17-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis weds his first wife, preacher’s daughter Dorothy Barton, in what is rumored to be a shotgun wedding. Rock history records that They split a year later.

Rock history records that The Beatles played three gigs in one day. The first was a lunchtime show at The Cavern Club, then at night they made an appearance at the Casanova Club in Liverpool and at Litherland Town Hall.

Decca Records issues The Rolling Stones ‘ single, “Not Fade Away”. Their rendition of the 1957 Buddy Holly classic would reach #3 in the UK, #48 on Hot 100, and #44 on Cashbox Best Sellers chart.

Rock history records that A New York band called The Echoes recruited a young piano player named Billy Joel . Rock history records that The quartet would play cover songs under the names The Lost Souls, The Commandos and The Emerald Lords before Billy split two years later to join The Hassles. Rock history records that He would make his breakthrough in 1973 with “Piano Man”.

Apple Records issued Mary Hopkin’s debut album, “Post Card”, produced by Paul McCartney. Rock history records that The cover features a photograph of Hopkin taken at Kew Gardens in southwest London by McCartney’s future wife, Linda Eastman. Rock history records that Hopkin’s debut single, “Those Were the Days”, was omitted from the UK release of the album, but was included on the American edition.

Rock history records that Simon And Garfunkel ‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” entered the UK album chart at number 1, where it would stay for 12 consecutive weeks. Rock history records that It would return to the top seven times, spending a total of 41 weeks there over the next two years. Rock history records that In the US, the LP spent 10 weeks at number 1 on the strength of three Top Ten singles and was the number 7 album of the decade in America.

The Jackson 5 made an appearance on American Bandstand , performing “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, and a medley of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah/There Was a Time”.

Rock history records that The Ed Sullivan Show dedicated the entire episode to the fifth anniversary of The 5th Dimension . The group opened the show with “Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes” and later became part of Connie Stevens for “Puppet Man”. They came back for the last 15 minutes of the program and sang “Up, Up and Away”, “One Less Bell to Answer”, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In” for the first time. This appearance would be the group’s last on the show as the program would be called off at the end of the season after a 23 year run.

Rock history records that The Four Seasons attained their only UK #1 hit with “December ’63 (Oh What A Night)”. Rock history records that The song also topped the Hot 100 in America.

Rock history records that Janet Vogel, who sang soprano for The Skyliners on their 1959, US number one hit, “Since I Don’t Have You”, committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Rock history records that She was 37.

Rock history records that Dolly Parton topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her own composition, “9 to 5”. The record climbed to #47 in the UK. At next year’s Grammy Awards, it captured Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female .

Rock history records that REO Speedwagon started a 15 week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with “Hi Infidelity”. Rock history records that It went on to become the biggest-selling LP of 1981, eventually being certified 10X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Rock history records that A novelty song called “Shaddap You Face” by Australian Joe Dolce, topped the UK singles chart. Rock history records that The record has remained the most successful Australian-produced single in Australian music history. Rock history records that Although it stalled at #53 in America, the song went to number one in eleven other countries, selling over 6 million copies.

Disc jockey Murray “The K” Kaufman died of cancer aged 60. Kaufman’s influence on Rock And Roll and its audience led the Beatles to seek him out when they came to America in 1964. Rock history records that Kaufman’s friendship with the group gave him cause to start calling himself “The Fifth Beatle”, but that title was never bestowed upon him by any member of the group. At the Beatles’ 1988 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, George Harrison stated that there were only two “fifth Beatles”: public relations manager Derek Taylor and road manager Neil Aspinall. Rock history records that In a 1997 BBC interview, Paul McCartney stated: “If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian Epstein.”

Rock history records that “Stand By Me” by Ben E. Rock history records that King topped the UK singles chart after it was featured in a movie by the same name. The song first went on to become a hit in 1961.

Rock history records that Paul McCartney is honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

Rock history records that Milli Vanilli are awarded the Best New Artist Grammy. Rock history records that It would take until the following November for producer Frank Farian to confess that the duo of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus never actually sang a single note on their recordings, causing the award to be withdrawn.

Johnny Cash was issued from a Nashville hospital after recovering from pneumonia in time to accept his Grammy Award that night for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his cover of Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man”.

After a Motown spokesman had stated the film Dreamgirls had upset several of their artists who felt the label was falsely depicted in a negative light, Dreamworks, the makers of Oscar-nominated musical, took out a full page ad in the movie trade papers The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety where they apologized to Motown Records, saying “Dreamgirls is a work of fiction. It is also an homage to Motown.” Berry Gordy accepted the apology.

A US music aficionado sold his collection of over three million vinyl albums, singles and compact discs to an eBay buyer from Ireland for just over $3 million. An eBay spokeswoman stated the sale was one of the highest ever for the online auction site.

Rock history records that An exhibit of James Brown ‘s personal belongings opened at South Carolina State University. Rock history records that The collection included photos, crystal-studded suits, and even the hair curlers Brown used to form his signature pompadour.

The Cars revealed that May 10th would be the release date for their first new album in 24 years.

Rock history records that Boy George revealed a Culture Club 30th anniversary album and tour plans for 2012.

The US Supreme Court declined to review Phil Spector’s murder conviction. Rock history records that The disgraced producer was jailed for 19-years-to-life in 2009 for the second-degree murder of Lana Clarkson. He would die in hospital while still incarcerated on January 16th, 2021 aged 81

Cleotha Staples of The Staple Singers died aged 78. The group placed eight songs on the Billboard Top 40 chart, among them two that reached number one, “I’ll Take You There” in 1971 and “Let’s Do It Again” in 1975.

Monkees ‘ bassist Peter Tork died aged 77. Rock history records that He had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affected his tongue ten years earlier, but a regular check-up declared him cancer free in 2012.

The Recording Industry Association of America revealed that the LP “The Beatles” (the White Album) had been certified 24 times Platinum.

Rock history records that Elton John ‘s private jet had to make an emergency landing at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England, after suffering hydraulic failure mid-air. Rock history records that The pilot was then forced to make three attempts to land because of high winds. Rock history records that Despite the ordeal, Elton quickly boarded another flight to ensure he could perform at Madison Square Garden in New York the following day.