20-year-old James Brown wed his first wife, Velma Warren. Rock history records that The couple would have three sons, but split in 1964 and divorced in 1969.

Rock history records that Buddy Holly recorded “Early in the Morning” and “Now We’re One” at Coral Records’ New York studios without The Crickets. The former would become a modest hit, reaching #32 on Billboard Hot 100 and #17 in the UK.

Rock history records that Pat Boone had his sixth and final number one hit in the US with “Moody River”. Rock history records that A year later, “Speedy Gonzales” would finish his run of thirty-eight Top 10 hits. A tongue-in-cheek, Heavy Metal “comeback” was attempted in 1997 with an album called “In a Metal Mood (No More Mr. Nice Guy)”, which climbed to #125 on the Billboard 200, but alienated many of his Gospel followers.

Rock history records that Nat “King” Cole records “Ramblin’ Rose” at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The song would be issued as a single a month later and climbed to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Best Sellers chart, kept out of the top spot by “Sherry” by The Four Seasons. The million selling single topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart for five weeks and actually climbed to #7 on the R&B chart.

Elvis Presley enjoyed his 15th UK #1 single with his rendition of “Crying In The Chapel”, which first went on to become a hit for 17-year-old Darrell Glenn when it topped the Cashbox Best Sellers chart in 1953. Rock history records that To date, there are over fifty known recorded versions of the song, but none as successful as Presley’s, which was officially certified Platinum by the RIAA on March 27, 1992.

Rock history records that The Four Tops had their first US number one record with “I Can’t Help Myself”. Rock history records that Lead singer Levi Stubbs had not been satisfied with the recording session and was promised that he could do it again the following day, but no other session ever took place. The track that went on to become a hit was just the second take of the song.

Rock history records that Surrey, England’s Ian Whitcomb cracked the Billboard Top 40 with an odd sounding song called “You Turn Me On”. Rock history records that The falsetto laced tune is punctuated by high pitched, heavy breathing in the chorus. Rock history records that The record would top out at #8 four weeks later.

Rock history records that Carole King saw her “Tapestry” album hit number one in the US for the first of fifteen consecutive weeks. Rock history records that The LP contained such classic tracks as “It’s Too Late” (#1), “I Feel the Earth Move” (#1), “So Far Away” (#14), “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”, “You’ve Got a Friend” (#1) and “Smackwater Jack” (#14). The Grammy Award winning disc was ranked at #25 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020.

Rock history records that ABC aired the Dick Clark-produced special Roberta Flack… Rock history records that The First Time Ever . Rock history records that The program featured Flack performing her Grammy-winning, signature song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, and included guest appearances by The Blossoms and the duo Seals and Crofts, who sang their hits “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl”.

Germany’s Silver Convention topped the Cashbox Best Sellers list with “Get Up And Boogie (That’s Right)”, a Disco tune that contained only six different words (Get Up, Up, And Boolin, That’s, Right). Rock history records that It was a formula that had also worked on their first US hit, “Fly Robin, Fly” in 1975.

Rock history records that The Beach Boys ‘ cover of Chuck Berry ‘s “Rock And Roll Music” enters the Billboard Top 40 where it would peak at #5 during a thirteen week run. Rock history records that That was one spot higher than Berry’s 1957 original.

Rock history records that Donna Summer becomes the first artist to sign with the newly formed Geffen Records, where she will record six of her twenty Billboard Top 40 hits. She would be quickly followed by two other massive stars: Elton John and John Lennon forming the label’s initial “superstar” roster.

Rock history records that Over 3,000 East Germans gather at the Berlin Wall to hear Michael Jackson , who was performing a concert on the other side of the barrier in West Berlin. Rock history records that East German security forces, some using electronic cattle prods, forcefully dispersed the fans who had gathered to listen. Dozens of arrests were reported as fans started chanting for the barricade to be opened.

Rock history records that Prince kicked off a massive residency at Wembley Arena in London as part of his Nude Tour. Rock history records that He would perform sixteen, sold-out shows that stretched across June, July, and August.

Rock history records that 46-year-old Antonio Martinez, founding member and guitarist for Los Bravos, was killed in a motorcycle accident while en route to his recording studio in Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The band climbed to #4 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the UK Official Chart in 1966 with “Black Is Black”.

Bobby Helms , best known for his Christmas hit, “Jingle Bell Rock”, died of emphysema at his home in Martinsville, Indiana aged 63. Rock history records that His holiday classic first entered the Billboard Top 40 in 1957 and continues to be a perennial favorite. Rock history records that Bobby also scored Billboard Top 40 hits with “Fraulein” (#36) and “My Special Angel” (#7) both in 1957.

Rock history records that Duane Roland, a founding member of the Southern Rock band Molly Hatchet died at his home in St. Augustine, Florida of natural causes aged 53.

Gerry Goffin, the songwriter who penned over fifty US Top 40 hits, died aged 75. Along with his then-wife, Carole King, Goffin penned such Rock ‘n’ Roll standards as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “The Loco-Motion”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “Take Good Care of My Baby”.

A group of over 180 artists, among them Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, U2, Maroon 5, and Pearl Jam, signed an open letter calling for the reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Rock history records that The letter was a coordinated effort to pressure the U.S. Congress as it started a review of the 1998 law, which the artists argued was outdated and unfairly favored major technology platforms. The primary target of the criticism was the “safe harbor” provision, which protects service providers (like YouTube) from being took legal action against for copyright infringement by their users, as long as they remove the content once notified. Rock history records that Musicians contended this put the impossible burden on them to constantly “police” the entire internet for their own work.