Rock 'n' Roll History for
June 7


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1954 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
With Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" riding high on the Billboard R&B chart, Bill Haley And His Comets enter Decca Records' New York studio to record the same number. Haley's version will enter the Pop chart next August for an amazing tweny-seven week run and rise to #7, becoming the first Rock 'n' Roll tune to sell a million copies.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Decca Records releases "Come On", The Rolling Stones' first single. It would go on to peak at #21 in the UK. That same night, the group makes their TV debut on the BBC's Thank Your Lucky Stars. After the show, its producer is reported to have told Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham to get rid of "that vile looking singer with the tire-tread lips."

1965 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew laid down the instrumental tracks for Sonny And Cher's "I Got You Babe" at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. The song featured two unusual instruments for a Folk/Rock tune, with Mike Rubini on harpsichord and Warren Webb on oboe. Released the following August, the record would sell over a million copies and spend three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.


1966 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Roy Orbison's wife, 25 year old Claudette, was killed when her motorcycle collided with a truck in Gallatin, Texas. Orbison witnessed the accident. She and Roy had recently reconciled after a short split. The Everly Brothers' 1958 hit, "Claudette" had been written for her by Roy.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Recorded at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, The Johnny Cash Show makes its debut on ABC-TV. The program, which featured popular Country and Folk artists of the day, would run for 58 episodes, ending on March 31, 1971.

June 7
One of Rock's first Super Groups, Blind Faith played their only live performance in Hyde Park, London in front of an estimated 120,000 people. Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Rick Gretch produced just one album together, which included the songs, "Can't Find My Way Home" and "Presence of the Lord".

1971 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Carole King's album "Tapestry" is awarded a Gold record. The LP was number one in the US for fifteen straight weeks and would remain on the charts for three years, producing her biggest selling single, "It's Too Late" (#1 in 1971). On July 17, 1995 the LP was certified Diamond in the United States by the RIAA for 10 million copies sold in the US and has since sold over 30 million copies worldwide. In 2020, it was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. "Tapestry" won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
John Denver scores his third #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Thank God I'm A Country Boy". The single was recorded live on August 26th, 1974, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, and was included on his 1975 album "An Evening with John Denver".

June 7
17-year-old Tanya Tucker's #1 Country hit, "Lizzie And The Rainman" peaks at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite having 40 Top Ten records on the Billboard Country Chart, ten of which reached #1, this would mark the only time Tucker cracked the Pop Chart Top 40.

June 7
Elton John saw his album, "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" go straight to number 1 in the US in its first week of release. It was the first time any artist had achieved this feat. Elton would do it again later in the year with "Rock of the Westies".


1976 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Capitol Records re-issues some of The Beatles' hits in a package called, "Rock 'N' Roll Music". Even though Ringo Starr speaks out against it, the album would reach #2 in the US.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
The US Internal Revenue Service charges Chuck Berry with three counts of tax evasion. Just hours later, he performs for President Carter on the front lawn of the White House. Berry later pled guilty and was ordered to perform a series of benefit shows after serving four months in prison.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Rocky Burnette's "Tired of Toeing the Line" peaks at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rocky bills himself as The Son Of Rock and Roll as his father, Johnny Burnette had scored a 1960 number one hit with "You're Sixteen". The feat of father and child both scoring a Top Ten hit has also been accomplished by Ozzie and Rick Nelson, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Nat and Natalie Cole as well as Pat and Debbie Boone.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
The Who's Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry are among those present for the ground breaking ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, seven years after the city won the right to host the building. Guests stood on a guitar shaped stage at the construction site on the shore of Lake Erie.

1994 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Grace Slick is sentenced to 200 hours of community service and four Alcoholic's Anonymous meetings a week for three months after being convicted of pointing a gun at police the previous March.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Debbie Harry of Blondie caused a stir when she insisted on having the scheduled opening act go on after her at a show in Amsterdam. It turns out that the lead singer of the band M.A.S.S. also has blonde hair, a direct violation of Blondie's contract, which states that no show performer can have blonde hair except Debbie.


2007 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
The Rolling Stones' European tour kicked off in Belgium to a crowd of over 33,000, many of whom were stuck for hours in a 30-mile traffic jam caused by the show.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh was granted a restraining order against an elderly neighbor who allegedly threatened to kill him. The man was also ordered to pay more than $1,500 in legal fees.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
Kimberly Griggs, who claims to have inspired many of Michael Jackson's biggest hit records, filed a $1 billion lawsuit against his estate, saying the late King Of Pop exposed her personal secrets and promised to give her the rights to the tracks. Griggs said she had an intimate relationship with Jackson in 1979.

June 7
Bob Welch, a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974, died of an apparent suicide at the age of 66. After his time with the band, he went on to enjoy a successful solo career with hits such as "Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes".


2016 - ClassicBands.com

June 7
A hacker took control of George Harrison's Twitter page, changing some of the former Beatles' biography before offering to help secure the account. Quickly apprised of the fact that his target died 15 years ago, the intruder tweeted an apology through Harrison's account.



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