Rock 'n' Roll History for
April 25


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1949 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
An article by Deac Aylesworth in Look magazine predicted that radio was doomed and that within three years, TV would overshadow radio completely. He was wrong of course. As of December, 2023, 92% of the US population said they still listened to radio every week, approximately 272 million people. This was far ahead of the 87% that watch television on a weekly basis.

1955 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
John Walker, the British delegate on the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs announces that there is a "definite connection between increased marijuana smoking and that form of entertainment known as Bebop and Rebop."

1960 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Elvis Presley's first release since leaving the US Army, "Stuck On You", tops the Billboard chart. The record had been so highly anticipated, it sold over one million copies before it was even recorded. It reached #3 in the UK.

April 25
With the Folk music craze in full swing, The Brothers Four enjoyed their biggest hit as "Greenfields" reached #2 on the Billboard chart. The record sold over one million copies in America and was awarded a Gold disc by the RIAA. In the UK, it reached #40.

April 25
Funeral services are held for Eddie Cochran at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California. Only family and friends were allowed to attend.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Peter And Gordon reach #1 on the UK Pop chart with "A World without Love", a song given to them by Paul McCartney because he didn't think it was good enough for The Beatles to record. The song would also top the Cashbox Best Sellers list and the Billboard Hot 100 in June.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Just days after completing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", The Beatles laid down tracks for "Magical Mystery Tour" at Abbey Road studios in London. That LP would be released in late November in the US and early December in the UK and top the charts in both countries. Worldwide sales were over eight million copies.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
The Beatles refuse to perform for the Queen of England at a British Olympic Appeal Fund show. Ringo Starr would later explain, "Our decision would be the same no matter what the cause. We don't do benefits."

April 25
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed that listening on the job to Radio 1, the major Pop and Rock station of the BBC, made workers less productive.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
James Brown records "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" at Starday-King Studios, in Nashville, Tennessee, in just two takes. It's the first recording with his new band, which he hired in March when his previous group complained about how they were being treated. The song will rise to #2 on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles chart, and #15 on the Hot 100. In the UK, it went to #32.

April 25
After playing a concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, where men in the crowd taunted the interracial band Pacific Gas and Electric, the group is shot at as their van leaves the club. Four bullets hit the vehicle but no one is hurt.

April 25
The Jackson Five achieve their second straight US #1 single with "ABC". It was also a Top Ten hit in the UK, topping out at #8.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Sweet's biggest American hit, "Little Willy" is certified Gold. The record rose to #3 in the US and #4 in Great Britain. The band would go on to place four more tunes on the Billboard Top 40 over the next five years, including "Ballroom Blitz" (#5 in 1975), "Fox On The Run" (#5 in 1976) and "Love Is Like Oxygen" (#8 in 1978).

1974 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Pamela Susan Courson, Jim Morrison's longtime companion, was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. She was 27 years old, the same age Morrison was when he passed away in 1971. The plaque where her ashes were interred at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California reads "Pamela Susan Morrison 1946-1974", even though "Morrison" was never a part of Courson's legal name.

April 25
The Beach Boys are streaked by members of their own road crew during a concert.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Elvis Presley makes what will be the last recordings of his life at a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Center. Three songs from the show will appear in heavily over dubbed mixes on the posthumously released album, "Moody Blue". That LP would be certified Gold and Platinum on September 12th, 1977, and 2X Platinum on March 27th, 1992, by the RIAA.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Queen's single "We Are the Champions" was certified Platinum after reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1981 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Paul McCartney, who is reluctant to tour because of death threats he was receiving in the wake of John Lennon's murder, decides to disband Wings after guitarist Denny Laine announces his departure. Laurence Juber had already been dismissed the previous January.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix used to perform the "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock is auctioned off in London for $295,000.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Brian McLeod, guitarist and backing vocalist for Chilliwack, died of brain cancer at the age of 39. The Vancouver, Canada band is most often remembered for their 1981 hit, "My Girl (Gone, Gone Gone)".

1994 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
The Eagles played the first of two shows where they recorded their "Hell Freezes Over" album. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit first got back together the previous December for the making of a Travis Tritt video of their song, "Take It Easy", that was included on an Eagles tribute CD. The video from Hell Freezes Over was later released in CD and DVD form and includes an excellent acoustic rendition of "Hotel California", as well as live versions of most of their hit songs. The name of the album was taken from an earlier quote by Glen Frey, who responded to the question "When will the Eagles get back together?"

1999 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Paul Simon performs "Mrs. Robinson" and receives loud cheers following the line "Where have you gone Joe Di Maggio?" during a ceremony honoring the Yankee Clipper at New York's Yankee Stadium.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Billy Joel lost control of his car on a rain-slicked road in Bayville, New York and crashed into a house. No one in the building was injured and the piano man walked away with only a cut finger.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Bobby "Boris" Pickett died of leukemia at the age of 69. Pickett's Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween anthem "The Monster Mash" to the top of the Billboard Pop chart in 1962.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Two founding members of The O'Jays, Eddie Levert and Walter Williams, filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against the makers of Crown Royal Whiskey. The suit claimed that the company ripped off their tune "For Love of Money" for a commercial without asking for permission.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Eagles' drummer Don Henley lashed out on his Facebook page against fans using cell phones to capture images and video at the band's concerts. "The madness, the rudeness, the thoughtlessness must stop. Constantly looking at the world through a viewfinder is not seeing. Listening to live music while recording on a smartphone is not hearing. Experiencing life second-hand is not living. Be here now." At Eagles' shows on their most recent tour, ushers were instructed to reprimand those who ignored the ban and remove repeat offenders.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
99-year-old veteran Captain Tom Moore teamed up with singer/actor Michael Ball to top the UK chart with a song called "You'll Never Walk Alone". Captain Tom broke the UK Official Chart record by being the oldest person to reach number one. At 99 years and 11 months, he bested Sir Tom Jones, who was 68 years and nine months when he released "(Barry) Islands In The Stream" in 2009, and Louis Armstrong, who was 66 years and 10 months when he released "What A Wonderful World" in 1968.

2022 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Susan Jacks, of the Canadian band The Poppy Family, died of kidney disease at the age of 73. The group is most often remembered for a pair of 1970 hits, "Which Way You Goin' Billy" (#2) and "That's Where I Went Wrong" (#29).

2023 - ClassicBands.com

April 25
Singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte died of congestive heart failure at his home in Manhattan at the age of 96. Along with appearing in several films, he also reached the Billboard Top 40 six times, most notably with "Jamaica Farewell" (#14 in 1956) and "Banana Boat (Day-O)" (#5 in 1957). His 1956 album "Calypso" spent an amazing thirty-one consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.



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