Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 21


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Elvis Presley tries to visit a Memphis movie theatre and is mobbed by a crowd of teenagers who accidentally damage his new Cadillac. From that point on, Presley would rent an entire theatre so he and his friends could watch a film.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
"Jailhouse Rock" becomes Elvis Presley's ninth Billboard chart topper in the last year and a half. Rolling Stone magazine would later rank it as #67 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time and it was named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Buddy Holly was at the Pythian Temple Studios in New York for the last time, taping "It Doesn't Matter Any More", "Raining In My Heart", "Moondreams", and "True Love Ways". Holly would be killed in a plane crash on February 3rd, 1959.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
The American TV music show Shindig! features The Kingsmen performing their hits, "Louie Louie", "Money" and "Jolly Green Giant". Also appearing were Joe Tex, The Dave Clark Five, Brenda Holloway and Eddie Rambeau.

October 21
Bill Black, leader of Bill Black's Combo and Elvis Presley's original bass player, died from a brain tumor at the age of 39. Black's biggest solo hit was "White Silver Sands", an instrumental that made it into the US Top Ten in 1960.

October 21
The Spencer Davis Group enter Pye Studios in London to record "Keep On Running", which will top the UK chart next January. In the US however, the single would climb no higher than #76.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
The glaring differences in musical tastes between the United States and Great Britain were never more evident than when "To Sir With Love" by Lulu hit number one in the US, where it would stay for five weeks. The record didn't even chart in the UK.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Johnny Cash wins Best Album at the fourth Academy Of Country Music Awards for his live release, "At Folsom Prison". The LP had reached #13 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart. The single, "Folsom Prison Blues" would win the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Seventeen years after having hits with some of Rock 'n' Roll's most memorable classics, Chuck Berry had his first US number one record with "My Ding-a-Ling", a silly novelty song centered on grade-school level, private parts jokes. The tune also went to the top of the UK chart. It was recorded live at Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic in England as part of the Lanchester Arts Festival, for which Berry turned up an hour and a half late.

October 21
The O'Jays perform "Back Stabbers" on the US TV music show Soul Train. The Soul / Pop cross-over tune will reach #3 in the US and #14 in the UK.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Drummer Keith Moon plays his final show with The Who. He would leave the band and enter a drug and alcohol program shortly after. On September 7, 1978, Moon died of an overdose of a sedative Heminevrin that had been prescribed to prevent seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Meat Loaf releases his landmark album, "Bat Out Of Hell". It would peak at #14 in the US and #9 in the UK, selling over forty-three million copies worldwide. It has been certified 14X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

1978 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Reprise Records releases Neil Young's ninth studio album, "Comes A Time". Featuring the Ian Tyson composition "Four Strong Winds", the LP would reach #7 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and #42 on the UK Official Albums Chart. It was certified Gold in the US for sales of 500,000 copies a little over a month later.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Culture Club, featuring the lead vocals of 21-year-old George O'Dowd, perform their first UK number one hit, "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" on Top Of The Pops. The song, which was allegedly written about O'Dowd's six year relationship with Culture Club drummer Jon Moss, would reach #2 in the US.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
A television special called The Carl Perkins and Friends Show, marked the 30th anniversary of the song "Blue Suede Shoes". The event featured Carl Perkins, the song's writer, along with Dave Edmunds, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Lisa Marie Presley gives birth to Elvis' first grandson. She and her then husband Danny Keough name the baby Benjamin Storm Keough.

October 21
Elton John files a $35 million lawsuit against a reporter for the TV tabloid show Hard Copy, who stated that John moved to Atlanta to be near an AIDS treatment center. Elton's lawyers say he moved to Atlanta because he enjoys the area.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
The Guinness Book Of Records announced that Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" (Princess Diana version) was now the biggest selling single record of all time in the US and the UK, with 31.8 million sales in the first forty days after its release. The all-time sales leader world wide is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".

2001 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Washington D.C. hosts United We Stand, a 9/11 fund raising concert that features Michael Jackson, Carole King, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Mariah Carey, *NSync and The Backstreet Boys.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
The New York Post reports that David Gest, recent ex-husband of Liza Minnelli, has accused the singer of alcohol-fueled, violent, drunken rages that has caused the 50-year-old producer severe headaches and neurological damage. He was seeking $10 million for physical and emotional cruelty. Minnelli responded in the press, saying, "Oh, my God, it's not true... It's stupid. I never hit him. It's rubbish."

2005 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Bob Seger sang the national anthem before the first game of the World Series between the Tigers and the Cardinals in Detroit, Michigan.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Weird Al Yankovic's "White & Nerdy", a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'", peaks at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's Al's first Top 10 hit, besting his 1984 effort, "Eat It" which went to #12.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Fred Ferrara, backing vocalist for The Brooklyn Bridge, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 67. As member of The Del-Satins, he backed Dion on twelve of his Top 40 hits between 1961 and 1963.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
George Harrison's childhood home at 25 Upton Green, in the Speke area of Liverpool, sold for just over $250,000 at an auction held at the legendary Cavern Club. The house was the site of many early rehearsals with John Lennon and Paul McCartney before they teamed up with Ringo Starr. The modest structure was purchased by a Beatles fan who had tried and failed to buy John Lennon's home last year.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Three Dog Night vocalist Cory Wells died suddenly at the age of 74. His lead vocals on "Eli's Coming", "Mama Told Me Not To Come", "Shambala" and "Never Been To Spain" helped the band achieve twenty-one Billboard Top 40 hits and place eleven albums on the Billboard 200 chart.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

October 21
Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno, who fronted the band from 1978 to 1981, passed away at the age of 66 after suffering from a series of health problems over the past several years.



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