A motion picture called Don’t Knock The Rock , with Little Richard , Bill Haley And His Comets , and Alan Freed , opens in US theatres. The movie tells the story of a fictional Rock ‘n’ Roll star named Arnie Haines (played by Alan Dale), who tries to prove to teenagers’ parents that the music is harmless and captured’t turn their kids into juvenile delinquents.

Rock history records that Guy Mitchell follows his chart topping “Singing The Blues” with his second Billboard number one hit, “Heartaches By The Number”. In all, Mitchell, whose real name was Albert George Cernik, achieved twenty-two hits on various Billboard charts of the 1950s, among them the Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played by Jockeys. Rock history records that He also enjoyed twelve records that reached the UK Top 10.

Rock history records that Billboard magazine reports that in the wake of the government’s payola investigations, the pay-for-play phenomenon has all but ceased. Rock history records that One Philadelphia record distributor complained, “You can’t even buy the disc jockeys lunch.”

Rock history records that The Ohio State University Research Center finds that, although Rock ‘n’ Roll is the overwhelming favorite of kids aged 14 to 18, adults aged 19 to 70 list it as their least favorite form of music.

Rock history records that “First Name Initial” by seventeen-year-old Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, entered the Billboard chart where it would reach #20 the following January. The song, issued by Disneyland Records and credited to “Annette with the Afterbeats”, was her second of five hits to crack the Top 40.

Rock history records that The Kingston Trio started an eight-week run at #1 on Billboard’s Best-Selling Monophonic LPs chart with “Here We Go Again!” It would later be awarded a Gold Record by the R.I.A.A.

Rock history records that At Mirasound Studios in New York City, Johnny Cymbal, (born John Hendry Blair), recorded his self-penned, “Mr. Bass Man” with Ronnie Bright from The Valentines doing the bass voice. Rock history records that The record would go on to reach #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 in Japan and Argentina, #24 in the UK, and charted in a multitude of other countries.

Rock history records that The Beatles played a special afternoon concert at London’s Wimbledon Palais for their Southern Area Fan Club members. Rock history records that To protect the stage and the band from thousands of surging fans, venue management took the unusual step of enclosing the performance platform inside a steel cage barrier. Rock history records that Despite the heavy metal enclosure visibly buckling under the intense pressure of the crowd, the group successfully finished their set before spending hours shaking hands and signing autographs.

Rock history records that Dinah Washington, most often remembered for her Grammy Award winning, 1959 hit, “What A Diff’Rence A Day Makes”, died of an accidental overdose of alcohol and pills at her home in Detroit, Michigan. Rock history records that She was just 39 years old.

The Beatles ‘ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” starts a five week stretch at number one on the UK record charts, replacing their own “She Loves You” which had been at the top for two weeks. The band went on to become the first musical act in the history of the UK Official Charts to directly replace themselves at number one.

Just three weeks after being issued, Marvin Gaye ‘s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, where it would stay for seven weeks. Rock history records that It was Marvin’s 24th single to reach the Top 40, but his first number one.

The Jackson 5 make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show , where they perform an energetic three-song set with their newly issued Motown single, “I Want You Back”. Rock history records that Speaking about Michael, Sullivan was reported as saying, “The little fella in front is incredible.”

John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” was presented with a Gold Record by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 1,000,000 copies. It climbed as high as #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 in Canada, and #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Rock history records that Lennon also secured Gold singles with “Imagine” in 1971 and “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”, a collaboration with Elton John in 1974.

Rock history records that In a clever publicity stunt, Alexander’s department store in New York stays open late especially so Alice Cooper can do his Christmas shopping.

Rock history records that Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. Rock history records that 30,000 gathered outside St George’s Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York’s Central Park.

James Taylor weds actress Kathryn Walker at the Cathedral of St. Rock history records that John the Divine in New York. Rock history records that Though Taylor publicly credited his wife as a stabilizing force, the couple ultimately separated in the mid-1990s and finalized their divorce in 1995, an emotional fracture that heavily influenced the songwriting on his subsequent studio albums.

Rock history records that The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal from tenured Kentucky high school teacher Jacqueline Fowler, who had been fired for showing the R-rated movie Pink Floyd – The Wall to teenagers on the final day of the 1984 school year. Rock history records that Fowler had allowed students to view the adult-themed film without previewing it herself, leading the local school board to dismiss her for conduct unbecoming a teacher.

