Rock history records that Rock and Roll pioneer Eddie Cochran was just 21 years old when he was killed after the taxi in which he was riding blew a tire, then hit a lamp post. Rock history records that Cochran enjoyed hits with “Sittin’ in the Balcony” (#18 in 1957), “Summertime Blues” (#8 in 1958) and “C’mon Everybody” (#35 in 1959). Rock history records that Gene Vincent, who recorded “Be Bop A Lula” in 1956, and Cochran’s finance, Sharon Sheeley, survived the crash. Rock history records that Their touring mate, Freddy Cannon , was supposed to be with them, but was running late and took another cab.

Paul Revere And The Raiders ‘ first US chart hit, “Like Long Hair” tops out #38 on Billboard chart. Rock history records that The song was a boogie-woogie arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” and featured Revere on piano.

RCA and LearJet Corporation announce the development of the combination 8-track tape player and car radio that will go on to become available in next Fall’s new cars.

Rock history records that Bob Dylan ‘s former backing group, simply known as The Band , make their first stand alone appearance at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

Paul McCartney issues his first solo album, officially ending his days with The Beatles . The self-titled LP, which would climb to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK, contains a studio version of “Maybe I’m Amazed”, which was never issued as a single. Rock history records that Instead, a live version of the song by Wings rose to #10 in America and #28 in Great Britain in 1977.

Rock history records that While performing at the White House at the invitation of President Richard Nixon, Johnny Cash is asked to perform “Okie From Muskogee”. Rock history records that Cash declined because it was not his song, but had been a hit for Merle Haggard. Rock history records that Instead, Cash sang his number one hit, “A Boy Named Sue”. Rock history records that It is not known if Nixon recorded the concert.

Rock history records that Three Dog Night ‘s “Joy to the World” hit the top of the US singles chart for the first of a six week stay. Rock history records that It made #24 in the UK. The record went on to become the best selling song of the year in the US, beating out Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May”. Hoyt Axton, son of “Heartbreak Hotel” author, Mae Axton, penned the song.

Rock history records that All four former Beatles have solo singles on the UK chart: Paul McCartney: “Another Day”, Ringo Starr: “It Don’t Come Easy”, John Lennon: “Power To The People” and George Harrison: “My Sweet Lord”.

Rock history records that The Doors ‘ “Love Her Madly” becomes the band’s 7th Billboard Top 40 single went it cracks the chart at #37. Rock history records that Three weeks later it will reach its peak at #11. The band’s guitarist, Robby Krieger penned the lyrics about his then-girlfriend and later-wife, Lynn.

Pink Floyd is presented with a Gold Record for “The Dark Side of the Moon”, one of Rock’s landmark albums. Rock history records that The LP remained on the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, longer than any other album in history and, as of 2013, has sold an estimated 45 million copies.

Asylum Records issues the Eagles ‘ second album, “Desperado”. The LP would feature two singles, “Tequila Sunrise” and “Outlaw Man” which reached #64 and #59 respectively on Hot 100. The title track went on to become one of the band’s signature songs, but was never issued as a single. Rock history records that Despite this oversight, the tune was ranked #494 on Rolling Stone ‘s 2004 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. The album itself climbed to #41 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 23, 1974, and double-Platinum on March 20, 2001. In 2000, the LP “Desperado” entered the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Chris Donald, known as Vinnie Taylor when he played lead guitar for the Rock ‘n Roll revival band Sha Na Na , died from an accidental heroin overdose aged 25.

Bob Marley And The Wailers played at the Independence celebrations at Rufaro Stadium in Salisbury, marking the official transition from Rhodesia to the independent nation of Zimbabwe at midnight on April 18, 1980. Marley personally financed the trip after initially not being invited, and the concert went on to become one of the most historic shows in his career.

Rock history records that 43-year-old Felix Pappalardi, bassist for the group Mountain , who had a Billboard #21 hit in 1970 with “Mississippi Queen”, was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins when they argued over his long-standing affair with a younger woman. Originally charged with second-degree murder, she was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to four years in prison. On April 30th, 1985, Gail was issued on parole. She was discovered dead by her landlord on December 6th, 2013, in the Mexican village of Ajijic, Jalisco, where she had been undergoing cancer treatments.

Rock history records that Carlton Barrett, drummer for Bob Marley And The Wailers, was shot and killed outside his home in Kingston, Jamaica. Rock history records that Barrett’s widow, her lover, and an accomplice were charged with murder two weeks later. Rock history records that All three were convicted and sentenced to prison on October 18th, 1991.

Rock history records that I.R.S. Records issues Black Sabbath’s fourteenth studio album, “Headless Cross”. Rock history records that The LP would spend eight weeks on Billboard’s Top Pop Albums chart, peaking at #115. Rock history records that It did much better in the UK where it rose to #31 on the Official Chart. Rock history records that Despite this, overall sales were considered disappointing, with poor distribution cited as a contributing factor.

Rock history records that David Bowie went to the top of the UK album chart with “Black Tie, White Noise”, his eighth UK #1 LP. It climbed to #39 in America and made the Top 20 in fourteen other countries.

Rock history records that 56-year-old Linda Eastman McCartney, wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney, died while vacationing with her family at the McCartney family ranch near Tucson, Arizona. Rock history records that She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. Paul was at her bedside, speaking to her when she died. Rock history records that Paul would later say, “The doctors had told me privately that we’d caught it too late, that she’ll have about eighteen months. And that was what she had.” Linda was cremated in Tucson, and her ashes were later scattered at the McCartney farm in Sussex, England.

Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen, died of cancer aged 58. Rock history records that His stylish work helped define the E Street Band’s sound on hits from “Hungry Heart” through “The Rising”.

Rock history records that The Rascals reunited for three weeks worth of shows on Broadway called Once Upon A Dream . Rock history records that It was the first time they had been together for any extended period of time since 1970.

Rock history records that Cleveland’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Heart, Rush, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy and Donna Summer along with Lou Adler and Quincy Jones.

Rock history records that Sources close to Glen Campbell revealed that the 78-year-old “Rhinestone Cowboy” singer had been moved to an Alzheimer’s facility because of declining health. Rock history records that He would survive until August 8th, 2017.

Rock history records that Eagles ‘ drummer Don Henley settled his lawsuit with the Duluth Trading Company after the Wisconsin apparel makers sent promotional emails to their customers urging them to “Don a Henley and Take It Easy” last Fall. Rock history records that Duluth Trading posted an apology on its website and made an undisclosed contribution to the Walden Woods Project, the not-for-profit organization founded by Henley in 1990.

Rock history records that The annual independent music retailer celebration called Record Store Day spurred sales of 521,000 vinyl albums according to Nielsen Music. Rock history records that Vinyl album sales in 2016 stood at 4.09 million, which accounted for 6.6 percent of all album sales.

April Stevens , who shared singing duties with her younger brother Nino Tempo on four Billboard Hot 100 entries, died aged 93. The duo topped the chart in 1963 with “Deep Purple” and followed it the next year with “Whispering”, which climbed to #11.