Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 25


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1962 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Portraying Jeff Stone, actor Paul Petersen sings "My Dad" on The Donna Reed Show. The song would rise to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following January. Although he would release nine more singles until 1968, Petersen would never reach the Top 40 again.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Peter, Paul And Mary had the two best selling albums in the US with "In the Wind" and "Peter, Paul and Mary". Since then, they have put nine more LPs on Billboard's Top 25 album list, although their only number one single was the John Denver written "Leaving On A Jet Plane" in 1969.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
When the teenagers in the audience kept screaming after The Rolling Stones finished their first song, Ed Sullivan was forced to shout "Quiet!" multiple times before he could introduce the next act. When the band closed the show with "Time Is On My Side", Sullivan exclaimed "Come on, let them hear it!", which caused another uproar.

October 25
The British music industry honors The Beatles with five Ivor Novello Awards, including one for Most Outstanding Contribution To Music.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Rick Nelson appears on an episode of the US crime drama The Streets Of San Francisco. He plays a flute playing Pied Piper who leads teenage girls into prostitution. He convinces them he loves them and will take care of them, but is actually is a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to protect himself.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
English Folk singer Nick Drake died from an overdose of a prescribed antidepressant at the age of 26. Between 1969 and 1972 he had recorded three modestly selling albums which would find a new audience by the early 1980s and would be frequently cited by other artists as being a major influence.

October 25
The Pointer Sisters, Anita, Bonnie and Ruth, became the first group of African American women to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. They performed the Country-flavored tune, "Fairytale", which would climb to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #37 on the Country chart. The song would go on to win a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, making the group the first Black women to receive a Grammy in a Country music category.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Art Garfunkel had his first UK solo #1 single with a song written in 1934, "I Only Have Eyes For You". It reached #18 in the US.

October 25
Paul Simon releases his fourth solo album, "Still Crazy After All These Years". The LP would rise to #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and #6 in the UK, and go on to win Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1976 ceremony. The album produced four Billboard Top 40 hits: "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (#1), "Gone at Last" (#23), "My Little Town" (#9), and the title track (#40).

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant is laid to rest at Jacksonville's Memory Garden five days after he died in a plane crash that killed two of his bandmates, their assistant road manager, and the plane's crew. Keyboard player Billy Powell, confined to crutches, his face covered with stitches, was the only band member able to attend the service.

October 25
Elton John appears on The Muppet Show, where he performs "Crocodile Rock", "Bennie and the Jets", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".

1980 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
"Woman In Love" becomes Barbra Streisand's fifth US number one single. The song, written by The Bee Gees' Barry and Robin Gibb, was taken from the multi-Platinum selling album "Guilty".

1982 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
An audiophile version of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is released by Mobile Fidelity. 5000 albums are recorded in what is known as UHQR half speed. With a price tag of $50 apiece, they would sell out in two weeks.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
For the first time in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, the top three spots were held by female solo acts. Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" held down the #1 position, followed by Tina Turner's "Typical Male" at #2 and Janet Jackson's "When I Think Of You" at #3.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Miss Johnnie Richardson, of the R&B duo Johnnie And Joe, died following a stroke in her 43rd year. She was only 12 years old when she teamed with 20 year old Joe Rivers to reach #8 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1957 with "Over The Mountain; Across The Sea".

October 25
Chico and Bobby DeBarge of the singing group DeBarge are convicted in Michigan of trafficking cocaine. Both would be sentenced to over five years in prison. The Grand Rapids based band enjoyed five Billboard Top 40 hits between 1983 and 1985, including "Rhythm Of The Night" (#3) and "Who's Holding Donna Now" (#6).

1989 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
The newest members of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are announced as Bobby Darin, Hank Ballard, The Four Seasons, Carole King And Gerry Goffin, The Four Tops, Holland-Dozier-Holland, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon And Garfunkel and The Who.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Margo Sylvia of The Tune Weavers died of a heart attack at the age of 55. The group topped the Billboard chart in 1957 with "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby".

1992 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Roger Miller, who rose to fame in the mid-1960s with hits like "King Of The Road" and "Dang Me", died of lung cancer at the age of 56. In a two year span between 1965 and 1966, he won eleven Grammy Awards.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Cliff Richard is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Shelley Fabares, who reached #1 in the US in 1962 with "Johnny Angel", underwent a liver transplant due to deterioration caused by an autoimmune disorder. She later made a full recovery.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Richard Harris, whose version of "MacArthur Park" rose to number two in the United States in 1968, died of cancer. The 72-year-old Irish-born actor had been undergoing chemotherapy at a private clinic in London. Though he charted three other times, Harris was better known for his acting roles on stage and film, most famously playing Albus Dumbledore in two Harry Potter films and English Bob in the Clint Eastwood feature, Unforgiven.

October 25
A fire destroyed a Michigan mansion owned by Aretha Franklin. Officials said that no one was in the home at the time of the fire and that the singer hadn't lived there for two years.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Forbes.com reported their sixth annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list. The top money maker was Kurt Cobain, followed by Elvis Presley. John Lennon was number four, Ray Charles was number eight, Johnny Cash was tenth, George Harrison was twelfth and Bob Marley was thirteenth. To land on the list, a star needed to make at least $7 million in the past twelve months.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
A three member panel of the California Second District Court of Appeal rejected a bid by Michael Jackson's father to challenge the administration of his son's lucrative estate. Despite being excluded from his son's 2002 will, Joe Jackson had been seeking to have some control over financial affairs.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Michael Jackson topped Forbes Magazine's list of the top-earning deceased celebrities with $170 million in earnings over the past year. Elvis Presley placed second with $55 million. John Lennon tied for fifth with $12 million and George Harrison tied for 13th with $6 million.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Forbes magazine reported that Elizabeth Taylor, who died in 2011 at 79 years old, topped their list of highest-earning dead celebrities by earning $210 million in the past year. Michael Jackson, who took in more than any living artist in the past twelve months, was second with $145 million. Elvis Presley ranked #3 with $55 million in earnings, Peanuts creator Charles Shulz earned $37 million and Bob Marley $17 million.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Fleetwood Mac called off fourteen tour dates in Australia and New Zealand so that bassist John McVie could undergo cancer treatment.

October 25
Producer Quincy Jones filed a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit in connection with Michael Jackson projects released by Sony Music Entertainment after the singer's death. The suit alleged that master recordings that Jones worked on were edited and remixed so as to deprive him of back-end profits.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Jack Bruce, bassist for Cream passed away at the age of 71. Along with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, the legendary supergroup had two Billboard Top 10 hits, "Sunshine Of Your Love" (#5) and "White Room" (#6), both in 1968, as well as three Top Ten albums which sold a combined 2.8 million copies.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Bob Dylan contacted the Swedish Academy in Stockholm and told secretary Sara Danius that he would be happy to accept his recent Nobel Prize for Literature. "The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless," Dylan told Danius. "I appreciate the honor so much."

2017 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
After selling over 120 million albums worldwide during a career that spanned over fifty-eight years, 80-year-old Kenny Rogers gave his last official concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Kenny was joined by Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire, Lionel Richie, Wynona Judd, Aaron Lewis, Charles Kelley, Idina Menzel, and of course, Dolly Parton.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

October 25
Phil Lesh, the bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed away of unspecified causes at the age of 84. Although he was not a principal singer or songwriter in the band, he was ranked as the 57th greatest bassist of all time by Bass Player magazine in 2017.



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