Rock 'n' Roll History for
November 19


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1954 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
29-year-old Sammy Davis Jr. was involved in a car accident on Route 66, while driving between Las Vegas and L.A. The force of the crash destroys his left eye when his face smashed into the metal steering wheel of his new, lime green Cadillac. Sammy would wear a patch for a while, before getting a glass eye. He had scored three major US hits that year with "Something's Gotta Give" (#9), "Love Me or Leave Me" (#12) and "That Old Black Magic" (#13).

1957 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Chicago radio station WCFL is picketed by the local chapter of the Elvis Presley fan club when it refuses to play Presley's records. Despite the protest, the station did not change its policy.

1959 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
An RCA executive caused quite a stir when he told members of the press that when Elvis returns to civilian life, people will notice a great change in his style of music. Colonel Tom Parker quickly issued a statement to fans, telling them that won't be the case.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Gary Lewis records "This Diamond Ring", which will climb to number one in the US the following January. Although the single will be credited to Gary Lewis And The Playboys, much of the music was actually provided by studio musicians, including drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Joe Osborn and Leon Russell on keyboards. Lewis' voice was heavily mixed with that of singer Ron Hicklin. Lewis has denied claims that The Playboys did not play on the record, and said that not only was the band largely self-contained, but the Wrecking Crew session musicians only came to do overdubs or solos. Co-writer Al Kooper has often said that although it has been his biggest commercial success as a songwriter, he was never happy with the Lewis version.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Nancy Sinatra, backed by studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, record "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" at Western Recorders in Hollywood. The record will peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 26th, 1966, and become the first of Nancy's ten US Top 40 hits. The song was written by Lee Hazlewood, who was inspired by a line spoken by Frank Sinatra in the 1963 comedy-western film 4 for Texas, "They tell me them boots ain't built for walkin'.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
The Supremes enjoy their eighth US number one hit with "You Keep Me Hangin' On". It made #8 in the UK. Selling over a million copies in the United States, the song was later ranked at #339 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Diana Ross, onstage with The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London, interrupts the show with a plea for interracial understanding. The audience, which includes members of the royal family, applauds for two minutes.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
James Brown marries Deidre Yvonne Jenkins on the front porch of her house in Barnwell, South Carolina. The union would produce two daughters, but after what was described as "years of domestic abuse" they would split in 1974 and divorce on January 10th, 1981.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Emerson, Lake & Palmer release their fourth studio album, "Brain Salad Surgery" on vinyl record, cassette, and 8-track cartridge. It would reach #2 in the UK and #11 in the US, going Gold in both countries. A single from the LP called "Jerusalem" was banned from airplay by the BBC and failed to chart in Great Britain. It was not issued as a single in America.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Van Morrison's 1970 album, "Moondance" is awarded a Gold record. The LP, which made it to #29 on the Billboard 200, contained two hits: the title track and "Into the Mystic", and would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
The Ramones' lead singer, Joey Ramone (real name: Jeffrey Hyman) suffered second degree burns when a faulty humidifier exploded before a show in Passaic, New Jersey. After emergency treatment, he finished the concert, but would spend the following week at the New York Hospital Burn Center.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Almost two years after the group had officially disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham, Swan Song Records releases the Led Zeppelin album "Coda". A collection of rejected tracks and out-takes from various sessions during the band's career, the LP still managed to reach #6 in the US and #4 in the UK.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Tom Evens of Badfinger died at the age of 36. Like his band mate Pete Ham, Evens also hanged himself. Paul McCartney had chosen Evens to sing lead on the band's 1970, #7 hit, "Come And Get It".

1992 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Songwriter Bobby Russell, who wrote many US Top 40 hits including "Honey" and "Little Green Apples", died of heart disease at the age of 51. Russell scored a hit of his own in 1971 with "Saturday Morning Confusion" which reached the Top 25 on the Country chart and the Top 30 on the Pop chart. In 1973 he composed "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", which became a number one hit for his then wife, Vicki Lawrence.

