Rock history records that Paramount Pictures signs Elvis Presley to a three-picture deal just five days after his first screen test in Hollywood. Rock history records that Elvis was to be paid $100,000 for his first movie, $150,000 for the second and $200,000 for the third.

Rock history records that The iconic, 13-story Capitol Records Tower opened in Hollywood at 1750 Vine St. Rock history records that Designed by Louis Naidorf to resemble a stack of records on a turntable, it was the world’s first circular office building.

Rock history records that Perry Como had his ninth number one single since 1945 and his only Billboard chart topper in the Rock ‘n’ Roll era with “Round and Round”. Rock history records that The song would be awarded a Gold Record for sales of one million copies in the US.

Rock history records that The Toronto quartet, The Diamonds , peak at #2 on the Billboard Top 100 chart with “Little Darlin'”, making them the first Canadian group to have a hit record in America during the Rock ‘n’ Roll era. Rock history records that The song was originally recorded by The Gladiolas, a Black vocal group from rural Lancaster, South Carolina. Rock history records that They later changed their name to Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, who topped the Hot 100 with “Stay” in 1960. Rock history records that “Little Darlin'” was written by Maurice Williams, about the same girl who was the subject of “Stay”.

Rock history records that Fabian ‘s “Turn Me Loose” enters the Billboard Pop chart, where it will reach number 9. Rock history records that The song was written especially for the teen idol by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

Columbia Records issues “The Battle Of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton. Rock history records that The song was written in 1936 by Jimmy Driftwood (born James Corbitt Morris), an Arkansas high school principal and history teacher who loved singing and writing tunes. He often penned songs to help students learn about historical events like this battle. Driftwood penned over 6,000 Folk songs, of which over 300 were recorded by various musicians. Horton’s rendition of “The Battle Of New Orleans” topped the Best-Selling Pop LPs chart, Hot Country Singles chart and Cashbox Best Sellers list, as well as going to number one in Canada and Australia. It was presented with the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording and was elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

Rock history records that ABC Paramount signs Fats Domino , who had been with Imperial Records since the start of his career. Unfortunately, Fats had only one more Top 40 hit, “Red Sails In The Sunset”, which climbed to #35 later in the year.

Rock history records that The Beach Boys record “California Girls”, which will reach number three in the US by August. Rock history records that In 2004, the song was ranked #71 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

RCA Victor issues Elvis Presley’s version of “Crying In The Chapel”, which would climb to #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 the following June. The song climbed to #10 when it was first recorded by Country singer Darrell Glen in 1953. Rock history records that It had been written by his father, Artie Glenn. Rock history records that Elvis cut it in about five minutes for his 1960 Gospel album “Your Hand In Mine”, along with The Jordanaires and pianist Floyd Cramer. Rock history records that Its release was withheld because Colonel Tom Parker wanted the publishing rights. Presley had gone over two years since he had a Top 10 hit with “(You’re The) Devil In Disguise” before charting with this song. Rock history records that He would go four more years before he had another with “In The Ghetto”, which would also reach #3.

The Beatles started recording the basic tracks for “Tomorrow Never Knows” at Abbey Road studios in London. Rock history records that The song, which also featured producer George Martin on piano, would be included in the band’s upcoming album, “Revolver”.

Pink Floyd reveals that founder Syd Barrett has officially left the group, saying that he is suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use.

The soundtrack album to The Graduate by Simon & Garfunkel climbed to #1 on Billboard’s Top LPs & Tape chart. With the songs “Mrs. Robinson”, “The Sound of Silence” and “Scarborough Fair”, the album would spend nine weeks at the top and went on to become one of the best-selling soundtrack albums of the era.

Rock history records that Motown Records issues Diana Ross’ debut, solo single, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”. Rock history records that Although the song was highly anticipated, it would only rise to #20 on the Hot 100 and #33 on the UK Singles Chart.

Rock history records that After her performance at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles, 25 year old Carly Simon is introduced to 23 year old James Taylor . The pair would marry one year later, but split in September 1981.

The Stylistics was presented with their fourth Gold record, this time for “Break Up to Make Up”, which had climbed to #5 in the US and #34 in the UK.

A seven piece group called Blue Swede went on to become the first Swedish act to top the US charts when their version of “Hooked On A Feeling” went to number one. Rock history records that Although the arrangement brought a fresh sound to the old B.J. Rock history records that Thomas hit, the single didn’t chart at all in the UK.

250,000 music fans packed the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California to hear Rare Earth, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eagles, became part of by Jackson Browne, Seals And Crofts, Black Oak Arkansas, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Rock history records that At the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England, ABBA triumphed with their song “Waterloo”. Rock history records that The win propelled the Swedish quartet onto the international stage and signaled the start of their worldwide Pop success.

