Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 16


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1957 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Disc jockey Pete Murray begins hosting BBC television's first Rock 'n' Roll music program The Six-Five Special, named for the time the show began, five minutes after six. The show was given air-time immediately after the abolition of what was called the Toddlers' Truce, which had seen television stop between 6 and 7 pm so children could be put to bed.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
After finding it in a reject pile at Epic Records, Bobby Vinton records "Roses Are Red (My Love)", which will top the US charts in July and reach one million in sales by August. The record also went to #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Norway and South Africa, and climbed to #15 in the UK.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
The Beatles saw their second release, "Please Please Me", reach the top of the UK singles chart. No one seemed to care that during one verse, John and Paul can clearly be heard singing different words.

February 16
Paul Anka marries Anne de Zogheb, the daughter of Lebanese diplomat Charles de Zogheb. The 37 year marriage would end in 2000.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
In a performance that actually took place at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, ,The Beatles appear for the second week in a row on The Ed Sullivan Show. Remarkably, The Fsb Four did not top the bill this time, as American actress, singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor was listed as the headliner. An estimated TV audience of 70 million was said to be watching.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Elvis Presley's Gospel album, "How Great Thou Art" is awarded a Gold record. It would go on to win a Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance and by 2010 was certified Triple-Platinum. The L.P. includes Presley's 1965 #3 hit, "Crying in the Chapel".

1975 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Cher gets her own weekly variety show when Cher premieres on CBS. The program featured various celebrity guests ranging from musicians to actors and pop culture figures. The first guests are Elton John, Bette Midler and Flip Wilson. Cher finished the season ranked first among variety shows and twenty-second among all programs. Despite these successes, the show only ran until January 4th, 1976.

1985 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
"Careless Whisper" by Wham! began a three week stay at the top of the Billboard chart. An 18-year-old George Michael had written the melody four years earlier while riding on a bus.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Ike Turner is sentenced to four years in prison for possession of cocaine. He was released on parole in September, 1991 after completing 18 months of his sentence at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. On January 16th, 1991, while he was still in jail, Ike and his former wife Tina were inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
The Faces reunite at the BRIT Awards, where Rod Stewart receives a lifetime achievement award. Rolling Stones' bassist Bill Wyman replaced original Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Doris Troy, the big voiced singer of the 1963 #10 hit "Just One Look", died of emphysema at the age of 67. She was working as an usherette at the Apollo Theatre when she was discovered by James Brown and went on to work with The Rolling Stones, Humble Pie, Pink Floyd, George Harrison, Dusty Springfield, Nick Drake and Carly Simon.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens was awarded substantial damages from two British papers, The Sunday Times and The Sun, which printed articles alleging he was involved in terrorism. Both newspapers apologized to the 56 year old musician for the "false and highly defamatory allegations." The papers would also pay his legal bills and pledged not to repeat the allegations. The money awarded was to be given to Tsunami relief projects.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Elton John accepted undisclosed libel damages from the Britain's Sunday Times after the newspaper erroneously repeated an entirely false rumor that he acted in a rude, self-important and arrogant manner at a charity ball.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Tony Sheridan, who used the early Beatles as his backing band during their days of playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany, died following a long illness at the age of 72.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Leslie Gore, who placed eleven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1963 and 1967, including "It's My Party" (US #1), "Judy's Turn To Cry" (US #5), She's A Fool" (US #5) and "You Don't Own Me" (US #2), died of cancer at the age of 68.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Michael Jackson's 1982 album "Thriller" was certified 33-times Platinum in the U.S. after the top brass at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) changed their rules to include individual tracks and streams.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Barbara Ann Alston, vocalist for The Crystals on their hits "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me" and "There's No Other Like My Baby", died at the age of 74 after contracting influenza.

2024 - ClassicBands.com

February 16
Ron Gilbert, the original bassist for Blues Magoos, passed away at the age of 77. The Bronx, New York quintet is most often remembered for their 1966 hit, "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet", which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.



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