Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 11


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins kick off an eleven date tour of the Southern US states in Abilene, Texas.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Aretha Franklin appears at the Village Vanguard club in New York, marking the first non-Gospel performance of her career. Her first secular single, "Today I Sing the Blues" would peak at #10 on the Billboard R&B chart later in the month.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers marries the secretary of his fan club, Pauline Behan. When Jerry first asked her for a date, she was George Harrison's girlfriend, but George was away in Hamburg and so she accepted. After one particular falling out, Gerry wrote "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" for Pauline, which touched her so much, she quickly patched things up. The two stayed together until Gerry's death on January 3rd, 2021 at the age of 78.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
The Bee Gees scored their first UK #1 with "Massachusetts", which would go on to sell over five million copies worldwide. Robin Gibb would later admit that The Bee Gees had never actually been to Massachusetts when they recorded the song, they just liked the sound of the name.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Dionne Warwick is awarded her first Gold record for Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I Say a Little Prayer", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the R&B chart the previous week.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Grand Funk Railroad's debut LP, "On Time" enters the Billboard Hot 200 album chart at #65. Although music critics bashed them, Grand Funk will become one of the best selling acts in Rock history.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Elvis Presley adds to his collection of honorary police badges when he is sworn in as a Special Deputy Sheriff of Bel Air, California.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
John Denver reached #1 on the UK singles chart with "Annie's Song", which had topped the US charts the previous July. He had written the song about his wife at the time, Annie Martell Denver.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Neil Sedaka's comeback continued with his second number one hit of the year, "Bad Blood". In the span of just eight months, he also wrote two other chart topping hits, his own "Laughter In The Rain" and The Captain And Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together".

October 11
Janis Ian performs "At Seventeen" on the very first broadcast of NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live, hosted by George Carlin. Billy Preston is also on the program, where he sings his Billboard #1 hit, "Nothing From Nothing".

1976 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Donna Summer's fourth studio album, "Four Seasons of Love" is released by Casablanca Records. The LP contained just five songs, two on Side One and three on Side Two. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold for sales of 500,000 in the US.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Motown Records releases Lionel Richie's second solo album, "Can't Slow Down". It will top the charts in both the US and the UK, and contains the hit singles "All Night Long (All Night)" (US #1, UK #2) and "Hello" (US #1, UK #1). The LP would go on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 1985 ceremony.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Michael Jackson attends the opening of the Michael Jackson Auditorium at his former school, Gardner Street Elementary in Hollywood, California. In November, 2003, school officials covered over Jackson's name with painted plywood, leaving only the word "Auditorium" showing, after receiving requests from angry parents when Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Apple Computer settled a lawsuit launched by The Beatles' record company, Apple Corporation, over name and logo rights. The computer company reportedly paid about $29 million to settle the suit.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Elton John went to #1 on the Billboard singles chart with his world-wide hit, "Candle In The Wind 1997" (Princess Diana version), his eighth US chart topping single. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the song, having sold thirty-three million copies around the globe, is the second highest-selling single of all time behind Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", which has estimated sales of over fifty million.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Michael Jackson's wife, Deborah Rowe, filed for divorce after three years of marriage. The couple met when Rowe was working as a nurse at his plastic surgeon's office. The split would become final in April, 2000, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the couple's two children, Prince and Paris, to Michael.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
The July, 1954 Sun Studio session for Elvis Presley's debut single "That's All Right" was voted the most pivotal moment in Rock history by Mojo magazine readers. Bob Dylan's switch from acoustic to electric guitars in 1965 came second, ahead of the release of The Clash's debut single "White Riot" in 1977. The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 was fourth and The Rolling Stones' release of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" placed fifth. Releases and performances by Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, John Lennon and Led Zeppelin were also included in the Top 10.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Russ Hamilton, a Liverpool singer who had a #4 hit on the Billboard Top 100 in 1957 with "Rainbow", passed away at the age of 74.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
George Michael was set free from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, England after serving twenty-seven days of an eight-week sentence for possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of drugs, stemming from an incident last July. Speaking to reporters outside his London home, Michael said, "I just want to say thank you for everybody who has supported me in there."

2015 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Experience Hendrix LLC, the company that runs Jimi Hendrix's estate, announced that it was suing a Tucson music shop for the return of a guitar once owned by the legendary performer. The shop owner claimed that the acoustic Black Widow guitar, which was valued between $750,000 and $1,000,000, was purchased in good faith from another owner.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
Rod Stewart officially became Sir Roderick David Stewart when he received knighthood from Prince William at Buckingham Palace in London, England. The 71-year-old singer was honored for his services to the music industry and charity work, which includes supporting the British Red Cross, Breast Cancer Care and Elton John's AIDS Foundation. In a statement he told the press, "I've led a wonderful life and have had a tremendous career thanks to the generous support of the great British public. This monumental honor has topped it off and I couldn't ask for anything more. I thank Her Majesty and promise to wear it well."

2024 - ClassicBands.com

October 11
In a poll conducted by BBC Radio 2 listeners, The Beatles were named the ultimate British group. They were followed by Queen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, who qualified for the list because the majority of their members were born or lived in the UK. Rounding out the top ten were Led Zeppelin, Take That, Coldplay, Oasis, The Electric Light Orchestra.



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