Rock 'n' Roll History for
December 7


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Marty Robbins becomes the first major artist to cover an Elvis Presley tune when he records Arthur Crudup's 1946 composition "That's All Right" for Columbia Records. Robbins' effort will pay off with a #7 hit on the Billboard Country chart.

1956 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
The Alan Freed produced movie, Rock Rock Rock! is released, with 31-year-old actress Tuesday Weld lip-synching to Connie Francis' voice. Also appearing in the film were Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, Chuck Berry, The Flamingos, LaVern Baker, The Johnny Burnette Trio, and Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers. The movie is often cited as the first Rock And Roll movie to have had a soundtrack album issued.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
"Dominique" by The Singing Nun was the number one record in North America, edging out The Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie". The song would eventually sell over 1.5 million copies and win a Grammy Award for the year's best Gospel song. Her given name was Jeanine Deckers and she would leave the convent in 1967 before taking her final vows, partly to pursue a recording career, but never repeated her earlier success. In 1985, the center for autistic children in Belgium that she helped to found had closed due to lack of funds. In despair over this failure, the 51-year-old Deckers and her friend Annie Pescher committed suicide.

December 7
The Beatles appear on a UK show called Juke Box Jury, where host David Jacobs presided over a panel of four celebrities who rendered their judgments on the latest Pop record releases. John, Paul, Ringo and George turned thumbs down on Bobby Vinton's "There, I've Said It Again", which was currently number one in the US. They predicted that Elvis Presley's "Kiss Me Quick" would be a hit, but it stalled at #34 in America the following summer.

December 7
The Murmaids, a Los Angeles teenage trio consisting of sisters Carol and Terry Fischer along with Sally Gordon, enter the Billboard Top 40 with "Popsicles and Icicles", which will rise to #3. The song did not chart in the UK, possibly due to the Brits' unfamiliarity with the term Popsicles, which in Britain are called "ice lollies."

December 7
"Midnight Mary" by Joey Powers enters the Billboard Top 40 at #36. The song, written by Ben Raleigh and Artie Wayne about a secret relationship that Wayne had with a young Iranian girl, had been turned down by every major label in New York City until AMY Records owner Larry Uttal took a chance on it. The single would rise to #10 and Powers, Raleigh and Wayne were later presented with a Gold record.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
"The Chipmunk Song" by David Seville And The Chipmunks entered the Billboard Top 40 chart on its way to a four week stint at #1, selling 4.5 million copies in seven weeks. The record would go on to win three Grammy Awards: Best Comedy Performance, Best Children's Recording and Best Engineered Record (non-classical).

1963 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
A quartet from Minneapolis, Minnesota who called themselves The Trashmen saw their first release, "Surfin' Bird", enter the Billboard Hot 100 where it would reach #4 during the first week of February, next year. The song is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word".

1967 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
The Beatles' Apple boutique opened in London. It closed seven months later and all the goods were given away free to passers by.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Although its real name is "The Beatles", the LP that fans call "The White Album" debuts at #1 the UK chart for the first of a seven week stay. The LP would spend 22 weeks on that survey, far fewer than the 149 weeks for "Sgt. Pepper".

December 7
Eric Burdon announces that The Animals would split up after a December 22nd concert at Newcastle City Hall. He moved to California to embark on a largely unsuccessful acting career, while bass guitarist Chas Chandler would go on to manage Jimi Hendrix.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, release their first album, "Wild Life". It would reach #11 in the UK and #10 in America despite not including a hit single in either country.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Trouble starts for Fleetwood Mac when their former manager, Clifford Davis, claims ownership of the band's name and assembles a bogus group, which he puts out on tour.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Kingston, Jamaica native Carl Douglas led the Billboard Hot 100 with "Kung Fu Fighting". The record sold eleven million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Oddly enough, the song was recorded in just ten minutes and started out as a B-side. After his follow-up, "Dance The Kung Fu" stalled at #48, Douglas released "Shanghai" and "Run Back", which failed to chart in America but were modest hits in the UK. After leaving the music business, he started a publishing company that co-ordinates films, documentaries and advertisements.

