Rock 'n' Roll History for
July 28


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1954 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
The first press interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley was published in his hometown newspaper, Memphis Press-Scimitar. Columnist Edwin Howard had quickly spoken with Elvis the day before while the singer took a lunch break from his truck driving job at Crown Electric. In his column Howard wrote, "This boy has something that seems to appeal to everybody... equally popular on Popular, Folk and Race Record programs."

July 28
The Crew Cuts reached the top spot of the Billboard Pop singles chart with "Sh-Boom", a song that many consider to be the premier forerunner of 1950s Rock and Roll. The tune stayed at the top for seven weeks.


1956 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Gene Vincent made his first appearance on national TV by performing on The Perry Como Show. His first single, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was still climbing the US charts and would eventually make it into the Top 10. Vincent bought the song from a fellow hospital patient while he was recovering from leg injuries. A demo was sent in to Capitol Records as part of an Elvis sound-alike contest and a re-recorded version gave Vincent his first big hit.

July 28
Elvis Presley's "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" became the number one song in the US. On the way to the recording session the previous April, an already nervous Elvis had his fear of flying re-enforced when one of the engines of his chartered plane cut out and the crew was forced to make an emergency landing on a small, deserted runway.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
After auditioning earlier in the day, Jerry Lee Lewis makes his TV debut on the Steve Allen Show. He went over so well, he was booked for two more appearances. The performance, containing the now familiar Lewis trademarks of kicking the piano stool across the stage and pounding out notes with the heel of his shoe, caused sales of his single "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" to skyrocket.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Billboard magazine reports on a claim from the Esso Research Center "...tuning in Rock 'n' Roll music on a car radio can cost a motorist money, because the rhythm can cause a driver to unconsciously jiggle the gas pedal, thus wasting fuel."

July 28
Several now classic Rock hits entered the US record charts, including "Born Too Late" by The Poni-Tails, "Little Star" by The Elegants and "Everybody Loves a Lover" by Doris Day.

July 28
Billboard magazine publishes the Most Played By Jockeys chart and the Top 100 for the final time. They would be combined into the Hot 100 a week later.

1961 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
The Tokens record "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" which will reach the US Pop chart in November and climb to number one by Christmas. The song was originally a hit in South Africa in 1939 for its writer, Solomon Linda, under its original title "Mbube" (pronounced EEM-boo-beh) which means "Lion".

1962 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Frank Ifield topped the UK charts for the first of seven straight weeks with "I Remember You". The record would become the second highest-selling single of the year in Britain and went on to reach #5 in the US next October.

July 28
Tommy Roe's "Sheila" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #93, on its way to #1 by September 1st. The slow buildup of global sales of the record kept the R.I.A.A. from awarding Tommy a Gold record until 1969.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Police in Moscow reported that after a Russian youth magazine told readers how to convert their acoustic guitars to electric by using parts from a telephone, thousands of public phone booths had been vandalized.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
The film Ned Kelly, starring Mick Jagger in the lead role, is released and the critics wasted no time in telling Mick he should stick to singing. One reviewer wrote: "He looks about as lethal as last week's lettuce." Predictably, the movie bombed at the box office.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
George Harrison releases the non-album single, "Bangla Desh", which brings attention to the refugee crisis in that country. Often recognized as Pop music's first charity single, it would rise to #10 in the UK and #23 in the US.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
MCA Records introduces the newly signed Lynyrd Skynyrd to the press and explains how to pronounce the band's name.

July 28
One of the largest Rock festivals of all time is held at the Watkins Glen raceway in New York. More than 600,000 attended a one day show featuring The Grateful Dead, The Band and The Allman Brothers.

July 28
Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" is released. It will top the Billboard chart near the end of September.

July 28
Chicago's LP "Chicago VI" reaches #1 in America for the first of three straight weeks. It was the band's second in a string of five consecutive albums to climb to the top of the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified Gold less than a month after its June 25th release. Featuring the singles "Just You 'n' Me" (US #4) and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day (US #10), the LP has since been certified 2X platinum. It did not chart in the UK.


