Music History - March 31

In 1956, eleven-year-old Brenda Lee made her television debut on ABC's "Ozark Jamboree," singing the Hank Williams song, "Jambalaya."

In 1957, billed as "the nation's only atomic-powered singer," Elvis Presley played two shows at Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

Also in 1957, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sun labelmates Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins began their only tour together.

On March 31, 1958, Chuck Berry released the single "Johnny B. Goode." The original lyrics referred to Johnny as a "colored boy," but, as Berry later explained, he changed it to "country boy" to ensure radio play. The song is one of Berry's most famous recordings, has been covered by many artists, and has received several honors and accolades. It is also considered to be one of the most recognizable songs in music history.  Rolling Stone magazine placed it at #1 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time."

In 1959, on NBC-TV, "The Jimmie Rodgers Show" began its 21-week run with series regulars Connie Francis, the Kirby Stone Four, the Clay Warnick Singers, and Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra.

In 1960, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters recorded "Finger Poppin' Time."

In 1962, the Shirelles released the single "Soldier Boy."

In 1963, Jackie Wilson sang "Night" and "Baby Work Out" on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1964, the Beatles set a recording industry record that may never be equaled. They held the top 5 positions on the US singles chart with "Can't Buy Me Love" at number 1, "Twist and Shout" at number 2, "She Loves You" at number 3, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at number 4 and "Please Please Me" at number 5. In Canada, they had nine of the Top 10 singles, while the Australian charts saw them occupying the first six places. 

In 1965, "Shindig!" on ABC-TV featured Chuck Berry, Bobby Sherman, the Spats, Adam Faith, and Rosie Grier.

In 1966, the Elvis Presley film "Frankie and Johnny," co-starring Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Sue Ane Langdon, and Nancy Kovack, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.

In 1967, at the Finsbury Park Astoria Theatre in North London, Jimi Hendrix played his first UK concert on a bill with the Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, and Englebert Humperdinck. It was also the first time Hendrix set fire to his guitar on stage. He had to be taken to the hospital because of resulting burns to his hands.

In 1967, the final installment of "Where the Action Is," a weekday spin-off of "American Bandstand," aired on ABC-TV.

In 1968, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles performed a medley of their hits on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1969, John Lennon and his new wife Yoko Ono left their "bed-in" at the Amsterdam Hilton to make a quick trip to Vienna for the premiere of Yoko's new film "Rape," a trip detailed in the next Beatles single, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko."

On this day in 1971, "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" by the Temptations was the #1 song.

In 1972, the official Beatles Fan Club disbanded. The Beatles Monthly magazine had ceased three years previously.

Television appeared at CBGB’s in New York City in 1974.

In 1977, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the intermission of Elvis Presley's concert, he became too ill to return to the stage. The show was cancelled and Elvis was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Memphis the following day, suffering from fatigue and intestinal flu.

In 1978, Wings released their 'London Town' album.

In 1982, the Doobie Brothers announced their break-up after 12 years of performing together.

In 1983, MTV added Michael Jackson's video for "Beat It" to its schedule, the first video by a black artist to be played on MTV.

In 1984, Kenny Loggins started a three-week run at #1 on the US singles chart with “Footloose” – the theme from the film with the same name, a #6 hit in the UK.

In 1986, O'Kelly Isley of The Isley Brothers died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 48. As a trio, the Isleys started as a Gospel group in the early 1950s, switching to R&B in the latter half of the decade. Their first big hit was "Shout" in 1959, followed in 1962 by the original version of "Twist and Shout", later covered by the Beatles. The Isley Brothers' biggest hit came in 1969 with the million-selling "It's Your Thing."

In 1986, Alabama's 'Greatest Hits' album was certified Platinum.

In 1987, Prince released his 'Sign O' The Times' album. The album's music draws on funk, soul, psychedelic pop, and rock music.   In 2003, the album was ranked #93 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

In 1989, the World's Largest Twist Party took place when 2,248 twisters joined singer Chubby Checker at Disneyland as part of their "Blast to the Past" celebration.

In 1990, at the Starplex Amphitheater in Dallas, Cher began her 55-date Heart of Stone World Tour, which grossed more than $70 million.

In 1992, Def Leppard released 'Adrenalize,' their fifth studio album and the first since the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark.

In 1994, Madonna made a memorable visit to "The Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS-TV. The network had to delete 13 offending words from the audio track before the show aired. She also handed Letterman a pair of her panties. Robin Williams later described the segment as a "battle of wits with an unarmed woman."

In 1995, the singer Selena was killed at age 23 by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar. In 1997, Warner Brothers made a film based on Selena's life starring Jennifer Lopez.

In 1995, a member of the audience rushed the stage at a Jimmy Page/Robert Plant concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit, with intent to stab guitarist Page "to end his Satanic music." Two security guards who apprehended the would-be assassin were stabbed instead, but they recovered from their injuries.

In 1998, "Good Times"– made in 1967, and the only movie to star Sonny & Cher – had its home video debut and included a previously unreleased version of "I Got You Babe."

In 2001, Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brown were banned for life from Hollywood's Bel Air hotel after causing major damage to their suite during a stay. A TV was smashed, two doors were ripped off their hinges, carpets and walls were stained by alcohol. Houston reportedly called in her lawyers to plead with hotel management to not call the police. The suite required five days of repairs.

In 2005, rap record company boss Marion "Suge" Knight was ordered to pay $107 million to Lydia Harris  who had claimed that she invested in and helped found the Death Row label in 1989, one of hip-hop's top labels, but had been pushed out by Knight.

In 2006, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced that digital music sales almost tripled around the world in 2005, reaching $1.1 billion in value.

In 2007, a new world record for the longest non-stop concert was set by hundreds of musicians in Japan. The performance began on the evening of March 23 in the city of Omi, with musicians between the ages of six and 96 taking turns with more than 2,000 tunes being performed over 182 hours. Organizers praised the musicians, one of whom carried on despite a major earthquake during her piano piece. The previous world record was set in Canada in 2001 with 181 hours.

In 2011, country music singer Mel McDaniel died of lung cancer at age 68.

birthdays today include: John D. Loudermilk (80), Herb Alpert (79), Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople, Bad Company) (70), Angus Young (59)