Lennon and George Harrison were honored with a blue plaque at the site of the former Apple Boutique in a ceremony in London held at at 94 Baker Street. The new plaque reads "John Lennon, M.B.E., 1940-1980, and George Harrison, M.B.E., 1943-2001, worked here."

birthdays today include (among others):  Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) (73), John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) (70), Van Connor (Screaming Trees) (47) and Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) (47)