Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 1


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1949 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
RCA introduces the 45 RPM record. The disc is 7 inches wide and plays at a faster speed than the traditional 33-1/3 RPM, providing better sound quality. The format would catch on, and consumers would start calling 45s, "singles."

1954 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Backed by his Jazz ensemble, Big Joe Turner records the original version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll". The tune will top the Billboard R&B chart next June, but did not cross over to the Pop chart. Some of the original lyrics, that would have been considered highly sexual at the time, were changed when Bill Haley recorded the song five months later.


1956 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Bill Haley And His Comets' version of the Bobby Charles tune "See You Later Alligator" is released by Decca Records. It will reach #6 on the US Pop chart and become Haley's third and final million-selling single.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
20-year-old Don Everly and his 2-year-younger brother Phil sign a recording contract with Cadence Records. During their career, The Everly Brothers will have 35 Billboard Hot 100 singles.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Elvis Presley crams in one more trip to a recording studio before joining the US Army. The session will produce "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck", which will reach #3 in the US and the UK.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Beatlemania comes to America when "I Want To Hold Your Hand" becomes the first of twenty Billboard number one hits for The Beatles. It would stay on top for seven weeks, with world wide sales of fifteen million copies.

February 1
Matthew Walsh, the Governor of Indiana declares the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen (which was currently #6 on the Hot 100) to be pornographic. He asks the Indiana Broadcasters Association to ban the record, although stations claim it's impossible to accurately figure out the lyrics from "the unintelligible rendition as performed by the Kingsmen." Although much has been written about the controversy, Indiana was the only state to actually ban the record from radio play.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
At the Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, James Brown records "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", which will reach #8 on the Billboard Pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart the following August and later win a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
The Young Rascals record "Good Lovin'" at Atlantic Studios in New York City. The band had first added the song to their repertoire after hearing a 1965 version of it by the Los Angeles doo-wop group, The Olympics. The record would top the Billboard Hot 100 for one week starting next April 30th, and has been ranked at #333 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
"Somethin' Stupid" by Frank and Nancy Sinatra was recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood. Backing musicians on the track included Glen Campbell on guitar and Hal Blaine on drums. The guitar solo at the beginning of the song was played by Alvin Casey. The single would spend four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and nine weeks atop the Easy Listening chart, becoming Frank's second Gold single and Nancy's third. It was the first and only instance of a father-daughter number-one record in America. The song was also nominated for the Record Of The Year at the 10th Grammy Awards, but lost to The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up And Away".

February 1
The LP "The Mamas & The Papas Deliver" was released on Dunhill Records. Produced by Lou Adler, it is the group's third album. It would debut on Billboard's Top LPs chart on March 18, 1967 and reached its peak position of #2 just three weeks later. It spent a total of 55 weeks on the chart. Three of the album's singles reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Look Through My Window" peaked at #24 (November 26, 1966), "Dedicated to the One I Love" at #2 (March 25, 1967) and "Creeque Alley" at #5 (June 3, 1967).


1968 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Exactly nine months after marrying Elvis Presley, Priscilla Beauleiu Presley gives birth to Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
A pre-Stevie Nicks - Lindsey Buckingham - Christine McVie edition of Fleetwood Mac took a guitar-based instrumental called "Albatross" to the top of the UK chart. It also made the Top 5 in Norway, Ireland, Sweden and Netherlands, but only rose to #104 in the US.

February 1
Tommy James And The Shondells led the Billboard Top 40 chart with "Crimson And Clover", following a performance of the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 26. The record would stay on that chart for fifteen weeks. It also went to number one in six other countries around the world, but did not chart at all in the UK.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Elvis Presley arranges for daughter Lisa Marie to meet her favorite singer, Elton John, for her seventh birthday.

