Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 11


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1963 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Beatles spent ten hours at Abbey Road studios recording the tracks that would make up the bulk of their first album. Late in the session, despite suffering from a severe cold, John tackles "Twist And Shout" as an afterthought. When it was released as a single in the US, it rose to #2.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Beatles play their first US concert, performing at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, DC. The set list includes "I Saw Her Standing There", "All My Loving" and "Twist And Shout".

1965 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Ringo Starr marries his pregnant girlfriend, Maureen Cox in London's Caxton Hall Register Office. She gave birth to son Zak the following September. John Lennon, his wife Cynthia, Brian Epstein and George Harrison attended, but Paul McCartney was away on vacation in Tunisia.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Cher records "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". When it is released two weeks later, the song will climb to #3 in the UK and #2 on the Hot 100. Written by her husband Sonny Bono, it will become Cher's first million selling record.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Monkees saw their second album, "More of The Monkees" leap from position 122 to number 1 on the Billboard album chart. The Fabricated Four only provided the vocals and were backed by some of the finest studio musicians around, like Glen Campbell and Neil Sedaka. The L.P. contained the hits, "I'm a Believer" and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and was produced by Carole King, Carole Bayer Sager, Tommy Boyce and others. After being pressured by the press, The Monkees later announced that they would play their own instruments on all future recordings.

February 11
The Turtles release their biggest hit, "Happy Together", which will reach #1 in the US and #12 in the UK. In a rare move for the time, the members of the band were allowed to record the track instead of studio musicians. In 1999, BMI included the song in the list of the most-performed songs in the United States in the 20th century and, in 2007, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
John Lennon pays £1,344 in fines for protesting the South African rugby team playing in Scotland.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The TV movie Elvis, starring Kurt Russell, airs on ABC-TV with an estimated audience of 43 million viewers. The film would be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Made for Television, and for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for Russell.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Recording Industry Association of America awards Bob Seger his seventh consecutive US Platinum disc for the album, "The Distance".

1986 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Boy George, lead singer of Culture Club, guest-stars on an episode of The A-Team. George played a singer mistakenly booked into a Country dance hall.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Future American Idol judge Paula Abdul enjoys the first of her six US number one hits with "Straight Up", a #3 hit in the UK.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Isley Brothers had their Valentine's Super Love Jam concert cut an hour short after police officers returned fire on a spectator seen shooting into the crowd. The suspect was killed and three other people were injured.

February 11
Diana Ross is granted a divorce from her husband Arne Naess, a shipping magnate that she married in October, 1985.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Elton John performs at the National Basketball Association All-Star Game in Philadelphia. His set list included "Philadelphia Freedom", "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" and "I'm Still Standing".

2003 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The British Phonographic Industry reported that the year 2002 saw the largest sales decline in decades, with the most severe slump in a single year since the birth of the CD market in the early 1980s. Piracy, illegal duplication and distribution of CDs by international criminals were blamed for the decrease.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Artists who won awards at the 49th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles included Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Frampton, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, George Benson and Ike Turner.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
An appellate court upheld a 37-month federal prison sentence that was handed to Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers for income tax evasion. The three-judge panel rejected the 66-year-old R&B singer's argument that his sentence was unreasonable due to his age, poor health and lack of proof that the federal prison system can provide him adequate health care.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
67-year-old Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes was found dead in her Englewood, New Jersey apartment. The trio's 1963 hit "Be My Baby" epitomized the famed Wall Of Sound technique of its producer, Phil Spector.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Rick Huxley, bassist for The Dave Clark Five during their British Invasion hit making years, passed away at the age of 72.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
The Royal Oak school board announced that the road that runs adjacent to Royal Oak Middle School would be renamed Glenn Frey Drive. Frey was a student at the school when it was called Dondero High.

February 11
72-year-old Barry Manilow was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering what was described as "complications from emergency oral surgery" that he had undergone earlier in the week. His One Last Time tour had to be put on hold and concerts in Kentucky and Tennessee were canceled. To the surprise of many, just three days later Barry was well enough to attend Clive Davis' pre-Grammys party in L.A. where he performed "Mandy" as well as "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" from his latest album, "My Dream Duets".

February 11
The Rolling Stones were put under 24-hour armed guard after a worker at one of their shows in Argentina was shot dead in a botched robbery after a show at the La Plata stadium.

2022 - ClassicBands.com

February 11
Timmy Thomas, who reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Why Can't We Live Together" in February, 1973, passed away at the age of 77. After his initial success, he went on to record several R&B hits and later worked as a producer for LaFace Records.

February 11
Mike Rabon, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Five Americans on their 1967, Billboard #5 hit, "Western Union", died at the age of 78.



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