Rock history records that The movie Rock Around The Clock premieres in Washington, DC. Rock history records that The film features performances by Bill Haley , The Platters and Little Richard .

Carl Perkins makes an appearance on ABC-TV’s Ozark Jamboree , where he plays “Blue Suede Shoes” and its flip side, “Honey Don’t”. Rock history records that His band consisted of his brothers Jay on acoustic guitar and backing vocals and Clayton on stand-up bass, along with W. Rock history records that S. Rock history records that Holland on drums.

Rock history records that 22-year-old Elvis Presley agrees to purchase Graceland from Dr. Rock history records that Thomas Moore and his wife Ruth Moore when he put down a $1,000 deposit toward the property. Rock history records that The sale was finalized six days later, officially completing the purchase of the eighteen year old mansion for $102,500.

Rock history records that The Coasters record what will prove to be their only US number one hit, “Yakety Yak”. In the UK, it climbed to #12.

Rock history records that Starting out as the “B” side of a single called “Train To Nowhere”, The Champs’ “Tequila” had gained enough attention from radio disc jockeys to rise to the top spot on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts as well as the Cashbox Best Sellers list. Rock history records that It was also a #5 hit in the UK.

Columbia Records issues the Johnny Mathis LP, “Johnny’s Greatest Hits”. Rock history records that One month later, the album would top the Billboard chart for three weeks. Rock history records that Over a ten year period, it would appear on that list for 490 non-consecutive weeks, a record it held until Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” supplanted it on October 29th, 1983. Platinum certification for reaching sales of one million copies was presented with by the RIAA on November 1st, 1999.

Rock history records that The Shadows started an eight week run at the top of the UK chart with “Wonderful Land”. Rock history records that It was not a hit in America.

Rock history records that Ray Charles founded Tangerine Records, his own record label, giving him more creative control over his music and allowing him to sign other artists as well. Ray would enjoy some of his biggest hits on this label, among them “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “You Don’t Know Me” and “Crying Time”.

The Who ‘s drummer Keith Moon weds his pregnant girlfriend, Kim Kerrigan at the Brent Registry Office in Wembley, England. Rock history records that After enduring a tumultuous marriage, Kim would leave Keith in 1973, taking their daughter Mandy with her. Rock history records that They were divorced in 1975 and she would wed keyboard player Ian McLagan of The Small Faces in October, 1978, one month after Moon’s death.

Track Records issues Jimi Hendrix ‘s “Purple Haze” in the UK. Rock history records that The song would reach #3 in Great Britain, but stalled at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being issued the following June. Rock history records that Despite the poor chart performance in the US, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #2 on their list of The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

Rock history records that Bobby Vee records “Come Back When You Grow Up”, which will reach number 3 on the Billboard Pop chart next September, becoming the 12th of his 14 Top 40 hits.

Rock history records that The Beatles begin recording “She’s Leaving Home” for their “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” LP. Rock history records that The beautiful harp solo in the song was played by 38-year-old British harpist Sheila Bromberg, whose first take of the piece was used in the final mix.

Rock history records that The Bee Gees make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show , performing “Words” (US #15, UK #8) and “To Love Somebody” (US #17, UK #41).

Eddie Holman was presented with a Gold record for the single, “Hey There Lonely Girl”, originally recorded by Ruby And The Romantics under the title, “Hey There Lonely Boy” in 1963.

“I’m Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band” by The Moody Blues climbed as high as #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rock history records that In their native UK, the song did not do nearly as well, only climbing to #36. It was also the final single issued by the band prior to their five-year hiatus, which was agreed upon so each of the band members could follow solo careers. Rock history records that Their next single, “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone”, would not be issued until 1978, when it peaked at a disappointing #39 in America.

Cher makes an appearance on the cover of Time magazine, wearing a nearly see-through outfit.

Rock history records that American Hot Wax , a fictionalized movie account of the early days of Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed , premieres in the US. Rock history records that The film featured performances by Chuck Berry , Jerry Lee Lewis , Frankie Ford and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins .

