Rock 'n' Roll History for
August 13


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1952 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
The original version of "Hound Dog" was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. It would become the first hit for the song-writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and would top the Billboard R&B chart for seven straight weeks, selling nearly two million copies.

1955 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Due to the large number of Pop hits which are remakes of R&B hits, Savoy Records announces that those wanting to record cover versions of songs must obtain permission from the US copyright office.

1959 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Brenda Lee recorded "Sweet Nothin's", which will prove to be her breakthrough hit and launched her Hall Of Fame career. The song would reach #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and become the first of her twenty-nine Top 40 hits.

August 13
Bobby Darin signs a six-year film contract with Paramount, which is expected to earn him $1 million.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Elvis Presley's album "Girls! Girls! Girls!" is certified Gold by the RIAA It had reached #13 on the Billboard Top LPs chart on the strength of the single "Return To Sender", which topped the UK chart and rose to #2 in America.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
The Kinks reach the UK charts for the first time with "You Really Got Me". The song will top the British list a month later and climb to #7 in the US.

August 13
The Supremes record "Baby Love", which was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland. The song will go on to become the trio's second of their eleven Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers. Rolling Stone would later rank it at #324 on their 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
The Beatles' second film, Help! opens in New York, two weeks after its London premiere. The band were not especially pleased with the movie, with John Lennon later saying, "The film was out of our control. With A Hard Day's Night, we had a lot of input, and it was semi-realistic. But with Help!, Dick Lester didn't tell us what it was all about."

August 13
The Jefferson Airplane made their stage debut at the Matrix Club in San Francisco. Before the year is out they'll become the first San Francisco Rock group to sign a major recording contract.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Two days after John Lennon's apology for saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, radio station KLUE-AM in Longview, Texas organizes a Beatles Bonfire where the group's records and memorabilia were destroyed. The next morning the station's transmission tower was struck by lightning, halting all broadcasting and rendering the news director unconscious. Meanwhile in Cleveland, Ohio, the Reverend Thurman H. Babbs, of the New Haven Baptist Church, called for the excommunication of all Beatles fans.

August 13
"Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful hit the top of the Billboard singles chart and the Cashbox Best Sellers list. The song started out as a poem written by John Sebastian's brother, Mark, before the band changed some words and then set it to music. The record reached #8 in the UK.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Joan Baez to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. because of her opposition to the Vietnam War.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
The Guess Who record "American Woman" at RCA's Mid-America Recording Center in Chicago. The song will become a Top Ten hit in the US, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands and would go on to earn a Gold Record for selling over one million copies.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
37-year-old session musician King Curtis was stabbed to death while arguing with a pair of drug dealers he discovered on the steps outside his Manhattan apartment. Born Curtis Ousley, his saxophone can be heard on many hits in the '50s and '60s, including The Coasters' "Yakety Yak". He later led Aretha Franklin's backing band, The Kingpins and opened for The Beatles during their 1965 performance at Shea Stadium.

August 13
John Lennon flew from Heathrow Airport to New York City. He would never set foot on British soil again, although he was planning to return to visit his Aunt Mimi right before he was murdered in December, 1980.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
MCA releases Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, "Pronounced 'Leh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd", which would climb to #27 on the Billboard 200 chart. It would be certified Gold on December 18th, 1974, and Double Platinum on July 21st, 1987, by the RIAA In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the LP at #403 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Canada's Bachman-Turner Overdrive, who had reached the Billboard Top 40 seven times since 1974, announce that they are splitting up. Their biggest US hits included "Takin' Care Of Business" (#12), "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (#1) and "Roll On Down The Highway" (#14).

1980 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Todd Rundgren, most often remembered for his 1978 hit, "Hello, It's Me", was held hostage while his house is robbed by four masked men. Rundgren, his girlfriend and three house guests were bound and gagged during the theft. It was reported that one of the intruders had been humming Todd's hit "I Saw The Light" during the robbery.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Several American record companies announced staff cuts as the industry fell into what one music executive called "the worst shape in its history."

August 13
Soul singer Joe Tex died following a heart attack at the age of 47. Between 1960 and 1978, he placed twenty-five songs on the Billboard Hot 100, ten of which cracked the Top 40. He is most often remembered for his 1967, #10 hit, "Skinny Legs And All" and for "I Gotcha", which reached #2 in 1972.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
KC And The Sunshine Band were at #1 on the UK singles chart with "Give It Up", which would end up as the 18th best-selling single of the year. The song peaked at #18 in the US in January, 1984 and would be the band's final chart maker in both countries.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Jimmy Stokley, who sang lead on Exile's 1978, #1 hit, "Kiss You All Over", died after experiencing complications from hepatitis for over a year. He was just 41 years old.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Curtis Mayfield, best known for his early 1970s hits "Freddie's Dead" (US #4) and "Superfly" (US #8), was left paralyzed from the neck down after a stage lighting structure fell on him during an outdoor concert in Brooklyn. Mayfield passed away on December 26, 1999.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Ed Townsend, who scored a Billboard #13 hit with "For Your Love" in 1958, died of heart failure at the age of 74. After his initial success, he released a series of singles up to 1977, but only cracked the Hot 100 one more time with "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" in 1958. After that, he concentrated on writing and producing, and co-authored Marvin Gaye's 1973, Hot 100 number one smash, "Let's Get It On".

2015 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Jimmy Page told The Daily Beast that he doesn't foresee another Led Zeppelin reunion in the future. The last time the three surviving members played together was in 2007 for a one-off show at London's O2 with John Bonham's son Jason on drums.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

August 13
Greg Kihn of The Greg Kihn Band died at the age of 75 after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease. His group placed seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including "The Breakup Song" (#15 in 1981) and "Jeopardy" (#2 in 1983).



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