Rock 'n' Roll History for
March 2


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1955 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Bo Diddley has his first recording session at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago, where he lays down "Bo Diddley", which will top the Billboard R&B chart by the following June. Even though the song didn't crack the Hot 100, it was added in 2012 to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
The Del-Vikings saw their biggest hit, "Come Go With Me", enter the Billboard Top 40 where it would peak at #4, selling over a million copies in the process. Dion would cover the song in 1963, but could do no better than #48. The Beach Boys also tried their luck with the tune and reached #18 in 1982.

1960 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
After completing his military service with the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor, Elvis Presley left Germany. On his way back to America, he set foot on UK soil for the first and only time when the plane carrying him stopped for refueling at Prestwick Airport in Scotland.

1961 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
The Everly Brothers had their third UK #1 single with the two sided hit "Walk Right Back" / "Ebony Eyes".

1963 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
The Four Seasons score their third consecutive Billboard #1 with "Walk Like A Man". It made #12 in the UK. During the recording session, the room directly above the studio caught fire, and smoke and water began pouring in. Producer Bob Crewe was so intent on finishing the production that he blocked the studio door and continued recording until firemen broke the door down.

March 2
The Cascades achieved their only Billboard Top 40 hit when "Rhythm Of The Rain" topped out at #3. The song was also a top 5 hit in the UK.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
The LP "Shut Down Vol. 2" by The Beach Boys was released on Capitol Records. Produced by Brian Wilson, it is the group's 5th album and was issued as the follow-up to "Little Deuce Coupe". The LP was the first Beach Boys' album that included Al Jardine, who had recently replaced David Marks. It would peak at #13 on The Billboard 200.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
The Supremes begin recording "Reflections" at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, Michigan,. It will peak at #2 on the Hot 100 early next September.

March 2
At the ninth annual Grammy Awards, Frank Sinatra wins Record of the Year for "Strangers in the Night" and Album Of The Year for "Sinatra, a Man and His Music". Song of the Year goes to John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Michelle", and The New Vaudeville Band wins Best Contemporary Rock and Roll Recording for "Winchester Cathedral".

March 2
Englebert Humperdinck's version of "Release Me" sat atop the UK record chart, preventing "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever" from becoming The Beatles' 12th number one hit. Humperdinck's recording stayed on the chart for a then record fifty-six consecutive weeks.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Cat Stevens checks in to a London nursing home after he is diagnosed with tuberculosis. He would be transferred to a hospital where he would spend three months recuperating.

1969 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
At the 11th Grammy Awards, Glen Campbell is presented with Album Of The Year honors for "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" is named Record Of The Year. Jose Feliciano is dubbed Best New Artist and the Bobby Russell composition "Little Green Apples" is given the nod as Song Of The Year. Mason Williams won Best Instrumental Performance for "Classical Gas" and Judy Collins takes home a statue for Best Folk Performance for "Both Sides Now".

1974 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Terry Jacks, who had left The Poppy Family in 1970, had the top song in the US with "Season's In The Sun". The tune was originally written in French, titled "Le Moribund" ("The Dying Man") and recorded as an album cut by The Kingston Trio. It was recommended by Jacks to The Beach Boys, who did record it, but declined to release it. Their decision worked out well for Jacks, who sold over eleven and a half million copies of the record.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Los Angeles Police pull over Paul McCartney's Lincoln Continental for allegedly running a red light. They detect the smell of marijuana and arrest Linda McCartney for having six to eight ounces of the drug in her pocketbook. Paul was driving but was not charged with anything.

1983 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Sony, Philips and Polygram introduce a revolutionary new digital audio system called a Compact Disc, that contains up to 1 hour of uninterrupted music. By 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Mick Jagger's wife Jerry Hall gave birth to Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Paul Simon's "Graceland" is named Record Of The Year at the 30th Grammy Awards. "Bring On The Night" by Sting is awarded Best Pop Vocal Performance, and George Michael and Aretha Franklin win Best R&B Performance for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".

1991 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
21 years after its initial release, "All Right Now" by Free reached #2 on the UK singles chart when it was re-issued to coincide with its use in a Wrigley's Chewing gum TV ad.

1999 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Dusty Springfield died of breast cancer at the age of 59, after a five year battle. She would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame less than two weeks after she passed away, having placed 18 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1964 to 1970.

2003 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Hank Ballard, the writer and original performer of "The Twist", died at his Los Angeles home after suffering from throat cancer. His exact age is uncertain as most biographies say he was 66, but friends say he was actually 75. He originally released "The Twist" on the B-side of his 1959 tune "Teardrops On Your Letter", but after Chubby Checker took the song to number one, Ballard re-released his version and had a Top 30 hit with it as well in 1960. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Canadian singer Jeff Healey died of cancer at his home in Toronto at the age of 41. He had reached #16 on the Hot 100 in 1989 with "Angel Eyes".

2012 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
Frank Ocean began a war of words with Don Henley after the Eagles' drummer threatened to take legal action against the Hip-hop star for sampling the 1977 hit "Hotel California" in his tune "American Wedding". Ocean was quoted as saying "Ain't this guy rich as f**k? Why sue the new guy? I didn't make a dime off that song. I released it for free. If anything I'm paying homage."

2015 - ClassicBands.com

March 2
ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, announced that in 2014 the organization gained a 6% increase in revenue to just over $1 billion, up from the $944.4 million it collected in 2013.



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