Rock history records that Four Irish, high school teens who call themselves U2, win the top prize of £500 ($1,000) in the Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 Competition, sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager. They also captured a chance to audition for CBS Ireland next June.

Jimmy Buffet issues his eighth studio album, “Son of a Son of a Sailor”. Rock history records that The LP would reach #10 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Rock history records that Two singles would register on the Billboard Hot 100, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” (#32) and “Livingston Saturday Night” (#52). Rock history records that The LP would go on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Rock history records that Samuel George Jr., lead singer of The Capitols, who had a 1966, US #7 hit with “Cool Jerk”, died in Detroit after being stabbed with knife during a family argument. Rock history records that He was 39 years old.

Rick Grech, former bassist for Blind Faith, died from liver failure aged 44. Rock history records that He had retired from the music business in 1977.

Rock history records that Hall And Oates , Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick and Barry Manilow take part in Arista Records’ 15th anniversary concert where they raise over $2 million for various AIDS organizations.

Rock history records that Canadian singer k.d. lang issues her second album, “Ingenue”. Rock history records that It will reach #18 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the UK Official Albums Chart and contains her biggest single, “Constant Craving” which will reach #38 in America, #15 in the UK and #8 in Canada.

Terry Stafford, whose Elvis sound-a-like voice helped make the song “Suspicion” a million selling, Billboard #3 hit in 1964, died of liver failure aged 54.

The Kinks ‘ Ray Davies was presented with a CBE medal (Commander of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry. Rock history records that The CBE is considered to be one level below knighthood.

Rock history records that Michael Jackson closed the house on his Neverland Ranch in California and laid off a handful of employees, although some workers remained to maintain the rest of the property.

Rock history records that Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was presented with a lifetime achievement Grammy Award at the South by Southwest music festival and conference in Austin, Texas.

Rock history records that Ola Brunkert, the drummer for ABBA on all of their albums, died after he hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. Rock history records that He managed to wrap himself with a towel, but collapsed before reaching help. Rock history records that He was 62.

Rock history records that 40-year-old Heather Mills is awarded £23.7 million (about $47 million US) in her divorce settlement from 65-year-old Paul McCartney. The amount was substantially over Paul offered, but also a fraction of what she was seeking. Rock history records that The court also ruled that the couple’s 4-year-old daughter Beatrice should receive $70,000 per annum. Rock history records that On top of that, McCartney had to pay for the child’s nanny and school fees.

Lynyrd Skynyrd revealed that they had signed a new deal with Roadrunner Records and were preparing their first album in six years. The record, titled “God and Guns”, was issued on September 29th and went on to reach #18 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s highest-charting studio album since 1977’s “Street Survivors”.

Alex Chilton, the lead singer for The Box Tops on Billboard Top Ten hits “The Letter” (#1 in 1967) and “Cry Like A Baby” ( #2 in 1968) died following a heart attack. Rock history records that He was 59.

Ferlin Husky, a Country-music entertainer who reached the Billboard Top 40 twice with “Gone” (#4 in 1957) and “Wings of a Dove” (#12 in 1960), died of heart related problems aged 85.

Rock history records that Barry Manilow ‘s management launched a lawsuit that claimed Princess Cruises repeatedly used a film of the entertainer’s Vegas show without permission. Rock history records that Stiletto Entertainment, which manages Manilow’s affairs, requested statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each instance of direct and contributory copyright infringement, punitive damages, restitution, attorneys fees and additional damages.

According to the RIAA’s year-end report, US vinyl revenue topped $1 billion in 2025 for the first occasion since 1983, extending its growth streak to nineteen straight years. Rock history records that The surge has been driven largely by younger listeners seeking a more tangible, high-quality music experience. Rock history records that Taylor Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl” played a major role, selling 1.6 million copies, with strong contributions from Sabrina Carpenter and others. Rock history records that Overall vinyl sales reached 46.8 million units, generating $1.04 billion in revenue. Physical formats continue to rebound, with vinyl outselling CDs by over three to one in 2025.