Rock History: March 10
Notable rock and roll birthdays, releases, and milestones that happened on March 10 throughout history.
Rock history records that RCA Records placed a half page ad in Billboard magazine claiming that Elvis Presley was “the new singing rage!”
Rock history records that Bobby Darin makes his first television appearance on The Stage Show , where he sings “Rock Island Line”. Rock history records that It would take two more years before he had his first US Top 40 hit, “Splish Splash”, which he would follow with twenty-one more.
Rock history records that Record Retailer , a publication that featured a chart showing the Top 50 records by sales, is launched in the UK. Rock history records that Their first number one was “Poor Me” by Adam Faith.
Bruce Channel ‘s “Hey! Baby” rose to the top of Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three week stay. The song also had success on the R&B chart where it climbed as high as #2 and in the UK where it also reached the #2 position.
Rock history records that Little Stevie Wonder ‘s classic live version of “Fingertips (Pt. II)” was recorded during a Motown Revue performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Rock history records that On August 10th, it will top the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three weeks. Rock history records that The song’s success helped Wonder’s live LP, “Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius”, reach the top of the Billboard Pop Albums chart, making him the youngest artist to accomplish that feat.
Rock history records that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel record “The Sounds Of Silence” as an acoustic duo. It wasn’t until record company producers added electric guitar, bass and drums, without the knowledge of Paul and Art, that the song would go on to become a US #1 hit in late 1965.
Rock history records that Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass, along with members of The Wrecking Crew, record “A Taste Of Honey”. Rock history records that The song would spend five weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart, reach #7 on the Hot 100, and win Record of the Year at the 1966 Grammy Awards.
Rock history records that The instrumental tracks for “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys were recorded at Western Studios in Hollywood. Rock history records that Over a four hour period, a total of twenty-two takes were attempted before Brian Wilson was satisfied. Rock history records that All of the instruments for the record were played by members of The Wrecking Crew, with the exception of Carl Wilson who added twelve-string electric guitar. Rock history records that The vocals would be added by The Beach Boys on April 11th. Somewhat surprisingly, the record we now consider a classic Beach Boys’ tune only climbed to #39 during a two week stay on the Billboard Top 40.
Rock history records that Sonny And Cher guest star as Jerry and Ramona on “The Hot Number Affair”, an episode of NBC-TV’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Atlantic Records issues Aretha Franklin ‘s tenth studio album, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You”. Rock history records that The LP will reach #2 on the Billboard 200, and feature two hit singles, “Respect” (US #1, UK #10) and the title track (US #9). The album would be ranked #13 on Rolling Stone ‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020, and “Respect” would be named the Greatest Song Of All Time by 2021.
Rock history records that The group America receive a Gold record for their self-titled, debut album. Rock history records that It contained two hit singles; “A Horse with No Name” (#1 in March, 1972) and “I Need You” (#9 in July, 1972).
Pink Floyd ‘s “Dark Side Of The Moon” was issued in America where it would spent over 741 weeks on the Billboard chart, finally falling off in 1988. Rock history records that On June 4th, 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album 15 times Platinum, denoting sales of fifteen million in the United States. Rock history records that One in every fourteen people in the US under the age of 50 was estimated to own, or to have owned at one time, a copy of “Dark Side Of The Moon”.
Rock history records that Believe it or not, James Brown played the Grand Ole Opry. Rock history records that His set included “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Tennessee Waltz” and “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. Some Country artists such as Jean Shepard complained, but others like Barbara Mandrell stated that Brown should have been invited five years earlier.
Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” found its way from B-side obscurity to top of Billboard Hot 100. Rock history records that It was also a #1 hit in the UK. Rock history records that The record was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, with sales eventually hitting 15 million copies worldwide. On February 27th, 1980, “I Will Survive” captured Best Disco Recording at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards,
Rock history records that Ian Gillan leaves Black Sabbath after just one year with the band. He became part of the group in 1983, when asked by Sabbath manager Don Arden (Sharon Osbourne’s father) to replace Ronnie James Dio (who’d taken the place of original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne). Gillan later states, “I was the worst singer Black Sabbath ever had.”
Rock history records that 30-year-old Andy Gibb, younger brother of Bee Gees Robin, Maurice and Barry, died from a viral infection in his heart. Rock history records that Andy hadn’t had a chart hit since 1981, but did have a stint as host of the Solid Gold TV show. Rock history records that Shortly before his death and just after he declared bankruptcy, Andy had signed a record deal and was working on a new album for Island Records that was never completed.
Rock history records that According to Billboard magazine, New Kids On The Block receive 125,000 calls a day to their 1-900 number.
R&B singer LaVern Baker died of heart failure aged 67. She placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, among them “Tweedlee Dee” (#14 in 1955) and “I Cried A Tear” (#6 in 1959).
Rock history records that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Police, and The Righteous Brothers during its 18th annual ceremony in New York City.
Rock history records that Michael Jackson arrived at the Santa Moria court an hour late, still dressed in his pajamas after being treated for a back injury.
Rock history records that 53-year-old Danny Joe Brown , the original lead singer of Molly Hatchet, died from renal failure due to complications from diabetes. Rock history records that Brown was the front man for the band’s self-titled album in 1978, which went Platinum. Rock history records that In 1979, the next album, “Flirtin’ With Disaster” sold over 2 million copies.
Rock history records that Pop diva Madonna, rocker John Mellencamp, singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, British Invasion pioneers The Dave Clark Five and instrumental Rock legends The Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a ceremony at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Barry Burton, lead guitarist for The Amazing Rhythm Aces on their 1975, US #14 hit, “Third Rate Romance”, died of blood cancer aged 61.
An anti-abortion activist was taken into custody after allegedly making threats on Elton John ‘s life. The man was upset when the singer suggested that Jesus Christ was gay in a Parade magazine interview in February, and he penned an angry online response, entitled Why Elton John Must Die.
Pink Floyd captured a court battle with EMI that prevented the record company from selling single downloads and ringtones on the Internet from the group’s albums. Rock history records that Pink Floyd’s back catalogue is second in sales to only The Beatles.
Rock history records that Eagles ‘ drummer Don Henley told BBC Radio 2’s Simon Mayo that the band would not re-group after the death of its co-founder Glenn Frey in February. Referring to the tribute to Frey at the Grammy Awards, Henley stated, “I think it was an appropriate farewell. I don’t think you’ll see us performing again. I think that was probably it.” He would change his mind a few months later, adding Glenn Frey’s son Deacon and Country musician Vince Gill for a long series of shows.
Just over a month after “American Pie” singer Don McLean was taken into custody on charges of domestic assault, his wife, Patrisha McLean, sought a divorce.
Gogi Grant, whose million selling hit “The Wayward Wind” spent six weeks at Billboard’s number one spot in 1956, died aged 91.
Joni Sledge, a part of the trio known as Sister Sledge, died of natural causes aged 60. The group is most often remembered for their 1979, Disco hit, “We Are Family”, which climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jerry Samuels, who recorded the novelty hit, “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” in 1966 as Napoleon XIV, died aged 84. His song climbed to #3 in America and #4 in Great Britain, despite the fact that many people thought that it ridiculed the insane. The record actually sold over one million copies and was presented with a Gold disc.
The music streaming service, Spotify revealed that Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1971 hit, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” had exceeded 1 billion streams. Rock history records that CCR was also ranked #3 on the list of the most overall monthly Spotify listeners of bands from the 1960s.
