Rock 'n' Roll History for
April 4


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1953 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Patti Page's rendition of "The Doggie in the Window" went to #1 on the Billboard magazine chart, where it would stay for eight weeks. It would go on to become the third-best-selling single of the year, moving over two million copies. In the UK, Lita Roza's cover version topped the chart, holding Page's recording to #9.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
RCA Victor Records announces that it will release all Pop singles in mono and stereo simultaneously, the first record company to do so. Elvis Presley's single, "Stuck on You" is RCA's first mono / stereo release.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
The Beatles set a recording industry record that may never be equaled. They held the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Can't Buy Me Love" at number 1, "Twist and Shout" at number 2, "She Loves You" at number 3, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at number 4 and "Please Please Me" at number 5. They also had nine other singles on the Hot 100. In Canada, the Fab Four had nine of the Top 10 singles, while the Australian charts saw them occupying the first six places.

April 4
"My Guy" by Mary Wells entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #50. The song would prove to be the biggest of her twelve Top 40 singles, topping the chart on May 16th, three days after her 21st birthday.

April 4
A court orders a Minneapolis band called The Trashmen to pay royalties to Beechwood Music, holder of the copyright for The Rivingtons' 1962, Billboard #48 hit "Papa Oom Mow Mow," which The Trashmen borrowed heavily from on their 1964, #4 hit "Surfin' Bird".

1968 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Bobby Goldsboro received a Gold record for the single, "Honey", which had spent 13 weeks on the Billboard chart, including five weeks at number one. It remains heavily played on the radio to this day and has been covered many times, although Todd Leopold of CNN named it the "Worst Song of All Time" in April, 2006.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Diana Ross makes her first solo concert appearance, in Framingham, Massachusetts.

April 4
Janis Joplin holds a reunion concert with Big Brother And The Holding Company in San Francisco, where she tells the audience "There ain't no TV, no radio, no nothin', man."

1987 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Grace Slick's lead vocals helped Starship reach Billboard's number one spot for the third time with "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". The song was co-written by Albert Hammond, who had scored a number 5 hit of his own in 1972 with "It Never Rains in Southern California".

1989 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Pepsi-Cola announces that it will no longer run the commercial that features Madonna's "Like A Prayer" after religious groups in the US protest. They would continue to broadcast the ad in Canada.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir scatter part of Jerry's ashes in the Ganges River in India.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards issued a statement that said he was joking when he told NME magazine that the strangest thing he ever snorted was his father's ashes. "It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke and it is not true. File under April Fools' joke".

2008 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Procol Harum founder Gary Brooker won his court battle over royalty rights to the band's most famous hit, 1967's "A Whiter Shade of Pale". In 2006, London's High Court awarded former keyboard player Matthew Fisher 40 percent of the copyright of the track, which has sold an estimated 10 million copies worldwide, after he successfully argued that he wrote the organ music to the song. Brooker appealed and judge John Mummery said that while Fisher should be credited with co-authorship, the fact that it took him 38 years to take the case to court meant he should not benefit financially.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
At the Public Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, Jeff Beck, Little Anthony And The Imperials, Metallica, Bobby Womack and Elvis' drummer, D.J. Fontana are inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
The Boston Red Sox opened their 2010 campaign in style by having Neil Diamond sing "Sweet Caroline", which plays over the loudspeakers during the 8th inning of every Red Sox home game. Aersomith front man Steven Tyler took the field during the 7th inning stretch to sing "God Bless America".

2011 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr reached out to cancer survivor Alexx Kipp through the Make-A-Wish Foundation by meeting him at the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles, where they chatted and played drums together. Ringo later surprised Kipp by giving him his drum set.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
The surviving members of The Jacksons, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito, announced that they were reforming for the first time since 1984. A six week series of concert dates during June and July, called The Unity Tour, would see them perform their classic hits once again.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman turned himself in to British police after reports emerged suggesting he began a sexual relationship with his second wife, Mandy Smith, when she was 14 years old. After a brief meeting, the authorities decided not to pursue charges.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Legendary blues guitarist B.B. King was heckled by audience members during a concert in St. Louis, Missouri for giving what they later called "a weak performance." After paying up to $150 to see the 88-year-old King, several people walked out.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

April 4
Don Cherry, a Big Band singer who reached #4 on the Billboard chart in 1956 with the million selling record "Band Of Gold", passed away at the age of 94. He also added two more Top 40 hits, "Wild Cherry" (#29) and "Ghost Town" (#22), as well as three more Top 100 tunes, all in 1956.



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