November 19
Linda Ronstadt appears on an episode of The Simpsons called "Mr. Plow", where she sings a commercial for Homer's rival, Plow King (Barney Gumble). Dan Castellaneta, who voices both Homer and Barney, would win his second consecutive Emmy Award for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" for this episode.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
A sixty track album called "Beatles Anthology I" is released in the US and sets a first-day sales record of 450,000 units. Including rarities, out takes and live performances from 1958 to 1964, the collection included recordings made with original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. The LP would top the Billboard 200 and was later certified 8X Platinum by the RIAA. It reached number 2 on the UK album chart.

November 19
The latest James Bond movie, Goldeneye opens in the US, featuring the title song by Tina Turner. The track would reach #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #10 in the UK.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Michael Jackson shocked onlookers in Berlin after appearing to dangle his nine month old son, Prince Michael II, from a fifth-floor hotel balcony. The singer would later apologize for the incident, claiming he "got caught up in the moment." Ironically, he was in the city to accept an award for his charity work on behalf of children.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Meat Loaf collapsed onstage during a sold-out concert at London's Wembley Arena. He reportedly tried to continue his performance before being advised by paramedics on the scene to cancel the show.

November 19
Greg Ridley, bassist for Humble Pie, died of pneumonia and resulting complications. He was 56. The band enjoyed a #4 hit in the UK with "Natural Born Bugie" in 1969, but never had a song climb any higher than #52 in America.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
American record producer, singer, and songwriter Terry Melcher died at the age of 62 at his home in Beverly Hills, California after a long battle with melanoma. The only child of actress / singer Doris Day, he rose to prominence by producing the first two albums by The Byrds, as well as most of the hit records by Paul Revere And The Raiders. He also worked with The Rip Chords, Wayne Newton, Glen Campbell and The Mamas And The Papas.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Kevin DuBrow, the charismatic lead singer for Quiet Riot, died at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 52. Four of the band's nine albums that were released in the US reached the Billboard 200 chart.

November 19
At Caroline Kennedy's 50th birthday party, Neil Diamond sings his 1970 hit "Sweet Caroline", and says the song was actually written about her. In a separate interview, Diamond said, "It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony. It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there."

2009 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Ringo Starr announced that he had teamed up with his former Beatles band mate, Paul McCartney for a duet called "Walk with You", a song featured on his upcoming album "Y Not". The following January, the LP would debut at #58 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling a modest 7,965 copies during the first week of release. Issued as a single, "Walk with You" failed to chart.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Barry Manilow placed his 50th song on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart when "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" debuted at #22. He became just the fifth artist to accomplish that feat in the AC chart's 51-year history. At that time, Elton John led with 68, followed by Barbra Streisand (64), Neil Diamond (58) and Elvis Presley (53).

2016 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
An angry letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, written after The Beatles' break-up, sold at a US auction for nearly $30,000. In the two-page typed draft with handwritten notes, Lennon criticised the McCartneys for their treatment of him and his wife, Yoko Ono. Using strong language, he said he hoped they realized the trouble "you and the rest of my 'kind and unselfish' friends laid on Yoko and me, since we've been together."

November 19
Stevie Nicks made a surprise return to the Billboard 200 when a re-issue of her 1981 debut solo album, "Bella Donna", climbed to #128. The LP had been recently expanded to include twenty-five additional tracks.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
Warren "Pete" Moore, an original member of legendary Motown group The Miracles, died at the age of 78. Moore was the co-writer of the group's hits "Love Machine", "The Tears Of A Clown", "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Ooo Baby Baby".

November 19
Della Reese, the singer and actress who scored three Billboard Top 20 hits in the late 1950s, including the #2 hit "Don't You Know", passed away at the age of 86.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

November 19
A collection of Bob Dylan's personal papers and unpublished song lyrics were sold by R.R. Auction of Boston for a total of $495,000. The items were part of a collection owned by the late American blues artist Tony Glover, a close, personal friend of Dylan's who passed away in 2019.



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