February 1
It had been eleven years since Neil Sedaka had a hit on the Billboard Pop chart, but now he was back with the second number one song of his career, "Laughter In The Rain". The song's co-writer, Phil Cody, reportedly said he wrote the lyrics in about five minutes after smoking marijuana and falling asleep under a tree for a couple of hours.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
With the bitterness of their divorce behind them, The Sonny and Cher Show reappears on CBS. The revived series would garner enough ratings to be renewed for a second season. The opening and closing segments were taped in front of a live studio audience, but most of the comedy routines were filmed without an audience, with a laugh track added in post-production.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" is certified Platinum in Great Britain, where it tops the UK Pop chart. The song will also rise to number one in the US the following April. The original lyrics, Once I had a love, it was a gas. Soon turned out, it was a pain in the ass were altered to Once I had a love, it was a gas. Soon turned out, had a heart of glass, to ensure radio play.


1983 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Air Supply's seventh studio album, "Now And Forever", is certified Platinum, peaking at #25 on the Hot 200 chart. The LP contained three Top 40 hits, "Even the Nights Are Better" (#5), "Young Love" (#38) and "Two Less Lonely People in the World" (#38).

1985 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
The Eagles' Glenn Frey makes his acting debut on an episode of US TV's Miami Vice that was based on his song, "Smuggler's Blues".

1986 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Diana Ross married Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess in Geneva, Switzerland, with Stevie Wonder performing at the reception. The couple were divorced in 2000.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
After the United Nations and the African National Congress removed him from their blacklist, Paul Simon kicks off his "Graceland" tour in Rotterdam. He had been banned after he broke the cultural boycott on recording in South Africa.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
The Cars, who had placed fifteen songs on the Hot 100 between 1978 and 1987, announce their break up.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Elton John and George Michael teamed up to score a US number one with a song recorded live at Wembley Stadium the previous March, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". Elton had originally released the song on his "Caribou" album in 1974.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
A collection of Elton John's private photos were removed from display at a museum in Atlanta. The exhibition, which included snaps of nude men, was said to be too explicit. Some school trips to the museum had been canceled.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Justin Timberlake caused a huge uproar when he tugged at Janet Jackson's outfit and revealed her left breast live on US TV during the half-time show of Superbowl XXXVIII (38). Four days later, that scene would become the most searched for image in the history of the internet up to that time.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
59 year old Eric Clapton became a father for the fifth time when his 29-year-old wife, Melia McEnery, gave birth to a baby girl.


2007 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Mike Clark, owner / manager of Atlanta's Southern Tracks Recording Studio, died after an eight month illness. He was 63. For many years he played drums with such popular 1960's artists as Tommy Roe, Billy Joe Royal, Joe South, Ray Stevens and Roy Orbison, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
A news report revealed that Spain was the European leader in illegal music downloads. Spanish computer users illegally downloaded more than 1.2 billion tracks in 2007, according to authors and publishers society, SGAE.

February 1
Paul McCartney said recent media reports that he had heart surgery last year are "entirely untrue". The 65-year-old former Beatle said that during a routine medical examination over a year ago, "there was a minor irregularity which I needed to have tests for and which I have now been assured is completely fine."

2011 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Elton John urged his longtime friend and tour mate Billy Joel to get serious about overcoming his alcoholism that has plagued him for years. Joel reacted by saying "Elton is just being Elton."

2012 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Lisa Marie Presley celebrated her 44th birthday by opening up a new exhibit at Graceland that featured artifacts from her childhood, including baby footprints, a tricycle, her crib and a record player.

February 1
Don Cornelius, the host of TV's Soul Train, who helped break down racial barriers and broaden the reach of Black culture, died of an apparent suicide. He was 75.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
Dennis Edwards, the lead singer of The Temptations from 1968 until 1977, died at the age of 74 of complications from meningitis. After the group fired David Ruffin, Edwards led them on a string of hits, including "I Can't Get Next to You", "Ball of Confusion" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"

2023 - ClassicBands.com

February 1
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced that Tom Jones' 1968 hit, "Delilah" would no longer be played before games at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. The ban was due to the lyrics depicting a woman named Delilah being stabbed to death after her husband discovers she's been cheating. Jones previously defended the controversial lyrics, insisting it's not meant to be taken "literally."




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