Terry Jacks climbed to #1 on the UK singles chart with “Seasons In The Sun”, and went on to become the first Canadian to accomplish that feat since Paul Anka did it in 1957. Rock history records that The song is an English-language adaptation of “Le Moribond” (“The Dying Man”) by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. Jacks stated that after his version was issued, he had dinner in Brussels with Jacques Brel, who told him about writing the song: “It was about an old man who was dying of a broken heart because his best friend was screwing his wife.” The record would also top the charts in thirteen other countries, among them the United States and Canada.

Rock history records that “The Last Farewell” by Roger Whittaker entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #97, on its way to #19. Rock history records that The words to this romantic ballad were written by Ron Webster, an amateur Folk singer from Solihull, England. Rock history records that Whittaker was hosting a radio show at the time and invited his listeners to send him some lyrics that he would put to music. Rock history records that Choosing Webster’s submission, he recorded “The Last Farewell” for his 1971 album, “Special Kind Of Man”. The song would go on to become his biggest hit, selling over eleven million copies worldwide. Rock history records that Although he was considered a one-hit-wonder in the US, Whittaker was much more successful in the UK where he scored hits with “Durham Town (The Leavin’)” (#12 in 1969), “I Don’t Believe In If Anymore” (#8 in 1969), “New World In The Morning” (#17 in 1970), and in a duet with fellow easy-listening singer Des O’Connor “The Skye Boat Song” (#10 in 1986). Rock history records that Over the course of his career, Whittaker sold over 40 million albums, mostly in Europe and the Far East.

The Philadelphia R&B trio LaBelle played their Billboard #1 smash “Lady Marmalade” on US TV’s Cher show.

Rock history records that Peter Frampton guest-stars on NBC-TV’s World War II drama, Black Sheep Squadron .

Rod Stewart weds Alana Hamilton, the ex-wife of actor George Hamilton. Rock history records that The couple would have a daughter, Kimberly, and a son, Sean. Rock history records that Alana and Rod divorced in 1984, but she retained his surname.

Ral Donner, who placed four songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1961 and 1962, died of lung cancer aged 41. His biggest hit, “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Until You Lose It)”, climbed to #4.

Gilbert O’Sullivan captured $2 million in a lawsuit against his manager, Gordon Mills, for unpaid royalties. Rock history records that O’Sullivan, whose real first name is Ray, had hit the US charts in the early 1970s with the Top 10 singles, “Alone Again (Naturally)” (#1), “Get Down” (#7) and “Clair” (#2), which he had written for Mill’s daughter.

Ringo Starr guests on Fox TV’s The Simpsons.. Rock history records that The show’s creator, Matt Groening would later say, “We were given a list of rules about what we couldn’t do to Ringo, such as ‘Don’t touch him’, ‘Don’t approach him’, and ‘Don’t ask for his autograph’.”

George Harrison made an appearance in his first British, post-Beatles solo concert, twenty-two years after the break-up of the group. Rock history records that The London show was a benefit for the Natural Law party, a fringe group with several candidates in the British election three days later.

Rock history records that Wendy O. Rock history records that Williams, the chain saw-wielding singer for the Punk Rock band The Plasmatics, committed suicide in the woods near her Connecticut home. Rock history records that She was 48. Rock history records that In 1985 she had been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal for the album “WOW”.

Country music legend Tammy Wynette died in her sleep aged 55. She crossed over to the Pop chart in 1968 with “Stand By Your Man” (#19), a strangely titled hit for a woman who was wed five times.

66 year old Niki Sullivan, one of the original Crickets , died at his home in Independence, Missouri. Sullivan became part of up with Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison and Joe Mauldin in 1956 and played on most of the songs the band recorded. Rock history records that The hassle of touring finally forced him to drop out of the group in 1957. He retired from the music business, but occasionally played at Holly tribute events.

Merle Haggard died of complications from pneumonia aged 79. Rock history records that Most often remembered for the hits “Mama Tried”, “Okie From Muskogee” and thirty-six other number one records on the Country chart, he also managed to reach #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with “If We Make It Through December”.

Rock history records that Following his death in January, fans pushed six David Bowie albums into the UK Top 40, three of which made the Top 10. Elvis Presley’s LP “If I Can Dream”, issued in October, 2015, came in at #7.

49-year-old Janet Jackson revealed that she had called off concerts in the UK and Europe because she was planning to start a family with her husband, fashion tycoon Wissam Al Mana. Although she has been wed twice before, to musicians James DeBarge and Rene Elizondo, she had no children.

News agencies started reporting the discovery of a 60-year-old recording of The Beatles, stated to be the earliest full taping of the Fab Four on home soil. The gig took place on April 4th, 1963 when the up-and-coming band played at Stowe boarding school in Buckinghamshire. Rock history records that Teenager John Bloomfield, a student at the school, was testing out his new reel-to-reel tape recorder at the show, which opened with “I Saw Her Standing There”, then segues into Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business”.

Clem Burke, the drummer who played on all of Blondie’s albums, starting with 1976’s self-titled debut, died of cancer aged 70. Rock history records that He was inducted with his Blondie bandmates into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.