Rock 'n' Roll History for
November 25


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1957 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Billboard magazine reports that Rock and Roll acts are turning away from the "increasingly disappointing grosses" of big package shows in favor of teen record hops, where performers appear for smaller guarantees but bigger percentages of the gate.

November 25
Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for their first national TV appearance. They perform "Lotta Lovin'" (US #13) and "Dance To The Bop" (US #23). Unfortunately for the group, they would enjoy no further success in America, but would achieve five more Top 40 hits in the UK between 1959 and 1961.

November 25
Jerry Vale's "Pretend You Don't See Her" peaks at #86 during a one week stay on the Billboard Top 100. Although the song didn't make much of a splash at the time, Martin Scorcese would feature it in his 1990 film, Goodfellas.


1961 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
The Everly Brothers began a six month stint in the US Marine Corps Reserves as part of the 8th Battalion. During their enlistment, Warner Brothers Records released "Crying in the Rain", which had been recorded before the duo entered Camp Pendleton. The song would reach number six in both America and the UK early the next year.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Just three months after topping the chart with "My Boyfriend's Back", The Angels achieve their final Billboard Top 40 hit when "I Adore Him" peaks at #25. Although the group members would later say that they "disagreed vehemently" with the producer's decision to release the song, the record did well on the R&B chart where it rose to #13. One further song, "Wow Wow Wee (He's the Boy for Me)" would peak at #41 the following year.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Harrods department store in London, England closed their doors to the public so The Beatles could do their Christmas shopping.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
"Incense and Peppermints" by The Strawberry Alarm Clock hits the top of the Billboard Pop chart. The recording was initially intended as a 'b-side' and the lead vocal is actually that of a friend of the band, 16 year old Greg Munford, who was just hanging around during the session. Munford was not even a regular band member, but ended up singing a tune that would become a Rock And Roll standard and sell over a million copies. Despite this success, Munford never actually joined the original group and drummer Randy Seol sang the song in concert. Although it was a huge success in America, the single didn't chart at all in the UK.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Over 10,000 fans saw Cream play their final two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. During the shows, the crowd chanted "God save the Cream." Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker would continue to work together in Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and Rick Grech.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
John Lennon returned the MBE award (Member of the British Empire) that he and the other Beatles had been given in 1965. He sent the medal back with a note that read, "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag". In late October, 2016, a draft of that letter surfaced after being found in the sleeve of a used record that was purchased for ten Pounds. It was speculated that because the handwriting on the letter became smudged, Lennon sent a more pristine copy to the Queen. A memorabilia expert appraised its value at $72,000.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
The three surviving members of The Doors tell Rolling Stone magazine that they are determined to carry even after the death of singer Jim Morrison. Despite their efforts, they will officially disband in 1973. In September, 2002, nearly thirty years to the day after their final concert, a reunited version of The Doors returned to the stage with a new singer, Ian Astbury of the Cult.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
26 year old Nick Drake, an English singer, songwriter and musician best known for his acoustic tunes, died from an overdose of amitriptyline, a type of anti-depressant. Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has grown steadily in stature, to the extent that he is now widely considered one of the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years.


1975 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Excess spending and not enough income causes Elvis Presley to take out a $350,000 loan from the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with a huge payroll, Presley had bought a Convair 880 airplane from Delta Airlines, a racquetball building at Graceland, a house for his girlfriend Linda Thompson, a horse, and fourteen Cadillacs in one day. His only income from live shows would be two weeks at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel the following December. Graceland was put up as collateral.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
The Band's final concert, called The Last Waltz, was performed at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom. It included appearances by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Hawkins and Neil Diamond.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Six songs into their show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler has his face cut by broken glass. A bottle thrown from the audience hit the monitor directly in front of him and shattered, causing a shard of glass to puncture his cheek. The band halts the performance immediately and leaves the building.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London by an all-star cast of British artists that included Paul Young, Sting, Phil Collins, members of U2 and many others. The tune quickly became a best seller, moving over three million copies by the end of the year, and raising over eight million Pounds for famine relief in Ethiopia.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
For the first time in Billboard chart history, the top three spots are occupied by female artists. #1 is Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors", #2 is Tina Turner with "Typical Male" and #3 is Janet Jackson's "When I Think Of You".


1989 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Songwriter Diane Warren was the author of the number 1 and number 2 songs in the US. "When I See You Smile" was a hit for Bad English, and "Blame It On the Rain" was credited to Milli Vanilli. Warren would go on to write "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for Aerosmith and the Armageddon soundtrack in 1998.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
After not playing together for over 30 years, The Zombies briefly reunited to promote their new box set called "Zombie Heaven". Rod Argent (keyboards), Paul Atkinson (guitar), Colin Blunstone (vocals), Hugh Grundy (drums) and Chris White (bass) performed their two biggest hits, "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season" at London's Jazz Cafe.

2000

November 25
A burglar broke into Alice Cooper's Paradise Valley home and made off with over $6000 worth of clothes, shoes and cameras as well as four of the shock-rocker's Gold records.

November 25
The Beatles' album simply titled "1", a collection of their UK and US chart toppers, reaches number one in Great Britain. It will top the US chart a week later and will become the best selling album in a total of 28 countries worldwide.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Glen Campbell was released from a Phoenix jail, one day after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, aggravated assault on a police officer and hit and run. The singer blamed his condition on the accidental mixing of alcohol and a prescription anti-anxiety drug. Authorities said Glen's blood alcohol level was .20, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Billy Joel was on the mend after the 61-year-old piano man had both hips replaced last week to correct a congenital condition.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Casey Kasem's three children and his brother filed a $250,000 wrongful death lawsuit against his widow, Jean Kasem, claiming that elder abuse led to his death in 2014. Earlier in the year, prosecutors declined to lay criminal charges as no evidence of wrongdoing was found. That decision led to the family launching the civil case. A counter-suit was later filed by Jean and all legal proceedings were settled our of court in December, 2019.

November 25
Defamation lawsuits filed by Tom Scholz, the founder of the Rock group Boston, against the ex-wife of the band's late lead singer, Brad Delp and the Boston Herald were dismissed by the highest court in Massachusetts. Scholz sued after the Herald published articles in which Micki Delp made remarks that Scholz claimed could be construed as blaming him for Delp's 2007 suicide.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Australian Rock legends AC/DC reached the top spot on Billboard's Artist 100 chart for the first time in their career with their latest album, "Power Up". It was the band's third #1 album, following 1981's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" and 2008's "Black Ice", which had topped the Billboard 200 chart.


2022 - ClassicBands.com

November 25
Irene Cara, an American singer who placed six songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1980 and 1984, passed away at the age of 63. She was best known for her title track in the 1980 film Fame, as well as co-writing and singing the smash hit "Flashdance... What a Feeling", for which she won an Oscar and a Grammy.



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