Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 3
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1958
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
The Royal Teens' biggest hit, "Short Shorts" enters the US record charts on its way to number 3. The song was originally an instrumental warm up number to which the group added silly lyrics. The tune was recorded in about twenty minutes of left over studio time and released after a record label executive took a liking to it.
1959
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
February 3rd, 1959 was for many, "the day the music died", when
Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and
The Big Bopper were all killed. Their plane took off a little after 1 AM from Clear Lake, Iowa, when a cold North-East wind gave way to a blinding snow storm which drastically reduced visibility. Encased in a sea of snow with only white below, pilot Roger Peterson seemed to become disoriented and flew the plane into the ground. One wing hit the frozen earth and the small plane tumbled over and over, killing the three musicians and the plane's young pilot.
1962
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Gene Chandler's "The Duke Of Earl" tops the Cashbox Best Sellers chart for the first of a five week stay. In 2002 the record was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and has also been selected by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
1963
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
30-year-old Johnny Thunder, whose real name was Gil Hamilton, enjoys his only Billboard Top 40 hit when his rendition of the children's nursery song "Loop De Loop" peaks at #4. Before finding solo success, he had been a touring member of The Drifters and recorded as a backup singer for Dionne Warwick. Thunder would go on to release several follow-up singles, of which "Everybody Do The Sloopy" was the most successful, reaching #67 in late 1965.
1964
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Just over a month after it was recorded, the single "Fun, Fun, Fun" by The Beach Boys was released on Capitol Records. The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, and produced and arranged by Wilson. It was included on the band's LP "Shut Down Vol. 2" and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1967
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Joe Meek, a British Pop and Rock producer, kills his landlady, Violet Shenton with a single barrelled shotgun before shooting himself in the head. The two had argued over his noise levels and the rent that he still owed. Meek is most often remembered for the instrumental hit, "Telstar", which he wrote and produced for The Tornadoes.
1968
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
The Beatles record Paul McCartney's "Lady Madonna" at Abbey Road studios in just three takes. The Fats Domino inspired tune will reach #1 in the UK and #4 in the US. Domino himself would release a cover version of the song that topped out at #100 on the Billboard chart later in the year.
February 3
An Oxford, Ohio group called the Lemon Pipers saw their only Billboard Top 40 hit, "Green Tambourine", reach #1. It made #7 in the UK. The band would never repeat their success, although "Rice Is Nice" (#46) and "Jelly Jungle" (#70) did enter the Hot 100 later in the year.
1969
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
The Beatles hired Allen Klein to be their new manager. John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all agreed, but Paul McCartney would not sign the agreement because he thought Klein had a bad reputation.
1973
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" hits #1 in America for the first of three weeks, giving him his first chart-topper in that country. He would go on to achieve seven more number one hits, and place a total of fifty-eight songs in the Top 40 as of 1999.
1978
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Harry Chapin meets with US President Jimmy Carter and the pair announce the creation of The Presidential Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition.
February 3
The TV movie Dead Man's Curve, which was based on the lives of
Jan And Dean, airs on ABC. The film features cameo appearances by Dick Clark,
Wolfman Jack, and Beach Boys'
Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. Jan Berry himself and his parents appear in the audience at the end of the movie.
1979
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
A sold-out concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, is held commemorating the 20th anniversary of the crash that killed Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and
The Big Bopper.
Wolfman Jack hosted the show which featured performances by Del Shannon, Jimmy Clanton and The Drifters.
February 3
The British rock band The Babys break through to the Billboard Top 40 with "Every Time I Think Of You". Just like their first chart entry, "Isn't It Time", the song will peak at #13.
February 3
"Y.M.C.A." by Village People reaches #2 on the Hot 100, where it stays for three weeks, unable to overtake Chic's "Le Freak" and Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
February 3
The Blues Brothers' album "Briefcase Full of Blues" hits #1 on Billboard's 200 album chart. The LP was recorded live on September 9th, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) opened for comedian Steve Martin. It would sell over 3.5 million copies and be certified Double Platinum.
1983
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
After cracking the Billboard Top 40 on four earlier occasions, the six-man, L.A. band known simply as Toto achieves their first and only US number one record with "Africa".
1992
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Michael Jackson holds a press conference in New York City to announce his upcoming world tour will be sponsored by Pepsi. Proceeds from the journey will go to his Heal The World foundation, dedicated to helping children.
2002
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Paul McCartney and
Barry Manilow sing at a pre-game concert before Super Bowl XXXVI (36) in New Orleans. U2 provided the half-time entertainment.
2003
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Legendary music producer Phil Spector was arrested for investigation of murder after police found a woman shot to death at his Los Angeles mansion. The 62-year-old Spector, whose Wall Of Sound technique transformed 1960s Pop music, was freed after posting $1 million bond. The body of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson, a TV and film actress, was found in a pool of blood with a gunshot to the face at the marble entrance to Spector's home. On April 13th, 2009 he would be found guilty of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to 19 years to life in the California state prison system on May 29th. Spector died in an outside hospital on January 16th, 2021, at the age of 81.
2004
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Gene Hughes, who sang lead vocal on The Casinos' "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" in 1967, died in Nashville at the age of 67. He had been injured in an car crash and suffered several setbacks during his recovery.
February 3
58 year old saxophonist, Cornelius Bumpus, formerly of the
Doobie Brothers and
Steely Dan, suffered a fatal heart attack while on a commercial flight from New York.
2007
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Wayne Fontana, of "Game Of Love" fame, was arrested at his home in Glossop, Derbyshire, England and charged with arson with intent to endanger life. The 61 year-old, who was already set to appear in court in March on traffic offenses, was accused of pouring gasoline over a bailiff's car and setting it on fire. The following November, he would be sentenced to 11 months in jail, but was allowed to walk free from court immediately after already serving the equivalent of his term while held under the Mental Health Act.
2010
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of Mamas And Papas' founder John Phillips, told TV host Oprah Winfrey that her decade-long sexual affair with her father was not consensual, even though she eventually agreed to having sex with her father.
February 3
Former teen star Leif Garrett, who shot to fame at the age of 15 with his 1970s single "I Was Made For Dancin'", was arrested at an L.A. train station on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. The 48-year-old later pleaded no contest and entered a drug rehab program.
2023
- ClassicBands.com
February 3
Former Pop star Gary Glitter was released from a prison in Dorset, England. The 79-year-old singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was freed after serving half of a 16-year prison sentence for sexually abusing three young girls in the 1970s. It is common for offenders in the UK to be paroled halfway through their sentences and then be placed on probation.
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