December 7
Barry Manilow's first hit, "Mandy", enters the Billboard Top 40, on its way to number one. The song was written by Scott English and Richard Kerr as "Brandy", but was changed by Manilow when a group called Looking Glass had a hit with that title six months before. The original version by Scott English had charted at #12 in the UK and #91 on the Hot 100.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Bob Seger's fortunes are about to change when he releases the LP "Night Moves". The record would turn out to be his breakthrough album and took him from being a local Detroit favorite to an internationally known Rock star. "Night Moves" reached #8 on the US album chart and sold over five million copies.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Michael Jackson testifies in a Chicago courtroom that he, not an Illinois man, wrote "The Girl Is Mine". The jury would rule in favor of Jackson. The song had topped the Billboard R&B singles chart, peaked at #2 Hot 100, and reached #8 in the UK.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
NBC's Saturday Night Live features a Phoenix, Arizona band called Mr. Mister performing their recent Billboard number one hit, "Broken Wings" and the newly released "Kyrie", which will also top the chart.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a Kentucky schoolteacher who had been fired for showing the film Pink Floyd - The Wall to a group of grade 9 to 11 students on the final day of school.

December 7
Richard Taylor of the R&B vocal group, The Manhattans, died at the age of 47. The band placed forty-five songs on the Billboard R&B chart, most notably "Kiss And Say Goodbye" (#1 in 1976) and "Shining Star" (#4 in 1980).

December 7
On what would have been his 45th birthday, Harry Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his campaigning on social issues, particularly his highlighting of hunger around the world and in the United States.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
52-year-old Dee Clark, most often remembered for his 1961 million-seller, "Raindrops", passed away following a heart attack. The singer, born Delectus Clark, could never match the success of "Raindrops" and as The British Invasion arrived, his career took a downward spiral. By the 1980s he was performing on the oldies circuit and spent some time living in a welfare hotel in Toccoa, Georgia. Although he had suffered a stroke in 1987 that left him partially paralyzed and with a mild speech impediment, he continued to perform until his death.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
"Black or White" becomes Michael Jackson's 12th US number one hit, tying him with The Supremes for the third most, behind The Beatles (20) and Elvis Presley (17). The song went on to reach triple Platinum status and top the charts in twenty countries.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" hits #1 in America for the first of eleven weeks. It would win a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 39th Annual Awards in 1997, and went on to sell over three million copies in the United States and ten million copies worldwide.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
The Recording Industry Association of America launches a lawsuit against the on-line, file sharing company Napster, seeking $100,000 in damages for each song copied. Napster ceased operations in 2001 after losing multiple lawsuits and filed for bankruptcy in June 2002.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
James Brown was honored by the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts, along with Carol Burnett, Mike Nichols, Loretta Lynn and Itzhak Perlman. The Honorees were recognized for lifetime contribution to American culture in the fields of dance, music, theatre, opera, motion pictures or television.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
52-year-old Rosanne Cash, the daughter of the late country-music legend Johnny Cash, returned home after undergoing brain surgery late last month. She is most often remembered for her 1981 hit, "Seven Year Ache", which topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and reached #22 on the Hot 100.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Dennis Yost, lead singer of the 1960s Soft Rock group, The Classics IV, died of respiratory failure at the age of 65. He had been in a nursing home since suffering a brain injury in a 2005 fall. The Classics IV's hits included "Spooky" (#3 in 1967), "Stormy" (#5 in 1968), "Traces" (#2 in 1969) and "Everyday With You Girl" (#19 in 1969).

2012 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Although it has remained a light-hearted, yuletide staple annually, Dr. Elmo's, "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" topped a Billboard chart for the first time in twenty-seven years when it climbed to #1 the Comedy Digital Tracks list. In a 2007 poll by Edison Media Research and Pinnacle Media Worldwide, it was the only song that reached the top of both the liked and disliked lists.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Pink Floyd's iconic album, "Dark Side Of The Moon" made a surprise return to the Billboard 200 chart when it landed at #13 thanks to ultra-cheap pricing in the Google Play store where the classic set was discounted to 99¢.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Greg Lake of Emmerson, Lake And Palmer died following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. The news came just nine months after Lake's band-mate Keith Emerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Their band recorded nine RIAA-certified Gold Record albums in the US, and sold an estimated 48 million records worldwide.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Paul McCartney's home in London, England was raided by thieves just days before he was scheduled to appear at a homecoming gig in Liverpool. Macca previously expressed concern over his security at the St John's Wood pad and reportedly had the location removed from Google Street View in 2009.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

December 7
Universal Music Publishing Group announced that they had bought Bob Dylan's entire music catalogue. The acquisition included over 600 copyrights, from 1962's "Blowin' In The Wind" to 2020's "Murder Most Foul". Financial terms were not disclosed.

December 7
Neil Young dropped a lawsuit that he filed the previous August against US President Donald Trump's campaign team. The singer had objected to the fact that his songs "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Devil's Sidewalk" were played at a campaign rally without a performance license being obtained.



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