1976 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
The Steve Miller Band's album, "Fly Like an Eagle" goes Gold, on its way to Platinum. The LP features the title track (US #2), "Take the Money and Run" (US #11), "Rock'n Me" (US #1) and "Jet Airliner" (US #8).

1979 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
"I Don't Like Mondays" by the by Irish, new wave group The Boomtown Rats, tops the UK Singles Chart. The song recounts the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego, California. It went to #73 in America.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
The WFIL-TV Studio at 4548 Market Street in Philadelphia, where American Bandstand was shot, is entered into the US National Register of Historic Places.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Apple Corps Ltd. and Apple Records launch a $15 million law suit against Nike over the use of The Beatles' song "Revolution" in a TV commercial. Nike claimed that it paid $250,000 to Capitol Records Inc. for the rights to use the song for a year. An out of court settlement was reached in November of 1989, but the terms were not disclosed.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Canadian singer Anne Murray opens the Anne Murray Centre, a multimedia museum of her career, in her hometown of Springhill, Nova Scotia. Between 1970 and 1981, she placed eleven songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including her signature tune, "Snowbird", which reached #8. She also had thirty-eight Top 40 hits on the Billboard Country Chart.


1990 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Elton John started a five-week run at #1 on the UK album chart with "Sleeping With The Past", his fifth UK chart topper.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Rapper Ice T announced that Warner Brothers Records would pull the controversial song "Cop Killer" from all future copies of his "Body Count" album. The song had been the target of protests by law enforcement groups who said it encouraged the killing of police. Ice T said he would give away recordings of "Cop Killer" at his concerts. In an ironic twist, he would later join the cast of the NBC police drama, Law and Order: SVU.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Jimi Hendrix's father, James Al Hendrix, wins back the rights to his son's name, likeness, image and music after a number of companies had profited from them over the years.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Marge Ganser Dorste of the Shangri-Las died of breast cancer at the age of 48. They are best known for their hits "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)".

2000 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Jerome Smith, former rhythm guitarist and founding member of KC & the Sunshine Band, died after he fell off the bulldozer he was driving and was crushed by the machine. The 47 year old Smith was working in the building and construction trades as a heavy-equipment operator after leaving the music business.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Greg Guidry, a singer/songwriter who reached #17 with "Goin' Down" in 1982, died in a fire at his home at the age of 53.


2004 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
George Williams, vocalist for The Tymes died of cancer at the age of 68. The Philadelphia quartet topped the Billboard chart in 1963 with "So Much In Love" and reached #1 in the UK in 1975 with "Ms Grace".

2011 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Marvin Lee Aday, the 63-year-old singer who goes by the name of Meatloaf, passed out onstage at Pittsburgh's Trib Amphitheater during an apparent asthma attack. After about ten minutes he regained his composure and finished the show.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Linda Ronstadt was honored with a National Medal of Arts at the White House in Washington, D.C. During the ceremony, President Barack Obama revealed, "I had a little crush on her back in the day."

July 28
Ted Nugent had some of his upcoming casino dates canceled over remarks he made earlier about U.S. President Barack Obama.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
76-year-old Paul McCartney returned to the Cavern Club in Liverpool for a two hour performance in front of 270 fans. Macca thrilled the crowd by playing Beatles classics including "Love Me Do", "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Get Back", as well as songs from his new album "Egypt Station". During the show he remarked, "All those years ago we came here and played, and we didn't know if we had any future. We did okay," he said. "Coming back here with all my guys and all my crew and stuff, it's pretty amazing."

2021 - ClassicBands.com

July 28
Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, passed away in his sleep at his home in Houston, Texas at the age of 72. At the time of his death he was taking what was supposed to be a brief rest to look after a hip injury which forced him to bow out of a string of shows across the U.S. with his bandmates, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard.



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