Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 6


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1939 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Elvis Presley's father, 22-year-old Vernon, is released from the Parchman Farm penitentiary after serving eight months of a three year sentence for altering a check from 4 dollars to 40 dollars.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
27-year-old Jesse Belvin, who scored a 1956 hit with "Goodnight, My Love", is killed in an auto accident in Hope, Arkansas. His wife and the car's driver also died of their injuries. The three were trying to make a fast get-a-way from the first ever mixed race audience Pop concert in the town of Little Rock after threats had been made against Belvin's life. The accident remains a contentious point, with many suspecting foul play.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
The Righteous Brothers led the US hit parade with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". According to the RIAA, the song has now been played on US radio stations over eight million times, more than any other record during the Classic Rock era.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
In a rare feat, a Country song crossed over to the Pop charts and became the best selling single in America when Lynn Anderson's version of "Rose Garden" climbed to the top of the Cash Box hit parade. At the 13th Annual Grammy Awards, Anderson would win for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

1981 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Hugo Montenegro, who is best remembered for scoring a #2 hit with the instrumental theme to Clint Eastwood's movie, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, died of emphysema. He was 55.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Sonny Bono declares his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, which he later wins.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Dusty Springfield returns to the US Top 10 for the first time in nineteen years with a duet with Pet Shop Boys called "What've I Done To Deserve This". The song would peak at #2 in both the US and the UK. Dusty's last big hit in America was "Son Of A Preacher Man" in December, 1968.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Over two hundred women filed court actions against Chuck Berry, alleging that he had been secretly filming them in the toilets of the restaurant he owned. Berry claimed that he had the camera installed to catch an employee who was suspected of stealing. Although the charges were never proven in court, Berry agreed to settlement with fifty-nine women that cost him over $1.2 million plus legal fees.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
After experiencing a succession of violent headaches, Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp has an emergency operation in London to remove a benign brain tumor.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus was hospitalized after a man hit him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, California while the singer was allegedly attempting to steal the man's car.

1998 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Surrounded by his family, Carl Wilson, lead guitarist and vocalist for The Beach Boys, died of lung cancer at the age of 51. Although Brian Wilson and Mike Love were featured on many of the band's biggest hits, it was Carl's voice that took the lead on "God Only Knows" (#39 in 1966), "Good Vibrations" (#1 in 1966), "Wild Honey" (#31 in 1967) and "I Can Hear Music" (#24 in 1969). The headstone over his grave in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles includes the inscription: The World Is A Far Lesser Place Without You.

2001 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Eagles' guitarist Don Felder receives a phone call from manager Irving Azoff who tells him that the rest of the band has "decided to go on without you." A shocked Felder will spend the next few days pleading for another chance, but will be rebuffed and soon after he will receive his official termination notice. Felder would launch a $50 million law suit against guitarist Glen Frey and drummer Don Henley, alleging wrongful termination and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Henley and Frey then counter sued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a "tell-all" book. Both parties settled out-of-court, but it took Felder until early 2008 to finally issue his autobiography, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001).

2003 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Barbara Walters introduces a British documentary about Michael Jackson on ABC-TV's 20/20. Jackson took British journalist Martin Bashir on a tour of his Neverland Ranch, and discussed his family, unhappy childhood, plastic surgery and relationships with children. Thirty-eight million Americans watched the program.

2007 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Frankie Laine suffered complications after hip-replacement surgery and died at the age of 93. The big voiced singer sold over 100 million records and placed seven songs on Billboard's Top 40 between 1955 and 1969, including "Moonlight Gambler" (#3 in 1956) and "Love Is A Golden Ring" (#10 in 1957).

2010 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in an attempt by L.A. prosecutors to prove he caused the Pop star's death. With several members of the Jackson family in attendance, Dr. Murray entered a plea of not guilty and was released on $75,000 bail. In November 2011, a jury found Murray guilty and he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in October 2013 and continued to appeal his conviction.

February 6
Barbra Streisand turned down a $100 million offer to appear at a Las Vegas hotel for a three year run. Instead, the 67-year-old singer opted for a summer tour of the United States.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Gary Moore, guitarist for the influential Irish rock band Thin Lizzy was found dead in his hotel room in Spain following a suspected heart attack. He was 58. The band placed ten albums on the UK LP chart and ten on the Billboard 200.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
HBO Films released a trailer promoting the upcoming TV biopic on imprisoned record producer Phil Spector. The film, starring Al Pacino, focuses primarily on the relationship between Spector and Linda Kenney Baden, his defense attorney during his two murder trials for the 2003 death of Lana Clarkson in his California mansion. It would be nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Jamaicans celebrated the 70th anniversary of the birth of Bob Marley with a free concert on the Kingston waterfront and a jam session at Marley's former home. The Reggae legend died of cancer on May 11, 1981, in a Florida hospital at the age of 36.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

February 6
Dan Hicks, leader of Dan Hicks And The Hot Licks, passed away at the age of 74 after a year long battle with liver cancer. Mostly an album artist, Hicks is most often remembered for songs like "I Scare Myself", "Canned Music" and "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away".



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