Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 18


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Pat Boone's cover version of Little Richard's #17 hit, "Tutti Frutti", peaks at #12 on the US Pop chart. Boone himself later admitted that he didn't even want to record the song because "it didn't make sense" to him.

February 18
Although she was reluctant to record it in the first place, "Rock and Roll Waltz" by Kay Starr becomes the first number one record by a female in the Rock 'n' Roll era. The disc would go on to sell over a million copies, but Kay would later say that she was never asked to perform the record on TV and seldom sang it during a live show.

1959 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Elvis Presley sings after-hours at the Lido Club in Paris while on leave from the US Army.

February 18
Ray Charles records "What'd I Say", a song he came up with by improvising at live venues, at Atlantic Records studios in New York City. Despite the fact that many radio stations refused to play the record because of its sexual undertones, it would rise to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following August. Charles would close every show he played for the rest of his career with that song.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
On weekend leave from marine training, The Everly Brothers appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Wearing full uniform and regulation cropped hair, the duo sang their new single, "Crying In The Rain", which was currently number 6 on the Billboard chart.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
A month after giving her a 2 1/2 caret diamond ring, Phil Spector marries his girlfriend, Annette Merar. The pair would split later in the year after she suspected him of cheating with Ronnie Bennett of The Ronettes, and divorced in late 1965.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
The Beatles attend the training site of heavy weight boxing champion Sonny Liston for a publicity photo-op. Liston however, refuses to pose with "those sissies" and the group is then driven to Cassius Clay's gym where they are welcomed with open arms. In an odd twist, it would be Liston, not Ali, who would later be included among celebrities on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band".

1967 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
After a short series of minor hits, The Buckinghams score their first US Top 10 smash when "Kind Of A Drag" reaches number 1.

February 18
Petula Clark's version of the Charlie Chaplin penned "This Is My Song" tops the UK chart for the first of a two week stay. After singing the song in French, German and Italian, Petula reluctantly recorded the song in English, even though she thought the lyrics were corny and old fashioned. The tune would go on to be a Top Ten hit in America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Holland, Belgium and Norway.

February 18
An L.A. garage band called The Seeds help to bring Psychedelic music to American A.M. radio when their only Billboard Top 40 hit, "Pushin' Too Hard" peaks at #36 during a three week stay. Their next three releases, "Mr. Farmer" (#90), "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" (#41) and "A Thousand Shadows" (#100) would not fare as well.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Pink Floyd members fired Syd Barrett from the band and permanently replaced him with David Gilmour. Roger Waters later wrote and dedicated the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" to the increasingly unstable Barrett, who checked into a psychiatric hospital before going into seclusion.

February 18
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart enjoy their biggest success as recording artists when "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" peaks at #8, where it will stay for three consecutive weeks. As songwriters, the duo wrote "Last Train To Clarksville", "Come A Little Bit Closer", "Hurt So Bad", "Valleri", and many more.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Three thousand uninvited guests show up to see singer Lulu and The Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb get married at St. James' Church, Gerrard's Cross, Buchs, England. The union would last until early 1973.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Four men climb on stage during Elvis Presley's show in Las Vegas, supposedly to shake his hand. Fearing for his life, Elvis and bassist Jerry Scheff immobilize the men using karate moves. No charges are filed, but later Elvis tells the audience, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry I didn't break his goddamned neck, is what I'm sorry about." After the attack, Elvis becomes convinced that his former karate instructor Mike Stone, the man now sleeping with his ex, Priscilla, is trying to have him killed.

1974 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Yes sold out the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden without any advertising. Fans learned of the show from listings at ticket outlets.

February 18
KISS release their self titled debut album, but it will barely crack the Hot 100. It would take three more attempts for the band to establish itself.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
The third time would be the charm for a Topeka based group called Kansas. After scoring Top 40 hits with "Carry On Wayward Son" (#11) and "Point Of Know Return" (#28), "Dust In The Wind" entered the Billboard chart on its way to becoming the group's only Top 10 hit.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Bill Wyman announces that he will quit the Rolling Stones in 1983. He is persuaded not to and stays nine more years, eventually leaving in 1992.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
53-year-old James Taylor marries 48-year-old Caroline Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was his third marriage, and her second.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Country singer Johnny Paycheck died at the age of 64. He had been in a nursing home, suffering from emphysema and asthma. During his career, Paycheck recorded 70 albums and had more than two dozen hit singles, the biggest of which was the working man's anthem, "Take This Job and Shove It".

2006 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
The surviving members of The Bee Gees, Robin and Barry Gibb, returned to the stage for the first time since their brother Maurice died three years earlier. The pair reunited for a charity concert in Miami to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute, where they played many of the hits from their 35 year career.

February 18
Bill Cowsill, who led his band The Cowsills on their 1967 hit "The Rain, The Park and Other Things", died at the age of 58. His family learned of his death shortly after a memorial for their brother Barry, who drowned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Michael Jackson's management team announced that The King Of Pop was set to auction off his American Music Award for "Thriller", his Gold and Platinum records, a Rolls Royce limousine, a customized Harley Davidson, a velvet cape given to him by his children for Father's Day in 1998, a pair of rhinestone-trimmed socks from 1981, a basketball signed by Michael Jordan and his own original artwork.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
71-year-old Gordon Lightfoot was headed to the dentist when he heard on the radio that he was dead. "It seems like a bit of a hoax or something," the 71-year-old singer said. "I was quite surprised to hear it myself." Lightfoot survived until May 1st, 2023.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Otis "Damon" Harris, who joined The Tempataions when Eddie Kendricks left in 1972, died of prostate cancer at the age of 62. He sang on the hits "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Take a Look Around" and "Masterpiece" and helped the group win three Grammy Awards.

2014 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
The 72-year-old David Crosby postponed the final dates of his solo tour in order to undergo heart surgery.

2017 - ClassicBands.com

February 18
Clyde Stubblefield, drummer who played on many of James Brown's most important recordings, including "Cold Sweat", "I Got the Feelin'" and "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud", died of kidney failure at the age of 73.

February 18
Former teen heart-throb David Cassidy revealed that he was suffering from the early stages of dementia following a shaky performance at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA. Cassidy revealed the situation to People magazine by saying that both his grandfather and mother suffered from the disease. He told the press, "I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming."



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