Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 14


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Buddy Holly and his sidemen, Larry Welborn and Bob Montgomery, open a show for Bill Haley And His Comets at a concert in Lubbock, Texas. Talent agent Eddie Crandell is in the audience and in the next few weeks, arranges for Holly to record his first demo.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Although it was banned by some US radio stations for its suggestive lyrics, The Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" reached the top of the Billboard singles chart. In the UK, it reached #2. The Everlys were accompanied by guitar legend, Chet Atkins.


1962 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
At a time when political correctness had not been thought of, 42-year-old actor Rex Allen sees his recording of "Don't Go Near The Indians" peak at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song tells the story of a young man who disobeys his father's advice and falls in love with a beautiful Native American girl, only to find out that she is his biological sister.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
After fifteen straight weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is knocked out of the number one spot by Bobbie Gentry's LP, "Ode To Billie Joe".

1969 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Mowtown Records released "Someday We'll Be Together", by Diana Ross And The Supremes. Although the record was promoted as the final Supremes song to feature Diana Ross, it was recorded by her alone. Neither Mary Wilson or Cindy Birdsong actually took part in the recording.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Music publishing firm Arco Industries files a $500,000 dollar lawsuit against Creedance Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, claiming that his song "Travelin' Band" contains substantial material copied from Little Richard's "Good Golly, Miss Molly". The suit is eventually dropped.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Michael Jackson's song "Ben", from the movie of the same name, reaches number one on Billboard's Pop chart and #7 in the UK. It's the third hit in a year for the 13 year old singer.

October 14
Joe Cocker is arrested on drug charges in Adelaide, Australia. He could have faced penalties ranging from a $2,000 fine to two years in prison, but was given a mere four-hour notice to leave the country.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Bing Crosby, a popular crooner and actor in the 1930s, '40s and '50s who placed two songs in the Billboard Top 40 during the Rock era, "True Love" (#3 in 1956) and "Around The World" (#25 in 1957), died of heart failure at the age of 74. His rendition of "White Christmas" held the record for the biggest selling record in the world for many years until it was surpassed by Elton John's "Candle In The Wind - 1997" (Princess Diana version).

October 14
Linda Ronstadt sings the US National Anthem at Dodger Stadium to open the third game of the World Series against the Yankees.

October 14
Casablanca Records releases "Alive II" by KISS. Recorded during the band's August 26–28 shows at the Forum in Inglewood, California, the album would rise to #7 in America and be certified Double Platinum in February, 1996. In the UK, the LP stalled at #60.


1978 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
All four solo albums by the members of KISS break through Billboard's Top 100. Gene Simmons effort will prove to be the highest charting at #22, followed by Ace Freshly at #26, then Paul Stanley at #40 and Peter Criss at #43.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Cyndi Lauper's debut album, "She's So Unusual" is released by Portrait Records. The LP would rise to #4 on the Billboard 200 and #16 on the UK Official Albums Chart. Five singles would be issued from the collection, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (US #1), "Time After Time" (US #1), "She Bop" (US #3), "All Through The Night" (US #5) and "Money Changes Everything" (US #27).

1996 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Madonna gives birth to her first child, a daughter named Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. The father is her personal trainer, Carlos Leon.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Columbia Records releases Barbra Streisand's thirteenth LP, "The Movie Album". It contains twelve songs from her favorite films that were released between 1935 to 1988. The concept is a success, and the disc rises to #5 in America and #25 in the UK.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Freddy Fender, the Tex-Mex hit maker known for such '70s jukebox standards as "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" (#1) and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" (#8), died of complications from lung cancer at the age of 69.


2007 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Runnin' Down a Dream, a documentary film about Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, makes its debut at the New York Film Festival. The 4-hour movie, which chronicles the history of the band, would go on to win a Grammy for Best Music Film at the 2008 ceremony.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Paul McCartney was named Songwriter of The Year at the 29th Annual ASCAP Awards in London, England. The awards presentation honored songwriters and publishers of the most performed works in the US during 2008. Other winners at the event included Phil Collins, who collected his 11th award for his hit "In The Air Tonight".

2014 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Neil Young appeared on US TV's The Colbert Report where he engaged the host in a light-hearted discussion about the environment and how he'd like to impeach US President Barack Obama.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
The Eagles' Don Henley topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with "Cass County". The solo LP, Henley's first since 2000's "Inside Job", sold over 87,000 units during the first week after its release.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

October 14
Steppenwolf play their final show, a concert in Baxter Springs, Kansas. It was not announced that this was their last performance until November 22nd, 2019, when band leader John Kay made it official. Besides Kay, none of the musicians who appeared that day were members of the group's hit-making line-up.



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