Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 26


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1958 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Bill Haley And His Comets played the first Rock 'n' Roll concert in West Berlin, Germany, where riots broke out among the 7,000 fans. Several members of the audience and the police are injured.


1960 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Elvis Presley rented the Memphis Fairgrounds after hours for himself and his girlfriend Anita Wood, and various family members and friends.

1961 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records, where he would enjoy twelve Billboard Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1979, and thirty-eight chart albums between 1962 and 2020.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
The Beatles are awarded the prestigious MBE (Members of the Most Honorable Order of the British Empire ) medal at Buckingham Palace. Many former recipients gave theirs back in protest, to which John Lennon responded "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war, for killing people." He continued: "We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more." When asked how he enjoyed meeting Queen Elizabeth II, John said "She's much nicer than she is in the photos."

1969 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
32-year-old Waylon Jennings marries his fourth wife, 26-year-old Jessi Colter. They would remain married until his death on February 13th, 2002. Mostly remembered as a member of Buddy Holly's band and later a Country music artist, Jennings also placed three songs on the Billboard Top 40, including the #23 hit, "Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard" in 1980. Colter reached the same chart in 1975 with the #4 hit, "I'm Not Lisa".

1970 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Elton John's "Your Song" is released. It would be Elton's first international Top 10 single, reaching that chart in Great Britain, Netherlands, Canada and The United States.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Three days after performing "Tired of Being Alone" on American Bandstand, Al Green is awarded a Gold record for the hit single.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
The teaming of Dionne Warwick with The Spinners resulted in both artists having their first number one hit when "Then Came You" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

October 26
English supergroup Bad Company tops the Cashbox Best Sellers chart with "Can't Get Enough". It will prove to be their biggest North American hit, although they will place eight more songs in the US Top 40.

October 26
Barry White's album "Can't Get Enough" hits the top of the Billboard 200 album chart for a one week stay. Two singles from the LP were major hits, with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe" reaching #1 and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" climbing to #2.


1980 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Jefferson Starship leader Paul Kantner suffers a small stroke during a recording session. His wife initially doesn't believe him, but eventually calls the hospital's front desk and said, "Would you please get an ambulance for this asshole?" He would make a full recovery after two weeks in the hospital.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Wham! topped the UK chart with "Freedom", a song that will reach #3 in America. It was the second British #1 of the year for the English duo, following the success of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" last Spring.

October 26
19 year old John D. McCollum shot himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. A year later, McCollum's parents sued Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" contributed to their son's death. The suit was eventually dismissed.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Whitney Houston scores the first of seven straight Billboard number one hits with "Saving All My Love For You". She would follow it with "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love Of All", "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", all of which reached the top of the Hot 100.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Legendary Rock concert promoter Bill Graham was killed when the Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter he was riding in struck the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower near Sears Point, northwest of Vallejo and exploded. The fiery crash, which left the helicopter's wreckage dangling near the top of the towering structure, killed Graham (age 60), his girlfriend Melissa Gold (age 47) and pilot Steve Kahn. Graham had founded the Fillmore theaters in San Francisco and New York and had played key roles in supporting such bands as The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, The Band, Bob Dylan, The J. Geils Band, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones.

October 26
49-year-old Jim Reese, guitarist for The Bobby Fuller Four on their hit "I Fought The Law", suffered a fatal heart attack after playing a round of golf.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico open their doors for the night and urge residents to tie black ribbons on trees to protest Madonna's first concert there.

1994 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Wilbert Harrison, most often remembered for his 1959 chart-topper "Kansas City", suffered a stroke and died at the age of 65. In 2001, his recording of that song was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and has also been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

1998 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
A US Federal Judge refuses to issue an injunction against makers of mp3 players. The Recording Industry Association of America had argued that the majority of the songs played on the devices were illegal downloads.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Singer / songwriter Hoyt Axton died peacefully at his ranch at the age of 61. He is most often remembered for writing Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World" and "Never Been To Spain" as well as Ringo Starr's "The No No Song" and The Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar". His mother, Mae Buran Axton, co-wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel".


2004 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Bill Read, the bass singer for The Diamonds passed away at the age of 68. After signing with Mercury Records in 1955, The Diamonds became the first Canadian group to make an impact on the US record charts, placing nine songs in the top twenty during the late 1950s. Their most memorable hits, "Little Darlin'" and "The Stroll" reached the Top Ten.

October 26
Forbes.com compiled a list of the top earning dead celebrities and to no one's surprise, Elvis Presley came out on top. Twenty-seven years after his death, fans were still buying his music and collecting memorabilia to the tune of $40 million a year. Beatle John Lennon was number four on the list with earnings of $21 million, while his former band mate George Harrison was number 7, bringing in $7 million.

October 26
The Recording Industry Association of America brought a fresh round of copyright-infringement lawsuits against 750 file sharers, including twenty-five users on thirteen university campuses.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Before game four of The World Series, Philadelphia's Patti LaBelle sang her own special version of The Star-Spangled Banner, which included straying far from the original melody and singing the wrong lyrics. The 64-year-old LaBelle was heavily criticized following the performance for singing "sky lights last gleaming" (Instead of twilight), "through the perilous flight" (Instead of light) and "Lamp parts" (Instead of ramparts).

2010 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Former Culture Club vocalist Boy George stunned an audience in London, England after reportedly flying into a rage and tossing his drink on a woman who was talking during his show. Before emptying his glass on her from the stage, George was heard shouting, "Why don't you shut the f**k up, you rude c**t!"

October 26
Forbes Magazine released its annual list of the Top Earning Dead Celebrities. Michael Jackson led the way at $275 million, Elvis Presley was second at $60 million and John Lennon was fifth at $17 million.

October 26
Keith Richards issues his autobiography, Life. It was fairly well received by literary critics and topped The New York Times' non-fiction list in the first week of release. It would later receive the 2011 Norman Mailer Prize for biography.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
59-year-old KISS frontman Paul Stanley announced that he had undergone surgery to address "recurring vocal cord issues" that "come with 40 years of preaching Rock n' Roll."

2016 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
The draft of a letter that John Lennon sent to Queen Elizabeth to return his MBE (Member of the British Empire) that he received as a member of the Beatles, was revealed at a Fab Four exhibition in Liverpool. It has been speculated that because the handwriting on the letter became smudged, Lennon eventually sent a more pristine copy to Her Majesty. The anonymous owner of the letter discovered it within the sleeve of a used record they bought for 10 Pounds. A memorabilia expert put the value of the letter at roughly $72,000.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

October 26
Paul Barrere, guitarist for Little Feat, died at the age of 71 after being diagnosed with liver cancer for years earlier. The band released seventeen albums between 1971 and 2021.



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