Rock 'n' Roll History for
March 14


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Singer Jimmy Dean interviews Elvis Presley on his Washington, DC television show on WMAL-TV. The interview did not go well, with Presley giving mostly one word answers to Dean's questions. Dean later remembered the interview as "Possibly the worst I've ever done," and during his Vegas years Presley himself would apologize for his brevity, saying he was simply scared of the camera.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Perry Como's "Catch A Falling Star" becomes the first recipient of a Gold record awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America. The achievement represented sales of one million discs. The first known Gold record was presented as a one time award to The Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1942 for "Chattanooga Choo Choo".

1959 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Elvis Presley led the Billboard Hot 200 chart with "For LP Fans Only". It was the first album ever issued without the artist's name to be found anywhere on the cover, front or back.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers is fined £60 for trying to evade British customs with a German-bought guitar.

March 14
Cliff Richard And The Shadows were at the top of the UK singles chart with "Summer Holiday", their seventh UK #1 record.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
For the first time in British recording history, all Top Ten singles in the UK are by British acts. #1 - "Anyone Who Had A Heart" by Cilla Black, #2 - "Bits and Pieces" by The Dave Clark Five, #3 - Little Children by Billy J Kramer, #4 - "Diane" by The Bachelors, #5 - "Not Fade Away" by The Rolling Stones, #6 - "Just One Look" by The Hollies, #7 - "Needles and Pins" by The Searchers, #8 - "I Think Of You" by The Merseybeats, #9 - "Boys Cry" by Eden Kane, #10 - "Let Me Go Lover" by Kathy Kirby.

March 14
Billboard magazine reports that Beatle records have claimed 60-percent of the US singles market and that the album "Meet the Beatles" had reached a record 3.5 million copies sold.

March 14
"Navy Blue" by Diane Renay peaks at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her highest charting follow-up, "Kiss Me Sailor" would only make it to #29.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Petula Clark makes her American TV debut singing "Downtown" (US #1, UK #2) and "I Know a Place" (US #3, #17 UK) on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
The UK TV show Top of the Pops premiered a video clip by The Beatles for their new single "Lady Madonna". The footage actually came from the band recording the song "Hey Bulldog", which was still unreleased at the time. The single was issued the following day, and two weeks later, "Lady Madonna" was sitting on top of the UK charts. By mid-April, it peaked at #4 in America.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
The Supremes, with Jean Terrell singing lead vocals, enjoy their first hit without Diana Ross, when "Up the Ladder to the Roof" enters the Hot 100, where it will peak at number 10.

1972 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
California Governor Ronald Reagan grants a pardon to Merle Haggard for all past crimes. Haggard called that day the second most significant in his life, the first being the day that his dad died when he was only nine. The singer had been incarcerated several times in his youth, but turned his life around and managed to achieve 38 number-one hits on the Billboard Country Music chart.

March 14
Carole King's "Tapestry" LP is named Album Of The Year at the 14th Grammy Awards. The disc had been 1971's best selling record and would go on to be certified 14X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

1981 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Eric Clapton was admitted to United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota after a serious attack of bleeding ulcers. He was forced to cancel a 60 date tour of the United States.

1987 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Huey Lewis And The News scored their third number one record in the US with a Bruce Hornsby composition, "Jacob's Ladder", one of six singles released from the album "Fore".

1990 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Michael Jackson was voted artist of the decade at the annual Soul Train Awards.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
A Jay And The Americans concert on Long Island was interrupted by a bomb threat. No threat was found.

2005 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel that saw Bruce Springsteen ushering in U2 and Rod Stewart inducting Soul singer Percy Sledge. Neil Young welcomed The Pretenders into the Hall, while Justin Timberlake introduced The O'Jays.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
In London, England, former Foundations bassist, 71-year-old Peter MacBeth is sentenced to six years in jail for abusing a young girl and downloading child porn. The band reached the Billboard Top 40 with "Baby, Now That I've Found You" (#11 in 1968) and "Build Me Up Buttercup" (#3 in 1969).

2011 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Ronnie Hammond, the lead singer of The Atlanta Rhythm Section, died of heart failure at the age of 60. He led the band to two Billboard Top Ten hits, "So Into You" (#7 in 1977) and "Imaginary Lover" (#7 in 1978).

2016 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Sony ATV Music Publishing announced that it would buy out Michael Jackson's share of a joint music publishing venture for $750m. The purchase gives Sony the rights to about three million songs, including works by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift, but did not include Jackson's master recordings.

2018 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Bon Jovi's album "This House Is Not for Sale" suffered the humiliation of setting a new record for the biggest one week drop in the six decade history of the Billboard 200 chart. After returning to the top spot following a ticket sales promotion, the album fell to #169, the largest fall since "Science Fiction" by Brand New went down 96 spots in September, 2017.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
George Michael's art collection is auctioned at Christie's in London, raising about £9.3 million ($12.3 million) to continue his charity work.

2020 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
Phil Phillips, a singer - songwriter most often remembered for his 1959 Billboard #2 hit, "Sea Of Love", passed away at the age of 94. His song was later covered by Del Shannon (#33 in 1981) and the Honeydrippers (#3 in 1984).

2023 - ClassicBands.com

March 14
England's King Charles III, officially knighted Queen's guitarist Brian May during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The 75-year-old May previously held the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In addition to writing some of the band's most popular songs, May also founded an animal welfare charity called Save Me, and has campaigned for animal rights around the world.



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