Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 6


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1958 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Billboard magazine runs an article that states "Payola, that under-the-turntable device whereby record companies win plugs and influence disc jockeys, is fast growing into a monster that may yet destroy its creators. According to key record execs, jockey payola is so widespread that it's no longer possible to measure its effectiveness." Disc jockey Alan Freed's career will soon be ended by the scandal.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
The Ed Sullivan Show welcomed surf guitarist Dick Dale performing "Surfin' And A Swingin'" and The Angels, singing "My Boyfriend's Back". Other acts that night included comedienne Totie Fields, singer Kate Smith, Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara and The Three Stooges, Moe Howard, Larry Fine & Joe DeRita, who did their "Maharajah" routine

1966 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
British rocker Johnny Kidd was killed in a car crash in Manchester, England at the age of 26. The car was being driven by the husband of the secretary of his fan club. Although he never made a dent in the US record charts, Kidd had several hits in the UK. He is best remembered on the North America music scene for writing The Guess Who's 1965 chart debut, "Shakin' All Over".

1969 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
George Harrison's song "Something" is released as the "A" side of a Beatles' 45, a first for Harrison. Along with Lennon and McCartney's "Come Together", the single will reach number one in the US next month.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Cher had the top tune in America with "Half-Breed", a song written especially for her. The song would later be awarded a Gold Record for US sales of one million copies. Cher would later claim to be 1/16th Cherokee on her mother's side.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Rick Dees And His Cast of Idiots receive a Gold record for one of the more bizarre novelty hits of the decade, "Disco Duck". In December, it will become only the fourth single ever to be certified Platinum. Dees was fired from his broadcasting job at WMPS in Memphis, Tennessee, when he mentioned that his song, "Disco Duck", was almost #1, and that his own radio station would not let him play it. He was soon hired by a rival Memphis station and went on to a highly successful radio career, being inducted into both the National Radio Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Actress Britt Eklund launches a $15-million palimony suit against Rod Stewart. The case would be later settled out of court.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
ABBA's Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (the brunette) are married. The union would last just three years.

October 6
Ahmet Ertegun, the chairman of Atlantic Records, held a meeting in Chicago with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, about The Rolling Stones' song "Some Girls". Jackson said the line, "Black girls just want to get f--ked all night" was a racial insult that degrades Blacks and women. In the end, the record company declined to edit the song for future releases and co-writer Mick Jagger refused to change the lyrics.

October 6
43-year-old Johnny O'Keefe, who has often been called the undisputed King of Australian Rock 'n' Roll, died following a heart attack induced by an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. He had twenty-nine Top 40 hits to his credit in Australia between 1959 and 1974.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Robert John had the top tune on the Billboard Pop chart with a song called "Sad Eyes". It had been nearly twenty-one years since his first chart appearance in 1958 with a minor hit, "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes". "Sad Eyes" reached #31 in the UK.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Even though he resurrected their career in the mid 1970s, The Bee Gees filed a $200 million law suit against their manager, Robert Stigwood, claiming mis-management. The lawsuit would be settled out of court with mutual public apologies in May 1981.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Michael Jackson gives away the bride at Elizabeth Taylor's seventh wedding, held at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The Groom was construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom Taylor would divorce in 1997. When asked why she married so many times, Taylor said that she was a very moral person and would never sleep with a man unless she was married to him.

1994 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
The Eagles reunion tour is halted when Glenn Frey is admitted to hospital for emergency stomach surgery.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Mick Jagger donated £100,000 ($184,000) to his old Grammar school in Dartford to help pay for a music director and buy musical instruments.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
The Four Tops sang the national anthem before Game 3 of baseball's American League Divisional Playoff Series at Comerica Park in Detroit.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
A set of John Lennon's fingerprints were seized by the FBI from a New York memorabilia dealer who intended to sell them for $100,000 (£62,621) minimum bid. The prints were taken at a New York police station in 1976 when Lennon applied for permanent US residence. The bureau believed the card was still government property and was investigating how it landed in private hands.

October 6
Just a year after ruling out a reunion with his former group, singer Davy Jones announced plans to reform The Monkees for a 2011 tour.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Starship's "We Built This City" was named 'The worst song of the 1980s' in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. "The Final Countdown" by the Swedish band Europe came in second, and "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh was third. Also making the top five were Wham!'s "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)" and "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Billy Joe Royal, the Country and Pop vocalist who placed four songs on Billboard's Top 40, died suddenly at the age of 73. His hits included "Down In The Boondocks" (#9 in 1965), "I Knew You When" (#14 in 1965) and "Cherry Hill Park" (#15 in 1969).

October 6
Johnny Cash was inducted into the Music City Walk Of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker, drummer for Rock's first supergroup, Cream, died after a short illness at the age of 80. Although they were only active between 1966 and 1968, the trio of Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton churned out three albums, "Fresh Cream", "Disraeli Gears" and "Wheels of Fire". A fourth and final LP, "Goodbye" was released in February 1969, after the group had broken up. Three of their singles made Billboard's Top 40, "Sunshine Of Your Love" (#7), "White Room" (#6) and "Crossroads (#28). In 1993, Baker was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of Cream.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

October 6
Eddie Van Halen, who established himself as one of the all-time greatest guitar players in Rock history as a member of the group Van Halen, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

October 6
Reggae artist Johnny Nash died of natural causes at the age of 80. Between 1958 and 1973, Nash placed six songs on the Billboard Top 40 chart, including the number one hit, "I Can See Clearly Now" in 1972.



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