Rock 'n' Roll History for
July 30


<-- Previous Day -- Home Page -- Next Day -->



1954 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Elvis Presley makes his first concert appearance at Overton Park in Memphis, opening for Slim Whitman, where he is overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reaction by the audience. Advertised as a Hillbilly Hoedown, general admission was $1, and the supporting acts included Billy Walker, Sugarfoot Collins, Sonny Harvelle, Tinker Fry and Curly Harris.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
The Elvis Presley LP "Elvis is Back!" sat at the top of the UK album chart. The disc, which was Presley's first album to be released in true stereo, would reach #2 in the US and was later certified Gold by the RIAA.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
London Records releases The Rolling Stones' fourth album in the United States, "Out Of Our Heads". Along with covers of American Rhythm And Blues songs, the LP included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (UK #1, US #1) and "The Last Time" (UK #1, US #9). The album became the group's first to top the Billboard 200 album chart. In the UK it reached number two.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Jerry Samuels, a recording engineer at Associated Recording Studios in New York who billed himself as Napoleon XIV, hit the top of the Cashbox Best Sellers chart with a novelty tune called "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" Several radio stations, including WABC and WMCA in New York, would ban the song because it seemed to ridicule the insane. Despite the embargo, the record would reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 in Canada and #4 on the UK Official Chart. Samuels later stated that the lyrics referred to his dog leaving him, not an actual person.

July 30
The Troggs, from Andover, Hampshire, England, had the top tune on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Wild Thing". It reached #2 in their home country. Their rendition of the song would later be ranked at #257 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was enshrined into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2019.

July 30
The Beatles LP "Yesterday And Today" tops the Billboard 200 album chart for the first of five continuous weeks. Featuring the songs "Yesterday", "Nowhere Man", "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper", the album caused a stir when it was first issued showing the band wearing butcher's jackets and holding decapitated dolls. About that cover, George Harrison would later describe it as "gross" and "stupid", adding: "Sometimes we all did stupid things thinking it was cool and hip when it was naive and dumb; and that was one of them." The LP's cover was later replaced with one showing the band around large steamer trunks.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
After loses exceeding £200,000, the Apple Boutique, owned and operated by The Beatles, closed its doors after just seven months in business at 94 Baker Street, Marylebone, London. After the owners had their pick, the remaining stock was given away.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Gary Glitter tops the UK chart with "I'm The leader Of The Gang (I Am)", the first of his three UK number one hits.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
The Bee Gees' younger brother, Andy Gibb started a three week stay at the top of the Billboard Pop chart with "I Just Wanna Be Your Everything", his first of three US number ones. The record made it to #26 in the UK.

1986 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
The show business newspaper Variety reported that RCA dumped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, "What Are We Making Weapons For". Variety said the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US. GE sold RCA two months later.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Former member of The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic, Steve Winwood had the number 1 record in the US this week with "Roll With It". It stayed at the top for four weeks, making it the number one song of the year. In the UK however, it stalled at #53. Winwood's next release, "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" also made it into the US Top Ten, while the following singles, "Holding On" and "One and Only Man" cracked the Top Twenty.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Michael Jackson and members of his family were not liable for losses incurred by the producers of the failed 1994 Jackson Family Honors TV special. The show was delayed for several weeks because Jackson was ill and could not perform solo as expected.

2002 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Bruce Springsteen releases his twelfth studio album, "The Rising" on Columbia Records. It became an immediate critical and commercial success, becoming The Boss' first LP to top the Billboard 200 since "Tunnel of Love" in 1987. The effort would go on to win a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at next year's presentation and was nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me".

2003 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Over 400,000 fans saw The Rolling Stones give a open air concert in Toronto, Canada. The event was held to show the world that Toronto was a safe city to visit, following an outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) earlier in the year. Also appearing on the show were AC/DC, The Guess Who, Rush, and many others.

July 30
Sam Phillips, the man who discovered Elvis Presley and owner of the legendary Sun Records, passed away at the age of 80. Phillips also helped launch the careers of Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty and Jerry Lee Lewis. He sold Elvis' contract to RCA in November, 1955, for $40,000. Sam was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
A representative for Phil Spector reported that the former music producer was struggling to adapt to life in prison and was "not doing great", calling the situation "a devastating turn in his life." The 69-year-old was sentenced to nineteen years to life behind bars last May after he was found guilty of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra, California home in 2003.

July 30
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher won his long battle to be recognized as co-writer of the band's 1967 hit, "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Britain's Law Lords unanimously ruled that Fisher, who claimed he wrote the song's organ melody, was entitled to a share of future royalties. In 2006, the High Court ruled he was entitled to 40% of the copyright, but the Court Of Appeal overturned the ruling in 2008, saying that the thirty-eight years he waited to launch the lawsuit was too long.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
Richard "Scar" Lopez, a founding member of Cannibal And The Headhunters, died of lung cancer at the age of 65. The East Los Angeles vocal group scored a #30 Billboard hit in 1965 with "Land of 1000 Dances".

2018 - ClassicBands.com

July 30
The surviving Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks, reconvened for a Q&A session for SiriusXM, moderated by director Rob Reiner. Although there were no announcements for further collaborations, Love told Rolling Stone, "I never say never."



<-- Previous Day -- Home Page -- Next Day -->