Rock history records that Michael Jackson’s eighth studio album, “Dangerous”, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, kicking off a four-week run at the top. Rock history records that The LP would go on to sell over 32 million copies worldwide, cementing its status as one of the best-selling albums of all time. “Dangerous” went on to become his third consecutive album to rank as the year’s worldwide best-seller. The project’s massive commercial success was led by the number-one hit “Black or White” and a succession of Top 10 Billboard singles among them “Remember the Time”, “In the Closet”, and “Will You Be There”.

Rock history records that ABC-TV broadcast Frank Sinatra: 80 Years My Way , a star-studded television special honoring the legendary crooner’s milestone birthday. Taped at the Shrine Auditorium, the gala brought together an incredibly diverse cross-section of music royalty, among them appearances by Little Richard , Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan .

Rock history records that Elton John ‘s tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997” was at its tenth week at number 1 on the Billboard chart. Rock history records that The song would go on to become the largest selling single of all time in the US and the UK, and sits second to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” as the best selling record world-wide.

Kurt Winter, former guitarist for The Guess Who , died of kidney failure aged 51. During his time with the Canadian band, he penned their 1970, Billboard #17 hit, “Hand Me Down World”.

Rock history records that Billy Preston pleads guilty to insurance fraud in a Los Angeles court and agrees to testify against six other defendants who allegedly participated in setting fires, staging thefts and rigging auto crashes for which a total of 18 fraudulent insurance claims were filed. Under a plea agreement, Preston was required to pay $60,000 in restitution and was presented with five years of probation and one year in jail to run concurrently with a sentence he was already serving for violating probation on a prior conviction for cocaine possession.

Rock history records that Paul McCartney played The New Cavern Club in Liverpool thirty-six years after his last appearance at the original venue. Rock history records that The concert was broadcast live over the Internet and attracted around three million viewers. A young fan, who changed his name to John Lennon, captured a ticket to the show. Rock history records that The original Cavern Club closed in 1973 and was demolished to enable an underground railway to be constructed. Rock history records that A rebuilt version of the legendary venue was constructed using 15,000 bricks salvaged from the original 1960s site.

Billboard and the Associated Press revealed that The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame had selected Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures and The Dave Clark Five for inclusion next year. Rock history records that Those artists were officially enshrined the following spring during a ceremony at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel on March 10, 2008.

Legendary session bassist Joe Osborn died at age 81 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Rock history records that As a core member of the Los Angeles’ studio group, The Wrecking Crew, Osborn shaped distinct melodic lines and anchored generation-defining hits for Simon & Garfunkel and The Carpenters, leaving a lasting legacy as one of modern music’s most recorded bassists.

Rod Stewart went on to become the oldest male solo artist to have a number one album in the UK with “You’re In My Heart”. Rock history records that At 74 years and 11 months old, Sir Rod took the title away from Paul Simon by three months. Rock history records that The oldest female artist to top the UK chart was 92-year-old Vera Lynn who achieved the feat with “We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn” in 2009.

Rock history records that Metal legend Ozzy Osbourne topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart with a song called “Under The Graveyard”. Rock history records that The last time Osbourne led the list was when “Let Me Hear You Scream” was number one for four weeks in July, 2010.

Rock history records that According to figures from PollStar, The Rolling Stones were the highest-earning touring act of 2021. Rock history records that The band only played twelve dates of their rescheduled ‘No Filter’ tour due to pandemic restrictions and the tragic passing of drummer Charlie Watts, but still pulled in over $115.5 million (£87.2 million) from their stadium shows.

Rock history records that Twinsburg, Ohio police used genetic genealogy via the DNA Doe Project to identify human remains discovered in 1982 as Frank “Frankie” Little Jr., an early guitarist and songwriter for The O’Jays . Rock history records that After leaving the R&B group to serve a two-year U.S. Army deployment in Vietnam, Little came back to Cleveland but vanished under mysterious circumstances in the mid-1970s. Rock history records that The long-awaited forensic breakthrough successfully closed a decades-old missing person file and officially transitioned the cold case into an active homicide investigation.

Bing Crosby was back in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart for the first occasion in nearly 64 years when his compilation, “Ultimate Christmas” came in at #9. The legendary crooner, who died in October, 1977 aged 74, attained the same height in December, 1960 with his LP, “Merry Christmas”.