Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 10


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1942 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glen Miller And His Orchestra becomes the first recording to be awarded a Gold record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another sixteen years when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) borrowed the idea and trademarked the Gold Record. The first Gold single was awarded to Perry Como in 1958 for "Catch A Falling Star" and the first Gold album was given to Gordon McRae for the soundtrack to the film Oklahoma.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Elvis attains his ninth US number one single with the double-sided hit "Don't" / "I Beg of You". The record will stay at the lead spot of the Top 100 for five straight weeks.

February 10
Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me" rose to the top of the Billboard album chart, where it would stay for the next five weeks. At the inaugural Grammy Awards in 1959 the LP was nominated for Album Of The Year, but lost to Henry Mancini's "The Music from Peter Gunn".

1959 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Link Wray performs his controversial instrumental hit "Rumble" on American Bandstand. Because of its title, many radio stations refused to play the record, but it still managed to sell over a million copies and reach #16 on the Billboard Pop chart.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Henry Mancini had the #1 album in the US with the soundtrack to the film Breakfast At Tiffany's.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
American newspapers report that "Millions of teenage boys are spending extra time in front of the mirror trying to make their hair look like Paul McCartney's", following an appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show the previous night.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
The Beatles and George Martin added the orchestral crescendos to "A Day In The Life", using a 40-piece orchestra. Martin would later recall that when he told some of Britain's finest musicians that they were to play twenty-four bars of cacophonous, improvised crescendo, "They all looked at me as though I were completely mad."

1968 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
The Beatles close Beatles USA, their American fan club and business office and fire their US press agents, severing all American business connections. They also withdraw from the late Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises and turn all business affairs over to their newly formed record company, Apple.

February 10
French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat pushed all Rock records aside and reached Billboard's top spot with a harpsichord and violin laden instrumental called "Love Is Blue". Mauriat was no stranger to US success as he had written the music to Peggy March's 1963, number one hit "I Will Follow Him".

1972 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Britain's most popular Glam-rock act, T-Rex, kicks off their first headlining tour of the US in support of their current hit, "Bang A Gong".

1975 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Dave Alexander, the original bassist for The Stooges, died of pulmonary edema at the age of 27 after being admitted to a hospital for pancreatitis.

1976 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Elvis Presley was named an honorary captain in the Memphis Police Department. Those closest to him would say that Elvis made friends with officers wherever he traveled, and he loved collecting badges from across the country. He often donated to Police Associations and departments across the nation.

1979 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Rod Stewart enjoyed his third Billboard number one hit with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?". The record also went to the top of the charts in ten other countries and Billboard would rank it number four on its Top Singles of 1979 year-end chart.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Oprah Winfrey interviews Michael Jackson on her prime-time special on ABC-TV. Jackson tells her that he has a disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin. He also claims he's had very little plastic surgery.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Brian Connolly, vocalist for Sweet, who reached #3 in 1973 with "Little Willy", died of kidney failure at the age of 52.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Jennifer Lopez' album "J.Lo" goes to #1 in America, while her movie (with Matthew McConaughey) The Wedding Planner. is number one at the box office. That made her the first person with a number one movie and album at the same time.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Roger Daltrey of The Who was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
The Eagles won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "How Long". It was the band's fifth Grammy Award.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Janis Ian wins Best Spoken Word Album for her autobiography "Society's Child". She beat out Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Rachel Maddow and Ellen DeGeneres.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Tom Petty is named Person of the Year at the MusiCares gala, held two days before the Grammy Awards. Accepting the award, Tom quips, "Twenty years ago I'd have been way too cynical to do this, but I'm 66 now and I feel ya." The accolade was given in recognition of his significant creative accomplishments, his career-long interest in defending artists' rights, and the charitable work he has undertaken throughout his career.

2022 - ClassicBands.com

February 10
Reports surfaced that Sting, (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) the former bassist and frontman for the English Rock band The Police, had sold the rights to his entire music catalogue to Universal Music Group for an estimated $250 million. "It is absolutely essential to me that my career's body of work have a home where it is valued and respected," the musician said in a statement. "Not only to connect with longtime fans in new ways, but also to introduce my songs to new audiences, musicians, and generations."



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