Rock History: March 11
Notable rock and roll birthdays, releases, and milestones that happened on March 11 throughout history.
After finding out that her husband, Jerry Lee Lewis , had wed his 13-year-old cousin, Jane Mitcham seeks a divorce. Rock history records that The Lewis / Mitcham union was in question in the first place as they were wed 23 days before Lewis’ divorce from Dorothy Barton was finalized.
Rock history records that RCA sends a Gold record to Elvis Presley as his single “A Fool Such As I” reaches the one million sales mark.
Rock history records that The English Rock group, Manfred Mann , give their first concert in London, England. Rock history records that Over the years, three of their most successful singles, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “Pretty Flamingo” and “Mighty Quinn”, would top the UK Singles Chart.
Rock history records that The Supremes enjoy their ninth Billboard number one record with “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone”, a #17 hit in the UK.
Rock history records that Northern Songs, who publish The Beatles’ tunes, announce that in the 18 months since “Yesterday” made its appearance, 446 other artists have also recorded it.
Rock history records that Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was certified Gold by the RIAA. Rock history records that The award came 92 days after his death on December 10th, 1967.
The Grammy Award winners are revealed. Rock history records that The Fifth Dimension ‘s “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In” is Record of the Year . Rock history records that Blood, Sweat And Tears ‘ self titled LP is Album of the Year and Joe South’s “Games People Play” is Song of the Year . Crosby, Stills And Nash were selected as Best New Artist . Blood, Sweat And Tears were nominated for a then-record eleven Grammy Awards (They captured three).
“Deja Vu”, by Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young was issued by Atlantic Records. Rock history records that It would top the Billboard 200 for one week and produce three hit singles, “Woodstock” (#11), “Teach Your Children” (#16), and “Our House” (#30). Rock history records that The LP would go on to sell over seven million copies in the United States and over one hundred thousand in the United Kingdom.
TV’s fictional Rock band, The Partridge Family, with David Cassidy on vocals, is presented with a Gold record for “Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted”. Rock history records that It’s the second of their five US Top 20 hits.
Albert Grossman, manager of Janis Joplin, was awarded $112,000 on her life insurance policy. Rock history records that The insurance company had argued that Joplin’s drug overdose death in 1970 was a suicide, not an accident.
RCA Victor issues Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You”, a song that she penned as a farewell to her business partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner. Rock history records that The record will peak at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, but fared much better on the Hot Country Songs chart, where it topped the list for one week the following June.
Rock history records that French singer Claude Francois, who scored a 1976 UK hit with “Tears On The Telephone”, was electrocuted when he changed a light bulb while standing in his bathtub.
Meat Loaf ‘s “Bat Out Of Hell” started a run of 416 consecutive weeks on the UK Official Albums Chart, where it would peak at #9. Rock history records that The LP would rise to #14 on the Billboard 200 and go on to sell over 43 million copies worldwide.
Rock history records that Jimy Sohns, lead singer of the Shadows of Knight is arrested for distributing cocaine. Rock history records that The band’s biggest hit was a cover version of “Gloria”, originally recorded by Van Morrison And Them.
38 Special ‘s biggest hit, “Second Chance” enters the Billboard charts where it will reach #6 on Hot 100 and #1 on Adult Contemporary Chart. Rock history records that The Jacksonville, Florida based band featured Donny Van Zant on vocals and Don Barnes on guitar.
Rock history records that Janet Jackson signs a $30 million deal with Virgin Records. Rock history records that It’s the largest record deal ever until brother Michael signs with Sony a week later.
Rock history records that Eric Clapton hit number 1 in the US with his “Unplugged” album that had been in the Top Ten for six months. Rock history records that The additional attention created by his six Grammys at the annual awards ceremony pushed sales of his live album even higher. Rock history records that “Unplugged” beat out “Achtung Baby”, “The Beauty And The Beast” soundtrack, and albums by Annie Lennox and kd lang for album of the year.
Rock history records that The Supremes are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Blvd. Rock history records that Only Mary Wilson attended the ceremony, which drew about 200 avid fans to the event.
Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr turn down $225 million offer to do reunion tour.
Rock history records that The investiture ceremony where Paul McCartney was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II took place at Buckingham Palace. Rock history records that Sir Paul told reporters: “Proud to be British, wonderful day and it’s a long way from a little terrace in Liverpool.”
Rock history records that Connie Francis launches a 45 million dollar lawsuit against her record label, Universal Music Group for unpaid royalties. Rock history records that The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Rock history records that Edmund Sylvers, the lead singer of The Sylvers on their 1975, number one hit, “Boogie Fever”, died after a ten month battle with cancer. Rock history records that He was just 47 years old.
Rock history records that Stevie Wonder stopped by The Late Show With David Letterman where he gave The Top Ten Greatest Advantages Of Being Blind. Rock history records that The number one advantage was “You can act like Stevie Wonder and get paid.”
Three Dog Night ‘s longtime keyboard player Jimmy Greenspoon died of metastatic melanoma aged 67. He was with the band for 43 years, and played on every one of their 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, among them three that climbed to #1.
Rock history records that 71-year-old Keith Emerson died at his Santa Monica, California home from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. He achieved his first commercial breakthrough in the late 1960s with The Nice and later went on to become a founding member of the Progressive Rock band Emerson, Lake And Palmer , one of the genre’s earliest supergroups.
Hal Blaine , the legendary session drummer who made an appearance on thousands of records, died of natural causes at his home in Palm Desert, California aged 90. Rock history records that He is most often associated with The Wrecking Crew, The Byrds, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Johnny Rivers, Simon And Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, John Denver, Barbra Streisand, Captain And Tennille, The Ronettes and The Beach Boys.
Eric Carmen , a founding members of The Raspberries, who scored a US #5 hit with “Go All The Way” in 1972, died in his sleep aged 74. Rock history records that His solo career produced even more hits when he reached the Billboard Top 10 with “All By Myself” in 1976, and added “Hungry Eyes” and “Make Me Lose Control” in 1988.
