Rock 'n' Roll History for
June 26


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Decca Records announces that Bill Haley And His Comets have sold more than 3 million units in thirteen months. Both "Rock Around The Clock" and "Shake Rattle and Roll" sold a million copies, while "Dim, Dim the Lights" and "Mambo Rock" sold about 500,000.

1956 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
In an article in LOOK magazine entitled, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Controversy, Swing Band leader Benny Goodman makes this comment about Rock 'n' Roll; "I guess it's okay, man. At least it has a beat."

1961 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Gary U.S. Bonds achieved his only American number 1 hit when "Quarter to Three" topped the Billboard chart. Bonds and Gene Barge (Daddy G.) simply added lyrics to an instrumental called, "A Night With Daddy G". He would go on to place five more songs in the Top 40, including "Dear Lady Twist" (#5 in 1962), before being pushed aside by the British Invasion. After years of touring the oldies circuit, Bonds would reach #11 in 1981 with "This Little Girl" and #21 in 1982 with "Out Of Work".


1965 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Interestingly, the only member of the group to actually play on the record was Jim McGuinn on vocals and 12 string guitar. Studio musicians Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Larry Knechtel and Hal Blaine recorded the other instruments, while The Byrds' David Crosby and Gene Clark sang background vocals.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Don McLean's 8:36 long epic "American Pie" debuts on WNEW-FM radio in New York. McLean would later say, "The song starts off with my memories of the death of Buddy Holly. But it moves on to describe America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might become, so it's part reality and part fantasy, but I'm always in the song as a witness or as even the subject sometimes in some of the verses." The single would rise to #1 in the US, #2 in the UK and reached the Top Ten in fifteen other countries.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Mick Jagger is named in a paternity suit by a woman named Marsha Hunt. She claimed that Jagger is the father of her two year old daughter, however, after Jagger takes a blood test, she is proved wrong.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Veteran R&B arranger - producer Van McCoy earns his first Gold record for the Disco smash, "The Hustle". It turns out to be the biggest dance craze of the decade and resulted in McCoy being named Top Instrumental Artist of 1975 by Billboard magazine.


1976 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
A live version of Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way" is released in the US, where it will reach #12. In 2017, Frampton referred to the song while speaking to Washington D.C. lawmakers about inequitable revenue payments from streaming music services like iTunes and Spotify. "For 55 million streams of 'Baby I Love Your Way', I got $1,700."

1977 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Elvis Presley played the final concert of his career at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis to a crowd of only half the venue's capacity. The top price ticket for the evemt was just $15. Before the show, he was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA's pressing plant. The last song the King ever performed publicly was "Can't Help Falling In Love".

1979 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, died of a heart attack in Tupelo, Mississippi at the age of 63. Nearly two years earlier, he cried at Elvis' coffin, "Son, Daddy will be with you soon. Daddy will be with you soon." Vernon is buried next to his son at Graceland.

June 26
Village People become the first Disco act to play at Madison Square Garden in New York. Included in their set-list that night were the band's three biggest hits, "Macho Man" (US #25), "Y.M.C.A" (US #2) and "In The Navy" (US #3).

1990 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Nelson release their debut album, "After The Rain", which would peak at #17 on the Billboard 200, spending 64 weeks on the chart. The duo consisted of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the twin sons of Rock pioneer, Rick Nelson. The LP would be certified Double Platinum by RIAA after selling more than 2,000,000 copies.


1992 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Elton John and Eric Clapton play the first of three sell-out dates at London's Wembley Stadium. It is the first public outing for John since undergoing painful hair transplants.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Van Halen announces that Sammy Hagar had left the band and would be replaced by their former front-man, David Lee Roth. Hagar calls the band's decision a devastating, backstabbing disappointment.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Randy Jackson expressed his anger over a charity event honoring his brother Michael, insisting he is "sick of people trying to exploit" his famous family. The Forever Michael tribute evening was held in Los Angeles exactly a year and a day after the King Of Pop passed away. Randy wrote on his Twitter.com page: "I don't mean to be negative all the time, but please understand my bro shouldn't be dead & I get protective when people try 2 exploit us, esp (especially) now."

2011 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
A red-and-black leather jacket that Michael Jackson wore in his 1983 music video for "Thriller" was purchased at an auction by Texas gold trader Milton Verret. The new owner said he plans to use the jacket to raise money for children's hospitals around the world.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Michael Jackson's son, Prince, tearfully described his father's death, testifying in his family's wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live. He told the court that he is haunted by the words he heard from Dr. Conrad Murray, "Sorry, kids. Your dad's dead."

2015 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Sirius XM Holdings Inc agreed to pay five record companies $210 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the satellite radio company of broadcasting songs made before 1972 without permission and without paying royalties.

June 26
Billboard's gate revenue branch, Boxscore announced that The Rolling Stones had grossed over $360 million on tour since 2012.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb was knighted by Prince Charles at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, England. After the event, the 71-year-old songwriter said, "If it was not for my brothers, I would not be here."

2020 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
Bob Dylan tops the UK album chart with "Rough And Rowdy Ways". At 79 years old, he was not the oldest person to top the chart. That honor goes to British singer Vera Lynn, who was 92 years old when her LP "We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn" went to #1 in 2009.


2021 - ClassicBands.com

June 26
For the first time in fifteen months, Bruce Springsteen returned to live performing for an emotional rendition of his 2017 show Springsteen on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. The two and a half hour show marked the re-opening of Broadway itself after the COVID-19 outbreak. "It's been a long time coming," he said to an audience that included his longtime guitarist Steven Van Zandt.



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