Rock 'n' Roll History for
May 12


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1951 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
The number one record on America's R&B chart was a song called "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats. Many Rock historians say that this was the first true Rock and Roll record. Although Brenston sang, played sax, and is credited as composer, 'His Delta Cats' were actually Ike Turner And His Kings of Rhythm.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Link Wray's guitar instrumental "Rumble" first appears on the Billboard Top 100 chart at #81. Even though it has no lyrics what so ever, the song was banned by many US radio stations who feared the title would promote teen violence. Despite the boycott, the song would still rise to #16 and sell over a million copies. Link would follow it with a tune called "Jack The Ripper", which failed to chart, but he would return in 1959 with "Raw-Hide", which peaked at #32.

May 12
The Everly Brothers enjoy their second Billboard chart topper with "All I Have To Do Is Dream", which will also rise to number one in the UK in July. It would later be ranked at #141 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Not bad for a song that The Everlys recorded in just two takes.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Frank Sinatra's Welcome Home Party For Elvis Presley is broadcast on ABC-TV. For a fee of $125,000, Elvis sang his most current releases, "Stuck On You" and "Fame And Fortune", and later traded hits with Sinatra, with Elvis singing "Witchcraft" and Sinatra belting out "Love Me Tender". Ratings for the show were through the roof, but Billboard magazine later said "Although Elvis became a Sargent in the Army, as a singer, he never left the awkward squad." The show marked Presley's last TV appearance for eight years.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Billboard magazine reports that last year's most-played jukebox record was "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's "The Twist".

1963 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
When CBS censors tell Bob Dylan he cannot perform his "Talking John Birch Society Blues" on The Ed Sullivan Show, he walks out of the dress rehearsal. When told the tune may be libelous, Dylan refuses to appear on the program at all.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
The winners at the sixth annual Grammy Awards are announced. Henry Mancini's "The Days of Wine and Roses" is Record Of The Year and Song of the Year. The Album of the Year is "The Barbra Streisand Album", and Best Rock And Roll Recording goes to Nino Tempo and April Stevens for "Deep Purple".

May 12
The Beach Boys started a four week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with a live LP called "Beach Boys Concert", the group's first US #1. The album was recorded at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California, and received heavy post-production enhancements.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
The Rolling Stones record "Satisfaction" during a two day recording session at Chess Studios in Chicago. The song will top the Hot 100 for four straight weeks in July and lead the UK chart for two weeks in September. Mick Jagger would later say "It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band."

1967 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Archie Bell of Archie Bell And The Drells is drafted into the US Army. Almost exactly one year later, while he was still serving, the single "Tighten Up" will top the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, selling over a million copies.

May 12
The English Rock band Procol Harum release their debut single, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". The song will top the UK singles chart and reach #5 in America. It is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than ten million copies worldwide. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, the performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past seventy years.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Brian Jones makes his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appear at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley. Nearly a month later he would be told that the group was going to go on without him, and four weeks after that he would be found at the bottom of his swimming pool at his Cotchford Farm.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Mick Jagger marries Nicaraguan fashion model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias in St. Tropez, France. The guest list includes the other members of The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills. The couple separated in 1977.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Stevie Wonder records "Higher Ground", which first appeared on his 1973 album "Innervisions". Stevie played all instruments on the track, including drums and percussion. The song would top the Billboard R&B chart, while reaching #4 on the Hot 100 and #29 in the UK. It was recorded just before Wonder was involved in a near-fatal accident in August, 1973 that left him in a coma. Early in Wonder's recovery, his road manager sang the song's melody into the singer's ear. Wonder responded by moving his fingers with the music.

May 12
Led Zeppelin's fifth studio album, "Houses of the Holy" tops the Billboard 200 chart. Although reviews were mixed, the LP would go on to sell over ten million copies, and was ranked at #278 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Jefferson Starship give a free concert in New York's Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor, WNEW-FM, would pay $14,000 for clean-up and damage done to the park.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Having lost two other recording contracts in the past year, The Sex Pistols are signed to Richard Branson's Virgin Records for £15,000 ($28,000). They would go on to enjoy six UK Top 30 albums with the label.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
The new Jefferson Starship, with Mickey Thomas replacing Grace Slick as lead vocalist, debuted at a free concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Thomas had been the lead singer on Elvin Bishop's 1976 hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love".

1981 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
The Who's first album without Keith Moon, "Face Dances" goes Gold in America. It is considered a disappointment even to the band itself. The LP makes it to #2, but offers just one hit single, "You Better You Bet" (#18).

1983 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Meat Loaf filed for bankruptcy, even though his "Bat Out of Hell" LP sold millions of copies in the late 1970s. Later, "Back Into Hell" would bring him back to the charts with the hit single, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". At the time of his bankruptcy, Meat Loaf's latest album, "Midnight at the Lost and Found" was sitting at number 7, but the album's single, "If You Really Want To" stalled at number 59.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Lionel Richie enjoys the sixth Billboard Hot 100 chart topper of his career with "Hello". The total includes two with The Commodores ("Three Times A Lady" and "Still"), one with Diana Ross ("Endless Love"), and two on his own ("Truly" and "All Night Long").

1987 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
All 40,000 tickets for three Pink Floyd concerts in Montreal sold out in 4 1/2 hours. Residents around the Montreal Forum complained that police failed to protect their property from rowdy fans.

1998 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
British media stated that Elton John had split with his manager of thirty years, John Reid. Reports said the two had argued over John's career and financial matters.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Perry Como, who placed thirty-one songs in the Billboard Top 40 between 1954 and 1973, including the chart toppers "Hot Diggity", "Round And Round" and "Catch A Falling Star", passed away a week shy of his 89th birthday. Over the course of his career he hosted a weekly TV show continuously from 1949 to 1967. His final chart entry came in 1973 with Don McLean's "And I Love You So", which went to #29.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Dionne Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport for possession of marijuana after authorities found eleven joints in a lipstick case in her carry-on bag. The charges were dropped after she completed a drug program and made a contribution to charity.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
Paul McCartney was granted a divorce from his second wife, Heather Mills. The settlement gave her a lump sum of £16.5 million, together with assets of £7.8 million, which included the properties she owned at the time. Paul was later quoted as saying "There'll be no more nagging, no more chaos, no more Heather... bliss. I have peace at last".

2015 - ClassicBands.com

May 12
65-year-old David Cassidy was fined $900 and ordered to perform fifty hours of community service after pleading guilty to drunk driving in New York in August 2013.



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