Rock 'n' Roll History for
April 15


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Mitch Miller, music director of Columbia Records, engages in a spirited debate with Allan Freed over the "potentially negative effects of Rock 'n' Roll on teenagers" on Eric Sevareid's news program on CBS-TV. Two psychiatrists also joined the discussion. Miller made no secret of the fact that he hated Rock music, and was quoted as saying, "It's not music. It's a disease."

1957 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Sun Records releases Jerry Lee Lewis' rendition of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". Originally recorded by a female American R&B singer named Big Maybelle in 1955, Jerry Lee added the boogie woogie piano and suggestive spoken lyrics. The record climbed to #3 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, #1 on the R&B chart, and #8 in the UK. Rolling Stone would later rank it at #61 of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. In 2005, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Buffalo Springfield perform for the first time, opening for The Byrds at a concert in San Bernardino, California.

April 15
In England, The Rolling Stones release "Aftermath", their first LP to feature all original material. It would soar to the top of the UK album chart and stay there for eight weeks. In America, it would reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 200 thanks to the singles, "Mothers Little Helper" (#8) and "Lady Jane" (#24).

April 15
The Spencer Davis Group scored their second UK #1 single with "Somebody Help Me", a song that failed to crack the Top 40 in the US.

April 15
UK music fans were treated to a concert by Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Englebert Humperdinck when they appeared live at the Blackpool Odeon. Tickets cost 5 and 10 shillings, ($0.70 and $1.40).

1967 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Nancy and Frank Sinatra had the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, The Cashbox Best Sellers List and Britain's New Musical Express record chart with "Something Stupid". To this day they are the only father and daughter team to have a US chart topping single. ("Unforgettable" by Natalie Cole and Nat "King" Cole reached #14 in 1991). The single also spent nine weeks atop the Easy Listening (later the Adult Contemporary) chart, becoming Frank's second Gold single as certified by the RIAA, and Nancy's third.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
The Beatles win an Oscar Award for the film Let It Be in the Original Song Score category. None of the band members were in attendance that night, so Quincy Jones accepted on their behalf. Sadly, only John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison were named as recipients by the Academy because they believed that those three were the sole composers. Ringo Starr's writing credit on the song "Dig It" was mistakenly overlooked.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" became an unlikely Billboard number one hit after it was featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me. The song had been originally released as an album cut three years earlier, but after Eastwood included it in his movie, Atlantic Records rush released it as a single. The song reached #14 in the UK.

April 15
Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen entered the Billboard Top 40 for the first and only time with "Hot Rod Lincoln", which will climb to #9. The record is a re-worked version of "Hot Rod Race", a #29 hit for Tiny Hill in 1951.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Lynyrd Skynyrd release their second studio album, "Second Helping", which features the band's biggest hit single, "Sweet Home Alabama" (US #8, UK #31). The LP reached #12 on the Billboard album chart, and was certified Gold on September 20, 1974, and Double Platinum on July 21, 1987.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Billy Joel suffered a broken wrist when the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a car. The Piano Man was in the hospital for over a month.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Queen is presented with an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the 32nd annual Ivor Novello Awards in London.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Roy Orbison had his final Top 10 single on the US chart with "You Got It", four months after he passed away. The song was written by Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty and appeared on Orbison's "Mystery Girl" album that was released posthumously.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
The three surviving members of Queen raised over $15 million at a charity concert in memory of the late Freddie Mercury, who died in November, 1991. They were joined by David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Paul Young and others.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
The rest of Jerry Garcia's ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A small portion had been placed into the Ganges River in India eleven days earlier. The Grateful Dead leader had died on August 9th, 1995.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Joey Ramone, of the '70s Punk band The Ramones, died of lymphatic cancer at the age of 49 . His real name was Jeff Hyman.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
John Fred Gourrier, who led John Fred And His Playboy Band to Billboard's #1 spot in December 1967 with "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)", died after a long bout with kidney disease. He was 63.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
After receiving some bad reviews and even enduring some boos during her performance, Whitney Houston brushed off criticism of her first show in the UK in over eleven years by insisting she was playing to a "tough crowd." She had been recently been hospitalized with chronic rhinopharyngitis, which is a swelling of the membranes in the nose and throat.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

April 15
Joe Terry, vocalist for Danny And The Juniors on their hits, "At The Hop" (#1 in 1958) and "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" (#19 in 1958), passed away at the age of 78. After the band's heyday, Joe continued to perform with the group well into the new millennium.



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