Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 1


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1954 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
The UK's Top 12 Pop Chart, as published by the New Musical Express, became the Top 20 Chart. The list was compiled by the magazine's representative who simply telephoned approximately twenty record shops asking for a list of the ten best-selling songs. Because of its success, other retailers such as Record Mirror and Melody Maker, would soon begin compiling their own charts.

1956 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
After test audiences have a negative reaction to Elvis dying at the end of the film Love Me Tender, The King is called back to re-shoot the scene. In the new ending, the hero lives.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Elvis Presley is transported from Bremerhaven, Germany to the US Army base at Friedberg, where he will join his outfit, Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Brian Epstein signs his management contract with The Beatles. John Lennon and Ringo Starr signed for themselves and Harold Harrison and James McCartney do so on behalf of their underage sons. The agreement gave Epstein a 25% cut of the group's earnings provided that they made more than $400 each per week.

October 1
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson debuts on NBC. The program's opening theme, an instrumental Jazz song titled "Johnny's Theme" was composed by Paul Anka, with lyrics, never used, added by Carson. Royalties from the tune would net each of them about $200,000 per year. The show would end on May 22nd, 1992, after a total of 6,714 episodes.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Capitalizing on material it owns, recorded by its two best-selling groups, Vee Jay Records releases the album "The Beatles Vs. The Four Seasons". The record, which consists of previously released material, stays on the LP chart for just three weeks, reaching only as high as #142.


1965 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Bob Dylan appears at Carnegie Hall in New York and introduces his new touring band made up of guitarist Robbie Robertson, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manual and drummer Levon Helm. They will become known simply as The Band.

October 1
The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" is released in the US, where it will become their second #1 and final Top Ten entry. The song, with the exception of the last line, I swear it's not too late, was adapted entirely from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible and put to music by Pete Seeger in 1959.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
John Sebastian officially leaves the Lovin' Spoonful to begin his solo career.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Jimi Hendrix is buried in The Greenwood Cemetery at the Dunlop Baptist Church in his hometown of Seattle, Washington. His tombstone is inscribed: Forever In Our Hearts, James M. 'Jimi' Hendrix 1942 - 1970.

October 1
Curtis Mayfield quits The Impressions to launch a solo career and to found his own label, Curtom Records, with manager Eddie Thomas. He would go on to place five songs on the Billboard Hot 100 over the next four years, including "Freddie's Dead" (#4) and "Superfly", (#8), both of which sold over a million copies in 1972.

October 1
Janis Joplin attends her final recording session at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. While there she sings an a capella version of "Mercedes Benz", which would be included on her posthumous album, "Pearl". The song title, as listed on that album, contains no hyphen, although the actual automobile brand name is hyphenated as Mercedes-Benz.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
John Lennon's second studio album "Imagine" is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It has since been upgraded to 2X Platinum for sales in excess of 2,000,000.

October 1
Cat Stevens releases his fifth album, "Teaser And The Firecat". It would reach #1 in the UK and #3 in America on the strength of three hit singles, "Moonshadow" (UK #22, US #30), "Morning Has Broken" (UK #9, US #6), and "Peace Train" (US #7).

1975 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
39 year old Al Jackson, drummer for Booker T. And The MGs, is shot and killed by a burglar at his home. His wife was questioned about the killing because she was arrested in July for shooting her husband in the chest during a domestic dispute. He wasn't badly hurt and the charges were dismissed when his wife claimed self-defense. On October 1st, Jackson returned home to what police describe as a botched robbery attempt. According to Jackson's wife, an intruder made her answer the door and then threw her husband to the floor demanding money. Jackson was forced to lie face down and then was shot in the back five times. The identity of the culprit remains a mystery.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
David Bowie begins a three year hiatus from music by moving to West Berlin in an attempt to resolve some personal problems.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Not only was Star Wars a hit at the movie box office, "The Star Wars Theme" by Meco was the best selling single in the US. The orchestra was lead by American record producer and musician, Domenico Monardo. Both the single and the album "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" would be certified Platinum in the US.


1980 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
The film One Trick Pony, starring Paul Simon, Blair Brown, Joan Hackett and Rip Torn, opens in US movie theatres where it will enjoy only modest success and mixed reviews. The song "Late in the Evening", from the film's soundtrack, hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Sony Corporation introduces the first commercially available compact disc player in Tokyo, Japan. The price of the unit is about $650 US. Albums that have been converted to CD are slow to reach the North American market and the first to go on sale is Billy Joel's "52nd Street".

1983 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
After having what she described at "seven flops in a row", Bonnie Tyler became the first female Welsh singer to top the Billboard Hot 100 when "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" rose to the top for the first of four weeks. The song would be nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1984 ceremony, but lost to "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Forbes magazine lists New Kids On The Block as earning $78 million dollars in the last year, making them the fifth richest entertainers in the US.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Harry Ray of the R&B trio The Moments died of a stroke at the age of 45. The group's biggest hit was "Love On A Two Way Street", which reached number 3 in the US in 1970.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Wilson Pickett is sentenced to one year in jail for hitting an 86 year-old man with his car while drinking. During his time in jail he will get into a fight with another inmate and a resulting eye injury will require a number of surgeries to repair the damage.

1994 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Eric Clapton entered the US album chart at #1 with "From The Cradle", the follow-up to his successful 1992 live album, "Unplugged". Although reviews were mixed, the LP would go on to win the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and received a further nomination for Album of the Year.

October 1
The London Daily Mirror prints a color photo of Michael Jackson in a scoutmaster's uniform along with five young Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts of American later say that Jackson has no association with the organization.

1998 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
CCR's John Fogerty gets star number 1356 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


2000 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
The Recording Industry Association of America introduces guidelines for parental advisory labeling on recordings released in the US.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Barry White's record label, Def Jam Island Music Group, issued a statement that said the 58 year old singer was battling kidney failure brought on by years of high blood pressure. White "has started a course of maintenance dialysis therapy. Once stabilized, he will be a candidate for a kidney transplant." Sadly, White, who placed eleven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1973 and 1994, would suffer a stroke and die on July 4, 2003.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

October 1
Bruce Palmer, former bassist for Buffalo Springfield, died of a heart attack in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 58. The band's only Billboard Top 40 hit, "For What It's Worth" reached #7 in 1967.

2008 - ClassicBands.com
October 1
Nick Reynolds, a founding member of The Kingston Trio died of acute respiratory disease at the age of 75. The group jump-started the Folk music scene of the late 1950s with their US number one hit "Tom Dooley".

2011 - ClassicBands.com
October 1
After 28 years and two children together, KISS bassist Gene Simmons (62) and 1981 Playboy centerfold Shannon Tweed (54) finally get married at an outdoor, evening ceremony on the crystal lawn of The Beverly Hills Hotel.

2018 - ClassicBands.com
October 1
Peggy Sue Gerron, the woman who inspired Buddy Holly's 1957 #3 hit, "Peggy Sue", passed away at the age of 78. Holly had originally wrote the tune as "Cindy Lou", but his drummer, Jerry Allison persuaded him to change the title to that of his girlfriend. Gerron and Allison were eventually married, but divorced in 1964.



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