Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 22


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #68. Two weeks later it will go to #1 for eight straight weeks and stay on the chart for over 4 months.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Famed US dance instructor Arthur Murray reported that enrollment in his dance studios had increased ten percent since the "Rock and Roll craze" swept the country.

February 22
The Film Don't Knock The Rock, featuring appearances by Alan Freed, Little Richard and Bill Haley, opens at the Paramount Theatre in New York.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The Silhouettes topped Cash Box Magazine's Best Sellers Chart with "Get A Job" after Dick Clark started playing it on his TV show, American Bandstand. The group got their name from the 1957 song by The Rays, (covered by Herman's Hermits in the '60s) and the inspiration for the tune came from writer Rick Lewis' mother, when she chided her son to "get up in the morning and go out and get a job."

February 22
Roy Hamilton's "Don't Let Go" becomes the first stereo single to reach the Billboard Top 100 chart, where it would rise to #13 during an eleven week run.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
"Theme From A Summer Place" by Percy Faith began its nine week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It remains the longest-running number-one instrumental in the history of the chart and brought Faith a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961. The song also topped the charts in Italy and reached #2 in the UK.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The Four Seasons' "Dawn (Go Away)" rises to its peak position of #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, kept out of the top spot by two Beatles songs, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (#1) and "She Loves You" (#2). Over the next three weeks it will be pushed to #5 behind two more of the Fab Four's tunes, "Please Please Me" and "Twist And Shout".

1968 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The Hollies complete the recording of a song called "Jennifer Eccles", a catchy, light hearted tune about an innocent childhood romance. It would rise to #7 in the UK, but stalled at #40 in America where it stayed for only one week. The title was derived from the first name of lead singer Allan Clarke's wife (Jennifer Bowstead) and the maiden name of guitarist Graham Nash's ex-wife (Rose Eccles).

1969 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Elektra Records releases one of the most controversial albums of its time, The MC5's "Kick Out The Jams". The original issue of the LP had the words "kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" printed on the inside album cover. That edition was soon pulled from stores and replaced with censored jackets. The album would peak at #30 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the title track rising to #82 in the Hot 100. After a nasty war of words between the band and Hudson's department store, who refused to carry the LP, Elektra dropped The MC5 from the label.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
After placing six albums on the Billboard Hot 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart, the British band Ten Years After give their final concert in London, England. They would reform briefly in 1983, and again from 1988 until 2003.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
After years of barely making a living, the fortunes of Scotland's Average White Band took a sharp turn for the better when they scored a number one hit in the US with "Pick Up The Pieces". It made #6 in the UK. Billboard ranked it as the #20 song for 1975.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The Supremes' Florence Ballard died of heart attack at the age of 32. She had been replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967 after her constant battles with Diana Ross. At the time of her death, Ballard had separated from her husband and was planning a recording career comeback. Diana Ross attended the funeral, surrounded by several bodyguards.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
"Car Wash" by the L.A. based Soul and Funk band Rose Royce is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

February 22
Asylum Records releases the Eagles' single, "Hotel California". It will top the Billboard Hot 100, reach #8 in Great Britain, and made the Top Ten in eight other countries. The song would go on to win the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 20th Grammy Awards in 1978. The closing guitar solo, shared by Don Felder and Joe Walsh, was voted the best solo of all time by readers of England's Guitarist magazine in 1998, and was ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine's Top 100 Guitar Solos. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the tune at #49 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and it was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It has sold over three million copies in the United States and over one million in Great Britain.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The John Landis film, Into The Night is released in America. Starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer, the movie also included David Bowie and Carl Perkins.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
MTV dedicated a full 22 hours to The Monkees, showing all 45 episodes of their original TV series.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
A category for Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance, Vocal or Instrumental is included at the Grammys Awards for the first time. Metallica performs on stage, but the award went to Jethro Tull for "Crest of a Knave". Many audience members booed. Meanwhile, Bobby McFerrin won Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for "Don't Worry, Be Happy", Tracy Chapman is named Best New Artist and Tina Turner won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Tina Live in Europe".

1990 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Stevie Wonder wins a plagiarism lawsuit filed against him by songwriter Lloyd Chiate, who claimed he wrote "I Just Called To Say I Love You" several years before its 1984 release.

1994 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Papa John Creach died of heart failure at the age of 76. Creach was a fiddler who first came to the notice of Rock fans when he joined Jefferson Airplane from 1970 to 1972. A veteran of Jazz and Blues groups, he was in his early 50s while his fellow band members were still approaching 30.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
The engagement ring that The Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious gave to his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, was put up for sale. The asking price for the ring, which Sid bought in 1977, was £1,500 ($2,550). Also on sale was a pair of John Lennon's blue jeans for £2,250 ($3,825).

2004 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
68 year old Bobby Vinton collapsed on stage during a performance at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA. He was then taken backstage where his condition seemed to improve and when an ambulance arrived, Vinton said that he was fine and refused hospitalization.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Billboard.com announced that Madonna was 2013's top earning live act, followed by Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

February 22
Sonny James, whose 1957 hit "Young Love" topped both the Billboard Pop and Country charts, died of natural causes at the age of 88. His initial success was followed by more than twenty, number one Country hits. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first Country artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.



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